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There's More To Frankfurt Than Just A Layover

All this week Eric Rosen has been giving us ideas for some different day trips that you can take from Frankfurt. Any questions or suggestions? Let us know!

Thanks to its huge international airport at the hub of Europe’s domestic air market, not to mention airfares from the U.S. that are cheaper (usually by hundreds of dollars) than to nearby capitals like Berlin and Paris and London, Frankfurt is usually no more than a way-station for in-transit travelers. But next time you’re scheduled through there, think about spending a couple of days exploring Germany’s banking city. You just might be surprised at how much there is to see and do there.

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Just Upriver From Frankfurt: Yours, Mainz and Ours

All this week Eric Rosen will be giving us ideas for some different day trips that you can take from Frankfurt. Any questions or suggestions? Let us know!

When you fly into the Frankfurt airport, you’ll discover that the full name of it is actually the Frankfurt am Main Airport because Frankfurt is on the Main River. So, in fact, is the city of Mainz, as you may guess from the name. Before we get into the details of why you should visit the colorfully restored old town of this once powerful medieval city, we’re also going to give you a German pronunciation lesson.

You pronounce the city like the word "mines" in English, not "mains" like water main. Now that you know how to say it, here’s what you should see.

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Crawling Around Worms, Germany

All this week Eric Rosen will be giving us ideas for some different day trips that you can take from Frankfurt. Any questions or suggestions? Let us know!

We’re not talking about the creepy crawlers that make your garden grow, we’re talking about the magnificent medieval city situated on the Rhine River about an hour south of Frankfurt. Worms was a bustling river port, crucible of the Reformation, home to one of the oldest Jewish populations in Europe, and setting of the epic German poem (and Wagner opera cycle) the Niebelungenlied. It also happens to make an excellent daytrip from Frankfurt since several trains depart for Worms from Frankfurt every hour, and cost about 11 euros for the hour-long trip.

Though much of the city was destroyed in World War II due to its position as a trading city on the Rhine, the medieval center has been carefully reconstructed in many places, and there are still plenty of sights to see. However, the city outside the Altstadt, or old town, is pretty industrialized, so stick to the center.

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The Rhine, The Wine and All That's Fine Near Frankfurt

All this week Eric Rosen will be giving us ideas for some different day trips that you can take from Frankfurt. Any questions or suggestions? Let us know!

You might not have heard of the jewel-box town of Bernkastel-Kues, nestled on the banks of Germany’s Mosel River, but as home to some of the world’s most famous Riesling producers, it is one of the most visited wine destinations in Europe.

A Ride on the Autobahn:
To get there, you can take a two-hour train ride from Frankfurt to the town of Wittlich, about 13 miles away and hop on a bus from there…or you could just be lazy and rent a car at the Frankfurt airport and make the two-hour drive on the autobahn yourself. We’d suggest the latter, but just be sure to rent a car that’s on the small side since the cobbled streets in town are unbelievably narrow.

History Dork-Out:
The town derives its hyphenated name from the fact that it is actually two towns: Bernkastel and Kues. Bernkastel, which actually means “Bear Castle” thanks to a few folkloric legends, has been inhabited since before Roman times (even back then, they were making wine), and has all the picturesque trappings you could want, including a ruined castle that was once the seat of the powerful archbishops of Trier, half-timbered houses colorfully painted with pagan symbols to ward off goblins and witches, a sculpture of bears playing in a fountain, and even a building in the main square whose façade transforms into an Advent Calendar in December. Quaint!

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German Naturists Pretty Psyched About New Nude Hiking Trail

It seems like we're doing a naked travel or nude hiking post every few weeks now, with today's story courtesy of the 11 mile naturist hiking trail opening up in Germany. The eagerly anticipated path goes from Dankerode to the Wippertal dam along the Harz mountain range in central Germany.

Apparently enthusiasts have been lighting up naturist chat rooms over it for months. The Reuters writeup was very specific on this: "Naturist chat rooms."

So scientists believe we started wearing clothes some time between 100,000 and 500,000 years ago. Do you know why our grunting ancestors decided to cover themselves with animal pelts? Because they realized that dirt is dirty. It must have been a radical insight at the time—"hey, all this sticky stuff doesn't get on my skin if I cover myself, and I even feel warmer"—but nevertheless they were able to apply their chimp-like analytical skills to the problem and crack that nut. Not so much with these hippies.

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You've Heard of the Staycation, But What About the 'Greycation?'

You've no doubt heard of the "staycation," but "greycation" might be a new term to familiarize yourself with, especially if you belong to the silver-haired faction of jetsetters. While the travel industry often takes great pains to appeal to younger demographics, what with the influx of advertisements for debauched Spring Break getaways and MTV branded guides, those 50 and over crave the same kind of exploration that their younger cohorts do.

And where do these baby boomers choose to spend their hard-earned cash, or, in some cases, retirement fund savings? Today, Club Med and timeshares don't mark the height of senior citizen travel. According to a recent report by Reuters, culture-hungry greycationers are enamored with Germany, a country that is not only attracting many an international visitor these days, but whose older citizens are stimulating the national by booking holidays and supporting local businesses in the process. Says Reuters:

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Berlin Shows Their Sausage Love By Opening A Currywurst Museum

It's hot and greasy and goopy and fatty; it's a full, heaping plate of Berlin's favorite fast food Currywurst. Only a few months ago, we found ourselves on an informal tour of the Berlin's best Currywurst stands, from Konnopke's underneath an U-bahn station to the KaDeWe's department store kiosk. Believe us when we say that currywurst—sausage drowned with curry ketchup and curry powder and presented with a side of either french fries or potato salad—is the shizznit.

So apparently we headed to Germany a tad too early, as Berlin has just opened the first museum devoted completely to the history and varieties of currywurst. The Deutsches Currywurst Museum, cozying up next to the tourist trap that is Checkpoint Charlie, explores the eating habits of Berliners (who consume around 70 million currywursts every year!) and doles out samples of the tasty favorite.

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The Latest In Extra Travel Fees: Pre-Reserving Lounge Chairs

Hey, hidden and extra fees are keeping the airline industry afloat. So why not resorts as well? Here's the newest extra fee scheme, coming straight out of Germany:

The travel firm Thomas Cook is giving Germans the option of pre-booking their loungers. Reserving a lounger and beach umbrella in advance will cost about three euros ($4.30) a day. One of the firm's managers, Peter Fankhauser, said that 'with this we're relieving our clients of early morning stress.' He said he too found it "really tiresome" on holiday to be sent out by his wife early in the morning to place beach towels on the desired poolside loungers, Sueddeutsche Zeitung reported.

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Germany Cracking Down On Recession-Friendly Brothel 'Flat Rates'

Everyone is suffering during this recession, even and perhaps especially the honest, hard working ladies of the Vegas stripper community. Our hearts go out.

The tragedy extends far beyond Nevada however. In many German brothels the only things that have been going down lately are the profits. Brothel owners are trying to cope by introducing creative new marketing and pricing arrangements, such as the Pussy Club's "flat rate" special.

For a single payment of 60 pounds gentlemen can avail themselves of the establishment's wares, which involve women and beer and women, for the entire day.

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The Secret To Summer Beer Bliss Sits In Munich

To avid beer drinkers and expats, this super summer beverage might be pretty familiar; it's the Radler, a mix of light beer and lemonade which also goes by the names of panache in France and clara in Spain. Since lemonade never fails to refresh, the Radler is a way of both adapting beer for summer bingeing and offering a refreshing beverage.

Since Oktoberfest in Munich actually takes place in September and the city is usually still experiencing summer temperatures, tucking into a Radler is a way to continue drinking into dusk without suffering heatstroke and passing out from a combo of booze and sunlight. In town and away from the Oktoberfest tents however sits Donisl Restaurant, a bastion of Bavarian cuisine for over 200 years, which happily serves up fizzy steins of Radler to those looking for a meal with their beer.

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Not All Beer Drinking Leads to Munich: Try Straubing

Munich is definitely not the only place in Germany that knows how to celebrate with beer, and this weekend's Guardian UK had a great alternative Oktoberfest tip: head to Straubing, home to the second largest beer festival in Germany and one that might be more authentic than the one we know and love.

Located not too far down the Danube from tourist destination Regensburg, Straubing gets in early by celebrating its love of beer (and all things cultural) in August—this year it's August 7 to 17. The official name of the fest is the Gäubodenvolksfest and it gets about 1.2 million visitors a year, who pay a lot less for the beer here than down the road in Munich a month or so later. Seven beer tents offer only locally-brewed beers and we recommend getting there for the opening day of the festival for the "Bierprobe"—the first tapping and trying of the beer. Prost!

Related Stories:
· Here for the Beer [Guardian]
· Oktoberfest Post-Mortem: The Five Things You Need to Know for 2009 [Jaunted]
· Germany Travel Guide [Jaunted]

[Photo: bugmonkey]

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The NYT Visits Germany's 'Singing' Sand Nude Beaches

We haven't yet met a stretch of sand we didn't like; Bermuda's pink sand has tickled our toes and Stromboli's volcanic black sand made us wonder with awe, but what are we to think of Germany's "singing sand?" In this last Sunday's New York Times, the paper visits the Baltic Sea island of Usedom, formerly famous for its nude beaches but now known as a spa mecca and a recent setting for some Roman Polanski filming with Pierce Brosnan, Ewan McGregor and Kim Catrall.

Perhaps what sets apart this seasonal resort town the most however, is the super-fine quality of its sand beaches and their tendency to make squeaking noises which the NYT describes as "like music from a tiny orchestra of invisible violins." This we might have to hear to believe, but luckily the NYT has all the visit details for us along with the hint that the island is only two-and-a-half hours from Berlin. We'll see you there.

Related Stories:
· Off Germany, an Island of "Singing" Sand [NYT]
· Germany Travel Coverage []

[Photo: Wikimedia]