Daniel

My wife and I are planning on a 9-day trip to Germany in late May/early June. We're thinking about flying into Frankfurt then by train to Rhine valley. Home base in Cochem 2-3 days and explore the Mosel River region, including a visit to Burg Eltz. Backtrack past Frankfurt to Franconia/northern Bavaria for 4-6 days and visit Bamberg, Wurzburg and Rothenburg. Since our trip will entirely rely on public transportation, we wonder should we pick one of these towns as home base and day trips others or are we better off spend two nights each in 2-3 places? How is the transportation connection in the region? Any other nearby towns reachable by train/bus definitely worth of visit? We heard Heildelburg is lovely but even more touristy than Rothenburg. Thanks for time and helps. <BR><BR>

liz

Hi, be sure to visit Trier, which is the capital of Mosel wine country and was the northern gate of the roman empire, and has amazing Roman ruins including baths. There are many wine related activities and the views are terrific, take the cruise up the Mosel to Bernkastel, you will adore it. Instead of visiting Heidelberg, visit Tubingen, one more hour and half south, outside of Stuttgart. It is Germany's second oldest university town and not spoiled. They even have a great museum with worldclass exhibits and many fantastic day trips including Burg Hohenzollern, Lake Constance, Stasbourg (France, just over the border), the Black Forest and others. I studied in both cities (summer in Trier during 1976, the hottest even, and school year 1979 in Tuebingen) and have been back to both many times including this year. Get to know the real Germans and the real Germany! Have fun!

liz

PS to the above.<BR><BR>I would NOT take the train on this trip despite all the good things you have heard, you will have alot more freedom with a car. Going by train is great for students but a hassle for adults with real luggage. For such a short trip why spend half the time in trains. Check into car rental, it probably will be cheaper than all that train travel for two people. If you get a diesel engine the cost of fuel is not all that terrible.

Daniel

Thanks, liz. It'd be nice if we can stay in Tubingen and do day trips to the Alsace region. So the itinerary could be like this:<BR><BR>fly into Frankfurt. <BR>2-3 days Rhine/Mosel.<BR>4 days for Bamberg, Wurzburg and Rothenburg. BTW, which town is ideal for home base in the region?<BR>2-3 days from Tubingen day trips to Colmar and Strasburg.<BR>Fly out of Stuttgart.<BR><BR>Does this sound crazy? We still prefer travel by rail, so any suggestions for the train connections? Thanks again. <BR><BR>

Tom

Train help....go to www.der.com<BR>Work out your schedule from point to point.<BR><BR>Tom

Nancy

Driving a car in Germany is quite safe and easy. Especially the route you are going. I am a 59 year old woman, and I started driving in Germany when I was 51. Buy a good map, don't be afraid to make a mistake and you will find wonderful things in every area you visit. The small hotels in every little town are great and economical, the people are very friendly and renting a car in Germany is the cheapest in Europe. My girlfriend and I are planning a trip for May, and we will be driving in Germany and hopefully<BR>Poland and Czech Republic.(Don't go to these countries unless you have the right rental car and buy the permit when entering the countries.<BR><BR>Also, we did the route you are planning last June and in 1999, all by car.

Bob

I have to agree with some of the other posters that you should rent a car in Frankfurt and drive. That way you can drive right down the bank of the Rhine River and enjoy stopping along the way as you head for the Mosel. Much better way to enjoy this area.<BR><BR>We have stayed at the Alte Thorndecke in Cochem and found that town to be a nice location to explore this area.<BR><BR>I prefer Rothenburg...tourists and all...to Heidelberg, but enjoy both towns. Good place to stay in Rothenburg is the Hotel Markusturm. Great location, great owners and the hotel is pictured on many of the etchings of the city.<BR><BR>Get a car and enjoy the area!

victor

Did the southern germany route last Oct. You can read about our experiences at www.vgpma.com/travel/ If you hve any questions, email me.<BR>

Daniel

Thank you all! <BR>Victor, we love your web site.

Russ

<BR>Daniel:<BR>Your plan as originally outlined will work just fine. I've just returned from a visit to the same regions. We spent 3 nights in Bamberg and 3 in Cochem. Do not fret over using the train in Germany - it is perhaps the most efficient and dependable train system on earth. We travelled in these areas by train and had no problems at all - and we did it all on the cheap daypasses (21 - 28 euros/day for up to 5 people travelling together.) Both regions have great train connections. Of course, you don't want to pack heavy if you're carrying your own luggage to the train platforms, but you shouldn't need much for 9 days - see Rick Steves' packing tips if unsure.<BR><BR>Your trip to Burg Eltz will require a walk of about 1 hour each way from/to Moselkern station - it's a wonderful walk, but if you aren't healthy or in poor physical shape, this might be the only bugaboo in your plans to go by train.<BR><BR>You should know that on May 26, some 70,000 visitors are expected to descend upon the Mosel for "Happy Mosel" Day. I'm serious. The road between Cochem and Schweich will be closed to all auto traffic for a day of bicycle/rollerblade fun (another good reason to take the train.) This is a superb party if the weather is good, with wine and food stands all along the way - be there if you can, and reserve a bike through your hotel if possible. Supplemental trains will be put into service so people can get around.<BR><BR>W&uuml;rzburg makes a good base for your plan - only an hour to Rothenburg by train, about the same to Bamberg. W'burg's station is very close to the town center and hotels.<BR><BR>Cochem is also a good base. You can train to Moselkern, to Bullay (try the hike to Marienburg there, or rent a bike across the river in Alf and ride to Zell and the other towns nearby) to Traben-Trarbach, to Trier, and you can get to Bernkastel with a bus connection. Beilstein is a neat medieval town - the best and most scenic way to get there is by riverboat from Cochem - about an hour's ride. The tourist office in the middle of Cochem can help you with all of this.<BR><BR>Have a great trip. You can e-mail me if you have questions about train travel there or need any further tips. And don't let others scare you into a car - the train is great fun and easy to use. <BR><BR>Russ

Daniel

Russ,<BR>Thanks a lot for your valuable info. We decided to use W&uuml;rzburg as the base for visiting Rothenburg and Bamberg. But we are still thinking about doing the Alsace region - and to do that we may have to make it a 10-11 days trip and fly out of Stuttgart instead of Frankfurt. Anyone out there can offer more tips for the excursions to Colmar/Strasburg? Thanks.<BR>Daniel

Julie

If you're extending into Alsace, stay in one of the little villages on the Alsatian wine road rather than in Colmar or Strasbourg. They are much cuter and homier and easier to get in and out of than the larger towns. They also have excellent accommodations. We stayed in Obernai at the Hotel Le Parc. Both the town and the hotel were terrific.

Daniel

We're finalizing our itinerary. We now plan to first train to Strasbourg from Frankfurt Airport (transfer at Offenburg). Stay in Strasbourg for 3 nights and visit Colmar, Ribeavuville and Riquewihr. Next backtrack to Offenburg for two nights, day trips Freiburg and Genenbach. As we noticed there is no easy train connections between Strasburg/Offenburg and Wurzburg (most trains need transfer in Frankfurt), we will probably drive to Rothenburg/Bamberg or save them for our next year's Salzburg/Vienna/Prague trip. In either case we will do the Mosel River valley and stay in Cochem or Zell for 3 nights before we fly out of Frankfurt. Can anyone recommend affordable hotels (70-90 euros) in Strasburg, Offenburg and Cochem (or Zell)? Thanks.

BTilke

Hi Daniel,<BR>I just got back from my 4th trip to Nuremberg/Franconia over the past year and will be posting a trip report shortly. Is there any reason you're not including Nuremberg? I find it more interesting then Wurzburg. We stayed in a small hotel in a very nice little town outside Nuremberg. Although the building was 700 years old, everything was up to date inside--comfortable beds, cable TV, huge bathrooms--and we paid only 40 euros a night.

Linda

I have to agree about the trains. We've been living just south of Trier for almost two years and do most of our travel by car, but the trains here are great and we often take them just for the entertainment value. We use the web-site www.bahn.de for checking schedules and connections. In the menu on the left of the page is a small line that says Travel Service; check that and it comes up to an English timetable page. If you ant more help with some of the local train offers, let me know. BTW, what was the name of that hotel outside of Nuremburg that was mentioned in the last post?

BTilke

The hotel is Gastehaus "Zum alten Forsthaus" in Kalchreuth (about 8 miles from Nuremberg and 8 miles from Erlangen and about a mile from Heroldsburg). They have a web site, www.landgasthof-meisel.de but I haven't checked it yet. The price also includes the typical hotel breakfast--rolls, fruit, coffee or tea, juice, cheese, ham, yogurt, cereal, eggs.

Daniel

BTilke, I believe Nuremberg is wonderful. It's just that we choose to use Wurzburg as one base. <BR><BR>Thanks to you all, especially to Russ, we are able to finalize the itinerary -<BR>day 1 (Monday)<BR>Arriving Freiburg at noon from the Frankfurt Airport. Half-day tour in Freiburg and overnight stay in Strasburg.<BR>day 2 Tour Strasburg.<BR>day 3<BR>Do Alsace wine road using the local mini-bus tour.<BR>See http://www.tourisme-fleury.fr/<BR>day 4<BR>Half-day trip Gengenbach via Offenburg. Backtrack to Offenburg and head to Wurzburg for 3 nights.<BR>day 5 Day trip Rothenburg d Tauber.<BR>day 6 Day trip Bamberg.<BR>day 7 (Sunday)<BR>Move on to the Rhine River Valley and cruise between St. Goar and Koblenz. Overnight stay in Cochem for 2 nights.<BR>day 8<BR>Relaxing along the Mosel River. Drink tons of Riesling & Gew&uuml;rztraminer.<BR>day 9 Fly home.<BR><BR>Except day 2 & 3 in Alsace we will travel by train while our visits to Rothenburg and Bamberg are both short rail distance from Wurzburg. Should we buy a 4-day twin railpass or simply buy point-to-point? <BR><BR>We might stay at Hotel Rohan in Strasburg and Hotel Regina in Wurzburg. Any suggestions for more reasonable accommodation? <BR><BR>Thanks again.<BR><BR>Daniel

Barker

All good suggestions, Daniel. The area is stunningly beautiful and you really can't go wrong. I hope you enjoy Germany as much as we do!

Harzer

Picking up on what Russ said about the Happy Mosel Day, we happened to be staying in Beilstein on the Mosel when this was on. We hired bikes for the day (DM12 each = 6 euros) and cycled all the way down to Bernkasten and back up the other side of the river. <BR><BR>It was a really wonderful day, the highlight of our trip. We got to see lots of beautiful country, ate, and sipped wine at the little roadside stalls, and did something for our fitness at the same time.<BR><BR>70000 people participating was not an exaggeration.<BR><BR>If you can fit this in to your itinerary you will not be disappointed.<BR><BR>Harzer