# Back from Germany



## Capt Lightning (Mar 14, 2015)

Back from our holidays in Germany. It's definitely our favourite holiday destination and as  northeners,
we find the more guttural language easier to speak and understand  than French.

Had a fantastic time, ate a lot, drank a lot, walked a lot and spent a lot.
Weather was great - coolish, but clear and bright.  We spent the first part of the holiday in Frankfurt and the
surrounding area. We stayed in a small hotel on the edge of the financial district, but an easy walk to the botanic 
gardens and the main shopping areas.  Dianne is heading off to Porto with daughter no.1 in summer, and she took
the stores (Karstadt, C&A, Kaufhof etc.) by storm in the search for lightweight clothing. 

Spent half a day at Frankfurt zoo, but although I support zoos, this one was disappointing. Being in a city, 
space is limited and I think it would be much better to have fewer large animals with larger enclosures. It is
however a very popular attraction and not  expensive.

For the second part of the holiday, we moved to Mainz where we had a great room in the Hilton, 
overlooking the Rhine. Although the room and the view were great, it was impossible to keep the room cool enough for a good nights sleep and breakfast wasn't nearly as good as in the little Frankfurt hotel!

The border between Hessen and Rhineland-Pfalz runs along the Rhine and there are few crossing points.
Being in Mainz gave the best opportunity to visit Koblenz and the small Rhine towns These trips were purely for
sightseeing, but it was disappointing to find that the cable car climbing over the Rhine up to the
Ehrenbreitstein Fortress, was not open yet.

I love Mainz itself, having lived and worked there. One night in Feb 1945, allied bombers dropped over 1500 tons
of high explosive and incendiary bombs on the city,  killing over 1200 people and destroying 80% of the centre. 
Most of the city centre is therefore modern and largely the same as I remember it, but the suburbs have changed beyond recognition. Blocks of apartments looking like giant sugar cubes are springing  up all over the place. 

If you were hoping to see some photos, then you're going to be disappointed. We've been to the Rhine/Main/Saar  many times and we saw little need to take even more photos, except a few for our friends and family. 
I will not be posting any further photos on this board.


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## Ameriscot (Mar 14, 2015)

Glad you had such a good time, Capt.  Very sorry we won't be seeing any photos.

We are thinking about taking my sister on a Rhine River cruise when she comes to visit summer after next.


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## Capt Lightning (Mar 14, 2015)

In Frankfurt, we saw a lot of cruise ships moored on the Main. I looked at a brochure and the prices seemed to be a lot cheaper than, say, Viking river cruises.  Even when you take into account the cost of getting to Frankfurt, the price was reasonable.  Unfortunately, I didn't keep the brochure and I can't remember the name.  I have in the past, used the K-D boats to travel down the Rhine and return by train.


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## Ameriscot (Mar 14, 2015)

Capt Lightning said:


> In Frankfurt, we saw a lot of cruise ships moored on the Main. I looked at a brochure and the prices seemed to be a lot cheaper than, say, Viking river cruises.  Even when you take into account the cost of getting to Frankfurt, the price was reasonable.  Unfortunately, I didn't keep the brochure and I can't remember the name.  I have in the past, used the K-D boats to travel down the Rhine and return by train.



Viking looks very expensive.  I'll check around.  Got plenty of time as I'm thinking about Sept. 2016.


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## Pam (Mar 15, 2015)

Holiday sounds good, Capt! I too am sorry you won't be posting any photos, would like to have seen some. I went to Germany with my parents when I was about 17, remember going to Munich,Heidelberg and Friedrichhafen. Dad did take a lot of pictures but - as was the 'fashion' of the time - they were mostly slides.


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## Vivjen (Mar 15, 2015)

I transferred Dad's slides to CD 2 or 3 years ago.....it was worth the effort!
glad you had a good time, Capt Lightning; Mum and Dad have done that cruise, and loved it!


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## Pam (Mar 16, 2015)

Good idea, Vivjen, will have to look into that as there are quite a lot of slides. As well as Germany, there will be pics of Austria, Switzerland, Holland and Italy. Would be good to have a look at them all again. There will also be some of the Middle East but not as bothered about them as I do have quite a few in ordinary photographs.


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## Vivjen (Mar 16, 2015)

There is a machine you can buy....I got mine from Maplins.....if you are in in June I will meet you at Teebay and you can borrow it!


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