camelbak

Just booked my DH and my flight from Vancouver to Florence in mid-September, which also involves a 10 hour layover in Frankfurt.

I have been googling and Fodor'ing all night, and can't find anything about catching a "bus tour", or some sort of tour from the Frankfurt airport that would show us the city, etc., for a few hours before returning us back to the airport?

Have to admit I am nervous about exploring a city I don't know, in a country I have never been in, in a language I know not one word! (I mean, exciting, but nervous!!!)

Does anyone know if there are tours that you can book when you arrive at Frankfurt that may take you around and show you the sites, and get you back to the airport, safe and sound, so you don't miss your flight?

I would hate to lose the opportunity to explore the city (or outskirts), but not terribly confident I could handle the German language...trains...etc., on my own.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

blackduff

Camelbak
First, I love the screen-name. I have a camelbak at my garage.

Okay, back to Frankfurt. There's a train from the airport station directly to downtown Frankfurt. Although I used this airport often, I never went to the center of Frankfurt. I used rental cars, so I can't help more than there is a train in the downstairs of the airport.

Instead of the center of Frankfurt, why not head towards Wiessbaden. It's closer, and this is a very small city in comparison. I loved this city and I found this small enough to visit the center.

The alternate method of spending a few hours in the airport, there used to be a "Doctor Mueller's Sex Boutique and Films". But, take sure you don't miss your flight.

Blackduff

MelissaHI

My memory is fuzzy on how to book this, but I once found myself stranded in Frankfurt so we took a 1/2 day bus tour of the city. It was fascinating. I'm pretty sure we booked it through a tourism office in the train station, so if there's something at the airport??? not sure, but I can't imagine why not.

Nina66

I can solve your problem easily and cheaply. Call DH's aunts Ushie and Rosel. In ten hours, they can feed you at least 15 times and introduce you to relatives that you never knew you had! Plus they will pack you an enormous lunch to take on the plane to Florence. You may not have to eat again until you get home.

They'll be in seventh heaven and you will have met some wonderful, loving people.

Nina

W9London

Dear Camelbak,

There are lots of things you can do in 10hrs, and mid-September is really lovely time to be in F'furt.
I've posted how to take local trains from airport in a separate message strings.
Not sure what you would enjoy doing, but historical part of F'furt is quite small and you can stroll easily. If sunny, you should be able to find beer gardens for Oktoberfest. As I've mentioned in the previous separate message, the botanical garden is nice.

camelbak

Thanks everyone for your suggestions. We are looking at maybe visiting Mainze (?).....first time the DH will be in Europe (and only my second), and he wants the full "old building" experience.

Silly question - but do the trains, etc., have English and German? I don't know how much German I could learn in 8 weeks..to go along with the Italian I am learning.

THanks again!

W9London

Ich don't speak much Deutsche either.
No problem navigating the city--all public transport and tourist site infos should be in German/English.
Definitely helps if you can speak a few phrases...

camelbak

Thanks again everyone for your help. I have picked up guidebooks to Germany, and have to admit the Frankfurt section is totally lacking with information! I will try to find the thread about train travel from the airport outbound...but am still nervous about possibly us venturing out on our own. It is the German language that is midboggling...I read the names of cities, monuments, museums, etc., in the guidebooks and really want to panic. Will I be able to understand ANYTHING?

francophile03

Don't they speak English in Frankfurt? No. I'm just thinking they will so you don't need to be fluent in German.

camelbak

Thanks for the tips W9London. I read your thread re: the train into Frankfurt. I also checked out the subway schedule, etc., and it was pretty easy navigating the website to find out times the trains run, etc. Good to know that it is inexpensive also. I guess I will have to find a good guide book that goes into Frankfurt in a bit more detail...and learn some necessary German phrases (though my mind will be filled with necessary Italian phrases too!).

Have you ever been to Mainz? I see some posts on it, and have checked out their local website...it looks wonderful! Wonder if anyone has experienced getting to and from via the train.

Also, can you elaborate on the "codes" for the train ticket machine? Do the trains operate like in Italy (punch the ticket before you get on board?, etc?).

I know, silly questions, and usually I am a "wing it" type of person...but I really wouldn't want to super mess up and find myself not getting to where I want to go, and not getting back in time to catch my flight to Florence (if I was staying in Frankfurt I would definitely just muddle through...but).

Thanks again for the tips. Very appreciated.

amaclise

I am so glad you are considering going to Mainz. It is wonderful. I LOVED it and I am a big Medievalist. It has been restored beautifully. I remember mostly just wandering around popping into whatever building/church looked interesting. Everyone will speak a little English since it is a tourist area. Very manageable outing in the time you have.

camelbak

I have to admit that I wasn't really looking forward to such a long layover in Frankfurt...to be honest Germany isn't the first place in Europe I would explore...but I am NOW looking forward to my time there..though short it may be (thanks to everyone for giving me tips!).

I will definitely try to pick up some German phrases...to get me and DH through.

I would just feel so bad about having such a long layover, and not exploring the city, and Mainz. I know I would regret it if I didn't get out and see even a teensy bit of Germany!

We are flying back through Frankfurt on October 3rd..which I understand is a national holiday. Eek! I have read in guide books that pretty much everything shuts down during that time...is this true? Thank goodness for a short layover for the flight home!

I have heard that there is also a "viewing" area at the Frankfurt airport? Can you see planes take off and land? I love going to our airport (Vancouver International) and watching planes land...goosebumps everytime.

sardog10

Camelbak:

What is the date and times you will be in Frankfurt? I live close to there and could maybe play tour guide for the day if the times worked out with my son's school day. We live just north of Wiesbaden now, and both Mainz and Wiesbaden are great places to spend a day. Oh, and I lived in Vancouver for nine years and my family is in Victoria!

Dukey

You will have absolutely no trouble with the transport system out of the airport even if you don't speak German. And there are folks at the ticket windows and at the information desks at the airport who converse readily, and easily in English if you need help.

I think you'll end up being surprised at how easily this can be done without fluency in the language.

W9London

As for the S-bahn/U-bahn tickets, probably the easiest thing to do is just to get a day pass. You can buy one either at a ticket machine or at a counter at the train station, which is connected to the lower ground fl of F'furt airport. Just follow the sign for trains or S-bahn. That way you get free rides without worrying about whether you have the correct fare or not.

You can also pick up a sightseeing map information centres either at the airport or in the historical part of the city.

Mollie

How about a visit to Heidelberg? It's just 50 miles and 50 minutes from Frankfurt and you can catch the train at the airport (fern bahnhof) and get a round trip ticket for about E22. There seems to be a train every half hour. Heidelberg is a great university town, has a charming old town and very scenic, right on the Nekkar River with a castle on the hill that you can tour. It would be a nice intro to Europe.
No need to worry about the language. The US had hundreds of thousands of troops in Europe from the end of WW II up until the mid-90's all along the former East German border (starting in central Germany) and there are still several thousand still there, plus many Germans study English in school from a young age. You will be leaving from the Frankfurt Flughafen (airport).
Here' the website for the German trains: http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/que...quest=yes&

Mollie

Whoops, that fare was one way, but there may be special fares available for round trip.

annw

I just got back from a trip with an overnight in Mainz and one in Heidelberg. It's hard to compare fairly because there was a huge festival/faire/carnival going on in Mainz at the time (end of June) and it was mobbed so I don't know what it's like on a "normal" day, and I preferred Heidelberg, but the good news is you can't go very wrong with either town.

In Heidelberg I did need to catch a taxi from the train station to the old town area, but once I was there I found it rather easier to navigate than Mainz.

On the other hand, with a good map (get one and study it ahead of time) you can readily navigate Mainz on foot from the train station and back, and the trains were frequent.

Also I speak very little Deutch as well and I managed. What I think would help is going to the Deutchbahn website and familiarizing yourself with the train process, the number of trains, platforms, etc. You will feel better, I think, about scooting over to one of these towns and back given the number of trains and the time it takes.

One thing is to clarify which train station you want--i.e., the regional train station vs. the long distance or international station.

Also Frankfurt airport has extensive info on its website including the layout, where the train stations are, etc.

Wiesbaden sounds like a good idea too but I missed it on this trip and can't comment.

camelbak

Thanks muchly for your responses.....will check out any train station websites....I have not yet taken ANY trains in Europe (somehow, last time in Italy managed to avoid the trains...)...so this is a whole new world for me...platforms, big stations, etc. etc.

xyz99

Camelback,
We’ll have a long layover in Frankfurt (on our way to Croatia) on Sept 2nd – below is the thread on what to do there, maybe it will give you some ideas…
http://fodors.com/forums/threadselec...p;tid=34724288

I’m not sure what we will do, it depends on how tired we’ll be – but Meinz sounds like a good option (and we don’t speak any German, either). Let me know what you decide to do.