Michelstadt

I%26#39;ve been reading all of these recommendations to see Michelstadt if one is in town for Christmasmarkets.

What%26#39;s the best way to get there from the Frankfurt airport? How long does it take? Is there a recommended place to stay for a night?

Thanks.

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DB timetable

http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.exe/e

From: FRA airport

To: Michelstadt

Both places are inside the RMV local public transport network, thus you%26#39;ll need a RMV ticket (sold at ticket machines)

rmv.de/coremedia/…SPRACH__ART__en.html

Michelstadt accommodation

michelstadt.de/Hotels_Pensionen_F.583.0.html

a bit outside, but an important sight (one of the oldest non-Roman buildings in Germany)

schloesser-hessen.de/englisch/homesandgarden…

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Thanks. Which Michelstadt stop do we input for this?http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.exe/e

From: FRA airport

To: Michelstadt

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None. Just keep the default %26quot;Michelstadt%26quot; at the drop-down list and click again on [Search connection].

The DB timetable suggests normally the mostlikely and %26quot;best%26quot; destination as default. This is normally the (main) railway station. Or it can be that this is a name standing for a group of stations/stops (e.g. like %26quot;FRA FrankfurtAirport%26quot; which includes the 2 railway stations and the bus stops at Frankfurt Airport).

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Do check out times of the Christmas markets in Michelstadt ( we visit there each year as its our favourite and only 45 min drive away) they are shut often on a Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday -- but this might be day time hours only -- check out their web first.

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Okay guys. I got my plane tickets--will arrive at FRA on Thursday 14 December and leave from on Monday 18 December (wish we could stay longer) from CGN to go hang out in England for a while.

Here%26#39;s a barrel of questions for you. Some of the answers can probably best reside on an Insider page like Frankfurt%26#39;s?

(1) Is there a website for Michelstadt%26#39;s Christmasmarket? Is it operational on Thursday 14 December?

(2) What%26#39;s Michelstadt%26#39;s English-language situation? In such a small town, will it be hard to find someone that speaks English?

(3) I%26#39;ve been studying the link: http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.exe/e

How does one find this train station after arriving at FRA from SFO? (4) If we (wife and me) travel FRA-Michelstadt; possibly Michelstadt to Kassel on Friday; and then Kassel-Koln on Saturday, what%26#39;s the best way for us to get the most economical train travel? Buy online or in person?

(5) With train tickets, are the ticket times flexible at all or are passengers stuck on very precise trains %26amp; seats?

(6) Would renting a car be more economical?

(7) Thanks. Your advice has been great. Is there anything I could plan to bring to you from California as a token of thanks?

Cheers.

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I can try to answer at least a part of the questions...

%26gt;(3) I%26#39;ve been studying the link: http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.exe/e

How does one find this train station after arriving at FRA from SFO?

Just follow the train sign. Note that there are two parts of the station, the Fernbahnhof (long distance train station) where the IC and ICE trains stop, and the Regionalbahnhof (local train station) where you catch S-Bahn, RB and RE train etc.

(4) If we (wife and me) travel FRA-Michelstadt; possibly Michelstadt to Kassel on Friday; and then Kassel-Koln on Saturday, what%26#39;s the best way for us to get the most economical train travel?

I am not sure, but your best bet (economically) is the Hessen-Ticket which would allow up to 5 people to travel for one whole day in all of the state Hessen for 25 Euro on regional trains (RE, IRE, RB, S) as well as the city transportation in Frankfurt, Kassel etc. No long-distance trains though (IC/EC, ICE). You can see what you can use by choosing the option of %26quot;only local transport%26quot; in the bahn.de travel planner. On weekdays it is only valid from 9am though.

%26gt;Buy online or in person?

If you buy a single ticket for the full price, it does not matter. With the Hessen-Ticket, I am not sure you can buy it online at all, but it is available from ticket machines everywhere, and also from the counters.

(5) With train tickets, are the ticket times flexible at all or are passengers stuck on very precise trains %26amp; seats?

The full-price tickets are absolutley flexible within a certain period (48 h for ICE, 30 d for other tickets, as long as you travel over 100 km - the validity dates are printed on the ticket) . Note that the ICE tickets cost a bit more than tickets for local trains. You can take local trains with the ICE ticket but not vice versa.

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I couldn%26#39;t find an english link for the Hessen-ticket, here is the German one:

bahn.de/-S:PtVORN:eZpHI9NNRAYtwNNNNUdM/regio…

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michelstadt.de/VERANSTALTUNGEN.111.0.html…

open Dec 1-23, 2006, Mon-Fri 2pm-8pm and Sat-Sun 11am-8pm

Best to learn a few German phrases. The times I needed help and couldn%26#39;t find an adult who spoke English, try a teenager they might know a little English.

When do you plan to arrive in Kassel if you visit Michelestadt%26#39;s Christmas market since it opens from 14:00? Check DB website for regular price tickets vs. %26#39;local transport only%26#39; tickets for the Hessen ticket ( bahn.de/-S:PtVORN:eZqtu9NNZAsvydNNNStM/p/vie… ) to see what%26#39;s more convenient for you.

I would encourage the use of trains for your trip. I don%26#39;t think a car would be more economical or convenient.

Christmas markets for Kassel and Cologne - germany-christmas-market.org.uk/index1.htm

Question for the rail experts - At DB%26#39;s website , what type of train is %26quot;VIA%26quot;? Is that considered a local train? Thanks

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%26gt;what type of train is %26quot;VIA%26quot;? Is that considered a local train? Thanks

:-)))

Are you sure you don%26#39;t mean the %26quot;via%26quot; (intermediate) stations? as in %26quot;a trip from Cologne to Frankfurt via Koblenz?

Otherwise it might be a local semiprivate rail organisation - these spring up all across Germany now. In this case yes, it is a local train and most probably they will accept a Hessen-Ticket. The only example of the non-local non-DB train are a few Interconnex courses in the Eastern Germany, but they won%26#39;t turn up in the DB schedule planner since they don%26#39;t accept DB tickets and vice versa.

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Sorry, just looked up - yes, it is some (semi)private train org, VIAS GmbH. If you want to get from Kassel to Michelstadt using only local train then you even need to use two different private rail orgs, the %26quot;Hessische Landesbahn%26quot; and the VIAS.

Not sure about those, but in most cases these private rail organisations are just offsprings from DB, with different trains and different color schemes and most importantly different employee%26#39;s contracts, as a way to get around certain specialties of the German trade union structure.

Here is the wikipedia article in German:

http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/VIAS_GmbH

VIAS network is a part of the Rhein-Main-Verkehrsverbund (integrated transit area) and therefore absolutely certainly local trains accepting the Hessen-Ticket. It is a 50:50 joint venture of the Frankfurt city transit organisation and another private railway, Rurtalbahn.

Hessische Landesbahn (HLB) belongs 100% to the state of Hesse and therefore also has to accept all DB ticketing.

Complicated, isn%26#39;t it...