First trip to Germany
 

I'll be heading to germany in early august. I'll be arriving in FRA in the afternoon, probably jet lagged. A full day the next day and then ICE down to Munich the following morning. Then two full days and then flying out.

I plan to get a SIM card for my phone as soon as I arrive so I can get data to help me get around in town. Any tips on where to buy?

Also, I've noticed that eventhough U stations show up on google maps, I can't get it to route on U routes. It will select much longer S routes which are alot longer. Is there an alternate app I can use for navigating around town?

Any tips on must-see attractions? I hear there is more to see in Munich than FRA.

Definitely go into the aldstadt ("old city") in Frankfurt. It's small, but beautiful. The rest of downtown Frankfurt is so ugly it will take your breath away, but if you have some time you could get out of FRA and go out into the Rhone Valley.

Enjoy your trip!

In the App Store, type in bahn. Several apps available including one for Munich.

Mainz is an easy train ride from FRA and is interesting.

The Deutsches museum in Munich is very cool. Have to stroll thru the market. Oldest brewery in the world is a short train ride away.

Thanks
I should mention that I have an android phone.
I have found several apps for the train. but you have to enter the station name. I would prefer something closer to google maps where you can enter an address or POI and then it tells you which stations

Since I'm taking ICE down to Munich, I think I will stay at one of the Holiday Inns near the train station, either the Hauptbahnhof one or the Messe one.

That's a bit harsh I think, but there aren't a huge amount of touristy things to do around Frankfurt.

The Rhone valley would be quite a trek from Frankfurt - a few hundred kilometers southwest. I think you mean the Rhine valley (Rhein in German). The city is on the Main river, which flows into the Rhine, and there are some beautiful vineyards around there.

I suggest the Sofitel Bayerpost near the train station. Probably the best hotel in the area.

That is why I recommended Mainz. Heidelberg would also be a close, good choice. Small enough to cover everything in a day.

If you search this forum, there are some great ideas for Munich.

Also, what I did was use a combination of google maps and Bahn.de to do some scouting. Figured out where I would want to go on google, then plug in the stations on bahn.de.

Have to disagree, best hotel in the area is The Charles. Stayed at Bayerpost a year ago for a conferenc and our suite was terrible. In 2009 it was much better but still not the Level of Charles or even MO.

Thanks. I had picked the Holiday Inn because my points are with them, but I haven't booked anything and will be looking at my options.

Yes, I had heard that there is alot more to see in Munich than Frankfurt, that's why I decided to spend more time in Munich.

Regarding the SIM-card, most of the major telcos have stores which you should be able to find at least in the city centers (not sure about FRA airport though, but you can probably find that out online). You will probably be buying a prepaid plan where the monthly fee (starting at 10 €) for data use is deducted automatically as long as you have sufficient balance. Note that German data plans normally only include a few hundred MB of monthly use, but that's not a big deal if you're only staying a few days. To purchase a SIM-card, you need your passport + cash to top up the SIM-card enough for the fee for the first month. Doing this at the telco stores is quite an easy process - ready to go in about 15 min. You could also purchase the SIM-card in other places, like the super market, but you'll have to go though the registration process yourself in that case.

Regarding directions with public transport, the local public transport coordination associations (Verkehrsverbunde) usually have excellent tools for this.
For Frankfurt (incl. Mainz): http://www.rmv.de/en/
For Munich: www.mvv-muenchen.de/en/homepage/index.html
They both have apps for minimum Android and iPhone available. Hint: some information is available in the German language edition of the websites only.

Yes, OK, I probably agree with this. I forgot about the Charles because I've only stayed there a few times and, while each stay was good, it didn't really stand out for me. Generally I prefer to get away from the station and on to Maximilianstrasse. I think the MO is overpriced for what it offers, but it is the best in Munich. The renovated rooms at the Vier Jahreszeiten are very good as well.

no objection:)

First trip to Germany
 

Actually, while we're off the topic, I think the Hotel an der Oper probably has the best PLV (value for money) in the area.

That's because I wrecked it in 2011 :D

(the 2 floor one)

Seriously spoken, the Bayerpost is a really nice hotel, but not absolutely best value for money I think personally. In Munich, it really comes down on how much you like to spend.

The last time I stayed in the Bayerpost, there was a couple having very intimate relations in the end part of that underground pool grotto. For those that haven't been there, it's a bit like a windy snail, and when you get to the end, well, you think you're far away from everyone else...

The pool is nice, on my stay no intimate couples:p Over all Bayerpost can sometimes be great value and personally I like the design.

First trip to Germany
 

First off you want to confirm your phone is not SIM locked to your home carrier else no local SIM will work. Some supermarkets also sell SIM cards by check out area but you will need to login and provide a fake German street address to activate.

There's a joke about Mainz that starts with "Two prostitutes meet near Mainz..." It doesn't translate too well though!

Def not locked, have used it in HK and Singapore with no issues


As for hotels, based on pricing and proximity, I'm trying to decide between the
Victoria Hotel
Concorde Hotel
25Hours Hotel by Levi's
and Holiday Inn Hauptbahnhof

Still looking into Munich hotels
maybe, Hotel Meier City München, NH Muenchen Deutscher Kaiser, or Hotel Excelsior

You will visit a very very happy country:):):):):):):)

So I'll be flying out next week. Arriving in FRA in the early afternoon Thursday, then Taking the train to Munich Sat morning and flying home Tuesday morning. Staying at the HIE in Frankfurt and the Schiller5 in Munich.

Still not 100% sure about what to do in Frankfurt. I'm looking into your suggestions.
As for Munich, I think I have a decent plan. BMW Museum (although the plant will be closed :( ), the Deutches Museum and a few other sites, Then taking a day trip to Salzburg.

I guess I should have mentioned that I'm more interested in unique museums (bmw museum, deuches, etc) or one-of-a-kind things (fancy fountains, worlds largest ..., etc) or versus old buildings (churches etc). I do plan to go for some walks to see the architecture but visiting a bunch of old buildings starts getting old for me. I was going to go see the worlds biggest ice cave near Salzburg but after reading about the hassle to get there and the poor lighting I decided to cut that from my list.

BMW museum is well worth it. Deutsches Museum is tip top. Have sausages at Nürnberger Bratwurstglöckl near the Frauenkirche (Church of Our Lady, the big one with the two spires). Have you considered renting a car and doing an alpine road drive? I can give you many great suggestions there.

Thanks for the tip. Unfortunately the plant will be closed exactly when I'm there.

I had thought about getting a car but there are some issues:
1. I already booked a cheap fare for the ICE from Frankfurt to Munich
2. I unfortunately can't drive manual and for an automatic car it seems to be rather expensive (over $100US/day + fuel).
If I could get one for maybe half that price, I might go for one in salzburg and frankfurt.

1. I'm not suggesting Frankfurt-Munich by car...that's not that exciting.
2. Check again. Have you tried sixt.de? It is a trip worth doing!

Yep, sixt is where I looked, I also tried Kayak. The cheapest car with auto was around $90. After adding insurance its over $100/day

Get a friend to teach you manual in a hurry!;)

I have always wanted to rent a car and learn myself but probably not on this trip ;)
The frankfurt part of my trip is looking pretty empty. Not finding too many things of interest. Maybe I'll just take a train ride to Mainz like suggested. Not really sure how jetlag will affect me, I'm use to flying the other way to SE Asia.

There is not much to do in Mainz either. I personally can't stand the place. I'd take a train ride to Heidelberg, or Würzburg.

I've been looking into public transit in Frankfurt and Munich. Looking at the RMV and MVV site for trains, trams, buses, it seems like you can download their app, link a credit card and buy tickets online. Would this be recommended?

Yes, though for some apps, like Deutsche Bahn, you need a German mobile number to work properly. For local trains getting paper tickets from the machines is probably easier and less likely to snafu you.

So I'm in fra and have taken the s train and tram a few times. I've noticed that I haven't seen anyone actually buy tickets or check fit them. Do you typically by a ticket? Or do you take your chances? How much is the fine?

Yes, IF (happily not often) I take a Train or tramI buy a ticket. Most Germans have season tickets. The fine is 40 € and a nice embarrasment, because there won´t be many people without ticket in the Train.

OK just making sure it not some sort of scam where only the tourists pay. Using the app of pretty handy

An interesting concept..the city putting up ticket machines in all the stations and trains...gleefully rubbing their hands thinking of the stupid tourists who buy the fake tickets

Would be an idea

But that's not very German.

WELL, I thought it was unlikely but I would have been quite impressed if they pulled it off :) Overall I find the public transit here a bit expensive compared to in the US. I thought that perhaps the added cost was due to people not buying tickets

In fact as far as I know more or less all public Transportation (with excemption of single routes) in Germany is a losing

German, as well as Swiss, tarif systems in cities often consist of "zones", not as (mostly) based on distance travelled like in many other cities.

So, when you travel just over a zone, you might pay more for a 5min ride than what you pay for 60min ride when staying in the same zone. Sometimes it can be really crazy and mind boggling, but it seems every cities public transport has it's traps and loopholes.

Just always buy a valid ticket.

Public transit in Germany is also more expansive than in the U.S. Moreover, that one-way ticket for 60/90/120 minutes will cover all of the forms of public transit on your journey within that zone. So you can take a bus to the subway to a tram and to a bus again, all on the same single ticket. Most public transit systems in the U.S. don't work that way. And require you to buy a second (or third) ticket. Or a day pass.