GEMS OF GERMANY - The hidden treasure of GERMANY FRANKFURT, RUDESHEIM & RHINE CRUISE

Continued from previous issue
It was time for my annual vacation with my family in May and I had an interesting challenge as the youngest member travelling was my son who had just turned 6 in April and the senior most member of my family was my dad who was 75. I started short listing destinations and I narrowed down to Germany - a country that offers diverse experiences across all age groups . Although, this was my second trip to Germany in less than 8 months, I had to put together an itinerary which had an ideal blend of experiences . In 2007, I had taken my kids to the Eurodisney, on the outskirts of Paris and they loved it, so this time I decided to include two theme parks; although in Germany there are as many as 7 theme parks to choose from.

There is the Europa Park in Rust, which is close to Freiburg. Then there is Legoland of the famous Lego Company of Denmark which is half way between Munich and Stuttgart. Phantasialand and Moviepark which are close to Cologne and in close proximity to Bonn as well as Dusseldorf is in the Ruhr Valley. Then there is the Heide Park near Hamburg and Holiday Park which can be accessed from Frankfurt, Stuttgart or Heidelberg and finally there is the Hansa Park which is easily accessible from the Baltic Coast.My associate and Skalleague Thomas Giesick , based in Weilmuenster, a town located 50 kilometres north west from Frankfurt am Main helped me to put together an interesting 10 day itinerary which we started from the Mainhattan of Germany and city of art & culture, Frankfurt. We were to spend a couple of days in this very important business city of Hesse before heading south into Freiburg and the region of the Black Forest and finally to Bavaria in the south.We arrived into Frankfurt around 0745 hours and were transferred to Hotel Bristol, located very close to the Hauptbahnhof or the main train station. I ensured that during our 10 day itinerary, we stayed close to the train stations in various cities as our entire travel was to be by train starting from Frankfurt and ending in Munich.

We had ample time to check in and have a quick meal before leaving at around 1400 hours for the Frankfurt City Tour. There are various ways to see the city such as the Super Saver Frankfurt Card. A one day ticket costs 8.70 € (euros) and a group ticket which include 5 persons costs a mere 15 € and includes free and unlimited travel on Frankfurt's public transport system within the city as well as reductions ranging from 20% to 50% to visit the Frankfurt museums, botanical gardens, zoological garden, Frankfurt Theatre and Opera as well. Additionally, you get discounts at various restaurants, cafes, bars and retail stores. If you are staying longer, you may also opt for the 2 day ticket. There is also a reduction that you receive for the Frankfurt sightseeing tour which is the best way to get an overview of the city. The 2 ½ hour city tour starts from the main train station, covering the famous skyline of Mainhattan or the business and banking district, the museum embankment, Old Sachsenhausen, St Paul's Church and you get an opportunity to alight and walk around the Roemberg and visit the Goethe-House or the Main Tower's rooftop observation platform 200 metres above street level.

Frankfurt am Main is a city having a population of over 650000 inhabitants and is a very cosmopolitan city with nearly 25% of the population comprising of foreign nationalities. It is a major congress and conference centre and home to over 110 trade fairs, exhibitions and public events, most of which are hosted at Messe Frankfurt. Some of the popular fairs include the Frankfurt Book Fair, the International Automobile Show which is hosted every 2 years and the ACHEMA, the international chemical engineering fair which is once in 3 years. Hence, it is not surprising that Frankfurt has the third biggest exhibition area worldwide comprising of 578000 sq.metres and the Frankfurt airport is also the 3rd largest airport in Europe in terms of passenger traffic and largest in Europe in terms of freight traffic. The train station has over 1730 trains every day with a commuter traffic of 350000 each day. Frankfurt is home to over 218 banks including 169 foreign banks as well as the home of European Monetary Institute and the European Central Bank. Frankfurt would undoubtedly be termed as the Commercial Capital of Germany as it is the financial and trade fair hub not only for Germany but for the European continent. During our short stay in Frankfurt, we got the opportunity to go up the Frankfurt Main Tower and get a spectacular view of the urban development and sky scraper from the top of the 55 storey building. One of the interesting highlights of our sightseeing tour was a visit to the historic area of Roemberg, which is a city within the city comprising of the Roemer Town Hall, the Frankfurt Dom or Cathedral and the St. Paul's Church which is where the first German National Assembly was held in 1848 and is known as the cradle of German democracy.

Frankfurt is also a city of museums and more than 200 million euros have been invested into the unique museum landscape. During my tour of the Magic Cities later in July, I had the opportunity to visit the historic Goethe House and Goethe Museum built to commemorate Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and those who have followed the works of Goethe must visit this historic museum situated at 23 Grosser Hirschgraben. The Goethe House provides interesting insights into the routine and life style of the Goethe family, a typical 18th century home and the Museum exhibits the life and works of this famous poet and his contemporaries. Frankfurt is also famous for traditional apple wine which has been associated with the city for over 250 years and I had the opportunity of accompanying Thomas to a local apple wine restaurant Wagner and try out the ebbelwei or stoffche as known in the local dialect which has a history dating back over 1200 years. Originally believed to contain medicinal value and recommended by doctors, the apple wine is supposed to increase blood circulation and delay ageing process and is a big hit with local Frankfurters and tourists who come to places like Wagner every evening in the region of Sachsenhausen and have the Stoffche with a juicy rib and sauerkraut or pickled bacon or pork ribs and of course, it tastes best with Handkäs mit Musik, a dish which consists of aromatic cheese simmered in cider and served with onions. Traditionally, the apple wine is served in a blue grey crockery jug known as Bembel and a traditional drinker of the apple wine would drink it straight although it could also be had with lemonade. During summer, strawberries are often added to the apple wine to create a fruity apple wine punch. I relished the apple wine accompanied with Handkäs mit Musik and I would recommend this combination to anyone visiting Frankfurt. It is indeed a great experience where you share a long table with strangers and have your apple wine and strike a conversation with those you meet at the table and those who you may have never met before or never meet again. The old Sachsenhausen where you find restaurants like Wagner is to the south side of the Main river and the Main river itself is a wonderful place to cruise and is one more exciting way to see the city of Frankfurt. An ideal river cruise lasting between 50 minutes one way or 100 minutes return from the Offenbach Watergate from where you can view the impressive skyline of Frankfurt you cover interesting sights en route to the Griesheim Watergate and is an ideal way to explore the city on a warm sunny day along with a chilled glass of beer. Whether you want to do day trips to Mainz and Wiesbaden and onwards to the Rhine Valley or a dinner cruise, the Main river adds yet another dimension to explore Frankfurt.

There are several extensions that one can take from Frankfurt which would include day trips to Heidelberg, Wiesbaden – the capital city of Hesse, Mainz and the romantic Rheingau with its castles and vineyards. The Upper Middle Rhine Valley - a UNESCO World Heritage Site - is where we planned to head next, to the city of Rudesheim, to take a scenic cruise on the river Rhine. We had a long day ahead of us and the best way to travel within Germany is by train as there is an efficient rail network across the 16 Federal States. We boarded the regional express train known as RE which took us from the Frankfurt Main Station and into Rudesheim in 1 hour 8 minutes. We arrived at the Rüdesheim Railway Station and were welcomed by Mr. Laber from Rüdesheim Tourism and we had a couple of hours to explore this wonderful town before boarding the KD (Koln Dusseldorfer) cruise to St. Goar and onwards to Koblenz.

The Upper Rhine Valley offers the most stunning scenery as the riverscape is dotted with castles and age old townships and is one of the most picturesque and romantic locations of not only Germany but across Europe and has been inspiration to several painters, artists and authors from across the globe. Rudeshiem belongs to the state of Rhineland Palatinate of which the city of Mainz is the capital. Known for its world famous Rheingau Riesling wine, the cuisine of this region also is world famous especially the Ritterschmaus or the knight's meal and the Rüdesheim coffee. It is here that you will find some of the most spectacular landscapes and vantage points in Germany. The famous Drosselgasse is a street adorned with shops and boutiques. On our arrival at Rüdesheim, we first took a short walk around this beautiful town before taking the cable car up to the ruins of the Ehrenfels Castle from where you get one of the most picturesque views of the vineyards and the Rhine Valley. The view is simply breathtaking and I would recommend the cable car to each and every one who plans to visit Rudesheim besides having a walk around the town and taste some of the local culinary delights along with a glass of wine. For hikers there is an option of taking the cable car one way and doing the Rheinsteig walk on the way down and enjoy spectacular views of the vineyards across various altitudes extending hundreds of metres above the Rhine river. The colour green predominates the regions as you see vineyards everywhere and for lovers of nature and countryside an overnight stay in Rüdesheim is well worth it.

Rudesheim also hosts wine festivals and a very interesting Magic Bike Rally, one of the largest European Harley Davidson events in early summer every year. Unfortunately, we were one week early at Rüdesheim and we missed the roaring of over 2000 Harleys. Next year the event is scheduled between 11th and 14th June 2009. We had Herr Laber who took us around the wonderful area of the Rheingau Riesling wine regions. Rudesheim is a good option to stay when the hotel accommodation prices in Frankfurt hit the roof during the Trade Fairs and at times you have to pay as much as 600 Euros per night. So Rudesheim undoubtedly is a good option as it is just an hour from Frankfurt and can be reached by road, rail or by river as well. The capital of Rhineland Platinate is Mainz and that of Hessen is Wiesbaden which is one third the size of Frankfurt. Wiesbaden has 27 hot springs and the interesting part of this region is that no where in Germany are two capitals Mainz and Wiesbaden so close to each other and separated by a river. So the Rheingau region is an interesting place to combine with Frankfurt even if you intend to have a short business trip to Germany. There are wine distilleries to ensure that you can even get wine without alcohol. One of the places to visit is Asbach, which is a shop which houses selective wines of the regions along with the original Asbach chocolates, Rudesheim coffee sets and connoisseur glasses. At Rudesheim you will also find Kathe Wohlfahrt, the most exceptional Christmas specialty store in the world to take back wonderful decorations comprising of a great selection of nutcrackers, Christmas pyramids, German black forest cuckoo clocks as well as traditional Bavarian beer steins and celebrate Christmas all year round. Another must visit store off the main shopping street of Drosselgasse is Siegfried's Mechanisches Musikkabinett where you can see and hear one of the largest German collections of self playing musical instruments from the 18th to the 20th Century.

As you go up the seilbahn or cable car in the direction of the Ehrenfels castle you get one of the most spectacular views of the Loreley Valley and it is not surprising to note why Rudesheim is one of the 70 UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Sites globally as the region is extremely rich as a singular cultural entity of great beauty with a rich landscape. There is lots one can do in and around the area, whether it's a visit to the 1000 year old Bromser Castle or the red wine village of Assmannhausen, or a hiking or biking trail or board the winegrower train or even play golf in one of the golf courses in the area. For overnight stays, the best place to stay is the Rüdesheimer Schloss run by the Breuer family and located in the historic city centre. The modern 4 star hotel is located in a building dating back to 1729 and offers rooms and suites besides a wintergarden. Wines are from their own vineyard and the restaurant garden serves traditional local dishes with live band music playing in the background. There is also the Lindenwirt Hotel which is unique as besides regular accommodation they also have an original wine barrel room and is a few steps away from the cable car railway. We wished we had more time to explore this wonderful city, however it was time for us to board the KD ship to move in the direction of Koblenz and our next stop was at St.Goar where we would be visiting the Castle Rheinfels on the little Castle Express train and our kids got extremely excited at the thought of travelling in a train, boat and a mini train all on the same day and seeing several castles along the way.
To be continued

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