Romantic Stop between Frankfurt and Munich Germany?
 

My wife and I will be flying into Frankfurt, Germany on August 29, 1997. We need to travel from Frankfurt to suburban Munich to see my wife's grandmother. I am considering a rail pass but we will need an automobile to visit relatives. I am considering renting a car in Frankfurt upon arrival.
Since we will be flying in from NYC, I would like to only drive for about an hour. Are there any romantic places to stop for one night outside of Frankfurt toward Munich? I have heard that Frankfurt is an industrial city and it would be better for us to stay in the country.. Maybe we could take a train the first day to some southern destination from Frankfurt and rent the car the next day. I appreciate any help in this matter, since we are not familiar with this part of Germany.

My husband and I just returned on Monday from a trip to Europe. While in Germany, we stayed in a town between Frankfurt and Munich called Rothenburg. It's a medieval walled city and was very romantic. As a matter of fact, it's on what is called the Romantic Road in Germany. You can take a bus all the way from Frankfurt to Munich that stops in this town. You can also get there by train, but it requires a couple of transfers - we went from Rothenburg to Steinach to Wurzburg to Frankfurt. For more details about Rothenburg, check out Rick Steves - he gives all kinds of details including places to stay. The hotel we stayed in was a goat barn/house in the 1200's and we had the most beautiful room - canopied bed, living area, private shower, down comforters, breakfast - all for 80 Deutchmarks per night (about $50 or so). I can't remember the name right off hand, but I can find out - got it out of Rick's book. We also happened to be there on a Wednesday when they have the English Conversation Club and we had a wonderful evening with both local Rothenburgers and other travelers. Good luck and let me know if you'd like more info!

Shawn, We are going to Germany next month for our honeymoon. Since I lived in Frankfurt for 2 1/2 years, we're starting and ending there. We are spending one night at Villa Rheinfels (on the Rhine), four in Frankfurt and three in Munich. I can think of many romantic trips, but the "Romantic Way" beginning at Rothenburg is up at the top of the list. It is on your way, more or less, to Munich, east of Frankfurt. There are some side trips from Munich that come to mind, also, such as Berchtesgaden and Salzberg which is a nice trip. You'll find these places somewhat crowded in summer, but just take your time and it'll be fun. We're renting a car in Frankfurt thru Budget for about $225.00 from 7/21-29th. Trains are easy to get around on, but I don't want to travel on a timetable and with the autobahn, getting from place to place is easy enough. Any travel agent will provide details. Have a real nice time.

Rothenburg is a romantic city that is probably 1.5 to 2 hours drive from Frankfurt. It is a beautiful medievil city with lots of quaint hotels. It is ESE of Frankfurt and is easily accessable from the autobahn. Make sure to get detailed instructions from the car rental place on how to get on the right Autobahn when leaving the airport. The road signs are not like outs, ie they reference cities of destination rather than travel directions like North or West. You have to know what cities to look for to insure you"re on the right autobahn going the right direction. I've seen several people mention Rothenburg on this page so check out their recommendations for hotels. You should find lots of info on Rothenburg in travel books. Good luck.

Lori, I'd sure life more info-will be there Aug 1- arriving in Amsterdam and want to take a train to
Berlin and then pick up a VW camper van and drive it down the Romantik Road. Your Castle sounds gorgeous- Please find the name and where do we find this book? Is he on the web or just in the bookstores? Thanks!!

Shawn, Rothenburg is a good choice for a first stop.
Be aware that it is a mega-tourist stop. You might also want to consider Heidelberg, a very old university town on the Neckar river.(also somewhat
touristy) There is a very large castle with a good part of it still remaining. I would recommend that you rent a car ahead of time in the US. Everything I have read states that is cheaper to rent here. I recommend AutoEurope, I used them last time and things were great and they had a great price. I did not have any problems with the road signs on the autobahn. We picked up maps at gas stations as we went along. For more info try the Rothenburg Web site www.rothenburg.de. You can also go the German Tourist office at www.germany-tourism.de you can take a look at the map of the entire country. Try the Heidelberg web site at www2.Germany.EU.net/shop/Heidelberg.info.cvb/english
Have a great time. Glenn

Lori, we too would be very interested in knowing the name of the hotel you stayed at in /near Rothenburg. We are going to Germany and Austria in mid-September, and are planning to stay at least one night in the Rothenburg area. In planning our trip the most difficult thing seems to be determining where to stay. We generally want to stay outside the cities, and like many others, would like to find some memorable places to stay. Any help you can give us would be much appreciated.