My wife, 2-year-old daughter, and I will be traveling to Germany from the U.S. in late September to visit friends and do some sightseeing. On the day we arrive, our friends will be driving home to Kusel from Munich (Oktoberfest) and have offered to pick us up at Frankfurt airport. The problem is that we will land at FRA at about 11 am, but our friends don't expect to get there before 4 pm, so we have 5 hours to kill. At first I thought it would be no problem to spend 5 hours at the airport, given what I read about all the amenities FRA has for travelers (yoga rooms, quiet rooms, children's play areas, restaurants). But then I realized that most of these are beyond the security checkpoint ("airside") for outbound travelers. I'm assuming that after we land we will be required to pick up our checked baggage and proceed straight through customs, after which we will be outside of security ("landside") and unable to access most of the amenities FRA has to offer. At that point we will be jetlagged, laden with baggage and a (probably) cranky toddler, so "just going into Frankfurt for a few hours" isn't really an appealing option (even if we stored our bags at FRA, which is pricey). We'd really rather stay put, relax, and occupy our daughter for a few hours before our friends arrive.
So the question is, Can we pick up our checked bags but stay airside for a few hours after we land? If not, is there much of anything to do at FRA outside of security? Thanks for any advice!