sw germany for first timers
 

First time visitors to Europe (excluding Ireland) Sept-Oct 2005. Visiting son in AirForce at Reinmain afb. Please, your suggestions for a nice 10days in Germany. Will have a car, most interest in sightseeing, wine country, things a USAF guy would like to see with his parents. Thanks so much for your help.

I'd do the Mosel river (see Cochem, Trier). I'd do some Rhine river (Bacharach, St. Goar). This is white wine country. WeisWine....trochen bitte!
I'd definitely see Strasbourg (Just over the border, in France).
Maybe Baden-Baden...maybe Meersburg on Lake Constance.
EK

A lad of his age will definitely want to see the two German motor-racing circuits, even if there is no Formula 1 race on.

Nuerburgring is some 40 miles due west of Koblenz, which is itself at the head of the Moselle valley, and a town you will be passing through one way or the other as you visit this and the Rhine valley.

Hockenheimring is near the town of Hockenheim which is just SW of Heidelberg. If you take him here then he can't protest too much at also seeing Worms and Speyer which are in the neighbourhood and both world-famous for their cathedrals. And you are in first-class wine country here, too - the German Wine Route runs right through Speyer.

If your son is indeed a car-freak and you get him this far, then it is worth the extra detour to take him to the Porsche and/or Mercedes-Benz factories down near Stuttgart.

Harzer

.... The Porsche factory is in Zuffenhausen, a suburb just north of Stuttgart just off Highway 27; and Mercedes Benz is in Sindelfingen to the SW off Highway 14.

Harzer

Just so that you won't have any trouble because of misspellings: The airport is called Frankfurt Rhein-Main

Munich - Octoberfest. Might want to tip down to Garmisch and/or Bertchesgaden areas. ((b))

I like the Moseltal and Mittelrhein suggestions and, of course, one can do hot laps in a rental car at der Nurburgring's Nordschleife which is a world class hoot. It's only about 28 km N of Cochem.
M