4 day trip to Germany in the Winter

**mantry** · 07-Jan-2006, 10:04 AM

Howdy, I live in Salt Lake City(SLC) and work for a regional airline with flight benifits on UAL. My daughter and I have flown UAL First Class to London serval times to meet my wife who was there on business. Only thing is SHE has never been in first class on a 3 class aircraft. She generally flew Business on DAL.

So, my goal is to get her on a UAL First seat. Looking for the best chances, Europe seems to be in low season. We have been to London several times and would probably go back again, but the high cost Lodging in London central and the fact that we may want to try something new has lead me to look at other places to go.

We would probably non-rev to ORD and then try to catch a UAL flight out of there. If we don't make first, we would probably do something different. Again the goal is to get UAL first and if we do great, if we don't that is fine.(Hope this doesn't upset some gate agent. Maybe I should explain this up front to them?)

So, where to go? Germany has always been an intrest of mine. THere are 2 Frankfurt(FRA) flights out of ORD and right now the loads looks just fine. Our calendars are permiting us to Leave Wed Jan 25th and Return Sun Jan 29th. We could go plus or minus a day or two on the return. Plus returning home if we just had to grab any flight home that would be fine.

I've looked at Munich(MUC) but there is only 1 flight in/out I believe.

Talking with my wife she has said that she would rather not drag around some large city and she would like to see the country. Plus looking at Lodging in FRA seems to be higher.

I've never done any type of train travel and we would like to keep the cost of the trip as low as we can but not quite at the HOSTEL level. :-) A nice clean room with a private bath would be fine.

So where should we go. It would be nice to see the Castles at Neuschwanstein but that may be a longer expensive train ride from FRA. But again, I don't know. Again, I know that Winter may not be the best time to visit.

Any suggestions on where we should go or stay after we get in to FRA?

Some of the SPA/WELLNESS places sound like fun, it would be nice to be pampered. Don't know if we are comfortable enough to walk around in mixed company in my birthday suit.

Thanks in advance for all of your help!

Also, any good hotel chains that offer Interline rates? I've heard ACCOR does, will they quote you a rate if you ask? Is it best to do hotel in advance or just hit the INFO booth at the train station.

Thanks again!

**mantry** · 07-Jan-2006, 10:07 AM

Lodging under $100 USD/night would be great and I don't think I want to spend more that $100.00 USD each on train travels. The less the better but don't want a SCARY hotel. Pension might be fun also.

**mantry** · 07-Jan-2006, 10:11 AM

Also if someone else had a good idea on a destination this time of year on UAL that would have a good chance of UAL First, I'm open for suggestions. Wife didn't sound that enthused about ASIA.

**frapos** · 08-Jan-2006, 02:05 AM

Hello Mark
Welcome to the forum. I'd suggest you check out some of the towns just outside of Frankfurt. Wiesbaden or Bad Homburg, for example. As you mentioned spa town, one of the best in Germany is Baden Baden. Its about one and a half hours from Frankfurt via high speed train (taking this train, called the ICE, is in itself a very German experience)and they leave every hour from the airport train station.

For accommodation, perhaps a smaller type of Bed and Breakfast which you'd find outside of the major cities for the vicinty of 60 to 80 euros. These of course won't offer airline discounts.

If you opt to stay in the Wiesbaden/Mainz/Frankfurt area a recommended day trip is a boat cruise along the Rhein River. Its nice scenery, although its more appreciated in spring or summer.

As to flights, ex ORD, both UA and LH are open in all classes. You seem to be quite enthusiastic about flying first class.I don't know which airline you work for so can't say much about the agreements. If its a Star Alliance carrier, you can purchase an ID90 eligible for a LH first class seat, space available. But the ticket must be designated for first. Don't know what UA's policy is as regards F/class upgrades from an ID economy or business ticket.

The return flights FRA-ORD are looking a bit tighter, though I suspect they'll go out with a couple seats free. The best bet is the UA 8:30 am which as I understand it, is a non revs dream flight. The downside is the early departure.

Hope the info helps.

**mantry** · 08-Jan-2006, 05:57 AM

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Wiesbaden </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Thanks for the reply. I fly for SkyWest Airlines, we are a regional carrier that serves Delta and United. We have benefits on both, our UAL pass benefits are a per mileage charge, which is different depending on which cabin you sit in.

A quick check and most of Wiesbaden and Bad Homburg hotels are in the $150USD range. That was via expedia.com any better booking sites you could suggest.

How much would a train to these cities cost? Also, how much would the train be from these cities to Frankfurt if we wanted to go look around Frankfurt for the day?

I didn't think there were any river cruises in the winter. What is the cost and how long are the river cruises on the Rhine?

Also, any idea on the costs for the ICE to Baden-Baden?

Sorry I seem to be hitting everything on a costs basis, but this is just a quick at the last moment trip and don't want the costs to get out of control.

Mark

**BRITSKI99** · 09-Jan-2006, 04:03 AM

Have you thought about hiring a car for the few days you are in Germany, you are already used to driving on the wrong side of the road. With Alamo the rate for the 4 days seems to be about EUR 150 inclusive ( for a small car based upon the airline rate for BA staff ). This would allow you to get around to the places you mention with greater ease.
Also you can get the train prices online at German Railways site .. in English .. goto .. <a href="http://www.bahn.de" target="_blank">http://www.bahn.de</A> and then click on Internat _Guests at the top

**mantry** · 09-Jan-2006, 06:15 PM

I have thought about the car option and yes the rate seems to almost be cheaper than a couple of train passes. But one thing I have found in the cities is that then parking becomes almost as much as a hassle and has its associated costs. Any idea of most hotels around FRA would let you park for free or is the standard to charge for car park?
Great suggestion though.

**frapos** · 11-Jan-2006, 12:49 PM

Check out the website <a href="http://www.baden-baden.de" target="_blank">http://www.baden-baden.de</A> The site also contains an overview sccommodation options. I know I'm very biased towards this town. The cost via rail from FRA airport is about 65 euro return, but there are specials I believe for more than one person travelling etc. As to your query about parking, yes, in cities, large or small, it is a pain. Smaller hotels don't provide spaces. And carparks are expensive, in the vicinity of 2 to 3 euros an hour. If you opt to stay in Frankfurt city itself, the hotels around the main train station offer the better rates. At least you'll still be walking distance or short public transportation ride to all the attractions of the city and it's 10 minutes by underground from the airport

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