Germany Short Stay
 

My husband and I are traveling to Germany and Switzerland for 12 days for business. I need help with the first few days of our trip. We will arrive in Frankfurt around noon on Saturday and will need to be in Hattingen by Monday late morning for work. We really only have half a day Saturday and all day Sunday and need a hotel for two nights. Friends have recommended not staying in Frankfurt but to travel to Cologne instead. Looking for suggestions.

I agree with getting out of Frankfurt, and Cologne does make sense given your time restraints and your final location. I suggest you plug your dates into a hotel search engine such as booking.com, tripadvisor, trivago, etc. to get an idea of what's available in your budget. I'd suggest something near the pedestrian area.

I do think smaller towns exemplify the charm of Germany and hopefully you might have time to explore a couple after your work responsibilities have been completed. Bamberg and Würzburg might be possibilities.

There may be some smaller towns closer to your final destination but I'm not that familiar with that area. Invest in a guidebook or two such as the Michelin green guide.

Enjoy your trip!

Same. Nothing in Frankfurt. Do don't check where Hottinger is but Koeln is indeed nice. I préfère Aachen close to Belgium.

1. Cologne is on the way to Hattingen.
2. There are 3 to 4 ICE highspeed trains every hour connecting the Frankfurt airport to Cologne in 50 minutes. www.bahn.com.

Are you driving afterwards? You can pickup car in Cologne to avoid driving immediately after the flight if you are flying overnight. Of course, your choice of cars are better at the Frankfurt airport. It would take about two hours to drive from the airport to Cologne after you complete the rental process.

"We will arrive in Frankfurt around noon on Saturday"

Saturday as in October 28, right?

"2. There are 3 to 4 ICE highspeed trains every hour connecting the Frankfurt airport to Cologne in 50 minutes."

These direct trains are very fast. But they will part you from €138 (walk-up price) one way. The 13:58 and 14:09 departures currently show an advance-purchase discount fare but the problem is that the cheaper fare is train-specific and you might have to forfeit the ticket entirely since you do not know exactly what time you will be able to board (Flight delay? Security and baggage time?)

I would probably suggest that you head straight to Mainz instead. Mainz is also a Rhine River town, a smaller place than Cologne with plenty to see and do in your time frame, and only 25 minutes from FRA by direct local train (fare = €4.80.)

Mainz sights: https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attracti...alatinate.html

Mainz has a very large tangle of streets that has been given over to pedestrians - it's an especially nice city just for wandering around. See pink streets on this map; DB = train station:

http://www.physik.uni-mainz.de/koepk.../PlanMainz.jpg

http://www.neumainzer.de/wp-content/...ochenmarkt.jpg

http://www.elchontour.de/Foto/Mainz/Mainz37.jpg

Then on Monday morning catch a train north. The 7:17 departure from Mainz puts you in Hattingen at 10:35. The current advance-purchase saver fare is priced at just €59.80 total for two - and since it's Monday now, you'll have no flight delay issues that could compromise your ticket.

The train from Mainz will route you through Cologne too, but unlike the high-speed train from FRA, this one from Mainz will take you along Germany's most scenic route, the Rhine River valley:

https://i2.wp.com/herbert-piel.de/wp...?fit=960%2C641

https://d36tnp772eyphs.cloudfront.ne...y1-940x639.jpg

http://www.bahnbilder.de/1200/der-na...cke-987170.jpg

Yep, smaller is better in this situation and Fuss gives great advice

That what I try to have my wife say.
Smaller is better I mean.