I have had excellent suggestions on our 8-day itinerary form my previous postings -- thank you!! -- and am now looking for more feedback on the specifics. Here is what we are thinking as of now:
Arrive Frankfurt 9:20am and head straight to Heidelberg for two nights
Drive (?) down to Stuttgart for one night
Drive (?) to the Black Forest and stay in Baden Baden for 2 nights
Drive (?) to the Mosel Valley for 2 nights (likely stay in Trier or Cochem)
Head to Frankfurt for the last night before our return
Questions:
(1) What part(s) of the trip are reasonable to do without a car? We are willing to rent a car, but also want to use trains where possible. How difficult/expensive is it to rent a car from one location and return it to another?
(2) Is it worth taking the extra day to visit Stuttgart, or should we add one more night somehwere else?
(3) Any recommendations on staying in Trier vs. Cochem?
(4) How difficult is it to drive from the Black Forest to Mosel Valley through the eastern postions of France (Alsace, etc)?
Thanks in advance for all your help!
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%26quot;(2) Is it worth taking the extra day to visit Stuttgart, or should we add one more night somehwere else?%26quot;
You could spend your entire vacaton in and around Stuttgart and still have missed many excellent things to see in the vicinity. Stuttgart is where the automobile was invented, and the Mercedes Benz museum is excellent to visit wih 120 years of automotive history exhibited in the form of 180 vehicles including the first car, Mercedes through the years, racers, and cars driven or used by famous people such as the Popemoble. It is enjoyed by all visitors irregardless of age or gender. The current smaller Porsche museum would appeal mainly to racing and its enthusiasts. There are many other excellent museums, Wilhelma-Europe%26#39;s largest combinaton zoo-botanical gardens set amidst the nice Mooish architecture of this former palace, the world%26#39;s first modern TV tower with observation decks, and Europe%26#39;s second largest mineral waters with three large associated baths- in the Leuze one you can swim in bubbly carbonated water.
Nearby and both accessable in 15 minutes by publc transportation in the form of the S-bahn are the well preserved medieval center of Esslingen wth its famous church whose spires are conneced by a covered wooden bridge; and Ludwigsburg with Germany%26#39;s largest perfectly preserved Baroque palace (all original) with its tourable rooms, four excellent museums, extensive gardens, and two smaller associated palaces set in a deer park (at least several days to see it all).
Slightly further away are two fairytale-like castles, Hohenzollern (Hechingen) and Lichtenstein, two excellent medieval monasteries-Bebenhausen and Maulbronn, the interestng old college town of Tuebingen, the castle ruins and caves of the Schwaebische Alb, and the Black Forest, and plenty of towns having nice old town centers.
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Ok, this is a less Stuttgart-centric reply. I%26#39;m trying to answer your questions:
1) You can do Frankfurt Airport to Heidelberg by train. It%26#39;s very convenient and probably even faster than by car. You can do Heidelberg-Stuttgart by train as well, it%26#39;s just 45 minutes by high speed train which is impossible to do by car. Downside: The drive thru the Neckar valley from Heidelberg to Stuttgart is so spectacular and worth doing, you%26#39;d really miss a lot. Plenty of castles etc. For the Stuttgart-Black Forrest-Baden Baden part you%26#39;d need a car unless, what I%26#39;d recommend, you only stay one night in Stuttgart and the 2nd night in Constance at the Lake of Constance. Must sees in that area are the romantic church of Birnau and Mainau island. From Constance you can take the double-decker panorama train %26quot;Schwarzwald Express%26quot; all the way thru the black forrest to Baden Baden. Fantastic ride!
2) Do Constance or even better Meersburg instead of a 2nd night in Stuttgart. Meersburg is a castle-city from which you can see the entire Alpine panorama on the Swiss side of the beautiful lake. It%26#39;s such a must see! You can read a lot in Rick Steve%26#39;s (PBS) user forum on his website ricksteves.com (helpine). From there take the ferry boat to Constance and embark your train if you want.
3) Cochem is a beautiful beautiful (maybe a bit touristy) town in the Mosel valley. Trier is not ugly but it%26#39;s a larger city. I%26#39;d stay in Cochem.
4) The problem is that Baden Baden is too far North to see the real highlights of Alsace. BUT here%26#39;s an insider tip. Cross the border into Alsace after passing Iffezheim and turn North on French freeway A35 towards Louterbourg. Then follow signs to Wissembourg. The old town is so beautiful, a little stream meanders thru it and you can really feel like in little-Paris. From there cross back into Germany towards Kandel and turn North onto German autobahn A65 towards Ludwigshafen. If you want take the Edesheim exit a few miles further North to visit %26quot;Roth unter Rietburg%26quot;. The area there makes you feel like you%26#39;re in Tuscany. Have a coffee or wine-spritzer in Roth unter Rietburg. Then continue A65 to Ludwigshafen and turn onto A61 towards Mainz and Cologne. A61 takes you all the way up to the Mosel river and Koblenz. The drive from Roth unter Rietburg to Cochem is 2 hrs only.
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For your last night in Frankfurt do you already have a hotel booked? Frankfurt is a beautiful city filled with history and a nightlife only 2nd to Berlin. Let me know if I can help you with a Frankfurt itinerary.
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Andreas mentioned Lauterbourg, which is close to Karlsruhe. On a sunny Saturday it%26#39;s fun to go to the Salon du Te, which is the patisserie on the left side of the street by the fountain with the border crossing to your back....good cafe au lait, excellent quiche, terrific pasteries and gorgeous cakes...very yummy, one and all. You can eat outside and watch the Germans drive their hot cars through town to purchase cheaper gas and groceries at the supermarket at the other end of the road. Good place to stock up on French wine!
On a sunny Sunday in Lauterbourg, there is a restaurant on the Rhine where you can eat outside and watch the boats pass by. It%26#39;s called something like au bord du Rhin, by the port. They have a lot of good food, but I especially like the trout with almonds. If you don%26#39;t mind the head and tail and fileting yourself, it%26#39;s excellent. Also good desserts! Kugelhopf rum-raisin ice cream is terrific, as is the Crème Broule. You need a car in this region.
Then go to Wissembourg!
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