4 days trip near Heidelberg in late June
 

Dear all,
I will be in Heidelberg for 3 nights, in the end of June, but could arrive in Europe 4 nights before. I am travelling with my wife and we both are in our early 30`s. Interests are: good food, nice hotels, beautiful landscapes and relaxing. We would kindly appreciate your help on what to do and what to see in these 4 days before our stay in Heidelberg. We are considering one of the 2 plans:
1. Arrival in Frankfurt, car rental and exploring southwestern Germany
2. Arrival in Berlin, spending 4 days in the city and flying (or train) to Heidelberg

Your opinions will be of great help. Thanks a lot.
gpm

Look into Gengenbach, Freiburg and Staufen -all in the Black Forest and within a couple of hours of Heidelberg.

Right beside of Heidelberg there are two huge Technical museums Sinsheim and Speyer. If you are intrested in old cars, bikes, airplanes: http://www.technik-museum.de/english

Bad Wimpfen is a quick train ride from Heidelberg -- it's beautiful little town filled with half-timbered architecture. There's also the the cathedral at Speyer, too.

If you train to Heidelberg from Berlin, you can stop at Nuremberg and see Bamberg and Rothenburg.

Southwest Germany is lovely, with far fewer foreign visitors than neighboring Bavaria. With a car you could easily explore the beautiful region known as the Schwaebische Alb, a lush green landscape of rolling hills, fields and orchards with distinctive flat-topped mountains (bounded by the Danube and Neckar rivers). If you are interested in castles, some of Germany's best-kept secrets are found here, including the mighty Burg Hohenzollern and Schloss Sigmaringen and tiny Schloss Lichtenstein, as well as the hilltop ruins of Hohenneuffen and Hohenurach. Towns worthy of a visit include Bad Wimpfen, Schwaebisch Hall, and Tuebingen. Near Tuebingen is the well-preserved Bebenhausen monastery. And the small city of Ludwigsburg has its Residenzschloss, considered the Versailles of Germany, with an excellent English tour offered once a day and gorgeous gardens in which to stroll. If you have an interest in cars, Stuttgart boasts the fabulous Mercedes and Porsche museums. I spent more than 2 years here - you could very easily spend 4 days!