During our time in Frankfurt, we were able to jump on the train and enjoy many different weekend trips to various cities around Germany. We also took several trips outside of Germany, but Frankfurt was a great hub to explore Germany itself from as well. We would often sit at our favorite little restaurant on a Thursday night and pull up the Deutsche Bahn app and just look at what places we could get to within a few hour train ride and just pick one as our destination. Often times the time on the train was as interesting as the destination because we could sit in our compartment, have a glass of wine, and watch the scenery as we traveled through the German countryside. These are a few of the places that we were able to visit by taking a quick trip out of Frankfurt.
Würzburg – One of the weekend trips that we took when we were in Frankfurt was to Würzburg. Although we had only been living in Germany for a little over a month, this particularly getaway made us feel as though we were becoming locals. It is a short train ride from Frankfurt to Würzburg and we arrived right around lunchtime. We found a tiny little restaurant that obviously catered to several regulars who were chatting with one another, reading newspapers, and simply relaxing. The owner offered us a seasonal beer, which of course we had to try, and we had an appetizer platter with blood sausage, potatoes, and cheese.
Heidelberg – One of our first weekend getaway from Frankfurt was to visit Heidelberg. Heidelberg is the location of the oldest university in Germany and has a wonderful old town area. Because the Heidelberg University has been considered one of the finest universities in Europe since it was built in the 14th century, it has attracted scientists, philosophers, and literary figures throughout its history. Located on the Neckar River, the scenery is absolutely stunning, especially in October, which is when we visited.
Hochheim – Located just couple of hours outside of Frankfurt, we visited Hochheim for a quick day trip from the city. It is a small town surrounded by vineyards and still retains its medieval charm. It was early November and the town was holding its annual festival and market, so it was a lot busier than it normally would have been, but that also made it fun for us. It was a quick train ride from Frankfurt and since we had monthly passes for the train, we simply had to pay a little extra to get to the nearby town.
Koblenz – Taking a train from Frankfurt to Koblenz was one of the most memorable trips during our time in Germany. The city spans both sides of the Rhine River and is situated where the Rhine meets the Moselle River. There are many sights to see when visiting Koblenz, but the highlights are the Ehrenbreitstein Fortress, the German Corner, and Schloss Stolzenfels. There is also an interesting statue that depicts the 2000 year history of the city, but even without all of these places, just walking along the Rhine would make visiting Koblenz worthwhile.
Nuremberg – We took the train from Frankfurt to Nuremberg during the first week of January during our time in Germany. It was more or less a spur of the moment trip, so we hadn’t researched anything about Nuremberg before deciding to go there. We loved living in Germany as we would pull up the train app on a Thursday and book a trip for Friday and away we would go. It was a quick trip and very cold at the time, but we had a wonderful time there. As with any trip, just relaxing and enjoying the atmosphere of the city is the most important thing, but there are a few places that should not be missed when visiting.
Each of these trips were very memorable in their own ways. Germany has so many interesting locations to visit that these are just a few. We would love to go back soon and see even more of the places that we didn’t have time to get to. Between the architecture, culture, and food, it is certainly one of the places that we could go back and visit many times.
