Frankfurt + daytrips in Germany and elsewhere

[Ni3lS]

Cool pics. Some very underrated cities in this thread that I'd like to visit sometime as well

[yubnub]

Originally Posted by Godius

Lovely updates, thanks.

Originally Posted by madridhere

Heidelberg looks great!!!!!!

it is, you should visit, totally worth it

Originally Posted by Aachener Mädelstraße

There are dozens of interesting places in Germany, and not just big cities but also a whole lot of small, beautiful towns (they often have a nice authentic Altstadt), and great nature.

What is your 'top ten' from the places you've visited until now?

I agree, actually I think the smaller places are better because they are more likely to have survived WW2 destruction. I visited Cologne recently and found it to be a little depressing compared to somewhere like Marburg

Top ten is tough, maybe top 5 is easier
Garmiscsh-Partenkirchen
Limburg an der Lahn (photos follow shortly)
Marburg
Heidelburg
Wiesbaden

Originally Posted by christos-greece

I like those panoramic views of Heidelberg

thanks, Sony cameras make these photos, I only have to get myself to a good spot and there are many good spots in Heidelberg

Originally Posted by Ni3lS

Cool pics. Some very underrated cities in this thread that I'd like to visit sometime as well

thanks, Frankfurt is a great base to make trips from. Ive already been to plenty of places but everytime I visit one I discover 3-4 more that I had never even heard of before

[yubnub]

Limburg an der Lahn, this is another charming small city in Hesse that survived WW2 and has an original and lovely old town. It's all topped off by a small but really beautiful cathedral

The cathedral is a little stocky and short but looks very dramatic perched above the river
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Limburg an der Lahn Cathedral by barnyz, on Flickr

The west front of Limburg's cathedral
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Limburg an der Lahn Cathedral by barnyz, on Flickr

The interior of the cathedral is small and condensed but really stunning. It's also fairly unusual style wise as its almost a perfect synthesis between romanesque and gothic
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Limburg an der Lahn Cathedral by barnyz, on Flickr

Looking up at the vaulted nave. Unlike many German churches this one more closely follows the more standard format with a triformium and clerestory
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Limburg an der Lahn Cathedral by barnyz, on Flickr

The crossing tower
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Limburg an der Lahn Cathedral by barnyz, on Flickr

I got lucky when I visited as the sun was shining and they had just finished a service and the smokey air from candles and incence made nice godrays coming into the cathedral
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Limburg an der Lahn Cathedral by barnyz, on Flickr
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Limburg an der Lahn Cathedral by barnyz, on Flickr

[yubnub]

Limburg an der Lahn also has a stunning old town full of old timber framed buildings
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Limburg an der Lahn by barnyz, on Flickr
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Limburg an der Lahn by barnyz, on Flickr

Slightly further down the River Lahn is the superb romanesque church of St. Lubentius
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Limburg an der Lahn, St. Lubentiu by barnyz, on Flickr

[yubnub]

Runkel is slightly further down the river Lahn and only ten minutes on the train from Limburg so you could easily visit it as a side trip from there. In fact im pretty sure you could walk to it from St. Lubentius (above)

The town is dominated by a ruined castle but also has some nice old buildings
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Runkel by barnyz, on Flickr

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Runkel by barnyz, on Flickr

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Runkel castle by barnyz, on Flickr

[yubnub]

Eppstein is a place I had never heard of until I visited Limburg. On the train on the way home the train stopped at this town and I saw the ruined castle from the train. So of course the next weekend I had to come back for a closer look!!! So many castles in Germany

Eppstein is a tiny town in the Tanus mountains and is one of many commuter towns surrounding Frankfurt
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Eppstein Castle by barnyz, on Flickr

Eppstein is surrounded by lovely wooded hills with well marked walking paths which provide nice views of the town and castle
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Eppstein Castle by barnyz, on Flickr

Like so many castles in Germany this one is mostly ruined but has a tower that can be climbed
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Eppstein Castle by barnyz, on Flickr

At the base of the castle is a small old town with many charming timber framed buildings
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Eppstein Castle by barnyz, on Flickr

[Nightsky]

I visited some of these cities some years ago! Amazing cities... I visited Frankfurt, Heidelberg, Wiesbaden, Heidelberg and Darmstadt.A regret I didn't visit the small towns, they seem really beautiful.

[Dr.Seltsam]

True! Heidelberg is worth even two visits!

P.S.: Amazing photos!!!

[Pansori]

Some beautiful places. I'll know what to see next time.

[yubnub]

Originally Posted by Nightsky

I visited some of these cities some years ago! Amazing cities... I visited Frankfurt, Heidelberg, Wiesbaden, Heidelberg and Darmstadt.A regret I didn't visit the small towns, they seem really beautiful.

It sounds like you saw alot more than most. I dont think it's realistic to visit as many places near Frankfurt unless you were living here for some time, same goes for anywhere in Europe. It's one of the reasons I moved here to combine working with travelling.

Originally Posted by Dr.Seltsam

True! Heidelberg is worth even two visits!

P.S.: Amazing photos!!!

hehe true, ive been twice, if there is some good snow this winter I might go again as I think Heidelberg + snow would look awesome

Originally Posted by Pansori

Some beautiful places. I'll know what to see next time.

There are many more to come!!! Hopefully this thread will have many more places in it once I catch up with my backlog and get mor reliable internet. I would certainly be pleased if I thought this thread helped people plan their travels in and around FF

[yubnub]

Cologne. Well you cant go to this part of Germany without going to Cologne. I caught the high speed train for the first time (you need to book it months in advance to get a decent ticket price) which was fun and only took 1hour

Some panorama's of Cologne's historic skyline. It was a bit of a grey day which really doesn't help Cologne which is in parts a little grey and bleak
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Cologne Panorama by barnyz, on Flickr

The sweep panorama function on my camera seems to struggle when there is not much contrast to pick up on
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Cologne Panorama by barnyz, on Flickr

The skyscraper on the far right has a roof top terrace that I visited and provides nice views over the city even though it was raining too much for nice photos at the time
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Cologne Panorama by barnyz, on Flickr

[yubnub]

Cologne is very famous for it's enourmous gothic cathedral (now a UNESCO world heritage site) which despite severe damage in WW2 still towers over the city

The west front is most impressive even with scaffolding
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Cologne cathedral by barnyz, on Flickr

The exterior with its stone exo-skeleton of flying buttresses. This building is so big they had to stop and take a break in construction between the 15th and 19th centuries!!!
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Cologne cathedral by barnyz, on Flickr

Looking up at the 43m high nave vault. That's properly massive and double the height of some cathedral's in England (well we build em longer though ). Im not sure I like the position of the organ though, still its better up there than in the crossing
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Cologne cathedral interior by barnyz, on Flickr

The choir is the oldest completed part of the cathedral. Despite the massive and impressive size I think I actually preferred Limburg's cathedral as it didn't cause severe neck pain from having to look up so much
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Cologne cathedral interior by barnyz, on Flickr

[openlyJane]

I think Germany is charming and magical - straight out of a Grimm's fairy tale.

[yubnub]

Cologne suffered extensive damage in WW2. Sadly like many cities it was rebuilt in a really drab way and overall I found the city a little depressing trying to imagine what it might have been like. Despite this there are many amazing romanesque churches that were rebuilt but many of them are sploit a little by being surrounded by cheap looking modern blocks so this is just a small highlight of what is there

St Kunibert is one of the better restored of the churches
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Cologne St. Kunibert by barnyz, on Flickr

Great St Martin is probably the most famous of the romanesque churches as its the one that is most prominent in skyline pictures due to being near the cathedral
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Cologne Great Saint Martin by barnyz, on Flickr
The interior of Great St Martin
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Cologne Great Saint Martin by barnyz, on Flickr

St Maria im Kapitol. The choir (pictured) appeared to have been faithfully restored but the nave had a modern looking roof over it. Hopefully it's temporary and one day they can fully restore it to it's former glory
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Cologne St Maria im Kapitol interior by barnyz, on Flickr

[yubnub]

Originally Posted by openlyJane

I think Germany is charming and magical - straight out of a Grimm's fairy tale.

Many places are especially the smaller towns and villages that survived WW2. This thread is probably not a very balanced representation of Germany as many parts of it can be bland and depressing just like in the UK. Despite that I would still highly recommend anyone to visit the place, im very glad I have and im looking forward to many more weekend trips out

[Pansori]

Some incredibly beautiful places. I have had a chance to see Cologne cathedral in 2010, It's a rather interesting experience to stand next to the towers or even the side of the building. It's simply grand. One of the grandest church buildings anywhere in the world for sure.

[yubnub]

Originally Posted by Pansori

Some incredibly beautiful places. I have had a chance to see Cologne cathedral in 2010, It's a rather interesting experience to stand next to the towers or even the side of the building. It's simply grand. One of the grandest church buildings anywhere in the world for sure.

yep it's massive, according to wiki the largest of it's kind in Northern Europe. Hard to believe that some parts of it were built 700 years ago and that it was sturdy enough to survive ww2. Medieval stone masons/architects must surely rank as some of the greatest genius's in history

[yubnub]

Burg Eltz in the Rhineland-Palatinate, this is a bit of a long way from Frankfurt but I got lucky as some people I knew were staying in the Moselle Valley so I got to spend lots of time going up and down that amazing river

The castle is one of very few castles in the area never to have been destroyed
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Burg Eltz by barnyz, on Flickr

I visited on an expectionally hot saturday and the place was really overrun by tourists, I recommend going during the week if you get a chance to go as the sheer numbers of people was just a little too much
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Burg Eltz panorama by barnyz, on Flickr

This castle is no where near as famous as Neuschwanstein in Bavaria but is in my opinion much more interesting as it is a proper castle built during medieval times. It's far more fairy tale like than any other castle I have seen in Germany
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Burg Eltz panorama by barnyz, on Flickr

The castle is still owned and run by the original Eltz family. I wish my ancestors had built me a castle 500 years ago!!!
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Burg Eltz by barnyz, on Flickr

The inner courtyard
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Burg Eltz by barnyz, on Flickr

[yubnub]

Frankfurt am Main again. As im living here it seems a shame not to carry a camera around all the time! So more shots of the skyline just because

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Frankfurt am Main skyline at night by barnyz, on Flickr

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Frankfurt am Main sunset by barnyz, on Flickr

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Frankfurt am Main by barnyz, on Flickr

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Frankfurt am Main skyline by barnyz, on Flickr

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Frankfurt am Main skyline by barnyz, on Flickr

[timo9]

Wow great pics!