My wife and I are traveling to Frankfurt from Toronto in September. We arrive at 6am in Frankfurt, and plan to take an overnight train to Prague (leaving at midnight).
It will be a long day of travel for us - any suggestions on where we could shower, and perhaps take a short nap to get us through the day? We'd prefer to not have to rent a hotel room for a whole day/night!
I don't believe Frankfurt has a shower/sleeping facility (like say, Zurich). I'd try HOTWIRE or some such for a local airport hotel. Considering the overall cost of your trip getting a hot shower, good long nap, decent hot meal etc. is probably a bargain. Good thing about this site is that someone out there will probably be able to post the "why didn't I think of that/know that" solution.
I know this sounds odd, but you might want to think about going to one of the great indoor pools here, named "Rebstock Bad". You can shower, use the sauna and then take a nap in the relaxation rooms. This is what the Germans do. You can even go play in the Wave pool if that sounds like fun. The changing areas even have hairdryers. You get a 3 hour pass for about 7 € and can add additional hours.
http://www.bbf-frankfurt.de/Erlebnisbaeder_Rebstockbad_Fotogalerie.htm
The alternative would be a hostel, but they often do not allow check-in until 1400.
Jo's idea is genius and I'll second that!
These pool complexes are great and one of my favorite things about living in Germany - having fast access to something similar just down the street from my house. (makes swimming laps so much better when there's a treat at the end!)
Most people think you can only get this nice relaxing experience in Baden-Baden at the expensive spas, but this stuff is normal for Germans. Rick really should write more on these places b/c they are great for cheap thrills and something you just don't get in the US.
and by the way - i have yet to go to a pool complex like this that wasn't SUPER clean. I'm usually a flip-flops-to-the-edge-of-the-pool kind of girl b/c hair on the floor totally grosses me out, but honestly, now I really only wear them when I shower at the end, but i actually feel a little silly about that and my husband makes fun of me for it.
And the water is nice and warm, but not ickily so.
You could drop off your big luggage in a train station locker and head to the pool, rest there, then see some of Frankfurt, do dinner, then catch your train.
This is so great, I just forwarded this thread to Rick!
Great idea for his next German book!
