Daytrips/Excursions from Frankfurt

Old Jun 29th, 2016, 04:23 PM
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Daytrips/Excursions from Frankfurt

My OH is going for a 3 day conference in Frankfurt in September, and for once he knows about it with enough notice for me to find a decent rate and time to plan my own work schedule out so that I can tag along. As this is a sudden trip for me (2.5 months notice is sudden for a planner like myself), I'm trying to decide what to do both the 1.5 days before the conference starts and in the four days we will have afterwards before flying home. And if anyone has ideas for my three days on my own while he conferences, please suggest. OH is not as into museums as I am, so I thought I would explore them in depth while I am on my own.

I've been to Germany twice before - first to Munich and Berlin as a college student, and again a decade or so ago to Munich, Rothenburg, Oberammergau and the Romantic Road. While I love Munich, it looks like Oktoberfest would be going on while we are there and while that might seem like a bucket list item, the idea of such large drunken crowds leaves me rather numb. I mention all of this because I'm looking at doing different parts of Germany I haven't seen before.

We love castles, wine, and war sites. Doing some quick searches, the Rhine River sounds like a good place to start, but I'd love specifics on what people suggest/love, as well as other ideas. And if you think we are better off taking a quick flight/train somewhere else for the four days after his conference, please suggest away. ( We spent two weeks in Switzerland a few years back, so heading back there is not our first choice.)

Thanks in advance
annalynn is offline  
Old Jun 30th, 2016, 02:56 AM
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I had over 2 weeks one year in Frankfurt while DH worked, in which I took a lot of day trips by myself, got to know Frankfurt, and also went with DH on some weekend car trips; here is my trip report

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...kfurt-area.cfm

In Frankfurt take a great walking tour with Frankfurt on Foot

https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q=frankfurt+on+foot

There's a 2 day pass for the museums in Frankfurt; not sure if it would be worth it for you.

http://www.kultur-frankfurt.de/porta.../0/0/1441.aspx

My favorite city in Germany is Trier. My favorite day trip from Frankfurt is Mainz. The Rhine Valley would be great after the conference, assuming you have a car.
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Old Jun 30th, 2016, 03:34 AM
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The restored Roman frontier fort at Bad Homburg is worth seeing.
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Old Jun 30th, 2016, 04:33 AM
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Mainz makes a great daytrip. Large pedestrians-only zone, small but attractive pre-war old town, museums, churches.

http://www.en.romantic-cities.com/Mainz.5733.0.html

With the final 4 days you might enjoy a stay in the smaller wine towns on the Rhine and/or the Mosel rivers (not far from Frankfurt.) Fall wine fests take place there every weekend - and they are well-attended but civilized events without the crowds and nonsense of Oktoberfest. I'd suggest Cochem on the Mosel and Boppard on the Rhine.

Cochem, a delightful old-world town - http://www.der-takt.de/typo3temp/_pr...087e83a8d1.jpg

A Cochem base makes for easy day trips to...
Trier, Roman historical roots - http://www.en.romantic-cities.com/Trier.5625.0.html
Burg Eltz: http://media-cache-ec0.pinimg.com/73...6bfc1e8b96.jpg
Marksburg Castle (on the Rhine near Koblenz - http://www.marksburg.de/en/

Boppard is a great town too and well positioned for short outings to Marksburg and Rheinfels castles (just to the south in St. Goar.)

View over Boppard and the Rhine from Gedeonseck terrace, a short hike from the top of Boppard's chairlift:
https://s3-media1.fl.yelpcdn.com/bph...nCsce-jg/o.jpg
Boppard wine fest: http://www.boppard-tourismus.de/file...pp_wf_piel.jpg
Wine fest in nearby Oberwesel: http://www.oberwesel.de/uploads/pics/P1060485.JPG
Fussgaenger is offline  
Old Jun 30th, 2016, 04:44 AM
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Getting around the Rhine and Mosel: It was mentioned previously that the Rhine is a good destination "assuming you have a car" - but if you wish to use the trains for getting from place to place you will have no trouble at all. Hourly local trains stop in all the small towns on both sides of the river between 5 am and midnight. On the Mosel, service between Koblenz and Trier is hourly as well. Cruising is popular on both rivers as well... a cruise from Bingen to Boppard takes you through the most scenic Rhine section in about 2.3 hours... a round trip cruise from Cochem to Beilstein on the Mosel requires 2 hours.

River scene at Bingen: http://whc.unesco.org/uploads/thumbs...0101010000.jpg
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Old Jun 30th, 2016, 09:36 AM
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As Fussgaenger says--a car is not necessary for enjoying either river valley; I think I meant to say that if you have a car, you do have much more flexibility and can probably see more, but if you don't want to have a car, both trains and boats will make a lot available. I saw lots of the Rhine Valley via train and boats, but DH has been further afield around it via cars. Our explorations of the Mosel Valley have been with cars. We've been to Trier only by car, but once there, you don't need one.

If you read my trip report, you will see that I can highly recommend Germany's train system. It takes a bit more planning to use public transport than just having a car handy, but auto travel comes with its own set of issues, of course!
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Old Jun 30th, 2016, 10:48 AM
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No reason to rent a car for any of the options given above but if doing the Mosel a car is nice as trains only track along the river between Koblenz and Cochem but if staying in Cochem you can take boats up river to Beilstein and back - over one of the most gorgeous sections of the river.

For some good info on trains and boats and those areas in general check www.ricksteves.com and www.budgeteuropetravel.com - and you have some real experts who have commented above who are always available to answer questions.

If going by train check on regional passes that are dirt cheap and provide unlimited travel for a day on regional trains - most of the trains in the Rhine/Mosel are regional trains.
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Old Jun 30th, 2016, 09:12 PM
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"...if doing the Mosel a car is nice as trains only track along the river between Koblenz and Cochem."

Actually it is possible to explore several additional towns beyond Cochem by train. Ediger-Eller, Neef, Bullay, Reil Koevenig, and Traben-Trarbach all have stations. (Bullay-Reil is an especially nice hiking/biking area - and the trains have bike cars too.) The tracks then give up on the windy river and rejoin it later in Schweich and of course in Trier. Between Koblenz and Cochem there are thirteen riverfront towns with train service, including the delightful Winningen, and Moselkern, the station many use for the walk to Burg Eltz.

This map shows the location of all these towns:
http://www.mosel-personenschifffahrt...ages/mosel.png

So no, you cannot follow every last curve of the 210km-long Mosel River by train. But I think only someone with much more time might be interested in that, and that there is more than enough to see and do in the section with train service for the casual visitor, even for a stay of 3-4 full days, or a week.

And with the train of course you get some great scenery at a great price with none of the responsibilities of driving (which means you can sample the wine more freely as you travel, for one thing! German DUI laws are ultra-strict.)

http://www.zughalt.de/wp-content/upl...10/DB11321.jpg
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Old Jul 1st, 2016, 05:54 AM
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Thanks so much, everyone, for the great suggestions! This is EXACTLY what I needed.

And texasbookworm, lucky you having had almost three weeks - wow! I read through your entire trip report, which was extremely helpful. Thanks for writing it, and for sharing it with me in my time of need.

Not sure if we will rent a car for the last few days or rely on public transportation yet - I'll have to decide what we most want to see/do, and then look at costs and transport times to see what will work best. But I'm such a travel nerd that I love doing this type of thing - time for a spreadhseet!
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Old Jul 1st, 2016, 09:20 AM
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Actually it is possible to explore several additional towns beyond Cochem by train. Ediger-Eller, Neef, Bullay, Reil Koevenig, and Traben-Trarbach all have stations.>

Yes I thought of that later after posting - these deadend spur lines along the river - short slow trains like I love so much. Traben-Trarbach is one larger wine town on the river that is so so cute. and yes biking along the river is great - I've done the whole Mosel Luxembourg border to Koblenz dozens of times in a previous life leading bike trips here and between just downriver from Trier to Koblenz you can't go wrong.

by Trier itself the Mosel to me is more like a large ditch with little scenic about it.
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