111op

Hi, this question come up periodically. I'm trying to figure out what my own options are on a Sunday morning. Can people help to see if there's something I can squeeze in? I've been to these places already:

Heidelberg
Wiesbaden
Ruedesheim/Rhine
Cologne and Bonn

I'm thinking of Baden-Baden for another trip.

I've been in Frankfurt itself for a couple of hours. I've walked around the Cathedral, been to Schirn and Staedel (very briefly). I know there's a sculpture museum, but I've not been to it.

I know Mainz comes up here. Also Trier, but I've not checked how close it actually is.

Are there some other famous tourist attractions I've missed that are worth visiting and putting on a list?

I can spare just a few hours because I need to be in Karlsruhe that day also.

Feel free to make suggestions that I can't fit that day either. I'll save them for future reference. I need to use public transportation.

traveller1959

What about Kloster Eberbach?

Interesting old monastery - the "Name of the Rose" was filmed here - and famous winery (Riesling).

45min from Frankfurt.

http://www.kloster-eberbach.de/html_english/index.html

Vttraveler

As you noted, Mainz is an easy place to visit. That is my recommendation. Romanesque cathedral, pleasant Altstadt, Gutenberg museum, Stephanskirche with stained glass windows by Chagall, etc

111op

Thanks. Is Kloster Eberbach accessible by public transportation? The website suggests so, but it doesn't seem to give all the details.

I'll look into Mainz more also.

Do people know about the cathedrals in this area? Frommer's lists four great cathedrals in Germany -- Cologne, Aachen and one in Speyer and one in Worms.

http://www.frommers.com/destinations...224020810.html

The latter two are in this area. Are these worth visiting?

Thanks again!

altamiro

I have only seen the cathedral in Worms from outside so can't comment. The cathedral in Speyer, along with the crypt (where many emperors of the Holy Roman Empire lay buried), a very interesting histrical museum across teh cathedral, and generally the old town are definitely high on the list of recommendations. It is also not a big detour on the way to Karlsruhe, by train or by car.

bettyk

Speyer is definitely worth a visit. We stopped there a couple of years ago on our way to the Black Forest. Wished we had more time to wander around, but the Cathedral alone is worth a stop.

Vttraveler

My husband and I are very interested in seeing the Gothic and Romanesque cathedrals of Europe. If you have an interest in architecture, both Worms and Speyer are well worth visiting. Mainz would be the easiest from Frankfurt, though. Worms has the oldest Jewish synagogue in Germany. Speyer has a wine museum. Can't go wrong with any of the three Imperial cities IMO

Cologne's Gothic cathedral is also impressive, but the city also has some spectacular Romanesque churches. This would presumably be for another trip or another part of this trip since it is in the wrong direction for Karlsruhe.

traveller1959

Mainz has a church with Chagall windows. They are spectacular:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Stephan_Mainz

To reach Kloster Eberbach by public transport, you take the train from Frankfurt to Wiesbaden (e.g. S8), change to the train (RB 10) heading to Koblenz to Eltville. From Eltville you can take a bus or (better) a taxi (from there it is just a kilometer or so).

Vttraveler

If you miss seeing Kloster Eberbach near Frankfurt, there is another large, well-preserved Cistercian abbey near karlsruhe, Kloster Maulbronn

And for cathedrals I would add Ulm to the ones mentioned in your Frommer's link. Highest spire in the world. Beautiful carved choir stalls.

111op

Thanks everyone.

I never hear about the monasteries in Germany, but I've heard of the ones in France for some reason.

I need to do some research about what's accessible by public transportation. Is Maulbronn accessible by public transportation? It looks like it's about 30 km from Karlsruhe.

I checked the Unesco list for Germany also:

http://whc.unesco.org/en/statesparties/de

Maulbronn is on this.

Interestingly, Speyer Cathedral is on it, but not Worms or Mainz. Wonder why that is? It looks like Speyer Cathedral was actually largely rebuilt. Obviously Ulm is too far away for this trip.

As I mentioned, I've been to Cologne already, so I don't have plans to revisit on this trip.

altamiro

>Is Maulbronn accessible by public transportation?

Only on weekends, AFAIK. There is a stop Maulbronn West on the mainline between Heidelberg and Stuttgart, and on weekends there are shuttle trains on the branch between Maulbronn West and Maulbronn proper.
Otherwise a taxi from Maulbronn West shouldn't be too expensive.

111op

Thanks. Currently this is for a Sunday in February. I'll look up these suggestions in Michelin to see what they have to say too.

By the way, Wurzburg hasn't yet been suggested, but I was there in April.

111op

Hi, I'm bringing this to the top just in case I missed something.

I did a fair amout of research, and for one reason or another, nothing has really panned out.

First because this is on a Sunday, it seems like cathedrals don't open until 1 pm or so. So I've to rule Speyer out. Also while it seems close on a map to Karlsruhe, it's quite a detour. It take one hour to get there and another 90 minutes for Frankfurt.

I even considered going to Aachen though it's way out of the way. But again the cathedral isn't open until the afternoon.

Maulbronn is also not convenient to get to -- at least based on what I can find from Deutsche Bahn.

Mainz is a possibility, but I suspect I'll run into a similar problem with the cathedral. The Gutenberg Museum is also closed that weekend (it's Carnival). I wasn't too keen in the first place, but I think it's best saved for another visit.

In a way, I'm sort of regretting that I scheduled this detour. I probably should have flown from Berlin to London instead. I wanted to head in the direction of Frankfurt to see the Gruenewald exhibition in Karlsruhe. I've booked the Frankfurt to London flight together with my transatlantic flights, so I can't change that anymore.

I think that I'll stick to Karlsruhe and visit the museums in Frankfurt. But if there's something I've missed, please let me know. Thanks again!

traveller1959

Let's go more precisely:

When do you want to leave Frankfurt and when do want to arrive at Karlsruhe?

(Heidelberg is on the way.)
(The train from Frankfurt to Speyer takes 1:30, from Speyer to Karlsruhe 0:58)

Regarding churches: On Sunday morning, there will be services (usually at 10). This means, they are open. However, you are somewhat restricted with running around during services. But you may sit down on a bench and look around.

111op

Ok, here's the deal. My flight to London from Frankfurt leaves at 5:40 pm.

I'm flying into Berlin the day before, a Saturday.

The question is what I should do on Sunday. When I checked I could fly to Frankfurt from Berlin and arrive at 7:10 am pretty cheaply ($65).

But now I'm questioning whether there's any point in arriving so early if I can't find something else to fill up my time. So maybe I can save some money and take the 5:30 am train instead. It was 39 euros when I checked and gets into Karlsruhe around 11 am.

I was in Heidelberg in April for a few hours. While I liked it I don't plan to go again soon. I mean, it's a been-there-done-that sort of attraction for me.

The problem with Speyer is that it's a good 1.5 hours detour for me. It's not that I've not done similar things before -- I'm one of these people who spend more time getting to a place and away than at the place itself. But I'm questioning whether Speyer really deserves that kind of detour -- especially if I'm restricted by the services.

111op

Just adding to this thread -- maybe for my future reference....

I still haven't made up my mind yet. Today I investigated Stuttgart. There're some buildings by Le Corbusier that seem worth visiting to me. There's a request to add them on the Unesco World Heritage list.

Stuttgart is one hour away from Frankfurt also.

I went to Friedrichsbad in Baden Baden on Sunday. There're other things to do in Baden Baden, but I did get a taste there.