Traveling to Germany in late October!

It's hard to predict the weather but even late October was surprisingly nice here last year. Hopefully we'll have a repeat of that! With 7 days you have plenty of time to drive the Romantic Road if you want. Do be aware the road itself is not particularly scenic, it's just that it connects a bunch of towns with well-preserved historic centers, it's one of many themed routes in Germany. There are a lot of great sights to see a lot closer to the AFB (I had no idea we had one out there!) - don't miss Trier, for sure. You'll be pretty close to Luxembourg, the Mosel river valley, and the Romantic Rhine, all of which are fantastic places to check out, and easily done by car. The fall colors should be lovely and there still might be some wine festivals going on too if you're lucky.

Late October can go either way, and it varies by region. The temperatures can be surprisingly warm or cold. You can count on gray, overcast skies, however. As Sarah noted, the Romantic Road is just a route that links together several towns. The drive itself is nothing special, and it will be even less so in October. For all the friends and family from the US that I have hosted since moving here, the Romantic Road was high in their sight-seeing priorities. Despite my protestations that, except for perhaps Dinkelsbühl, all the tour buses at Rothenbugr odT and the Alpine view at the very southern end, there's nothing particularly unique along the road that they couldn't see within an hour's drive from where I live, everyone still insists on seeing it. And inevitably... they agree that they drove 2-8 hours to visit the same sort of towns that they already saw around where I live. I guess the word "Romantic" is just too powerful to resist. The point of all this... although I'm not familiar with the area around Spandahlem, you can probably find plenty of Romantic Road alternatives around there. And you're not far from the Rhine and Mosel valleys, which ARE worth driving clear across Germany to visit.

Daytrips by train are very cheap in this region - 25€ per day per couple - but Spangdahlem, if that's where you're staying, isn't a great base for trips by public transport - it's about 30-40 minutes by bus to a train station. A car will be more expensive for exploring this area but will save you some transit time. Get a car in Trier or continue by train from Trier to Bitburg (closer to S'dahlem) and pick up a car there if you wish. The Rhine and Mosel areas are more "romantic" than the Romantic Road, IMO. I'd spend most of my time there. From S'dahlem you are also very close to Luxembourg and Belgium, of course. And the Netherlands town of Maastricht is close too. Here are a few highlights in Germany to look into. MOSEL: Trier Cochem - old world village, Reichsburg Castle w/falconry show: http://www.falknerei-reichsburg-cochem.de/fotobuch.htm Shows at 11, 1:00, 2:30, and 4 (closed Mon.) Also nearby: Burg Eltz Castle - http://www.burg-eltz.de Bernkastel (really crazy half-timbered buildings, wine town.) Rhine: Cologne (amazing cathedral, museums) Linz (north of Koblenz, nice old world town) Remagen - WW II museum: http://www.bruecke-remagen.de Villages of Boppard, St. Goar (Rheinfels Castle ruins), Oberwesel and Bacharach, all south of Koblenz Marksburg Castle in Braubach: http://www.marksburg.de North of S'dalem:
Monschau (old weavers town): http://www.monschau.de/tourist-information/bildergalerie.php?bereich=Altstadt Aachen

I agree that you will be able to see more in the general area around Spangdahlem AB if you have a car. I have spent months in that part of Germany over the years (I was a DOD employee) and always found it enjoyable. Trier is wonderful, many of the towns on the Mosdel are also great (plus October is wine fest season) and Lux, Belgium, and even the Netherlands are all within 2 to 4 driving hours. A light jacket and a hat or an umbella for possible rain should be all you need to worry about in October.

Cathy, when we visited our son at Spangdahlem AFB last year, we flew into FRA, then went into the city and rented our car there. It was about $100 less than picking up at the airport. We were able to return the car at the airport for no extra charge, though. We had a bit over two weeks, one of which we spent going down into Switzerland as our son had some last minute training during our visit. While we were with him, we drove to Trier one day; to Vianden, Luxembourg and some driving into Belgium another day; and over to the Rhine River for a river cruise one day. On a previous trip two years before (he was in Spang for four years) we drove to Burg Eltz. There are many great places to see in the Rhineland-Pfalz area - though the Romantic Road is nice (we came back from Switzerland that way) it's not a must-do when you have great places closer to Spang.

Thank-you all! Every single post is so helpful! Very excited to go and see beautiful Germany- and see my daughter too! I just found out that my father's family is from the Black Forest area ...so researching that as well - an trying to squeeze more days out of work! thank you again! ;)

Carry forward Russ' excellent suggestions, my wife and I recently took a couple of boat trips down the Rhine and Mosel. These rivers were the major trade routes of the Roman Empire and early Europe and still work as routes for getting around. The boats are nice and take a leisurely trip through the region. The cost was really low (15-25 euro/person) and the trip was amazing. Cochem and Baccarach are stunningly beautiful, but the whole region is no slouch. The regional trains run along the rivers and provide amazing views, stopping at many small towns along the way. Trains are cheap there too. From Cochem it's a short hop to Burg Eltz, which is an amazing castle, largely unaltered over the last 500 years. Trier is an amazing city with Roman ruins, a stunning cathedral, and Emperor Constantine's throne room. It's not to be missed. You have so many options easily available to you in that area. Have fun!