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to do with kids 2 1/2 days with a layover in frankfurt

to do with kids 2 1/2 days with a layover in frankfurt

Old May 25th, 2016, 01:03 PM
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to do with kids 2 1/2 days with a layover in frankfurt

We have a layover in Frankfurt for 2 1/2 days (arriving in the morning of july 2 and flying out late evening on july 4) on the way to an African safari. Trying to decide the best place to travel with my husband and 9 and 12 year old daughters. We are active and adventurous. My oldest is also a foodie. We have thought about taking a train to Grindelwald and staying there for 2 days to enjoy the swiss alps and culture. But that is a 6 hour train ride each way. We have also thought about going to Munich and then checking out the Bavarian Alps near Garmisch. Less travel time but still 4 hours and then some. Any suggestions on pros and cons of each area? Or is there something else exciting near Frankfurt that I am missing?
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Old May 25th, 2016, 02:01 PM
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check out the famous Rhine Gorge with the famous Lorelei cliff just north of Frankfurt and take the K-D boats (about 2.5 hours; www.k-d.com) thru it from Rudesheim/Bingen to Koblenz- stay in a Rhineside town or on the Mosel in fairy-tale Cochem - a great place for families to stay as many Germans and Dutch ones do - games for kids everywhere - large outdoor municipal pool and just the fantasy picture postcard-looking town of your dreams - maybe 1.5 hours at most from Frankfurt:

Base there and do a day trip by train (Cochem has good rail connections to Frankfurt and The Rhine):

https://www.google.com/search?q=coch...HQz9AQ0QsAQIGw

If adults are into wine this is a major wine area and there is a winery to tour right in town.

Or rent bikes and do a short family bike ride along the Mosel, one of Europe's primo biking areas:

https://www.google.com/search?q=mose...He7JCxcQsAQIGw

You can also do a boat ride in season from Cochem on the Mosel to nearby Beilstein- passing vineyard-carpeted slopes just about the whole way.

Check www.ricksteves.com and www.budgeteuropetravel.com and www.seat61.com for lots on German trains and on the Rhine and Mosel areas.
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Old May 26th, 2016, 09:31 AM
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Bavaria is not the essence of Alpine Switzerland that perhaps you have etched in your minds' eyes though the Zugspitze comes close but not a whole lot of glacier-girdled Alps like you would find in the Interlaken area - about the closest such Alpine Wonderland to Frankfurt.

But six hours each way means just two days once there - which can be awesome - go to a place like Grindelwald - get a cozy guesthouse and take toylike trains or thrilling aerial gondolas that go off in all directions - take the Jungfraujoch train to a perpetual area of ice and snow.
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Old May 27th, 2016, 12:42 PM
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any other ideas?
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Old Jun 1st, 2016, 04:08 PM
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thanks for the ideas! now considering Hamburg as friends of friends are there. Looks pretty and we would have locals directing us...but not the swiss alps. Any more insight appreciated
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Old Jun 2nd, 2016, 07:48 AM
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Hamburg is for a big town a real gem- do a day trip to nearby Celle from Hamburg if you have time - a smaller city but a real charmer.
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Old Jun 2nd, 2016, 11:54 AM
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Book your Frankfurt to Hamburg train tickets way early to get deep discounted fares - www.bahn.de/en - the German Railways site - easy to book on that. You can always buy full-fare tickets but you'll pay a lot more so if you know exactly when you want to go and return book them NOW.
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Old Jun 26th, 2016, 09:42 AM
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Decided traveling too far will not be worthwhile for the short time there. Now planning to stay close to frankfurt. with a day trip to heidelberg. maybe another town close too? Probably rent a car?
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Old Jun 26th, 2016, 11:47 AM
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Heidelberg is a bit boring. OK but not that special altogether, and the "castle" is a modern-era palace, not a castle.

PalenQ's first tip is tip-top. Go to the Rhine. It's 1 hour from FRA airport by train to scenic old-world villages with half-timbered houses, clifftop-castles take a tour at Rheinfels in St. Goar and/or Marksburg Castle in Braubach) and other fun stuff - hiking, biking, summer bobsled run (in St. Goarshausen) chairlift rides to lookouts (Ruedesheim and Boppard) and river boat cruises (best is from Bingen to St. Goar.)

All these towns are within several miles of each other and are connected by hourly train service.

I've just checked the recent update for Rhine train travel; weather has upset the normal routine with landslides this week but as of Monday 6/27 the west bank trains (the ones you'd rely on) will be running a regular schedule except for the 5-minute stretch of track between Oberwesel and Bacharach, for which buses will be substituted. So from Bacharach north it's off the train, follow the crowd to the bus outside the station, bus 5 minutes to Oberwesel (fun old-wall walk in this town) and then off the bus and to the track for your train north.

You will have no trouble taking a train from FRA to Bacharach or to Bingen just south of there. Bingen might be a good base for you. Look into the NH Bingen hotel, right on the water and the riverfront walk. You can take a ferry from there to Ruedesheim. You can take the train north to Bacharach from there, or a KD day cruise boat north from there to St. Goar (1.25 hours) or Boppard (2.3 hours) or Braubach (2.8 hours.) From Bingen you could day trip by train to Mainz, with its large pedestrian-only zone, nice churches, mini-old town, and museums. From Bingen it's less than one hour to FRA.

Map of Rhine between Bingen and St. Goar showing towns and castles: http://www.bingen-ruedesheimer.com/i...-valley290.jpg
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Old Jun 26th, 2016, 12:12 PM
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Rhine at high level means no boats I believe but as Fuss, a veritable bible of knowledge on the Rhine Gorge area, trains are largely working to move around if boats do not run (something to do with the docks I believe)- Fuss -any update on Rhine boat travel?
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Old Jun 26th, 2016, 01:24 PM
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I think a 2.5-hour Rhine river cruise would be about 1.5 hours too long for kids that age. We enjoyed most of our 90-minute trip from St. Goarshausen to Bacharach, but even that was getting long toward the end -- maybe in part because we live near a Great Lake so short cruises are pretty common (though nothing can compare with that view!).

I'd vote for Mainz or Wiesbaden over Frankfurt "proper."
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Old Jun 26th, 2016, 01:50 PM
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If you are in the Hamburg area, your children, given their ages may enjoy a visit to

http://www.miniatur-wunderland.com

My husband and I are far from being kids but we thoroughly enjoyed visiting Miniatur World a few years ago when we spent several days in the Hamburg area. A day trip to Lubeck may also be an option but if you have friends in Hamburg, I'm sure they'll have plenty ideas how to spend your time.

Enjoy your travels.
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Old Jun 26th, 2016, 01:59 PM
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Right now the Rhine is high but the only trouble spot where boat traffic has stopped is Karlsruhe, far to the south. It's not clear yet what conditions will be 5-6 days from now.
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Old Jun 26th, 2016, 08:34 PM
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This is what is happening in Frankfurt and surrounding towns this weekend when you will be here:

European Ironman championship coming up this weekend, so expect to see lots of runners and bikers in Frankfurt this week practicing.

* 22 June-1 July Opern Platz Fest, Frankfurt Alte Oper Plaza
* 25 June-8 July Höchster Schloss Fest, Frankfurt Höchst
* 1-4 July Sparkling Wine & Biedermeier Fest, Eltville
* 2 July Rhine in Flames, Rheingau
* 2 July Glauberg Fest, Frankfurt Glauberg Platz
* 2-3 July Medieval Fest, Frankfurt Höchst Castle Moat
* 3 July European Ironman Championship, Frankfurt
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Old Jun 27th, 2016, 09:56 AM
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I think a 2.5-hour Rhine river cruise would be about 1.5 hours too long for kids that age>

after having taken many of these K-D boat rides 2.5 hours is too long for many adults too! 90 minutes is neat but if you study up on the area beforehand a longer cruise could be more interesting.

And you can get on and off at any stop just about and catch a train up and down the river.
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