We (husband and self) are hoping to fly to Frankfurt, Germany in late October and travel to Worms where our daughter will be working for the week. We hope to launch into side trips from there. Need information as to possible day trips and train transportation--believe there is a nearby town that has good train connections and she would be able to drop us off in the morning before she heads to the office. We have never been to Germany but have been to France, Austria, Belgium.

Two musts, Heidelberg and Speyer. Heidelberg is a beautiful, university city with a great old town. It has a wonderful old castle to tour and a tram to a hilltop overlooking the city with a great view. Speyer is kind of overlooked, but the Romanesque cathedral is one of my favorites. It also has a fine museum with aircraft and a U-boat in a drydock you can tour. Shouldn't be a problem to get a train to either location. I would also make it a point to get to Bingen and take a Rhine cruise. You'll have several options for a cruise; day/night, short/overnight, dinner or no food. I would suggest stopping in one of the towns along the way such as Bacharach, get out, walk the town, and get back on the boat at your leisure. If you go somewhere by car, I'd suggest seeing Berg/Castle Eltz. One of the best castles in Europe and it feels like the most authentic when you tour. Have a great time.

In addition to what has already been mentioned, Mainz is another fine town with a grand cathedral, Roman ruins and Chagall stained glass windows at Stephanskirche.

We liked St Goar on the Rhine with the Rheinfels castle ruins.

Check train schedules at Die Bahn:

http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.exe/en

Prices are a bit trickier in this area as there are so many local train networks with discount tickets. Their discounted prices do not show on the Die Bahn website. You can sort that out there at a ticket counter. Tripadvisor Forum for Germany has a local train expert that can also help once you have specific questions.

Regards, Gary

Thank you for suggestions--daughter and son-in-law (separately since she arrived for work a week before he came for vacation) made the trip to Heidelberg and sent pictures--so that was on our list. Head to Book Store today to get guide. Danke.

Some less known options to check out:

Ladenburg. A small town with a well-preserved old town, much better preserved than Heidelberg in fact. Ancient Roman origins, authentic medieval and early modern architecture, very atmospheric.
http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/f86bd/aa6e/

Schwetzingen palace and park:
http://www.schloss-schwetzingen.de/e...me/268239.html
http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/f86bd/4bcc/

The German Wine Road at the foot of the Palatinate hills with all its romantic wine villages (and lots of excellent wines to taste).

Trifels castle above Annweiler: http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/f86bd/131ba/

The forests of the Palatinate Hills are great for hiking, visiting castle ruins and enjoying views. In late October you will still find beautiful autumn foliage.

For shopping and museum visits (good rainy day option!), Mannheim with the Palace Museum and the Reiss-Engelhorn-Museen

For a taste of France, Wissembourg, just beyond the German-French border at the northernmost tip of Alsace
: http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/f86bd/13f89/

(Those virtualtourist links take you to my own travel pages over on VT where you'll see why I am recommending these places.)

Have looked at the "Virtual tours" and love the small towns--Thanks for input