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Places of interest between Frankfurt and Saarburg

Places of interest between Frankfurt and Saarburg

Old Jan 7th, 2001, 07:35 AM
  #1  
Carole
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Places of interest between Frankfurt and Saarburg

We will be arriving in Frankfurt on May 4 and meeting up with friends in Saarburg on May 9. We are wondering if it would be best to stay in Frankfurt for a couple of nights and take a bus daytrip and then rent a car to make our way to Saarburg. The other thought was to rent a car immediately and tour the area. Any thoughts, and is this a picturesque area that we'll be driving through? Thanks for any info.
 
Old Jan 7th, 2001, 09:01 AM
  #2  
Russ
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It's perhaps one of the most scenic areas on earth! Saarburg itself is quite attractive, with a waterfall right in the middle of its cobbled, half-timbered old town. But the trip northwest along the Rhine, then southwest along the Mosel River, is superb. I've done this particular route by train numerous times, which is great for most of the places you'd want to visit, but a car is probably even better if you want to visit every little place along the way. Along the Rhine,
Bacharach, Oberwesel, St. Goar, Boppard, and Braubach (Marksburg Castle - www.roadstoruins.com/marksburg.htm) are all must-see/must-do places. On the Mosel, don't miss Burg Eltz Castle near Moselkern (www.burg-eltz.de) Cochem, Zell, Traben-Trarbach, Bernkastel, and Trier, Germany's oldest city with many reminders of ancient Rome. I'd get out of Frankfurt as soon as you can -- having seen this region several times, I could still spend 5 days there seeing stuff I missed!

Let me know if you need some good websites or B&B recommendations for planning your trip.
 
Old Jan 8th, 2001, 05:16 AM
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Russ
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Thanks for the info. Sounds like a beautiful area. We would certainly appreciate getting the websites for B&Bs that you mentioned. Thanks again.
 
Old Jan 8th, 2001, 08:37 AM
  #4  
Russ
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Hi, Carole. There is a good deal of information in English at the following website for general planning your visit on the Rhine: www.loreleyvalley.com.

Here's a list of accommodations, with sub pages partially in English, for the Rhine: www.bed-and-breakfast-inns.net/
The names of the inns are listed first, followed by the towns they are in. The best towns for ease of getting around by car or train and for general atmosphere, in my opinion, are St. Goar and Boppard, each of which has a ferry to the east bank of the river (no bridges through the Rhine gorge), a cruise boat dock, and a train station. Boppard has a good town website (in German, but with a clickable intro to the town in English) and a thorough list of hotels, pensions, and Gasthäuser if you can get at it: www.boppard.de. Although it's a pleasant place and central to both the Rhine and Mosel, I would not overnight in Koblenz; its size detracts from the small-town ambience you'll enjoy in the smaller places, you'll find driving and parking (or getting around on foot) there more trying, and it will be more expensive as well.

The Mosel has zillions of little inns and B&B's, but they're a little tougher to find over the net. A very complete list is found at http://tourist.rlp.net/default.html.
Enter the name of the town you wish to visit next to "Ort", then hit "Suchen" (search) and a list will come up. Some places have clickabale photos, some e-mail contacts. Look under "Zimmerarten" for each entry to see what type of accommodation it is (hotel, pension, gasthaus, privatzimmer(private B&B) or Ferienwohnung (vacation apartment.)

I'd recommend staying in Cochem, which is centrally located on the Mosel, very atmospheric, large enough to have a few services, and which has a terrific castle and tour (Reichsburg), good connections (and a bridge) and a good tourist office. Go to www.cochem.de for a picture of the town in winter. I stayed at Haus Hilken, run by recently widowed Frau Hilken, in her very tidy place with several rooms right near the foot of the castle in the cobbled old town center. She served an excellent breakfast!! She doesn't have e-mail and probably can't help you over the phone in English; you can probably book her place and any other place in Cochem by contacting the tourist info office by e-mail at [email protected]. Maybe they can send you some info. in English as well.

Another website that might help with the Mosel is www.mosel-reisefuehrer.de. Click on the English option from the home page for an introduction and tips on using the site. This page has highlights of the region in English: http://www.mosel-reisefuehrer.de/mos...ightsengl.html

Feel free to contact me if you need further help or have questions about the region.

Russ
 
Old Jan 9th, 2001, 04:52 PM
  #5  
Russ
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Thanks so much for the latest info. You certainly know the area! The translation you gave is going to be priceless! We'd be hopelessly lost! Looking forward to planning our trip thanks to you. Regards, Carole
 

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