Mainz, Germany
20 hour stopover.
I had been wanting to visit Mainz on a 24hr stopover since I was less than inspired by my Frankfurt City visit the last time I was through this part of the world. Our ticket afforded us 22 hours in Germany, so we had decided on Mainz as our destination. As you will see, Mainz is a lovely stopover with very few international tourists and conveniently close to Frankfurt Airport.
We took the S8 train to Mainz HBF. In the mid afternoon, the S8 train arrives every 30 minutes and is a 30 minute ride with several stops on the way. After a 3:15 PM arrival at FRA, I was in my hotel room and showered within 90 minutes.
We opted for a taxi up to our hotel from the Mainz HBF. The fare was 7.10 € on a circuitous route up the hill since the streets are one way. It was just out of walking distance with the baggage, due to the uphill slope.
Novotel Mainz
King room.
59€ Advance Purchase, Non Refundable Rate.
We stayed at the Novotel Mainz on a 59€ advance purchase rate. It was a three star affair. It was a great rate, but the hotel was past it’s prime. On arrival to the room, there was a musty antiseptic cleaning type odor that greeted us. There were soap stains on the shower screen and the carpeting had some wear. With only one night’s stay, to us it was not worth complaining about to the management (Hey - we had a town to see!), but nothing to inspire us to stay here again. The other offerings in town (Hyatt and a Hilton) were in the 100€ range, so we were being economical.
Advantages:
We received a terrific rate for a hotel in Europe.
The room was as promised, and in a quiet area of Mainz.
A short 10 minute walk down some stairs to the Alstat (center of town)
Disadvantages:
The hotel was showing some signs of wear. Light carpets, dark water mark stains.
The place didn't have a terrific feel to it. The brochures in the lobby were messy, the staff seemed a bit ambivalent- the sorts of things that separate a good place from just an average one.
Overall:
It was value for money received but we'd likely try somewhere else next time.
This was the least favourite hotel on our entire RTW trip, which says quite a bit given we were through some less richly endowed economies of the world.
Mainz Alstat
From the hotel it was a 10 minute walk to the Alstat and a lovely village. There were a few German tourists on business but not many international tourists by any means.
We enjoyed a great dinner at a Schnitzel Restaurant in town, followed by a relaxing walk along the Rhine River. Being Sunday, many of the commercial stores (but not restaurants) were closed. There were still lots of people wandering around the Alstat so it was not totally deserted.
In addition, Mainz is on the Rhine river as well, making it a pleasant place to walk.
Mainz Overall:
This was a fantastic stopover for us and we'd definitely return on another stopover. It was worth taking the extra 20 minutes from the airport to get to Mainz to get a bit of authentic Germany. Okay - so Frankfurt Am Main (city) is also Germany - but it's full of skyscrapers and business centers that make it seem less like Germany and more like another anonymous city near you. Mainz was Germany as you would imagine it, with convenience to the airport as well. Make it a stopover on your next journey.
The next morning we arose early for our Lufthansa First experience. It was about 4:40 AM when we sprung out of bed for our last First Class experience.
We rolled down the hill towards the train station. It was pretty easy for once, as the sidewalks made for good rolling, which is not always the case in Europe. The journey took about seven minutes.
We had a great sunrise on our walk. I have to offer props to Ms World Traveller 73 for getting up this early too.
Interpreting the train schedule, we made it aboard the 6:02 AM train back to Frankfurth Flughafen Regional HBF, sharing the train with several uniformed flight attendants who were off to work this morning.
We arrived at the Frankfurt Airport and took the escalators up into the main terminal. I couldn’t help but take a photo of the FRA flight information board. I’m a fan of this board, since it is one of the few remaining flight information boards in the airports that I pass through that is actually on the old flip style system. It always reminded me of travel with my mom through South East Asia in the eighties. Seeing those numbers and letters flip around always made me excited - still does in some ways even to this day.
I was leading the charge with our bags in tow, but I had neglected to inform the other half that the First Class Terminal was a short walk from the main terminal.
“Where are we going?”
“I’m sure the entrance is right over here… …somewhere…”