Germany - 5-6 days in Germany, arriving Ramstein

I'll arrive in Ramstein (about ~120km west of Frankfurt) along with the wife and a 5 y.o. kiddo... suggestions on what to do for five days? Pretty much open to anything as this is a spontaneous trip and the flight will cost $0.00

What are you interested in? Will you have a car? Do you speak any German? Have you been to Germany before?

I assume that the USAF also has some recommendations for you guys, whenever I am in the area of the US Forces in Germany, I listen to their radio stations and the program is full of suggestions of what to do, how to behave, etc.

Give us some more information, also search the Germany forum, there is plenty of suggestions for the Frankfurt area. (in five days, you can travel way further then Frankfurt unless you return to Ramstein for the night)

I'll arrive in Ramstein (about ~120km west of Frankfurt) along with the wife and a 5 y.o. kiddo... suggestions on what to do for five days? Pretty much open to anything as this is a spontaneous trip and the flight will cost $0.00

Explore the Rhine River from Bingen to Koblenz. Very scenic with lots of castles. Take a Rhine River day cruise. See this thread: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/germany/1199433-rhine-day-boat-tour.html

Also, the Mosel from Trier on up.

Heidelberg has a nice castle.

Strasbourg and areas south - another wine region (Alsace). Colmar (Little Venice) plus a lot of nice towns and villages in the area.

P.S. Did you get one of those $10 flights? At least that was the price last time I took one (15 years ago).

What are you interested in? Will you have a car? Do you speak any German? Have you been to Germany before?

I assume that the USAF also has some recommendations for you guys, whenever I am in the area of the US Forces in Germany, I listen to their radio stations and the program is full of suggestions of what to do, how to behave, etc.

Give us some more information, also search the Germany forum, there is plenty of suggestions for the Frankfurt area. (in five days, you can travel way further then Frankfurt unless you return to Ramstein for the night)

Interested in... just seeing the way, nothing in particular. I'll probably rent a car, even with gas, it seems cheaper than train for three people. German is extremelly limited, more like a no. I've been to Bremen before.

Explore the Rhine River from Bingen to Koblenz. Very scenic with lots of castles. Take a Rhine River day cruise. See this thread: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/germany/1199433-rhine-day-boat-tour.html

Also, the Mosel from Trier on up.

Heidelberg has a nice castle.

Strasbourg and areas south - another wine region (Alsace). Colmar (Little Venice) plus a lot of nice towns and villages in the area.

P.S. Did you get one of those $10 flights? At least that was the price last time I took one (15 years ago).

It's around $20 in various taxes and fees now, departing BWI few times a week, then onto Adana or Aviano and then downrange... nah, super-max-capacity configured DC10/DC11 doesn't sound appealing. These are AMC-contracted charters usually flown by Omni or World. We'll try a C17 or a tanker out of McGuire or Dover.

If you're talking about private charters than existed a looooong time ago - these seem to be long gone now.

It's around $20 in various taxes and fees now, departing BWI few times a week, then onto Adana or Aviano and then downrange... nah, super-max-capacity configured DC10/DC11 doesn't sound appealing. These are AMC-contracted charters usually flown by Omni or World. We'll try a C17 or a tanker out of McGuire or Dover.

If you're talking about private charters than existed a looooong time ago - these seem to be long gone now.

I always took either a C-5 or C-141.

I've tried the Charters out of Phila, but couldn't get on one. Had better luck at Dover. I live near McGuire and will have to check that out when I have the time to take Space-A. This trip will be flying commercial (Air Berlin) due to limited time off.

Are the BWI flights pretty easy to get on? I'll have to file that away for future reference.

We're spending a week on the Rhine frist week in June and finding that won't be enough time to explore the area.

I always took either a C-5 or C-141.

I've tried the Charters out of Phila, but couldn't get on one. Had better luck at Dover. I live near McGuire and will have to check that out when I have the time to take Space-A. This trip will be flying commercial (Air Berlin) due to limited time off.

Are the BWI flights pretty easy to get on? I'll have to file that away for future reference.

We're spending a week on the Rhine frist week in June and finding that won't be enough time to explore the area.

C5s aren't as reliable anymore, it's always a gamble whether it'll take off or not. C17 seems to be the preferred bird these days and KC10 is the Cadillac.

Up until mid-May, BWI should be a piece of cake. What complicates the situation right now for the retired folks is that spouses of deployed members can fly unaccompanied these days. Not a super huge problem for AD folks who are in a higher category, but retirees get the short end of the stick because of this. General complaint seems to be is that unaccompanied spouses with five kids in tow take up all the seats on Patriot Express. If you're retired, I'd avoid Baltimore in the summer. I've seen people have much better luck with McGuire in the summer.

I was visiting the Alsacian pottery region of Betschdorf and Soufflenheim today and met a party of delightful American ladies whose other halves were based at Ramstein. They said had been worth their journey to see the pottery being made. I also recommend an overnight at Baden Baden, and that you enjoy the Caracalla Thermal Baths. If you do make it to Soufflenheim, have an excellent meal at AU BOEUF which is in the centre of the town. Excellent Alsacian food - do look at the French menu rather than the abridged English translation - at very reasonable prices and with a kitchen open all day from midday to 21H30, you can eat very flexibly which is unusual for this part of France. The Café Gourmand is a delicious taster of sweet dishes available with an excellent cup of coffee.

Interested in... just seeing the way, nothing in particular. I'll probably rent a car, even with gas, it seems cheaper than train for three people. German is extremelly limited, more like a no. I've been to Bremen before.

The ride along the Rhine is amazing, with little towns, a couple castles, and scenic overlooks all along the way.

We are military and on our last trip to Edelweiss there was a couple there that came over space-a. We saw them again in Rothenburg. I can't wait to try it. I am still working so can't chance the not getting back to work. You can't go wrong with Bavaria.

I'll arrive in Ramstein (about ~120km west of Frankfurt) along with the wife and a 5 y.o. kiddo... suggestions on what to do for five days? Pretty much open to anything as this is a spontaneous trip and the flight will cost $0.00

If you´re fixed to RMS then a car rental is definately your choice (especially since your family is with you).

Just to give you some driving time examples from Ramstein (RMS):
Heidelberg: 1h15min
Mannheim: 1h
Rothenburg/Tauber: 2h
Trier: 1h
Koblenz: 2h (the whole Rhine Valley between Bingen and Koblenz): 1-1.5 hrs
Munich: 4h
Hamburg: 5h
Saarbrucken: 40 mins
Berlin: 6h
Strasbourg (France): 2h
Basel (Switzerland): 3.5h
Zurich: 4h

Just be reminded that gasoline in Germany will cost you 1.60EUR/litre (about 8.80 US$/gallon) !!!

Yeah, try to get a rental car with a Diesel engine.

The Rhine cruise might be an idea, Mainz is nice, I'd avoid Heidelberg, not much, apart from the castle. Strassbourg (alsace in general) is also worth a visit.

I just spent a week in the Rhein area and, while I haven't had time to really process my thoughts, here are a few recommendations in no particular order

1.) Hotel Villa Rothschild (has two-star Gourmet Restaurant and is the only five-star luxury hotel in Europe on a vineyard)
2.) Loreley
3.) Germania
4.) Musée du Pain in Sélestat
5.) Gutenberg Museum
6.) Bibliothéque Humanist in Sélestat

This is one of those times where the fact that this forum doesn´t support image uploads (versus links) is annoying - I have some photos I would otherwise share.