[RM Motorsports]

This travelogue is about my visit to Germany.

It all started this way. One fine morning my boss called me and my colleague, and told us that we were going to Hammelburg, Germany for some product training. I couldn't believe, but YES, I was finally going to Germany, a country I always wanted to visit. With Germany being land of Mercs, Porsches, BMWs and some fantastic Beers, I always wanted to visit.

For training we had to go to Hammelburg, where our principals are located. Hammelburg is about 130 kms from Frankfurt. Training was for 4 days, but as this was our first visit to Germany, we decided to stay little longer and explore Frankfurt and some nearby place. So it was a 9 day trip.

Day1 – Frankfurt
Day2 to Day6 – Hammelburg
Day7 to Day9 - Frankfurt

Finally all the procedures and formalities went smoothly, got the visas, and the travelling day arrived. We were flying by Luftansa and it was a late night flight scheduled to teach Frankfurt at 8 am local time. Sharp at 8 the flight reached Frankfurt. We cleared everything, picked up the baggage and were out of the airport. It was pretty cold that day. However our taxi was already waiting. Got in to the taxi and started moving towards the city.

Frankfurt being a financial hub, I was surprised to see the there were hardly any cars or people on the road, everything was shut and deserted. Taxi driver said it was 1st May and it was a holiday. My excitement was killed in a second. I was thinking it was wasted day of my trip.

Soon we reached our hotel. We had booked hotel Terminus just opposite the main train station. Checked in to the rooms, freshened up and were down for breakfast. After breakfast, I had a small chat with the receptionist about how I can spend the day as I didn't want to waste it. She said I can check out Greyline Tours, which is just 5 mins away, they may be open and I can take the city tour.

Quickly I rushed to check out and luckily they were open. City tour was about to start in 20 mins. We booked the seats, immediately rushed back to the hotel to pick the camera and were back at tour office. There were a few Japanese tourists and us, just 10 of us. Finally an open top Mercedes double Decker bus arrived and city tour started.

Here are some pictures of Frankfurt City clicked during 4 days.



Frankfurt Skyline




Main River


Sachsenhausen has some of the oldest buildings in Frankfurt. It is famous for apple wine. There are bars and restaurants on both sides of the streets.


Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof - Main train station










A nice Irish Pub next to my hotel


Mercedes Benz Taxi


Frankfurt Zoo


Tram Station


Euro Tower - Where Euro is printed


Apple wine Express. Tram takes you around Frankfurt city tour. You can also buy Apple wine and Pretzel on the tram and enjoy it while touring the city. I takes about 1 hour to complete the tour.






Deutsche Bank twin towers


Zeil - Shopping area of Frankfurt




River Main flowing through Frankfurt








Kaiserstraße is a famous Red light district of Frankfurt




Frankfurt has a few Indian restaurant. I found one near my hotel. Food doesn't taste authentic Indian, but one can survive.

City tour ended in about 2 hours. We got back to hotel rooms, opened some food packets and had lunch. I decided to sleep for a while as I didn’t sleep the previous night, I cant sleep while I am travelling.

By evening some places started opening up. We freshened up, had some coffee and cookies, picked up the city map. We decided to spend the evening along the river Main. I picked up few beers and started walking towards the river. After about 20 mins walk, we reached the river. Spent the evening sipping some great beers along the river. Dinner was at Gaylord, an Indian restaurant just 10 mins from the hotel. Food didn’t taste like here but one can survive. Decided to sleep early as next day early morning had to leave for Hammelburg.

As I had to return to Frankfurt again, I didn’t really find the day wasted. I was more excited about going to Hammelburg, driving on the Autobahns.

I will continue with my travelogue as and when I have time.

[mobike008]

Note from Moderator : Thread moved from Assembly Line to Travelogues Section. Thanks for sharing

[TaureanBull]

Awesome. Beautiful pics. Would be glued to the thread.

I too always want to go to Germany. But my interests are the World War II sites. I dont know if you visited any.

BTW my personal opinion is that once you are out go for the local food thats the best. Trying out Indian in Germany...well, it would obviously taste horrible.

[RM Motorsports]

Originally Posted by TaureanBull

Awesome. Beautiful pics. Would be glued to the thread.

I too always want to go to Germany. But my interests are the World War II sites. I dont know if you visited any.

BTW my personal opinion is that once you are out go for the local food thats the best. Trying out Indian in Germany...well, it would obviously taste horrible.

Well I don't eat meat, so there were very limited options. Also language was a bit of a problem. They don't understand when I ask for vegetarian options in the menu. But once I was in Hammelburg, I was accompanied by a local everywhere. I tried lots local dished, only thing meat was replaced by potatoes. Really enjoyed the food and beer.

One more interesting thing, I had carried MTR food packets from here incase food was a problem. I didn't used a single one, distributed to the engineers who were training me, they relished it.

[mav2000]

Brought back a lot of old memories. I used to stay opposite the main station as well. Its very convienient when you are on a budget. Spent a lot of time in Frankfurt and its a lovely city. You can get used to living in such a place. I remember that pub as well. Used to go there for the football matches quite often and it was a 2 minute walk from where I used to stay.

And you are right, I never found a single Indian resturant which had decent food. And since I was on a budget most of the time, I subsisted on pizza and burgers and the occasional shawarma and chinese food from the main station.

[Fortuner71]

Brings back good memories , I stayed 2 long years in Frankfurt and returned back in October this year . It's one of the better cities to live in wherein you get all you need and most of them converse in English . It has lots of good Indian restaurants wherein food is quite close to what we eat here . Nice pics

[RM Motorsports]

So the journey continues.

The company car was supposed to pick us up from the Hotel at 8 am. We were awake at 6am. It is said that in Germany everything happens like a “Clockwork”. You have to be on time everytime. Anyways I was standing near the window, wondering how Frankfurt looks like at 6 am. There were few shops already open. Traffic was building up. Interesting thing I saw was how they keep the city clean. You hardly fine any litter on the streets, except cigarette butts. There was a man walking with the blower. He was blowing off dry leaves from the trees. A sweeping truck followed him which sweeps the roads clean. Behind that there was a truck which washed the roads with water. I was wondering if I could ever see such sight in Mumbai. I don’t think so.

Okay. So finally done with packing and breakfast, we were ready waiting in the lobby for the car by 7.50am. Exactly at 7.55 the car arrived, and we were off to Hammelburg. Soon were on A3 Autobahn. We were in a VW Golf. It was amazing to see how these roads are maintained, absolutely silk smooth. Finally we reached Hammelburg around 9.40 am.

Something about Hammelburg.

Hammelburg is only about 130 kms east of Frankfurt, though it feels like it is deep in the countryside. With a car, it would be a fairly short drive from Frankfurt; it is also easy to reach by train. The town is on a branch line which connects with the main lines via Gemünden to the south or Schweinfurt to the east. It is situated on the river Franconian Saale.
What a surprise! A pretty little town of around 12,000 people, it lies in a picturesque valley in an ancient wine-growing region of Franconia in what is now the northwestern corner of the state of Bavaria. Hammelburg is the oldest wine-growing city town Franconia. It is certainly a lovely area and the white wine was excellent, especially the Bacchus and Sylvaner varieties. There are several winemaker shops in town that sell the local wines, and of course they are available in all the restaurants. Each town has its own special wine.

Here are few photos of Hammelburg. Many more to come.

Road leading into the town
Attachment 1026899

Stadt Hammelburg
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Hotel where we stayed
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A room with a view. Building to the right is Rathaus. Rathaus is a German word literally translating as “council house”, meaning “city hall” or “town hall”. Almost all towns have a Rathaus.
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Hotel was located exactly on the Market Square.
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A supermarket opposite the hotel.
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Fountain. The water was pure then the bottled water available here.
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Thats the police station.
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Streets of Hammelburg
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After freshening up, we directly went to the factory for training. It was a 10 minute walk form the hotel.

to be continued....

[drmohitg]

Hey the pictures are not visible in your last post. Please check and upload again. Nice travelogue. Waiting for the pics to be uploaded again.

[RM Motorsports]

So the journey continues.

The company car was supposed to pick us up from the Hotel at 8 am. We were awake at 6am. It is said that in Germany everything happens like a “Clockwork”. You have to be on time everytime. Anyways I was standing near the window, wondering how Frankfurt looks like at 6 am. There were few shops already open. Traffic was building up. Interesting thing I saw was how they keep the city clean. You hardly fine any litter on the streets, except cigarette butts. There was a man walking with the blower. He was blowing off dry leaves from the trees. A sweeping truck followed him which sweeps the roads clean. Behind that there was a truck which washed the roads with water. I was wondering if I could ever see such sight in Mumbai. I don’t think so.

Okay. So finally done with packing and breakfast, we were ready waiting in the lobby for the car by 7.50am. Exactly at 7.55 the car arrived, and we were off to Hammelburg. Soon were on A3 Autobahn. We were in a VW Golf. It was amazing to see how these roads are maintained, absolutely silk smooth. Finally we reached Hammelburg around 9.40 am.

Something about Hammelburg.

Hammelburg is only about 130 kms east of Frankfurt, though it feels like it is deep in the countryside. With a car, it would be a fairly short drive from Frankfurt; it is also easy to reach by train. The town is on a branch line which connects with the main lines via Gemünden to the south or Schweinfurt to the east. It is situated on the river Franconian Saale.
What a surprise! A pretty little town of around 12,000 people, it lies in a picturesque valley in an ancient wine-growing region of Franconia in what is now the northwestern corner of the state of Bavaria. Hammelburg is the oldest wine-growing city town Franconia. It is certainly a lovely area and the white wine was excellent, especially the Bacchus and Sylvaner varieties. There are several winemaker shops in town that sell the local wines, and of course they are available in all the restaurants. Each town has its own special wine.

Here are few photos of Hammelburg. Many more to come.

Road leading into the town


Stadt Hammelburg


Hotel where we stayed




A room with a view. Building to the right is Rathaus. Rathaus is a German word literally translating as “council house”, meaning “city hall” or “town hall”. Almost all towns have a Rathaus.


Hotel was located exactly on the Market Square.


A supermarket opposite the hotel.


Fountain. The water was pure then the bottled water available here.


Thats the police station.


Streets of Hammelburg






After freshening up, we directly went to the factory for training. It was a 10 minute walk form the hotel.

to be continued....

[RM Motorsports]

As it was summer in Germany, sunrise is around 5.30 in the morning and sunset around 8.30 pm. So people reach work by 6.30 am and finish by 3.00 pm. We were done with training by 4 pm. The local guy decided to take us around Hammelburg before going to his house for dinner. We drove on top of a small hill and the view was fantastic.

Outside of town, up a steep path climbing the vineyards behind the hospital, is Hammelburg's Mystery. Some years ago, life-size human sculptures started appearing high on the hill at intervals of a year or so.

No one knows who made them or why, or how these extremely heavy statues got up there. The figures are those of a man sitting in a chair, a woman dancing with a child, and a woman looking out at the valley. Very strange, but beautiful. The view from that spot is worth the trek to the top.





The Franconian Saale is a 125 km long river in Bavaria, Germany. It is a right-bank tributary of the Main, in Lower Franconia. The Fränkische Saale flows through Bad Königshofen, Bad Neustadt, Bad Kissingen, Hammelburg and flows into the Main River in Gemünden am Main.


The town has a small cluster of narrow, winding streets, with some pretty squares interspersed. Ancient walls and towers pop up here and there.


On the road into town from the Bahnhof, there is an interesting museum, Stadt Museum Herrenmühle, about the history of local wine-making and bread-making. The museum is in an old mill with the stream and mill wheel nearby.








Finally we drove to Diebach which is 5 kms from Hammelburg. Our trainer stays in Diebach. He had invited us for dinner.

Streets of Diebach


Thats the beautiful house he had.


Diebach surrounded by greenery.


It was kind of strange for me to have dinner around 7.30 pm. The sun was still shining bright. First three days of training were similar to this. Finally it was weekend, one of the best weekend I have ever experienced.

I will update in days to come.

[RM Motorsports]

Finally it was Saturday and we finished by 3pm as it was a half day at work. One of me trainer decided to take me for a ride on his Harley Davidson. It was the best ride of my life.



We rode till Gemünden am Main. Gemünden am Main is a town in the Main-Spessart district in the Regierungsbezirk of Lower Franconia in Bavaria, Germany and lies roughly 40 km down the Main from Würzburg.

Within the town, the River Sinn empties into the Franconian Saale, which itself then discharges into the Main. The Main changes its direction at Gemünden, from northwest to west, flowing over to the Mainviereck (“Main Square”) near Lohr am Main.
Gemünden lies on Birkenhainer Straße, an ancient trade road from Lower Franconia to today’s Frankfurt Rhine Main Region.





















One the way back, had a halt at Hammelburg Castle

Just outside of town high on a hill is the medieval castle of Burg Saaleck. I walked there in about ten minutes and made the steep climb up to the castle. The building is in good shape and houses a reasonably-priced hotel, which would be fun to stay in if you were traveling by car. A winding staircase takes you to the top of the tower and is definitely worth the effort. What a view!

Hammelburg as seen from the castle.











From the tower you can look out at the delightful Franconian countryside and see the town of Hammelburg below. The valley is carpeted with lush farmland and small villages; the steep hillsides are covered with vineyards. Hammelburg is known as the oldest wine town in Franconia; people have been making wine here since the year 900.



more to come...

[RM Motorsports]

This was last day in Hammelburg. Woke up early just to notice there was a flee market set up just opposite the Hotel on main market square. Every alternate Sundays, the local from around set up this market.







After having breakfast, we went for canoeing in River Saale and hang gliding at Hammelburg glider port.























Up Up and Away

[RM Motorsports]

Later in the afternoon we went to Kreuzberg. The Kreuzberg is one of the Rhön Mountains in southern Germany. It is about 928 m (3,045 ft) high and is located in the Bavarian part of the Rhön, in the province of Lower Franconia. The Kreuzberg — also referred to as the "sacred mountain of the Franconians" — is near the town of Bischofsheim an der Rhön in the district Rhön-Grabfeld.







The Kreuzberg Monastery is in the scenic Rhon on the 928 m high Kreuzberg.
From its summit, the panorama opens up far into the Frankish country, the Hessian Rhön, the Thuringian Forest and the Spessart.
The Rhön is a fascinating landscape, rugged and romantic.Since 1991, she has been named a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve
From 1681 - 1692 the Franciscans built the present sanctuary along with a monastery on Cross Mountain.
Since that time, the Kreuzberg is a popular place of pilgrimage, and in the last century and a popular destination for hikers and nature lovers.











That since 1731 in his own monastery brewery produced and vaunted Abbey beers are available along with good and affordable dishes to pilgrims and visitors. Today the beer is brewed by laypersons under the supervision of the monks. Three different beers (Dunkel, Pilsner and Hefe-Weizen) are produced year-round and a fourth (Weihnachts-Bock) is available during the Christmas season. Approximately 8,500 hectoliters of beer are brewed each year at the monastery.



In fine weather, you can taste your degree Kreuzberg beer and a cheese sandwich, for example, even outdoors.
Front and behind the monastery, and in the courtyard there are numerous seats.



Around Kreuzberg











On the way back to Hammelburg



to be continued...