Xmas gift of a weekend getaway from Baumholder Germany to ?
Nov 1st, 2010, 08:45 AM
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Xmas gift of a weekend getaway from Baumholder Germany to ?
Background:
I have a young relative (20 y/o) in Baumholder Germany (she has been there 1 year now) that I would like to give a "weekend getaway" package as a Christmas gift. Her husband is stationed there but is often deployed leaving her there alone. They have a car but don't get out much (and never more than 30 minutes drive away from their little town) but she has said she would love to see more of Europe while she is there. They don't have much money at all and certainly could not afford to do this otherwise (he's 1st year enlisted).
Plan:
They will be returning to the US for a short visit in December and I will see them for Christmas. She has mentioned that she would love to see Paris but I am open to other ideas as long as they are no further away from Baumholder than 5 hours.
How does one go about this? Do I get train tickets in their names ? (is there even a train station in Baumholder?). Prepay for a hotel for two nights? Gift certificate for a nice restaurant? Prepaid admission to certain sites? I want to give the whole thing as a "package" as they both have never really traveled (other than getting stationed in Germany), are from a VERY small town, and would be unable to plan and execute such a trip on her own (including driving into a large city).
Location Ideas:
Paris is the one place she has mentioned in particular - about 4-1/2 hours away.
Other ideas equally distant are Amsterdam or Munich.
Or some place close by they could possibly even drive to (I would need to include a GPS as part of the gift) - Nancy? Stuttgart? Frankfurt? Strasbourg?
But mostly the logistics. Budget is not a concern for me, I just want it to be something they can enjoy without any stresses and don't have to think about too much about.
<b>All ideas on any of this greatly appreciated</b> - particularly on how to execute this. I would like to present this to her as a package when they come visit the US. The "package" would include documents for all transportation, lodging, a meal and/or admission as well a guide book and city map. Is this possible? The clock is ticking...
I have a young relative (20 y/o) in Baumholder Germany (she has been there 1 year now) that I would like to give a "weekend getaway" package as a Christmas gift. Her husband is stationed there but is often deployed leaving her there alone. They have a car but don't get out much (and never more than 30 minutes drive away from their little town) but she has said she would love to see more of Europe while she is there. They don't have much money at all and certainly could not afford to do this otherwise (he's 1st year enlisted).
Plan:
They will be returning to the US for a short visit in December and I will see them for Christmas. She has mentioned that she would love to see Paris but I am open to other ideas as long as they are no further away from Baumholder than 5 hours.
How does one go about this? Do I get train tickets in their names ? (is there even a train station in Baumholder?). Prepay for a hotel for two nights? Gift certificate for a nice restaurant? Prepaid admission to certain sites? I want to give the whole thing as a "package" as they both have never really traveled (other than getting stationed in Germany), are from a VERY small town, and would be unable to plan and execute such a trip on her own (including driving into a large city).
Location Ideas:
Paris is the one place she has mentioned in particular - about 4-1/2 hours away.
Other ideas equally distant are Amsterdam or Munich.
Or some place close by they could possibly even drive to (I would need to include a GPS as part of the gift) - Nancy? Stuttgart? Frankfurt? Strasbourg?
But mostly the logistics. Budget is not a concern for me, I just want it to be something they can enjoy without any stresses and don't have to think about too much about.
<b>All ideas on any of this greatly appreciated</b> - particularly on how to execute this. I would like to present this to her as a package when they come visit the US. The "package" would include documents for all transportation, lodging, a meal and/or admission as well a guide book and city map. Is this possible? The clock is ticking...
Nov 1st, 2010, 10:02 AM
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There formerly were package tours available to Military Personnel through the PX/BX system. I went on one such tour to Paris. It was a bus tour originating in Kaiserslautern, not that far from Baumholder.
My Aunt visited me and took a PX tour along the Rhine River.
It might spoil the surprise but you could ask your relative if such tours still exist. The advantage and disadvantage is that they would be traveling with other military personnel, making it more comfortable and less of an escape.
Regards, Gary
My Aunt visited me and took a PX tour along the Rhine River.
It might spoil the surprise but you could ask your relative if such tours still exist. The advantage and disadvantage is that they would be traveling with other military personnel, making it more comfortable and less of an escape.
Regards, Gary
Nov 1st, 2010, 10:14 AM
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No need to spoil the surprise. The tours Gary describes are given through the USO. Some depart directly from Baumholder. Go to
http://affiliates.uso.org/kaiserslau...?contentid=592
to get contact information for the main Germany USO travel office. You may even be able to get a "gift certificate" that your relative can redeem for a time and place of her preference.
As Gary mentions this isn't a "Fodor's-style" trip, but it makes planning and paying very easy for you since one price usually includes everything except some meals and possibly some side excursions, depending on the trip.
http://affiliates.uso.org/kaiserslau...?contentid=592
to get contact information for the main Germany USO travel office. You may even be able to get a "gift certificate" that your relative can redeem for a time and place of her preference.
As Gary mentions this isn't a "Fodor's-style" trip, but it makes planning and paying very easy for you since one price usually includes everything except some meals and possibly some side excursions, depending on the trip.
Nov 1st, 2010, 11:31 AM
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The Baumholder base website does suggest contacting SATO Travel for all your leisure travel needs.
Or, what about a fabulous trip to Mainz?
I think the nearest train station to Baumholder is Tuerkismuehle (25 minutes away), or they could go to Santk Wendel (35 minutes, a larger town). (This is very easy driving in a rural area).
From either of these towns it is possible to take a train directly to Mainz (about 1 train per hour, no connections). There are decent hotels across the plaza from the train station (or nicer ones in town few blocks away), and they could have a nice weekend in a lovely small city.
So you could provide: the reservation with Taxi service(or whatever), train tickets, and hotel reservation in Mainz, plus maybe a dinner or two, perhaps recommended by the hotel. Mainz has a very pleasant pedestrian area to walk around in, the Gutenberg Museum, some nice cathedrals, and river views.
That same train line could take them further to Frankfurt or Koeln, where they could change trains for Paris. But maybe they shouldn't try a long train trip with changes trains until they've taken a shorter trip first?
Or, what about a fabulous trip to Mainz?
I think the nearest train station to Baumholder is Tuerkismuehle (25 minutes away), or they could go to Santk Wendel (35 minutes, a larger town). (This is very easy driving in a rural area).
From either of these towns it is possible to take a train directly to Mainz (about 1 train per hour, no connections). There are decent hotels across the plaza from the train station (or nicer ones in town few blocks away), and they could have a nice weekend in a lovely small city.
So you could provide: the reservation with Taxi service(or whatever), train tickets, and hotel reservation in Mainz, plus maybe a dinner or two, perhaps recommended by the hotel. Mainz has a very pleasant pedestrian area to walk around in, the Gutenberg Museum, some nice cathedrals, and river views.
That same train line could take them further to Frankfurt or Koeln, where they could change trains for Paris. But maybe they shouldn't try a long train trip with changes trains until they've taken a shorter trip first?
Nov 1st, 2010, 03:48 PM
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My husband and I visited his daughter, son-in-law, and the grandchildren when he was stationed in Baumholder in the mid-90s. She drove us to a train station not very far away to get a train to Paris. We did have to change trains somewhere, but it wasn't in a big city and it was quite easy.
That is a lovely idea for a gift to your young relative. We stayed with our kids a couple of weeks and sprung for gasoline and hotel rooms for a weekend in Switzerland and overnight in Innsbruck. Our daughter liked it so well that she went with a group of the wives to Prague and to Venice. They were stationed there for three years.
That is a lovely idea for a gift to your young relative. We stayed with our kids a couple of weeks and sprung for gasoline and hotel rooms for a weekend in Switzerland and overnight in Innsbruck. Our daughter liked it so well that she went with a group of the wives to Prague and to Venice. They were stationed there for three years.
Nov 2nd, 2010, 01:01 PM
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One option closer to home would be to give them a couple nights at the Hotel auf Schoenburg in Oberwesel on the Rhine River. (www.hotel-schoenburg.com)
This is a fabulous castle hotel that gets consistent rave reviews and has a nice restaurant on-site. They could live like medieval royalty for a couple of days and enjoy the fantastic scenery of the Rhine River, tour a few castles, and maybe go wine tasting. I think the hotel staff could certainly assist you in coordinating a river tour or other special activity for the couple as part of their getaway - they might even have some packages listed on their website.
Personally I think this would be something very special for a young military couple who could otherwise never afford it...but whether it would fit with their interests is something you would have to consider.
This is a fabulous castle hotel that gets consistent rave reviews and has a nice restaurant on-site. They could live like medieval royalty for a couple of days and enjoy the fantastic scenery of the Rhine River, tour a few castles, and maybe go wine tasting. I think the hotel staff could certainly assist you in coordinating a river tour or other special activity for the couple as part of their getaway - they might even have some packages listed on their website.
Personally I think this would be something very special for a young military couple who could otherwise never afford it...but whether it would fit with their interests is something you would have to consider.
Nov 2nd, 2010, 01:12 PM
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OK, my two pennyworth. Lucky relative firstly.
Amsterdam may be more manageable for them if they are not used to cities. And most people speak English. Easy train ride which you can book in their names, as long as you know the names in their passports. You could also book a hotel and tickets for various museums online. It is a year round destination.
For a car trip what about visiting the Mosel if you want to keep them closer to "home". A Fodor favourite, quite rightly, is Hotel Haus Lipmann. Friendly owners, who speak English, and good food, plus the Mosel to explore by car, train boat or bike.
http://www.hotel-haus-lipmann.com/
However they are closed until 25th April 2011.
Strasbourg is another lovely, manageable city, where they can get by with English.
Hopefully if they go on a trip you organise it will inspire them to explore a bit more on their own, once they realise it isn't so scary.
Amsterdam may be more manageable for them if they are not used to cities. And most people speak English. Easy train ride which you can book in their names, as long as you know the names in their passports. You could also book a hotel and tickets for various museums online. It is a year round destination.
For a car trip what about visiting the Mosel if you want to keep them closer to "home". A Fodor favourite, quite rightly, is Hotel Haus Lipmann. Friendly owners, who speak English, and good food, plus the Mosel to explore by car, train boat or bike.
http://www.hotel-haus-lipmann.com/
However they are closed until 25th April 2011.
Strasbourg is another lovely, manageable city, where they can get by with English.
Hopefully if they go on a trip you organise it will inspire them to explore a bit more on their own, once they realise it isn't so scary.
Nov 3rd, 2010, 08:09 AM
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Another vote for the option of a brief stay at auf Schönburg on the Rhine. It's only 62 miles from Baumholder. They could drive there in their own car; you could give them an equivalent dollar cost for gasoline. If they did a bit more driving in the Middle Rhine area to see the castles, etc. you could figure roughly $75 for gas.
They would not have the stress of train schedules, schlepping luggage and trying to 'discover' a big city in just a couple of days time.
Auf Schönburg is a lovely castle and not pretentious. It is simple to book a reservation directly with them with no need to go through a booking broker. We have done this many times without ever having a problem. You could make the arrangement yourself and simply presenting your relatives with the return Email confirmation of the prepaid reservation.
Auf Schönburg has a very nice restaurant and they offer special Reisling dinners, which can be prebooked also. These include a tour of nearby vinyards, a small local winery and sampling. You can read about these on their web site http://www.hotel-schoenburg.com/ If you decided to book a room there I might suggest Room #38 the 'Wächter häuschen' or 'Guard's Lodge'. It's a totally isolated little building and 100% private just near the main portal to the castle. It's actually a mini suite with a small library, stereo system, CD's, modern bathroom, etc. When we arrived there last year there was a fruit basket in the room as well as a plate of cookies and a small decanter of sherry. We paid €178 at that time for that room.
You could include in your reservation/voucher the special Reisling wine tour and dinner for a special treat (see the web site for details). This is not a touristy or otherwise pretentious option. It's a great experience and your guests would not be obliged to be overly dressed for the occassion.
Barbara Hüttl, the proprietress, and her staff are fluent and most gracious and accommodating. Be aware that auf Schönburg usually closes for a short period in early January through mid-March.
Your 'gift package' could also include a Rhine River cruise of a few hours between about St Goar and perhaps Bingen, which covers the most scenic section of the Middle Rhine Gorge, profuse with castles. The K-D ship line has frequent daily departures along that route. http://www.k-d.com/englisch/index.html Your relatives could drive the short distance from auf Schönburg to St. Goar, park their car there,explore that small town then take the ship down to Bingen. You can get an excellent dinner on the K-D ship, also. Upon disembarking at Bingen they could take one of the frequent nearby local trains back to St. Goar to get their car.
Also within a few miles of auf Schönburg is the charming riverside town of Bacharach and several other castles to explore http://www.hotel-burg-reichenstein.d...e/e_index.html http://www.marksburg.de/english/frame.htm
And if your relatives want to get a little more into the touristy atmosphere they can take a nearby ferry across the River to Rudesheim, http://www.ruedesheim.de/cms/index.php?lang=english the little wine village across from Bingen.
If I were a young couple in the military and wanted to get away for a 'special' weekend I really feel that this would be the least stressful way to go. At the same time you could make and prepay most all of the arrangements for them and simply give them Email confirmation reservations, etc.
Good luck!
They would not have the stress of train schedules, schlepping luggage and trying to 'discover' a big city in just a couple of days time.
Auf Schönburg is a lovely castle and not pretentious. It is simple to book a reservation directly with them with no need to go through a booking broker. We have done this many times without ever having a problem. You could make the arrangement yourself and simply presenting your relatives with the return Email confirmation of the prepaid reservation.
Auf Schönburg has a very nice restaurant and they offer special Reisling dinners, which can be prebooked also. These include a tour of nearby vinyards, a small local winery and sampling. You can read about these on their web site http://www.hotel-schoenburg.com/ If you decided to book a room there I might suggest Room #38 the 'Wächter häuschen' or 'Guard's Lodge'. It's a totally isolated little building and 100% private just near the main portal to the castle. It's actually a mini suite with a small library, stereo system, CD's, modern bathroom, etc. When we arrived there last year there was a fruit basket in the room as well as a plate of cookies and a small decanter of sherry. We paid €178 at that time for that room.
You could include in your reservation/voucher the special Reisling wine tour and dinner for a special treat (see the web site for details). This is not a touristy or otherwise pretentious option. It's a great experience and your guests would not be obliged to be overly dressed for the occassion.
Barbara Hüttl, the proprietress, and her staff are fluent and most gracious and accommodating. Be aware that auf Schönburg usually closes for a short period in early January through mid-March.
Your 'gift package' could also include a Rhine River cruise of a few hours between about St Goar and perhaps Bingen, which covers the most scenic section of the Middle Rhine Gorge, profuse with castles. The K-D ship line has frequent daily departures along that route. http://www.k-d.com/englisch/index.html Your relatives could drive the short distance from auf Schönburg to St. Goar, park their car there,explore that small town then take the ship down to Bingen. You can get an excellent dinner on the K-D ship, also. Upon disembarking at Bingen they could take one of the frequent nearby local trains back to St. Goar to get their car.
Also within a few miles of auf Schönburg is the charming riverside town of Bacharach and several other castles to explore http://www.hotel-burg-reichenstein.d...e/e_index.html http://www.marksburg.de/english/frame.htm
And if your relatives want to get a little more into the touristy atmosphere they can take a nearby ferry across the River to Rudesheim, http://www.ruedesheim.de/cms/index.php?lang=english the little wine village across from Bingen.
If I were a young couple in the military and wanted to get away for a 'special' weekend I really feel that this would be the least stressful way to go. At the same time you could make and prepay most all of the arrangements for them and simply give them Email confirmation reservations, etc.
Good luck!
Nov 3rd, 2010, 10:16 AM
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If you look at the link that wanderfrau gave you will see lots of tours (most are one day).
My first suggestion is that they could take a couple of these one day tours and see different places. Perhaps you could give them a "self-made" gift certificate for a certain dollar amount to be used for the tours. The USO puts together very good, cheap packages. They also run tours for spouses and this might be fun for her while he is away.
If memory serves, you cannot book these for them. Booking (as everything does!) requires a military I.D.
Otherwise, if you wanted to do only Paris then you could book a hotel through Expedia and also book train tickets online. Include a guide book, Eiffel tower tickets, Louvre tickets, city bus tour tickets and some spending Euros. I would certainly choose Paris over other cities. If they are only going to see one place, Paris is it. The problem with this is how would you know the dates? It seems that you cannot keep this a complete surprise. You may have to email her or her husband to get firm dates.
If you picked a hotel with a good location and got some tickets for them and a map they would learn very fast. It will be quite an adventure.
When I looked at that USO website I was amazed at how cheap the tours were.( Having been a military wife so long ago I also remember that what looks cheap to us is expensive to military families.)
I would not book any special or pricey meals. To young people on a strict budget that often seems like a waste. Include food money and they will have a fine time finding affordable places and markets.
My first suggestion is that they could take a couple of these one day tours and see different places. Perhaps you could give them a "self-made" gift certificate for a certain dollar amount to be used for the tours. The USO puts together very good, cheap packages. They also run tours for spouses and this might be fun for her while he is away.
If memory serves, you cannot book these for them. Booking (as everything does!) requires a military I.D.
Otherwise, if you wanted to do only Paris then you could book a hotel through Expedia and also book train tickets online. Include a guide book, Eiffel tower tickets, Louvre tickets, city bus tour tickets and some spending Euros. I would certainly choose Paris over other cities. If they are only going to see one place, Paris is it. The problem with this is how would you know the dates? It seems that you cannot keep this a complete surprise. You may have to email her or her husband to get firm dates.
If you picked a hotel with a good location and got some tickets for them and a map they would learn very fast. It will be quite an adventure.
When I looked at that USO website I was amazed at how cheap the tours were.( Having been a military wife so long ago I also remember that what looks cheap to us is expensive to military families.)
I would not book any special or pricey meals. To young people on a strict budget that often seems like a waste. Include food money and they will have a fine time finding affordable places and markets.
Nov 3rd, 2010, 11:13 AM
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Thanks for all the feedback. I contacted USO and they said I could get gift certificate (with HER name on it) and they would mail it to my house so I can give it to her at Christmas. You don't need a military ID to buy the gift certificate - only to go on the tours.
Not my style of travel, but I think it is perfect for her (and her DH if she chooses to bring him).
Not my style of travel, but I think it is perfect for her (and her DH if she chooses to bring him).
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