suggestions for destinations near frankfurt....
May 12, 2019, 4:33 pm
#16
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Last time I was in the area my friends drove me on the road that hugs the Rhine River up to Bonn. It was a nice leisurely and picturesque ride through small towns. On the weekend I bet several of the towns have local festivals and the like. Could stop at a castle someplace. Kids that age might also like a bit of a ride on the train, though they may get that in the Frankfurt area on the U-bahn or S-bahn while you are working.
May 13, 2019, 9:19 am
#17
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thanks for the suggestion....looks really good but if its going to take 6 hours to get here then its definitely a bit further than i want to drive....
May 13, 2019, 9:23 am
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For kids the Frankfurt Zoo https://www.zoo-frankfurt.de/ihr-zoo...resse-anfahrt/ or the outdoor Opel-Zoo https://www.opel-zoo.de/de/site__171/ might be interesting. Alternative you can drive to the Roman fort Saalburg Saalburgmuseum, where you can visit a complete historic Roman fort (be aware they only accept cash, no debit or credit cards) and learn something about the Romans and the Limes border which separated the Roman Empire from Germania.
will keep the saalburg saalburgmuseum in mind....thanks for the suggestion....
May 13, 2019, 9:34 am
#19
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Just a word of advice being a local, driving can be a pain on the weekends, particularly given all the holidays in June. Between the vacation traffic, road works, holidays......driving time can easily double.
But to answer your question, there's the Black Forest/Freiburg Breisgau to the south, and Würzburg and Spessart region to the east if you want a light taste of Bavaria.
But to answer your question, there's the Black Forest/Freiburg Breisgau to the south, and Würzburg and Spessart region to the east if you want a light taste of Bavaria.
In terms of nice cities these three within driving distance come to mind:
- Würzburg (1.3 hours from Frankfurt)
- Marburg (1 hour from Frankfurt)
- Bamberg (2.5 hours from Frankfurt)
I can support the suggestion with the Saalburg. The Hessenpark (which is about a 25-30 minute drive) from Frankfurt. In terms of castles, Castle Alsbach and Castle Auerbach are both about a 45 minute drive to the South of Frankfurt in the Bergstraße region. The Taunus lies directly to the North-West of Frankfurt. You can take the U3 to the end station Oberursel-Hohemark and start hiking from there.
That being said, two days on a weekend can easily be spent in Frankfurt. You can go swimming in a public swimming facility (Brentanobad is nice), walk through the old town and sit outside in the garden of an apple wine restaurant. You can also take a small river cruise on the Main river. If you're more into swimming lakes, the "Langener Waldsee" is directly to the South of Frankfurt. If you're also into waterskiing and wakeboarding, the Wakeport to the West of the airport is a great place to hang out.
- Würzburg (1.3 hours from Frankfurt)
- Marburg (1 hour from Frankfurt)
- Bamberg (2.5 hours from Frankfurt)
I can support the suggestion with the Saalburg. The Hessenpark (which is about a 25-30 minute drive) from Frankfurt. In terms of castles, Castle Alsbach and Castle Auerbach are both about a 45 minute drive to the South of Frankfurt in the Bergstraße region. The Taunus lies directly to the North-West of Frankfurt. You can take the U3 to the end station Oberursel-Hohemark and start hiking from there.
That being said, two days on a weekend can easily be spent in Frankfurt. You can go swimming in a public swimming facility (Brentanobad is nice), walk through the old town and sit outside in the garden of an apple wine restaurant. You can also take a small river cruise on the Main river. If you're more into swimming lakes, the "Langener Waldsee" is directly to the South of Frankfurt. If you're also into waterskiing and wakeboarding, the Wakeport to the West of the airport is a great place to hang out.
brentanobad also seems like a good idea....i know my boys would love that so that's definitely one thing we will be doing....thanks for the suggestion....
May 13, 2019, 9:36 am
#20
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Go visit my hometown.... Aschaffenburg. Less than an hour on the A3 Autobahn.
Very cool castle, nice walk-platz with tons of stores, good places to eat, a HUGE park with castle ruins in it, and very walk-able if you take the train from FRA.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aschaffenburg
Very cool castle, nice walk-platz with tons of stores, good places to eat, a HUGE park with castle ruins in it, and very walk-able if you take the train from FRA.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aschaffenburg
May 13, 2019, 3:02 pm
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The Castle's claim to fame is when Elvis filmed GI Blues in Germany, him and his German girlfriend visited the place in the movie........
if you want any specifics, get with me....
May 13, 2019, 3:21 pm
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When I was living over there, I would bring friends that were overnighting in FRA via train or auto and travel around the area.....get some food... then head back. Very, very doable.
The Castle's claim to fame is when Elvis filmed GI Blues in Germany, him and his German girlfriend visited the place in the movie........
if you want any specifics, get with me....
The Castle's claim to fame is when Elvis filmed GI Blues in Germany, him and his German girlfriend visited the place in the movie........
if you want any specifics, get with me....
May 14, 2019, 9:31 am
#23
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I like a nice little town on the Rhine river called Eltville. Super nice for Mum and Dad with bars along the river and restaurants in vineyards a little bit further up the hill. For the kids, the hotel I stayed in used to be a fire station and I remember a few pretty cool ice cream cafes in the small shopping part of town. I'm sure there are plenty of towns like this if you wanted to combine it with something else. Enjoy - it's a lovely part of the world.
May 20, 2019, 3:24 am
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thank you everyone for all the suggestions....
we have decided not to venture out too far & will just do a day trip to either aschaffenburg or wiesbaden....
the second day we have decided to spend in the city....a few hours at brentanobad followed by a river cruise maybe....
also, would anyone have a suggestion on how to get to the westin grand hotel from the airport????i am not looking at public transportation since there will be 4 of us with a lot of luggage....a large taxi (van) would be most preferable....would anyone know if those are easily available at the airport & if not then does someone have a recommendation on how i can book one in advance????
we have decided not to venture out too far & will just do a day trip to either aschaffenburg or wiesbaden....
the second day we have decided to spend in the city....a few hours at brentanobad followed by a river cruise maybe....
also, would anyone have a suggestion on how to get to the westin grand hotel from the airport????i am not looking at public transportation since there will be 4 of us with a lot of luggage....a large taxi (van) would be most preferable....would anyone know if those are easily available at the airport & if not then does someone have a recommendation on how i can book one in advance????
May 20, 2019, 6:27 am
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May 20, 2019, 11:02 pm
#27
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Well-timed thread as I have a similar question, but for a Saturday/Sunday in late June (arrive 10 am Saturday; depart next day around 3 pm Sunday). @Keyser - mind if I moderately fork your thread a bit? Happy to start a new one if this is a bit too o/t, but I think it's close 
For a single middle-aged male that likes nature & food/beer/wine in addition to some towns/cities with history & cuteness would Aschaffenburg or Wiesbaden still be good recommendations? A hike, casual bike ride or river cruise both have some appeal as well, although perhaps the hiking/biking might be a bit more fun solo? I'd prefer to rent a car for the day and hit my bucket list item of driving in Germany + get a bit further away from the train stations, but if I could get to the same spots on a train or via taxi no real need for that...
For a single middle-aged male that likes nature & food/beer/wine in addition to some towns/cities with history & cuteness would Aschaffenburg or Wiesbaden still be good recommendations? A hike, casual bike ride or river cruise both have some appeal as well, although perhaps the hiking/biking might be a bit more fun solo? I'd prefer to rent a car for the day and hit my bucket list item of driving in Germany + get a bit further away from the train stations, but if I could get to the same spots on a train or via taxi no real need for that...
May 21, 2019, 2:34 am
#29
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Well-timed thread as I have a similar question, but for a Saturday/Sunday in late June (arrive 10 am Saturday; depart next day around 3 pm Sunday). @Keyser - mind if I moderately fork your thread a bit? Happy to start a new one if this is a bit too o/t, but I think it's close For a single middle-aged male that likes nature & food/beer/wine in addition to some towns/cities with history & cuteness would Aschaffenburg or Wiesbaden still be good recommendations? A hike, casual bike ride or river cruise both have some appeal as well, although perhaps the hiking/biking might be a bit more fun solo? I'd prefer to rent a car for the day and hit my bucket list item of driving in Germany + get a bit further away from the train stations, but if I could get to the same spots on a train or via taxi no real need for that...
For a single middle-aged male that likes nature & food/beer/wine in addition to some towns/cities with history & cuteness would Aschaffenburg or Wiesbaden still be good recommendations? A hike, casual bike ride or river cruise both have some appeal as well, although perhaps the hiking/biking might be a bit more fun solo? I'd prefer to rent a car for the day and hit my bucket list item of driving in Germany + get a bit further away from the train stations, but if I could get to the same spots on a train or via taxi no real need for that...
May 21, 2019, 4:03 am
#30
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For a single middle-aged male that likes nature & food/beer/wine in addition to some towns/cities with history & cuteness would Aschaffenburg or Wiesbaden still be good recommendations? A hike, casual bike ride or river cruise both have some appeal as well, although perhaps the hiking/biking might be a bit more fun solo? I'd prefer to rent a car for the day and hit my bucket list item of driving in Germany + get a bit further away from the train stations, but if I could get to the same spots on a train or via taxi no real need for that...
- Hiking/Beer:
The Taunus hilly region is directly to the Northwest of Frankfurt. You can take the U3 (underground line) from the city center and get out at the end station Oberursel-Hohemark after 38 minutes. From there it's a 4.5 to 5 mile hike up to the Großer Feldberg with an elevation of roughly 925 feet between start and finish. There's a restaurant up there as well as a falconry. When you go back, walk through the old town of Oberursel and stay at "Alt-Oberurseler Brauhaus" for a bit of a craft brewery experience. - Hiking/Wine/Beer
Roughly a hour-drive away from Frankfurt is Miltenberg, a beautiful little town with a pretty large old-town with lots of half-timbered houses, that you Americans so love.
Good craft beer can be had at "Brauhaus Faust", Germany's brewery of the year 2018. Directly next to Miltenberg lies Buergstadt, the most Western town of the Franconian wine region. You can walk through the wineyards and maybe taste some wine at some of the more popular wineries.- Weingut Fuerst has five stars in every known German and international wine guide and is particularly known for its Pinot Noirs and Rieslings.
- Weingut Stich is also very good, but probably not as pricey. They make very good Pinots, Rieslings and Silvaner wines.
- Weingut Josef Walter is also very good and has good Pinots and Silvaners.
- If you just want to stay in Frankfurt
Just grab a public rental bike via Call a Bike. Then cycle along the river Main down to Frankfurt-Hoechst. There visit the castle and walk through the little old town. Have a Frankfurter Schnitzel with some apple cider at Gasthaus zum Baeren. Then take the ferry and hike through the "Schwanheimer Düne".