Steven Cu wrote: > As for the food, try the sausages and there pork hocks > plus the local beer brands (lowenbrau etc) . I was able to get parts only at > a local vw dealer(expensive).

Blechhh! lowenbrau? Sorry. <grin> A real Lowenbrau (in Germany...not the swill exported here) is better than most US domestic stuff but when in Germany why drink it? <BTW, add Grolsch to the list> Try a Hahnen Alt (my previous regularly available favorite... and bring me back a few cases...grin), Henniger, or some of the smaller labels. Many of the factories also have cheap/free tours and better still... PRODUCT SAMPLING! Food? Just go to the bakeries and load up! I'll take a German bakery over a french one any day of the year! For lodging try the small gasthauses. They're similar to our bed and breakfast type places. There is plenty to see and do in Frankfurt (the Palmengarten is nice). BTW, take the Ubahn to the Hauptwache (spelling?). When you get off and go up to the 1st underground level, follow your nose. Hopefully the little shop that sells the crepes smeared with a chocolate/hazelnut sauce is still there. They cook them on a griddle just outside the door. If you like wine, and can drive, do a tour of the wine country along the Rhine and Mosel rivers. Castles are all over Germany so you can hit those on the same trips. If you were going in December, I'd recommend the outdoor christmas market in Nurnburg. For the carnivores, they have a special sausage that you can only get during the christmas market. That's all I can remember at this point. ILYK if I can't jog my memory a little. -- Please remove "faux." from my reply-to address above in order to send a reply. I'll try anything to try and foil the junk email mutants.