Day Trips from Frankfurt: Destinations Picked, now Tips Accepted!
Jun 14th, 2012, 10:02 AM
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Day Trips from Frankfurt: Destinations Picked, now Tips Accepted!
While my husband works in the Frankfurt area for two weeks the end of June/first of July, I am going to go on 10 day trips. Thanks to getting feedback on Fodors, reading guidebooks and internet sites, and keeping in mind my personal interests as well as the fact that in 1988 we visited Germany and that I will want to not repeat, I have chosen my destinations. (I also chickened out of a couple places where public transport connections looked a little complicated, and I don't want to spend more than 2 hours one-way on the train/s.) They are pretty much sure things, but the order in which I do them is flexible, except that most places have things closed on Mondays, and my first Friday might need to be short in case we get to leave town a bit early (headed to Trier and Luxembourg for the weekend).
So what I’d like is specific feedback, NOT on whether to or not to choose to go to these places, but on how to most efficiently see what I can see in 4-6 hours. <b> One really specific question is for each place, if there is a choice, which train station should I go to to be closest to the main sites?</b>
*Two days to see castles on the Rhein—One day train to St. Goarshasen, ferry to St. Goar, see Rheinfels, ferry to Lorch (seeing Loreley from boat), train to Hoechst. The other day tour boat (Bingen Ruedesheimer) from Ruedeshiem to Rheinstein castle and either just back to Ruedesheim or go to Trechtingshausen somehow and see castle there, too, then boat back to Ruedesheim for a bit of a look, then train to Hoechst.
*Buedingen
*Koeln
*Eisenach/Wartburg
*Marburg
*Heidelberg
*Speyer (and MAYBE few hours at Worms just to revisit the Dom if this can be a long day)
*Mainz
*Frankfurt
1.I will be arriving by train. Since I have a RailPass (yes, we have exhausted THAT debate—it IS the best option for me this particular trip—nuff said please) for 8 of the days and will be using local day travel cards or single tickets for Mainz and Frankfurt, my hours of travel are almost completely flexible.
2.I will be leaving from the Hoechst station; I can be there between 7 and 7:30 (or earlier if I get a taxi from the hotel); I’d like to be back most days between 17:30 and 19:00, as I must be back in our Frankfurt-area hotel each night, perhaps in time for dinner with DH.
3.I am female, English lit/ancient history teacher, in 50’s, in fairly good shape for walking. I am most interested in the cathedrals, Roman connections, medieval walls. I will want to take pictures more than shop or have leisurely meals. I speak the same as no German.
Suggestions or tips for getting the most out of my visits to these places? Sure wish I had a month!
So what I’d like is specific feedback, NOT on whether to or not to choose to go to these places, but on how to most efficiently see what I can see in 4-6 hours. <b> One really specific question is for each place, if there is a choice, which train station should I go to to be closest to the main sites?</b>
*Two days to see castles on the Rhein—One day train to St. Goarshasen, ferry to St. Goar, see Rheinfels, ferry to Lorch (seeing Loreley from boat), train to Hoechst. The other day tour boat (Bingen Ruedesheimer) from Ruedeshiem to Rheinstein castle and either just back to Ruedesheim or go to Trechtingshausen somehow and see castle there, too, then boat back to Ruedesheim for a bit of a look, then train to Hoechst.
*Buedingen
*Koeln
*Eisenach/Wartburg
*Marburg
*Heidelberg
*Speyer (and MAYBE few hours at Worms just to revisit the Dom if this can be a long day)
*Mainz
*Frankfurt
1.I will be arriving by train. Since I have a RailPass (yes, we have exhausted THAT debate—it IS the best option for me this particular trip—nuff said please) for 8 of the days and will be using local day travel cards or single tickets for Mainz and Frankfurt, my hours of travel are almost completely flexible.
2.I will be leaving from the Hoechst station; I can be there between 7 and 7:30 (or earlier if I get a taxi from the hotel); I’d like to be back most days between 17:30 and 19:00, as I must be back in our Frankfurt-area hotel each night, perhaps in time for dinner with DH.
3.I am female, English lit/ancient history teacher, in 50’s, in fairly good shape for walking. I am most interested in the cathedrals, Roman connections, medieval walls. I will want to take pictures more than shop or have leisurely meals. I speak the same as no German.
Suggestions or tips for getting the most out of my visits to these places? Sure wish I had a month!
Jun 14th, 2012, 10:30 AM
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Excellent choices!
The biggest problem you will have is lots to see in a short amount of time. Plan some time for the many positive distractions that you won't know about until you're there.
I suggest making a list of the sites that are most important to you in each location and doing them first. So, for example if the castle in Heidelberg is on the top of your list, go there first. Your top choices are likely what many other travelers also want to see. Do them early in the day before it gets crowded, it gets hot or you get tired.
Get a good street map of each location. Since you will be on your feet, spend some time looking at the map and plan your route so you minimize walking the same ground multiple times.
Wear comfortable shoes and plan some time to rest your feet and enjoy an eis, a glass of wine/beer or some kaffee and kuchen.
The biggest problem you will have is lots to see in a short amount of time. Plan some time for the many positive distractions that you won't know about until you're there.
I suggest making a list of the sites that are most important to you in each location and doing them first. So, for example if the castle in Heidelberg is on the top of your list, go there first. Your top choices are likely what many other travelers also want to see. Do them early in the day before it gets crowded, it gets hot or you get tired.
Get a good street map of each location. Since you will be on your feet, spend some time looking at the map and plan your route so you minimize walking the same ground multiple times.
Wear comfortable shoes and plan some time to rest your feet and enjoy an eis, a glass of wine/beer or some kaffee and kuchen.
Jun 14th, 2012, 06:15 PM
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Have a wonderful trip texasbookworm! I will be spending 9 weeks in Stuttgart starting next week and I am so excited. I will work during the week and do some local travel, maybe a little further a couple of times, on the weekends. I just want to absorb the German culture where I am!
Jun 15th, 2012, 04:29 AM
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"I am most interested in the cathedrals, Roman connections, medieval walls."
"*Mainz"
Mainz was heavily damaged in the war but retains a small old town area that's quite nice.
You'll find a Roman Theatre being unearthed at the "Mainz Römisches Theater" (MRT) station there (rear platform.) This station is also closest to the old town area, where you'll find Mainz's impressive Romanesque Dom and adjacent Marktplatz (market square, nice outdoor cafes.) Get there from the MRT station on foot via the Augustinerstraße, and stop in at the Augustinerkirche (church) on the same street.
From Frankfurt-Höchst, there are several ways to get there with one or two changes, including bus connections, but the simplest way is to avoid looking around for bus stops and route yourself via the Wiesbaden Ost or the Frankfurt Hbf (Hbf means main station) stations with the S-Bahn. Mainz is extremely walkable. I doubt that the core area you'd be most interested in necessitates a pass of any sort.
Roman vessels at the Museum of Ancient Shipping, near the MRT station:
http://www2.rgzm.de/Navis/Musea/Mainz/NavismusEngl.htm
Stephanskirche and Chagall windows:
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractio...alatinate.html
A few years ago, construction crews building a parking garage stumbled upon the remains of a Roman temple (Temple of Isis and Mater Magna) in the heart of Mainz's modern pedestrians-only shopping area at the Römerpassage shopping center. (The Kaufhof department store is a tall nearby landmark not far from there; walking there from the Dom/Marktplatz area requires only a few minutes.) You can now view the remains and the artifacts there. This page provides a short slide show.
http://www.roemerpassage.com/isis-heiligtum.php
Speaking of Kaufhof, there's a nice little cafeteria there on the top floor where you can have a coffee and a view of the Dom through large windows.
"*Mainz"
Mainz was heavily damaged in the war but retains a small old town area that's quite nice.
You'll find a Roman Theatre being unearthed at the "Mainz Römisches Theater" (MRT) station there (rear platform.) This station is also closest to the old town area, where you'll find Mainz's impressive Romanesque Dom and adjacent Marktplatz (market square, nice outdoor cafes.) Get there from the MRT station on foot via the Augustinerstraße, and stop in at the Augustinerkirche (church) on the same street.
From Frankfurt-Höchst, there are several ways to get there with one or two changes, including bus connections, but the simplest way is to avoid looking around for bus stops and route yourself via the Wiesbaden Ost or the Frankfurt Hbf (Hbf means main station) stations with the S-Bahn. Mainz is extremely walkable. I doubt that the core area you'd be most interested in necessitates a pass of any sort.
Roman vessels at the Museum of Ancient Shipping, near the MRT station:
http://www2.rgzm.de/Navis/Musea/Mainz/NavismusEngl.htm
Stephanskirche and Chagall windows:
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractio...alatinate.html
A few years ago, construction crews building a parking garage stumbled upon the remains of a Roman temple (Temple of Isis and Mater Magna) in the heart of Mainz's modern pedestrians-only shopping area at the Römerpassage shopping center. (The Kaufhof department store is a tall nearby landmark not far from there; walking there from the Dom/Marktplatz area requires only a few minutes.) You can now view the remains and the artifacts there. This page provides a short slide show.
http://www.roemerpassage.com/isis-heiligtum.php
Speaking of Kaufhof, there's a nice little cafeteria there on the top floor where you can have a coffee and a view of the Dom through large windows.
Jun 15th, 2012, 04:56 AM
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"*Two days to see castles on the Rhein—One day train to St. Goarshasen, ferry to St. Goar, see Rheinfels, ferry to Lorch (seeing Loreley from boat), train to Hoechst. The other day tour boat (Bingen Ruedesheimer) from Ruedeshiem to Rheinstein castle and either just back to Ruedesheim or go to Trechtingshausen somehow and see castle there, too, then boat back to Ruedesheim for a bit of a look, then train to Hoechst."
It does seem like your interests should take you to the old-world towns of Oberwesel and Bacharach which you're bypassing between St. Goar and Rheinstein castle, where you'll find some nice aged structures. Oberwesel bills itself as the "city of towers and wine." Both towns are ripe for photography. I'd suggest a short walk from Oberwesel into the elevated Ölsberg vineyard area to the north too. Beautiful river scenery there. The Günderodehaus there was the setting for a well-known historical TV series called "Heimat"; you can now get a light meal and refreshments there (something I haven't tried yet) to reward your walk up; the reviews aren't that great (pricey?) but the setting gets high marks:
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/p...m/46187668.jpg
Map of Oberwesel showing (dotted) footpath to Ölsberg:
http://www.mittelrhein-weinfuehrer.d...esel_Lagen.gif
I don't think there's a ferry from St. Goar to Lorch. The ferry connects Lorch to Niederheimbach.
You can walk between Rheinstein Castle and Trechtingshausen via a woodland trail that begins behind the castle. A bit steep there just behind the castle, as I recall.
It does seem like your interests should take you to the old-world towns of Oberwesel and Bacharach which you're bypassing between St. Goar and Rheinstein castle, where you'll find some nice aged structures. Oberwesel bills itself as the "city of towers and wine." Both towns are ripe for photography. I'd suggest a short walk from Oberwesel into the elevated Ölsberg vineyard area to the north too. Beautiful river scenery there. The Günderodehaus there was the setting for a well-known historical TV series called "Heimat"; you can now get a light meal and refreshments there (something I haven't tried yet) to reward your walk up; the reviews aren't that great (pricey?) but the setting gets high marks:
http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/p...m/46187668.jpg
Map of Oberwesel showing (dotted) footpath to Ölsberg:
http://www.mittelrhein-weinfuehrer.d...esel_Lagen.gif
I don't think there's a ferry from St. Goar to Lorch. The ferry connects Lorch to Niederheimbach.
You can walk between Rheinstein Castle and Trechtingshausen via a woodland trail that begins behind the castle. A bit steep there just behind the castle, as I recall.
Jun 15th, 2012, 05:53 AM
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Thanks Russ--
I think I used the wrong word--not ferry, but KD Boat? I have a KD Rhine timetable April 27-Oct. 3 2012 schedule which shows a daily boat with stops at St. Goar-Oberwesel-Kaub-Bacharach-Lorch.
Is there something about this schedule that I'm mis-reading? Entirely possible as I'm really inexperienced with public transport of all sorts (well, I do feel I've conquered the Tube!). (Plus the KD line will be covered by my RailPass so no more money, although I know the ferries are pretty cheap for a passenger so not a big factor.)
I knew there was a ferry between Lorch and Niederheimbach, but I thought the KD line boat might let me have a short Rhine cruise--not really interested in spending a long leisurely time! I did consider stopping in Oberwesel. I have played around with train/ferry/KD Line connections until my head spins. One of my constraints is trying to be back in Hoechst by 6 or 7 pm. If DH was with me, we'd have more time and flexibility of course.
I haven't ruled out that walk to Trechtingshausen completely, either.
And thanks for Mainz info!
I think I used the wrong word--not ferry, but KD Boat? I have a KD Rhine timetable April 27-Oct. 3 2012 schedule which shows a daily boat with stops at St. Goar-Oberwesel-Kaub-Bacharach-Lorch.
Is there something about this schedule that I'm mis-reading? Entirely possible as I'm really inexperienced with public transport of all sorts (well, I do feel I've conquered the Tube!). (Plus the KD line will be covered by my RailPass so no more money, although I know the ferries are pretty cheap for a passenger so not a big factor.)
I knew there was a ferry between Lorch and Niederheimbach, but I thought the KD line boat might let me have a short Rhine cruise--not really interested in spending a long leisurely time! I did consider stopping in Oberwesel. I have played around with train/ferry/KD Line connections until my head spins. One of my constraints is trying to be back in Hoechst by 6 or 7 pm. If DH was with me, we'd have more time and flexibility of course.
I haven't ruled out that walk to Trechtingshausen completely, either.
And thanks for Mainz info!
Jun 15th, 2012, 12:06 PM
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"I think I used the wrong word--not ferry, but KD Boat? I have a KD Rhine timetable April 27-Oct. 3 2012 schedule which shows a daily boat with stops at St. Goar-Oberwesel-Kaub-Bacharach-Lorch.
Is there something about this schedule that I'm mis-reading?"
No, I thought you really meant "ferry" since you used it for St. G'hausen - St. Goar, and "boat" for the other trips. It takes close to 1.5 hours to travel St. Goar to Lorch by cruise boat; I probably wouldn't invest the time that way, if time is so tight, since the train from St. Goar to Niederheimbach, opposite Lorch, requires only 13 minutes to cover the same part of the river. You'd have time to spend an hour in Oberwesel or maybe Bacharach, and you could still spot the Loreley, just from the opposite river bank instead of the middle of the river. Then crossover from N'heimbach to Lorch.
Or if Lorch isn't really a destination, just a dock for you, you could take the train south from St. Goar to Oberwesel (5 min.), look around for an hour, and use the ferry there to reach Kaub - another quite attractive town - and catch a train back "home" from there.
Is there something about this schedule that I'm mis-reading?"
No, I thought you really meant "ferry" since you used it for St. G'hausen - St. Goar, and "boat" for the other trips. It takes close to 1.5 hours to travel St. Goar to Lorch by cruise boat; I probably wouldn't invest the time that way, if time is so tight, since the train from St. Goar to Niederheimbach, opposite Lorch, requires only 13 minutes to cover the same part of the river. You'd have time to spend an hour in Oberwesel or maybe Bacharach, and you could still spot the Loreley, just from the opposite river bank instead of the middle of the river. Then crossover from N'heimbach to Lorch.
Or if Lorch isn't really a destination, just a dock for you, you could take the train south from St. Goar to Oberwesel (5 min.), look around for an hour, and use the ferry there to reach Kaub - another quite attractive town - and catch a train back "home" from there.
Jun 15th, 2012, 12:37 PM
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Again, thanks, Russ. There are so many permutations for that trip! I think your suggestion is the one I was going with at first; don't remember what made me change my mind; I'll review the connections.
(IS there a ferry from Oberwesel? Never spotted that one.)
(IS there a ferry from Oberwesel? Never spotted that one.)
Jun 15th, 2012, 12:49 PM
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Oberwesel-Kaub ferries run until 8 pm:
http://www.faehre-kaub.de/page1.html
The little castle on the island in the photo above is Kaub's Pfalzgrafenstein. The ferry goes there between 10 am and 5 pm in summer. Tours are possible (I've never done one though.)
http://www.loreley-info.com/eng/rhei...rafenstein.php
http://www.faehre-kaub.de/page1.html
The little castle on the island in the photo above is Kaub's Pfalzgrafenstein. The ferry goes there between 10 am and 5 pm in summer. Tours are possible (I've never done one though.)
http://www.loreley-info.com/eng/rhei...rafenstein.php
Jun 15th, 2012, 04:11 PM
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Great tips from Russ, especially Mainz. The Römerpassage is an interesting one. At the time the ruins were unearthed, the company building the shopping centre was just going to quietly bury them again so as to be able to complete their plans. I think that actually does happen in Europe quite a lot, or did in the past. I remember in front of the Palais de Justice in Brussels in the late 90s they unearthed part of a Roman road underneath the modern road while doing roadworks, and I think that just got covered up again (there are layers and layers of cities in Europe). Well, in Mainz, being a student town there was an outcry against the company and the city authorities from the student body, and they were so successful they managed to get the company to incorporate the ruins into its design. Now it's a drawcard. Hard to believe the city was just going to let it all be buried again, but lucky the protests worked.
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