My Pinoy Life In: Frankfurt, Germany

Phil Adi Zufall

Frankfurt, Germany

I moved to Frankfurt about 10 years ago. Back then, I worked at an ABS-CBN Affiliate in Cagayan de Oro, also doing Entertainment Events and frolicking with my Band, Nuncyspungen on the side.

After my show was canceled, I became restless but I wasn’t desperate about leaving. I am half German so that never posed a problem. I was comfortable back in CDO but I had a feeling that I wasn’t ready to settle yet, and knowing that I can always return, I just had to just see f I was missing out on anything.

Frankfurt is the finance and literature center of Europe. It’s a small, compact city with a great green to concrete ratio. We like to call it Mainhattan because of the river that runs through it, the Main. It’s not a bustling metropolis. We even call it the largest village in the world, but it is demure, clean and recently claimed the title of The World’s Most Sustainable City. I bike and everything is reachable in around 20min and the Döner around the corner is great, they still stack the meat traditionally, no frozen meat lollipop.

What do you do for a living?

I’m the CEO of Spartan Wombat UG, a Tech Consultancy. We develop soft and hardware as well as happily help others to do the same, concentrating on the Internet of Things. Our latest project is called Xoodo, an aquaponic kitchen appliance, a smart farm in the kitchen.

Is there a Filipino community there?

Yes, a large one, but very well integrated. We don’t have Pinoy areas, we’re all happily scattered all over. My mom being one in big wave of  “guestworkers” in the medical field invited to Germany back in the early 70’s. As a child, we had small picnics but also grand getogethers. I remember celebrating Philippine Independence day in Mainz nearby. I break-dance with other Pinoy kids and the subsequent “roaring” applause gave me the first impression of the land I would eventually settle in as a 10 year old.

Tell us about your life there?

Frankfurt is not a ‘nightlife’ kinda city, which, defensively at least, helps me do my job better. I bike everywhere I go. I tend to have meetings around the city all day, or just working on my Computer and/or tooling in the workshop.

I can fly or rail out to visit anyone in Europe anytime, due to its ideal location in the center of the continent. The Airport is just a Subway away, 20 minutes and is easily reachable from anywhere in Frankfurt. In Summer, most of us Frankfurters, pun intended, chill by the river. One riverbank is filled with museums end to end. (secret tip: the Städel Museum is the ‘little’ Louvre outside of the Louvre.) I visit a lot of music gigs and events, having the fortune of good friends that allow me to just swing by. The Culinary scene here is world renowned and has the most profitable high street in all of Germany. The sunsets are breathless for a landlocked city, with a nice little mountain sprawl  of the Taunus acting as the dramatic backdrop. I live a very pragmatic life, and get by with a less-is-more kind of execution.Iit isn’t really a plus point to be ostentatious in Frankfurt although it is known to be as such as a common stereotype (not as bad as Munich though ;). I am lucky to have good friends and acquaintances; they make it all worthwhile here.

What cultural practices/behaviors have you acquired from your host country?

A lot, Im half german , half shepherd but I only bark in bisaya.

Your greeting to Filipino across the globe?

Drop By. There are no real selfie-worthy bucketlisty kinda things in Frankfurt and gladly so.  Here, you actually spend time lying on the grass, watching the low profile cargo ships drifting slowly along the Main, and feeling like, no, knowing that, you are not missing out on anything.

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Read more travel articles on Illustrado Life’s Places section. 

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