I posted previously asking for recommendations on towns on the outskirts of Franfurt that would make a good home base. Enjoyed researching the options. Have ruled out Marburg as being too hilly for comfortable walking (we are seniors with minor health problems). Aschaffenburg sounds the most appealing. A few questions:
is it fairly flat..for walking? Are taxi's readily available for trips to/from train station or hotel? Hotels to consider (or avoid)? It appears that there would be good train and bus connections into Frankfurt as well as other places we might want to visit on day trips.

The many times I have paaased through (on the train) or by-passed A. on the autobahn, if you had asked me for a town that would fit your needs, A. would never have comne to my mind. yet I think it is perfect for what you are looking for.

It's a nice town in th valley along the Main river; so, the town itself is fairly flat. It has some worthwhile buildings to visit

Not sure about the taxis, but it should be is large enough to support taxis and the RR station is important enough so I'm sure you won't have any troubles getting a cab.

As for outings: To the east by train is Wuerzburg, well worth at least one, if not two day trips. A bit further east by train is Nuernberg. Remember,A is in Bavarai, so most of the places you want to go to east and south of it you can go on the Bayernkarte, a day ticket the two if you costs 14EUR, if you are seniors
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Closer, upriver on the Main is Miltenberg, a delightful old town. I am sure that there are boats and busses going there.

Another place, a bit out of the way, but again on the "tour circuit" is Mespelbrunn, a picturesque castle sitting in a little lake situated in a valley in the Spessart mountains .

I asuggest you check the Aschaffenburg website and wikepedia for more info. and also contact the tourist bureau.

For many years Aschaffenburg was a US Army garrison so you won't have any problems with getting along in English.

Aschaffenburg is twinned with the town I grew up. I spent a fortnight there in 1974- you really wanted to know that, didn't you.

It's flat; and very nice,and I think you'd like it.

English is by no means universal in Aschaffenburg. I have on my study wall a beautiful engraving of the town as it was before we...er reorganised it in 1944, given to me by the local franchisee of a retail chain I once ran.

Although (or maybe because) his sales were the highest of any franchisee, anywhere in the world, neither he nor any of his staff spoke any English. A significant proportion of his business was with local taxi drivers, and there certainly seemed to be enough of them for Barbara to have little difficulty getting around.

RMV, the Rhine-Main regional transport authority, has an excellent English-language website for train and bus links, if you haven't found it yet (www.rmv.de. Press the Union flag for English) Incidentally, the rebuilt town, though fine in parts, isn't a patch on what the engraving implies it must have been like before we flew over.

I just want to second the side trip to Miltenberg as Treplow mentioned. It is one of the most memorable small towns/villages in Germany. Very cozy and intimate to stay/visit. You can stroll through the flat Hauptstrasse (main street) to enjoy the colorful timber(Fachwerk) architecture and the market square which does have a gentle slope(but nothing like the steep slopes in Marburg). You can also stroll along the river which has plenty of park benches and views.

flanneruk - I would like to point out that Aschaffenburg was (and probably still is) home to U.S. Army personnel. My family and I lived there from '76-'79, so it's a good bet that you might be able to use English and not have any difficulty.

>the Bayernkarte, a day ticket [for] the two [of] you costs 14EUR, if you are seniors

Where did you find that? I would love to believe it, since I probably qualify, but I have not seen that in any of the online information. DB, Bayern, and MVV all have information about the Bayern Ticket (€25) and the Bayern Ticket Single (€18), but no one shows a price for seniors.

Larryincolorado: You havew to ask for it at the ticket counter.
(treplow, in COS)

See my posting on the Fodor's thread at
http://tinyurl.com/mrfz2

The hotel Aschaffenburger Hof is a flat two minute walk from the train station. The main shopping street has a gentle slope but you don't need it to get to restaurants, the Schloss, the Main River, and other sites.

Most of the US military left during the Gulf War in 1991 and many bases have been shut down. English was very common when we lived there at that time. It is a pleasant Bavarian city. Frankfurt is circa half an hour by train. This is a wine region with several vineyards just north of the city, for which you will need a car.

A few here have mentioned Aschaffenburg, but if all you want is a home base for travel elsewhere, there is another town just down the river, Kahl am Main. It is also in Bavaria, so a Bayern pass will work equally well from there, but it is closer to Frankfurt, so your RMV travel into Frankfurt will be less.

You can find accommodations in Kahl under "Freizeit and Kulture" > "Hotels", at www.kahl-main.de.

Treplow is right on the ball with his/her suggestions regarding the Spessart.

I lived there for two years (in Marktheidenfeld) and I KNOW.

Harzer

ttt for Joan2