Gor217

We are planning a visit to our daughter who's going to school in Mannheim, DE. After staying a couple of nights in Mannheim, we would like to plan a 2-3 day excursion to a surrounding area.; understanding the time is short, we realize we'll only have time for possibly 1 site/city. We enjoy nature's beauty, history and architecture rather than shopping. We are weighing the options for the one "must see", train travel vs. renting a car, as well as recommendations for lodging (like to stay around 100 Euro/night). As a final wrinkle, we must end in Frankfut since our return flight leaves from there (decent hotels close to the airport?). Thank you for your advice!

bettyk

You don't say what time of year, but the Rhine or Mosel River areas are easily doable in 2-3 days.

On the Mosel, you could stay in one of several small wine growing towns such as Cochem or Bernkastel-Kues. With a car, you would have easy access to Burg Eltz as well as several other castle ruins. Also, Trier, the oldest city in Germany, is nearby with it's Roman ruins.

On the Rhine, we have stayed in Bacharach but others like St. Goar or Boppard. There are numerous castles along the Rhine that can be explored.

As far as hotels, we have stayed at the Rhein Hotel in Bacharach and the Hotel Binz in Bernkastel-Kues and can recommend both.

If you are looking for something you could do easily by train, then head east from Mannhein to Wurzburg and Bamberg. Both are wonderfully unique and would easily fill your 2-3 days.

Gor217

very helpful, bettyk. We will be there the end of November; also it's our first trip to Germany. It will be a short visit, but thought we'd try to fit some extra things in.

Russ

End of November: the Rhine and Mosel villages will be exceptionally quiet (dead, really.) But you can still see some interesting places and scenery. The railway follows the gorge between Mainz and Koblenz on both sides of the river, allowing all of you to see the many castles along the way. Marksburg Castle in Braubach is excellent and will be open for tours:
www.marksburg.de

Boppard is one of the larger villages - it's very attractive and has a good variety of places to stay and dine. I would opt to stay there if you want to stay right in the Middle Rhine valley, or in larger Koblenz if you want some more substantial evening activities. Koblenz is the train hub for both Rhine and Mosel; staying in Boppard means transferring in Koblenz if you want to visit the Mosel by train, no big deal, but plan on a short layover.

From Koblenz, a daytrip to the former Roman city of Trier is very easy by train.

All of you can buy a "Rheinland-Pfalz ticket" in Mannheim, and in any of the other towns mentioned on other days, to take you throughout this region. The 28-Euro daypass is good for 2-5 people after 9 am weekdays, any hour on Sat or Sun, for unlimited use of the regional trains.

Now, I know you don't want to shop, but the outdoor Christmas markets in Mainz (opens 11/25), Trier (11/22), and Rüdesheim (11/22, near Mainz) open at the end of November and are really special in terms of atmosphere, food and drink, and merriment. Rather than settling in Boppard or Koblenz, you might wish to base yourselves in Mainz for the whole time and do daytrips from there to these towns, and to Marksburg in Braubach, which would still allow for a train ride along the castle-studded Rhine. Mainz is more enjoyable and more active in winter than either Koblenz or Boppard and has excellent train connections. Try the Ibis there for a cheap stay, which is nice and close to the old town and a secondary train station, or the Königshof, near the main station:

http://www.hotel-koenigshof-mainz.de/index2.htm

Russ

I should have mentioned that Mainz's Dom is an outstanding example of Romanesque architecture. The cathedrals in Speyer and in Worms, closer to Mannheim, are as well.

bettyk

Here are a few websites to get you started:

http://www.die-mosel.de/moselle.html
http://www.bernkastel.de/english/
http://www.cochem.de/tourismus/en/index.php
http://www.hotel-binz.de/en/restaurant/
http://redaktion.trier.de/praefectus/trier?tourist_en
http://www.burgeltz.de/e_index.html

http://www.bacharach.de/english/code.../frameset.html
http://www.rhein-hotel-bacharach.de/...e_id=6&clang=1
http://www.boppard.de/2001/html/home_english3.htm
http://www.st-goar.de/131-1-.html

bettyk

Sorry, I also meant to include info on Wuerzburg and Bamberg as they are both beautiful cities:

http://www.wuerzburg.de/en/index.html
http://www.justgermany.org/germany/bamberg/
http://lifeslittleadventures.typepad...g-germany.html

We like the Hotel Molitor in Bamberg. It's a small hotel in a great location.

http://www.altstadthotel-molitor.de/index.php