Pandemic Tourism

Burg Hohenstein, a great (and free!) way to spend an afternoon

It's Labor Day weekend . . . time for a trip!  Oh wait . . .

Pandemics make travel difficult, risky, and in some cases forbidden. That's sad, especially for people like me who are living abroad for only a short time. I've been down recently, as I watch the beautiful summer weather slip away as we transition to autumn, knowing that our opportunities to see the continent are drying up. But I need to remember a few things:

1. Not being able to travel is sad, but far from the worst thing people have had to face during this time. I'm tremendously blessed.
2. There are tons of sights to see right here in my local area, and can be enjoyed responsibly- keeping appropriate social distance and avoiding crowds.

Today, I provide links to lists of locations in the local area (near Frankfurt). Many of these are not famous sights, but off-the-beaten path selections. You never know what adventures await you.

Castles

Germany had 20,000 castles at one time. Most are now in wiped off the map, but there are still plenty to see. Everyone knows about the famous ones, but there are wonderful structures to see that are lesser known.

• Burgenwelt allows you to click on countries, states, and regions and see a selection of castles.
• Schloesser-hessen shows you properties managed by a specific preservation association.  The first link shows a map; this link is an alphabetical list.

Tourism Roads

Germany has a number of tourism routes that focus on a theme; several are presented below. These routes are excellent- you can drive them and stop or enjoy from afar as you wish. Some of the below websites are archaic or poorly presented, but google searches can provide useful complementary information. And since these can be hundreds of miles long, check to make sure a given portion of the route is within acceptable distance for you.

• Fairy Tale Road: Like Grimm's Fairy Tales? Then enjoy the Maerchenstrasse as it snakes through areas said to have inspired the tales.
• Border Road: The borders of the Roman Empire were in this area; the Limesstrasse (enjoyed by car or bike) is a nice day out.
• Castle Road: The Burgenstrasse runs east-west through south-central Germany
• Romantic Road: Running north-south through Bavaria, this Romantische Strasse offers plenty of famous (and lesser-known) sights
• Mountain Road: The Bergstrasse is a shorter route, running north-south through East Hessen
• Half-timbered Houses Road: Love that iconic architecture? The Fachwerkstrasse may be for you.

Hiking

Hiking the Taunus Mountains is always a nice time.

• Hiking in Hessen links to several ideas

Biking

• Get on your bike and enjoy Germany's numerous trails! Use an app like Komoot to plan the way.

I hope these lists give you some ideas for this holiday weekend. Check opening times- sporadic, especially in a pandemic- and always exercise wisdom: check COVID case numbers in your area of interest before you go, avoid large crowds, wear a mask, be responsible.

Enjoy!