A review of day trips from the Kaiserslautern Military Community

Living in the Kaiserslautern Military Community (KMC) has its rewards, one of the most important of which is the opportunity to travel, may it be locally or into the reaches of far-flung lands.  Kaiserslautern and its environs has transformed itself into a hub from which its spokes shoot off East, West, North and South with highways, byways and railways stretching into the French Frontier, stark mountain ranges of the Bavarian Alps and the low, lush lands of Belgium and Holland, just to name a few locations.  Kaiserslautern itself has much to offer, from shopping, dining to musical and theatrical entertainment.  This all is topped off with museums, and parks displaying everything from native animals, and exotic flora to life-sized replicas of dinosaurs looming over visitors putting away on a mini-golf course or enjoying a Beer and Brat at a park Kiosk.

However, there comes a time when one must venture out of the comforts of the KMC to explore the fringes of its boundaries and beyond, to see what else Europe has to offer historically, culturally and scenically.  Of course time is not always on one’s side, and extended voyages to such locations as Paris, Amsterdam or Lauterbrunnen cradled within the glacial peaks of the awe-striking Austrian Alps is not a viable travel option.  That’s where day trips come in, and there are plenty of destinations around the KMC to leisurely tour within a day, which lie about one to two hours from Kaiserslautern.  Autobahns and secondary thoroughfares deliver one to any of these local destinations, albeit traffic jams, getting lost or running out of gas can hinder the trip and hamper that hallmark explorer’s zeal us Americans have seemed to inherit when stationed in foreign lands.  Another transport option that has become a testament to Germans’ efficiency and attention to detail is the country’s intricate network of rails and warp-speed trains officially called the Deutsche Bahn (German Train) condensed to Die Bahn (The Train) and further whittled down to DB.  This train system prides itself on its accurate schedules and reliability, cleanliness and comfort, and last but not least, speed, swiftly transporting passengers to destinations far and wide, and day trips around the KMC are no exception.  For a few ten or twenty Euro bills, one can catch a DB almost every hour of the day to their desired local destination, and get home just as resourcefully.

What are such destinations considered day trips that plunge a KMC member into the heart of local as well as national cultural treasures, not to mention the opportunity for shopping and dining?  Simple question with a very long answer since these destinations abound in every direction from Kaiserslautern; however, for the sake of not transforming this article into a novel, I’ll delve into a few of the more prominent locations, one of which is the ancient city of Trier, travel time from KMC by rail: approximately 2 to 2.5 hours.

The ancient empire of Rome planted Trier’s roots in 15 B.C. making this city the oldest metropolis in Germany.  A testament to this historical fact are the many Roman edifices and ruins occupying Trier such as the Porta Nigra –Black Gate – which was built in the 2nd century A.D. as the city’s northern entrance.  This massive, blackened building has become as much a dominant landmark of Trier as the Eiffel Tower is to Paris.  Other Roman ruins include a vast spread of tunnels and the remaining walls of Roman baths; bridge, and well preserved amphitheater.  Trier’s pedestrian zone is chalked full of stores, restaurants and cafes, and beside this bustling walkway is the towering church whose claim to fame is that it’s the oldest Christian house of worship in Germany.

East of Kaiserslautern, nestled within the rigid hills of the Bergstrasse (Castle Road), is the quaint town of Ladenburg that has its own claim to the legacy of the Roman Empire: It’s the oldest Roman town on the right bank of the Rhein River.  Travel time from KMC by rail: approximately 1 to 1.5 hours.  Today, this once flourishing Roman settlement contains not only the ruins of this bygone empire, but a museum that showcases Roman artifacts.  Buildings of a medieval nature surround the ruins, half-timbered houses and structures with Romanesque designs housing small store fronts and cozy restaurants serving traditional German dishes, all partially surrounded by a medieval wall.

The Rhein River, this powerful waterway offers a virtual pleasure cruise for train travelers as they journey between the cities of Bingen and St. Goar. Travel time from KMC to Bingen by rail: approximately 1.5 hours.  Along either side of the river’s precipitous slopes covered by a mantle of impeccably tidy vineyards, and upon small stony islands within the waterway sit the grand monuments to medieval Germany: one castle or toll tower after another looming over antique towns still enveloped by their defensive walls, a fairytale voyage through the days of knights in shining armor.  Many of the castles are in ruins while others still stand in their full grandeur.  Either Bingen and St. Goar or their neighboring walled-in towns offer train travelers who wish to stop shops and snug restaurants lining cobblestone streets overshadowed by the bell towers of Middle Age cathedrals.

Along the Neckar River is a city nearly undisturbed by the ravages of age and war, granting it the esteemed title as one of Germany’s most romantic and historic metropolises – Heidelberg. Travel time from KMC by rail: approximately 1 to 1.5 hours.  It’s Altstadt (Old City) is a cobblestone kingdom of awe-striking sights woven into the fabric of modern restaurants and stores inhabiting ancient buildings ranging in designs from old, and reserved Gothic to the brilliant baroque architecture of Europe’s distinguished past, making this city such an appealing attraction to millions of tourists a year.  Some of city’s many hallmark sights include the Alte-Brücke (old bridge) that links the two halves of Heidelberg split by the Neckar.  The old bridge lives up to its name with a cobblestone roadway flanked by religious and historical statues and culminating in the stunning Baroque twin towers and vaulted gateway that once was part of the city’s medieval fortification.  Along the Alt-Brücke one gets a grand view of Heidelberg’s most endearing landmark, its castle.

Heidelberg’s castle has somewhat of an identity crisis seeing it’s built with the best of three ancient architectural styles: gothic, renaissance and baroque.  This mammoth melting pot of architectural fashions is quite certain, though, of its popularity, despite much of it having succumbed to ruin from war and finally by fire.  The castle is Heidelberg’s only scar reflecting the city’s battle to survive the ages.  However, the remnants of this royal establishment still carry the air of a majestic and potent seat of power that ruled over a vast stretch of central Europe. Surrounded by well-groomed gardens and partial ruins of gates, towers and walls based within a deep moat, the castle’s courtyard boasts intact chambers to its overall layout, which are seen through tours conducted in as many languages as one can think of.  Many of the chambers reflect the luxury within which Germany’s early rulers lived with lavish interior decorating that could humble Martha Stewart. The castle chapel is roofed by a high vaulted ceiling covering a powerfully religious alter that possesses the power to strike religion into a devout atheist. The castle’s terrace is one of its most illustrious landmarks.  It offers a sweeping view of the entire Altstadt, and Alte-Brücke spanning the Neckar and the neat rows of dwellings set up below the forested heights across the river.

Heidelberg’s Church of the Holy Ghost is a 600-year-old religious structure whose well-preserved condition takes one back in time to the Middle Ages and the power of religion at that time.  The church towers over the Alt Stadt’s hub, the Marktplatz (market place).  This cobbled square plays host to one of the oldest buildings in Heidelberg – its age only preceded by the Holy Ghost Church – the Hotel Zum Ritter.  This 16th century beauty’s colorful culmination of renaissance columns, intricately carved figures adorning its façade and curling roof resemble a Lego project made in heaven.

Boasting one of Germany’s greatest religious monuments resting among a neat assemblage of shops, cafes and museums is the small and attractive city of Speyer.  Travel time from the KMC by rail: approximately 1 hour.  Speyer’s Cathedral, named the Kaiserdom (Emperor Cathedral), is the largest in Germany; so massive that it is visible for miles outside the city.  It was built in the 11th century A.D. and remains one of the most important Romanesque buildings in Germany.  Beneath the Dom’s lofty vaulted ceilings rests four German kings and four Holy Roman emperors and their wives within the largest and best-preserved Romanesque crypts in Germany.  The Kaiserdom may be the nucleus of the city, but not it’s only valued sight to see. There’s the Altpörtal Gate, one of the most striking and tallest medieval gates in Germany.  The Pfalz History Museum offers visitors an opportunity to delve into important and cultural and historical exhibits of the area from the Stone Age to the present, cathedral treasury, wine museum, and regular special exhibitions.  Another museum of great notoriety in Speyer is the Technology Museum, featuring exceptional exhibits from all avenues of technology.  This includes flight, ground and marine transport such as fighter and passenger planes, vintage cars, locomotives and a Maritime Museum whose prize is a post-World War II U-Boot.  The Speyer technical museum also features an impressive IMAX cinema.  The city’s Sea Life Center, only a short distance from the Kaiserdom, highlights a vast variety of marine animals from colorful Caribbean fish to formidable sharks.

A route made famous for its influence on Germany’s wine culture for centuries is aptly called the Deutsche Weinstrasse (German wine road).  Along this route a train traveler can soak in the picturesque wine villages with their half-timbered homes and barns swimming in a sea of vineyards stretching to the base of distant, low-lying and castle crowned mountains.  The rail offers one of the most scenic trips through this region, a voyage that could culminate in one of the Weinstrasse’s most popular cities, Bad Duerkheim.  Travel time from KMC by rail: less than one hour.  Bad Dürkheim is a bustling town made popular by its wine community and as a spa resort.  It’s main highlights include well-groomed gardens and parks, one of the world’s largest wine barrels home to a restaurant, and Germany’s largest wine festival, the Würst Markt, the Sausage Market, held in early fall of each year.  The town is an optimal place for hiking and biking through the vineyards and flanking hills.  Bad Dürkheim offers an abundance of restaurants, from traditional German to Greek, to dine at, not to mention wine probes at the various vintners.

Other noteworthy locations to visit via DB include:

One of Germany’s most modern cities, Frankfurt has something for everyone from theater goers, art enthusiasts, shoppers, to diners and partiers.  Travel time from KMC by rail: 1.5 to 2 hours.  Some Germans refer to Frankfurt as the Manhattan of Germany with its glass and steel high-rise goliaths overshadowing this city’s bygone medieval past wiped out by incessant World War II Allied bombing.  However, as a modern ambassador to Old Country Europe, Frankfurt has bloomed into a scene of world-renowned cultural diversity blended into a complex patchwork of traditional and ultramodern clubs, restaurants, cafes and bars lining streets along with Mom and Pop stores to international merchants.

Köln, the largest city on the Rhein River. Travel time from KMC by rail: 2.5 to 3 hours.  This city’s main attraction is its world famous thirteenth century cathedral containing impressive stained glass windows and the Shrine of the Maji (three kings).  Near the cathedral is the Roman-Germanic museum featuring an exceptional display of Roman artifacts.  Restaurants and stores abound in this waterfront city.

In the heavily wooded and hilly region of Germany’s western frontier is the small town of Idar-Oberstein, known for its wealth of semi-precious jewels.  Travel time from KMC by rail: 1.5 to 2 hours.  Idar-Oberstein is also known for its beautiful chapel resting in a unique location: embedded within the cliffs high above the town.  All types of restaurants and stores, especially gem merchants, do business below the chapel’s structure along a meandering pedestrian zone.

Indeed, from every direction of the KMC, one will discover the glory of Old World Germany, and the culture that took root within it and blossomed into its modern stance in a scenic and wondrous natural environment.