Help With Germany Plans

Nuremberg's Documentation Centre is excellent & easy to get to by tram.

OK, we've taken Nuremberg out of the trip, and now will do 3 nights in each remaining city (Munich, Frankfurt, and Amsterdam). I read on another forum post that Bamberg outside of Nuremberg is really great, so I'm looking or a similar place near Frankfurt. Any ideas?

Thank you! Now we are looking for a winery to visit while in Frankfurt. I'm searching the internet and this forum for ideas, but I'm having a hard time finding pertinent information on the websites of the wineries. If anyone has been to one that was within 1-1.5 hours from Frankfurt by public transportation, please send it my way!

There are few wineries in the area around Frankfurt because when phylloxera hit the local people gave up on wine and moved to cider, making Frankfurt one of the world's few cities where cider is the main drink. (Using "cider" here in the British English sense of the alcoholic stuff.) I would definitely recommend trying Hesse cider, but I'm not aware of any breweries ("Kelterei" in German) which are open to the public.

Oh, I had read that "apple wine" was all the rage. I guess that could be interpreted as cider! Yep, that makes sense.

Yeah, in Frankfurt, go with the apfelwein. If you want wine, go to the Rhine, and stop in a wine bar near the river. Plenty of wine there. You have 2 days in Frankfurt now. We were in Frankfurt in May. We enjoyed the Archeology museum, which at that time had an exhibit about scandinavian influences in Frankfurt, about 1/3 in English. Very nice museum. In Munich, as a first time visitor, the Chinisichum Turm (Chinese tower) beer garden in the Englischer Garten is fun. It's touristic, but would be fun. Keep an eye on the temperature. Other options exist. We took the Nazi-time tour by the "free-tour" folks. Really interesting - we saw where Hitler's Beerhall putsch took place, etc. Also there is a great treasure museum of the Bavarian kings. And if you wish, the day trip to the Neuschwanstein castle - possibly not enough time for that. The Pinotek museum is a very nice one - they have an absolutely super narration on the headphones, which taught me a lot about art (and we visit art museums all the time). There is a smaller city beer garden that we visited in Munich as well. Not like the Chinesichum turm, but more of a restaurant with a garden to sit in - but in Nov, who knows? The inside seating was large for that.

As to smaller cities, we did a day trip to Heidelberg. But don't get greedy. You don't have enough time for 4 cities. If you wish, you can ask at the Tourist Information in Munich or Frankfurt for a nice town to visit in a day. But 2 days in each city is not much. You really won't have the time to do side-trips. Stick with the cities. Frankfurt has a lot to look at. Make sure to walk by the river. Remember also in Nov the night will come quickly, and you will need more evening options.

It is possible that, if you are late enough in Nov, there will be Kristkindlmarkten to visit. That would be fun.

Thanks for the helpful ideas for Frankfurt! We don't have any other side trips planned except for Frankfurt, and we are really excited! If anyone has any suggestions for their favorite beer halls in Munch, send them my way! Again, thanks for all of the helpful advice.

For wine in Frankfurt, the farmers markets have really nice wine stands set up and they often let you try a taste or two before buying a glass. These are all locally produced wines from with-in 100km of Frankfurt, usually the Rheingau. At the Klein Markt Halle, they also have a wine bar along the back and on Sat. they have a sort of combi grill and wine party.

There is plenty to see in Frankfurt, with a wide variety of museums as well as lot of Jewish historic sites. The church here isn't the largest or most magnificent, but it was where the emperors where elected (30 times) from 1300's on and where the coronations (10 times) took place from the middle 1500's. For an older church, head to the neighborhood of Höchst. The Justinus church was consecrated in 850, making it one of the oldest churches in Germany. This part of Frankfurt is included on the half-timbered route in Germany. Great for a few hours sightseeing.