Travel Tips for Altenkirchen, Germany

If you intend to travel while you have the chance-- check out AAA and a Eurail pass-- I'm over 65 so my ticket was cheaper-- You buy them by generally what you want to do-and you have to get them here in the States-- Friend Alice had a list as long as I am tall-- she whittled and whittled-- we bought a "two country Eurail pass"-- I think it probably was three country-( Benelux and Germany) but we only wanted Belgium and Germany. We had 2 weeks-- bought the pass for 8 "units" and loved it-- Used a unit for the Rhine trip done by the rail company DB-- I'm saying units because I'm still not positive how they are truly used-- but in general, you can get on a train on day 1-- get off when ever and where ever you want to go and get back on for the same ticket-- at midnight, the "unit" changes IF YOU get back ON THE TRAIN AGAIN. Don't be surprised if that doesn't make sense. We used 7 "units" and went to Munich, Garmish-Partenkichen, Koln twice (Did you know they have a chocolate museum?)-- on the Rhine cruise to St. Goar, Frankfurt, Mainz, Brugge, Belgium where there are gun emplacments from WW II-- the town we could have stayed in a week-- canals like Venice-- lace industry-- the old town was not bombed in WW I or WW II-- we rode the Strassenbahn to Ostend to see the ferries from England and the English channel-- tried all sorts of local foods on the trip-- tried all sorts of beer on the trip-- yep, we had a blast. The Deutches Bahn (DB) also has a travelers koisk (sp) at every major train station with suggestions for hotels-- we generally stayed in a hotel next to the train station-- was handy...and the cost was around $100 for the two-- with HUGE European breakfast thrown in-- we ate that-- coffee and a snack in the afternoon-- then dinner where ever. If you are a pretzel fan-- Alice loved them. Take one bag-- small with wheels (27 inch)-- pack what you think you'll need-- carry it around the house for an hour, and then delete--you are allowed one purse and one fairly small hand baggage on the plane-- You already know about the restrictions on planes-- remember, Germany has drug stores, too-- so just don't take that stuff unless-- well, you're allergic or something. Take bath soap, washcloth and a medium towel-- the hotels we stayed in provided linens-- but not all hotels do---
Since you'll be probably in a small town for Altenkirchen ( old church) you may be able to visit some of the natives-- they are very hospitable and want to please you-- be prepared to eat and drink--and remember-- nearly EVERY German speaks and understands English.....
OH take a medium wrap-- like a lined windbreaker-- weather is iffy in September.
I wish your Son and his wife to be every happiness-- and that you have a wonderful time. Remember-- it isn't about Your Way or Bad Way-- it's about ONE way and a DIFFERENT way.
Auf Weiderseine