Anybody been to Germany??? Ramstein/Frankfurt [Archive]

View Full Version : Anybody been to Germany??? Ramstein/Frankfurt

steyrman13

06-08-16, 16:15

KalashniKEV

06-08-16, 16:58

Im about to go on a trip and looking for the must sees and must dos. I think I'll probably stay in Kaiserslautern one week and Frankfurt another, but should have flexibility to drive or ride trains to go and see things. I know Paris is only about a 2.5hr train ride so may do that. Is Kaiserslautern the place to stay near Ramstein or Landstuhl better or another place I'm missing?

Looking for ideas!

Several times.

Immediately get yourself to the Kaiserslautern Hauptbahnhof, then transfer at Mannheim to the ICE train to Frankfurt.

Once there, access some mode of transportation traveling east and get the heck out of Germany.

steyrman13

06-08-16, 16:59

Several times.

Immediately get yourself to the Kaiserslautern Hauptbahnhof, then transfer at Mannheim to the ICE train to Frankfurt.

Once there, access some mode of transportation traveling east and get the heck out of Germany.

Haha. Not really an option for me unfortunately.

Firefly

06-08-16, 17:15

Screw Germany and France. Right in the ear.

Spain. Hell yeah Spain

Ryno12

06-08-16, 17:44

25% my relatives live in Frankfort but I've never been there. Want to go but international travel is not on my fun to do list lately.

I believe I've seen IG talk about being there.

A little something to get you primed:
https://youtu.be/W3q8Od5qJio

SteyrAUG

06-08-16, 17:47

Screw Germany and France. Right in the ear.

Spain. Hell yeah Spain

Not sure if it's the same, but Austria was always my favorite.

Firefly

06-08-16, 18:27

I dunno. Austrians are kinda bitchy.

Did a week in Europa as a lad in my late teens. It was a different time and place to be sure. Pre 9/11.

I was quasi entourage to Pukkelpop. That was kind of a blur. Germany was square. Nothing but ugly ass german girls hanging off E4 looking black Joes. Turkish chicks throwing themselves at you. France was just dirty and expensive. Amsterdam grossly overrated. Not that I engaged, but I'm pretty sure some of the whores in the red light area were former KGB who couldn't get a mail order husband or jobs as mercenaries. They had this "down rangy" look that was 20% attractive and 80% offputting.

But Spain....Spain was chill. It felt most, to me, like America. You could sit on the patio, smoke, have an adult beverage and it was just totally chill. Even Spanglish got you places. The women weren't stuck up or desperate to get out like the german chicks snatching up GIs.

I rarely say this but I could live in Spain.
If it all totally went to hell here, that would be my redoubt.

I dunno what the terries situation is now but in those innocent millenial days it was great. Have no idea about the gun laws. Wasn't that concerned back then. I thought an old shotgun and an STG 58 was an arsenal.

FromMyColdDeadHand

06-08-16, 18:29

I liked Cologne, a two hour train ride. Little 200ml beer glasses that they keep filling. Cool cathedral, museum covers how people have been living there for like 10,000 years. My fav out of Düsseldorf, Munich Nuremberg and Frankfort.

Everyone speaks English in Germany it seemed.

Hard to pass up a quick trip to Prauge if you can. Barcelona reminded of what California should be.

steyrman13

06-08-16, 18:44

Ryno12

06-08-16, 19:25

What the heck did I just watch ?!?!?!?

Rammstein's Rockin Rosetta Stone [emoji1591]

MAUSER202

06-08-16, 20:28

If you like WW2 tanks, take a drive or train to the Musee des Blindes Saumur France.
http://p38forum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=32540
The Hofbrauhaus Paulanerhaus in Munich ar two great places to drink beer.

mack7.62

06-08-16, 21:32

Spent some time near Frankfurt in the mid 70's and it was quite nice, went back in the mid 80's and saw a definite decline in the city and the people, IMO mostly due to immigration. In the 70's Frankfurt was clean, and safe, no one gave the polizei any crap, in the 80's you had to watch for dog crap on the sidewalks, something I never saw before. Also mid afternoon one day I saw a gang of 5-6 Asian youths attack a German walking with his girl friend in a McDonald's parking lot and beat the crap out of him, I have no clue why. I cannot imagine what it will be like today, stay safe, also the little towns and villages outside the cities are a whole different experience but unless near a U.S. base a little German is needed.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v314/mack77515/crazy%20sexy%20sign%20b_zpsxaxfjih2.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/mack77515/media/crazy%20sexy%20sign%20b_zpsxaxfjih2.jpg.html)

daddyusmaximus

06-08-16, 22:38

Stay out of all the places where the damn muslim "refugees" are. Europe is turning into a shit hole these days. Germany (West Germany back then) is a beautiful place, but I wouldn't want to go there nowadays.

MountainRaven

06-09-16, 00:19

soulezoo

06-09-16, 09:37

I spent a lot of time in Frankfurt in the 90's to early 2000's. We used to stage missions out of Rhine Main even after it was "closed". I thought it was a pretty nice city although there were the dregs like anything else. At night, one could walk the streets downtown and see the street urchins filling up doorways of closed for the evening stores shooting up heroin. The main party place then was in Sachsenhausen. The area around the train station can be very interesting for the voyeur. The "fo flos of ho's" is around there....

For Ramstein everything is pretty much (but not all) about K-town.

Fortunately, if you have time, travel to distant places is fairly easy. Prague and Munich are always great. But there is a lot to go see. "Bitte ein Bit"....

Bulletdog

06-09-16, 10:27

I was just there last year. Seemed pretty normal to me. No different than any other big smelly stinky city anywhere else in the world. Some people are nice and some people are to be avoided. I didn't discover any noteworthy, must-see touristy things. I found the McDonalds sign in German somewhat interesting. So many Europeans seem to have such disdain for America, but every McDonalds is always crowed…

We landed in Frankfurt and drove to Dusseldorf. Then to Hamm and back. I've been all over the world, including most of the US, and let me tell you, L.A., Chicago and N.Y.C. have the worst drivers I've ever seen. Know who has the best? Germany. All of them. You can't pass slower traffic on the right because they won't give you the opportunity. Everyone in Germany drives courteously and sensibly. It was such a joy to behold and participate in, but it made me all that much more bitter when I came home. I'm sure there must be a bad driver somewhere in Germany. I didn't find him during my trip.

JC5188

06-09-16, 12:09

2.5 hour train ride from Germany to France? I hear it's a little quicker by tank...

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

daddyusmaximus

06-09-16, 22:51

When was the last time you were there?

'05 but I was also there in '01, and way back in 81-83.

RobertTheTexan

06-09-16, 23:46

I spent 88-93 in Wiesbaden, near Frankfurt, spent quite a bit of time in Frankfurt, but it wasn't doing touristy things. If you can get down to Wiesbaden or Rudesheim, it would be well worth it then hit Koln from there. Book yourself a trip on the Rhein river, it really is quite pretty there. Tons of wine vineyards. Now back before I showed up with a spousal unit, (83-85) me and my brothers would hop on the train with a couple fifths of Gordon's Gin and hit the red light district. And basically spend our entire paycheck in one night , or do our damnedest to anyway. The key there is to stay on the lower floors. The higher you go the cheaper they get. I probably don't have to tell you how hat shakes out. Although Boyd's I have a story about this time I ended up in the attic of one of the whorehouses....
But in checking the date, that op is still classified.
I would like to caveat that I haven't partaken I. There flight district since last weekend.... No wait that was a trip to Best Buy where I got screwed. Ha!! On a serious note, Wiesbaden is a beautiful city, very cultured and as I mentioned the area around Rudesheim is just gorgeous.
K-town is cool too. I'd definitely rather spend more time in K-town than Frankfurt for the reasons started in previous posts by the others. Have a great trip!

MountainRaven

06-10-16, 00:01

'05 but I was also there in '01, and way back in 81-83.

Just so that we're clear: You're making a recommendation on whether a person should visit a place based on an experience that's over a decade old?

Moose-Knuckle

06-10-16, 03:52

Just so that we're clear: You're making a recommendation on whether a person should visit a place based on an experience that's over a decade old?

Well I've never been to my ancestral home but after seeing the rape epidemic carried about by benevolent muslim migrants that Germany's globalist leaders have invited I've scratched a visit off my list.

Averageman

06-10-16, 06:00

I lived in Germany from '81 to '89 or so.
If I were visiting now I would plan my trip and make a list of what I wanted to see and get a rail pass and just go. I would skip the guided tour thing unless you get somewhere and want to know more about the history. Don't waste your time on some package deal.
A warm jacket, a backpack with some food, wine, English/German dictionary and just get on the train and go.

eodinert

06-10-16, 08:58

I'm driving across Europe right now. In London, at the moment. I started in Munich, drove to Venice and Rome, then back up through Austria, Germany, and France to chunnel across the channel. I'll be crossing on a ferry to Holland, and driving back to Munich in a few days to drive back to Munich and fly out of here.

1. Y'all need to get out of the house more. I've not been over run by refugees, and I event spent a night in Calais. If you learn everything you learn about the world sitting home and watching TV, you'll have no idea what's going on in the world.

2. There is really no reason to go to a US base, the guest housing isn't much cheaper than a hotel on the economy, and you can't get cheap gas (or use the PX) unless you're stationed here (that includes retirees).

3. Rent a damn car already. Yeah, the trains are great, and reliable and all that, but chances are, if you want to go somewhere cool, there is a train, then a subway, then a bus, then another bus to get you there. This can be a challenge if you're new to public transportation, a different language, and Europe in general. So, if you don't do a 'package tour' (which I don't ever do), hire a car and drive. Parking can be a challenge, and it's a lot different than driving at home, but you'll save a lot of time. The exception to this has been London; Hotel outside of the city, train into the city. Actually, in most European cities this isn't a bad idea... do a good map recon and enable the 'transit' layer on google maps and see if it can work for you.

4. Book your trip already.

Paris is cool for at least one visit, but keep an ear to the news as their transportation workers have been striking lately. I know the airports have been effected, I don't know if the trains have. Driving across France is pretty expensive, with them being fond of the toll road... I'm taking care to not go there on my return trip.

My favorite museum is in Diekirch, Luxembourg... They had the home-field advantage for the Battle of the Bulge. The museum looks like they went around the battlefield right after the battle and just collected stuff... massive quantities of stuff. It's different from most museums in that they'll have the jeep, but they also have the GI tool kit for the jeep, and the gasket set for the jeep, the gun, the radio... just piles and piles of stuff. Guns, dioramas, static displays, the lot. It's great, and not horribly far from where you're going. Google it.

You can also burn a lap on the Nurburgring in your rental car. Can't do that in public transportation.

I took a detour to Oberndorf, and put some look on the Hk factory (they won't give you a tour unless you're special), but the city museum has a bunch of Mauser (they were there, too) and HK stuff, so it's a fun detour. It's a bit south of Stuttgart.

daddyusmaximus

06-10-16, 09:29

Just so that we're clear: You're making a recommendation on whether a person should visit a place based on an experience that's over a decade old?

No. It was a beautiful place back then. I was speaking about all I've heard about Europe these days, and how it is quickly being overtaken by muslim "refugees". I'm thinking you would need to avoid those areas to enjoy the real Germany.

steyrman13

06-13-16, 13:38

Thank you all who have suggested some things to do and see! I will try to swing by several of the places for sure. I have also heard the Prague is a must see.

Any tips on whether it's better to grab some euros or mostly just use a credit card for dining, shopping, etc?

Firefly

06-13-16, 14:25

With the prevalence of ATM and credit card fraud, I'd stick to cash as much as I could.

Or at least keep it to a minimum use at trusted establishments. Personally I didn't use a CC when I went but it was for a week and at least one stop was pre-arranged for a place to stay.

Also if you see a bottle of Lunikoff you buy that sumbitch.

steyrman13

06-13-16, 15:26

Firefly

06-13-16, 15:27

That's my plan is to just stop by a bank and withdraw some euro.

Is it vodka? Is it that great?!

Yes. Have a trustworthy spotter.

eodinert

06-13-16, 18:49

Any tips on whether it's better to grab some euros or mostly just use a credit card for dining, shopping, etc?

Prague is cool, but to me, after a while, all of the old European cities start looking the same-ish. They were all rebuilt at the same time after we bombed them into rubble. I had to laugh, I was on a river cruise in Frankfort today... ''On your left, the tall building was destroyed in an air raid, and rebuilt after the war... on your right, the blue building was destroyed in a bombing raid, and rebuild after the war.'' You're welcome.

I like to research on the interwebs a few things to see in each place before I get there. If you don't plan on getting a euro sim for your phone (or pay US roaming charges), download an app called 'Maps.me'... it works off line, and even has navigation capabilities. It has helped me greatly hoofing around, and driving. make sure you download all of the maps for the areas in which you will be exploring... there is a separate map for each region of Germany.

Your credit cards won't work everywhere (mine didn't work at all in Holland). If they aren't of the new smart variety, they'll probably only work at ATMs. Much of Germany still runs on cash. Many (most?) places (especially restaurants) don't even accept credit cards (which strikes me as odd, since otherwise they are so technology oriented... maybe they're hiding something from the tax man, who knows...). I use ATMs exclusively for cash, they usually have the best exchange rate. I try to use my cards everywhere I can, but always make sure to have enough cash for the purchase in case they don't accept cards, or if my cards don't work. I've noticed American Express isn't accepted as widely as Visa and MC, if you have one of those.

Ready.Fire.Aim

06-13-16, 22:36

Went there a couple of years ago & took my family. Oldest daughter was a foreign exchange student in Bonn and fluent in German. The rest of us learned a couple hundred words. Pardon my German place name spelling.

We took trains everywhere, German trains are still efficient, clean, and on time. Each of us only took a small carry-on suitcase <20# good for 2 weeks- ladies packed light. Stayed in local small hotels and B&Bs which was worth the experiences.

Best beer is Augustiner - sold at the ~500 year old beer hall in Munich and 4 other locations. A stein of Augustiner and a roasted pork knuckle and you are in man-heaven.

Islamic radicals are a growing concern. But there are places in Houston, Dallas, Atlanta, etc. that I also won't go.

1. Rotenburg au der Tauber was a lot of fun. Crime & Punishment museum was a hoot. Excellent small arms museum. Night watchman tour is fun. Tourists are thick until 1600 then town gets quiet when all tour buses are gone. We stayed in a B&B. I enjoyed evening walks along the original town wall.
2. Freiburg in the SW is a nice city located in the Black Forest. Great for a couple of days exploring.
3. Gotta see Bavarian alps for the scenery. Neuschwanstein (King Ludwigs " Cinderella") castle and Garmisch-Partenkirchen were worth exploring.
2. Munich is a good large city to visit. The Deutsches Technology museum was like going into equivalent of a smithsonian for technology. The basement full scale mine was impressive.

People were friendly. We tried to eat where the locals did and had great food.

steyrman13

06-25-16, 21:21

So I found a positive... Lagavulin is cheap there!
http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160626/99f806be2eaffd7bdbd377877ca55a8b.jpg
And
The Autobohn is pretty efficient. Our highways would actually be even better for a system as they have as we have lots of straight highways.