I’m leaving tomorrow for a little over a week and a couple days in Germany. Specifically, we’ll be staying in the town of Oberwesel, which is an hour west of Frankfurt. It seem like a charming little town on the Rhine, but I don’t know much about what to do in that area.
It’s kind of short notice, so I haven’t had a lot of time to reasearch things to do. My wife is going for work, and I’m just tagging along with our 9-month-old son. Since she’s going to be busy most of that time, my days will be spent hauling the kid around to whatever trouble we can get into. We’ll have a rental car, so short drives to interesting things are okay. But my goal is to not wander terribly far from home base, in case the kid becomes too much of a handful for anything civilized. (However, he tends to be in his best form when out and about…it’s being stuck in our boring house that makes him a terror.)
The one and only sure thing I have on my agenda for the week is spending one of my wife’s down-days visiting the Nürburgring. That, for me, is the fulfillment of a BIG bucket-list item. I’ll rent a track car and take a couple laps. The side activites and attractions at the Ring should easily allow the whole family to kill some time. But for the rest of my week there, it’s a blank slate.
So does anyone have some suggestions for that area? Castles, museums, breweries (especially breweries!) all sound like great places to visit. Low- or no-cost things are always a plus, and of course anything I do has to be something where I can carry or push around an infant.
I’m not looking to cram this week totally full of activities; I’m looking forward to some rest and relaxation in a quiet German town. But I want to see and do some cool stuff, too.
Never have been in that particular region myself (except for passing by train), but one possibility might be a rhine cruise downstream to Koblenz or upstream to Wiesbaden. Site of the largest (I think) line: http://www.k-d.de/english/home/ - Oberwesel is on their schedule.
I absolutely loved Heidleberg. the Romantic Road tour was awesome. If youre a castle nut, its a must. Rottenberg is the only city in Europe left with the City Wall in tact. It also has the Crime and Punishment Museum which is Fascinating. You really get a feel for how screwed up Religion was back then.
Enjoy the 'ring. It’s a bit late for this advice, but if you can learn the track first in a video game, that helps.
There are a couple interesting museums in Sinsheim and Speyer, full of planes, cars, tanks, etc. Don’t know how they’d be with a nine-month-old, though.
I’ve been brushing up on my 'ring navigation by playing a lot of Forza Motorsports lately. I know it’s not reality, and I won’t be trying to match my video game lap time or anything. But I have no doubt that it’s helpful to learn the general flow of the course… “Adenauer Forst is next, I always crash on that blind left.”
I like the boat tour idea, as well. I’d just probably go a few stops down (or up) the river, so it doesn’t take an entire day.
I learned it in Grand Prix Legends, which was the 1967 version of the track. Never got very good, and crashed more often than not.
Went there in a rented Mercedes in 2004 and the experience helped. At least know the places where sharp bends can sneak up on you, like Aremberg. I drove just spirited enough to say I’ve been there. Passed a Porsche.
Double check that it’ll be open the day you want to be there. And the museum is worth a visit if you have the time. I think they have Fangio’s Maserati 250F from 1957.
AND STAY SAFE! Know your limits and stay on the good side of them. That place will kill you if you’re stupid.
Since the rental car companies have apparently cracked down hard on visits to the Ring in recent years (spotters, GPS, etc), I’ve decided it’s better to go with one of the trackside rentals. One outfit was very reasonably priced for their hot-hatch offering. (€169 for an insured, track-prepped car and 2 lap tickets, which would be €52 all by themselves).
One side benefit of renting with such a place is that they wouldn’t let me reserve one for a day the track isn’t open for Touristenfahrten. So I think I’m all set. Shoudl be a blast. And I’m more interested in surviving than going super fast, so I should be able to keep it on the tarmac.
Wiesbaden is a pretty town to take a stroll in, especially this time of year the trees should be in blossom. We lived there for a couple of years. Mainz, across the river, has a bit more history with Gutenburg (the printer, not the star of the Police Academy movies) doing his bit there. Rothenburg is pretty far away from there, but we did like it, just be aware it’s probably a bit more than a day trip, about 3 hours each way. You could also get down to Trier, which is in a different direction but a bit closer to where you’ll be.
Also, learn what the word “Stau” means. I experienced that a lot in my more recent trips.
Honestly, pretty much any town and city in that area of Germany would be amazing to explore. The kid is a little young, but just east of Frankfurt is the town of Hanau where the Brothers Grimm were from. I went when I was 9, but I remember museums and statues and stuff related to them. It might be fun for him to see things based on fairy tales.
Trier is also pretty cool, as is the Rhine cruise. I have a book of Legends of the Rhine and I’ve been rereading it (first read it when I was 10ish) and I’d love to take a cruise again and see the castles and landmarks.
You’d be a couple of hours from Luxembourg (so you can visit another country on the same trip!) and the castle there is pretty awesome.
Man, I miss Germany. Have fun - it’s such a beautiful country to visit!