Excursion: Day on the Rhine

After a 45-minute drive to the Rhine, you can enjoy the beautiful view of the Rhine Valley from cable cars, a walk in the forest, and travel on a boat as well.

From Eppstein, take the B455 towards Wiesbaden, then the A3 towards Frankfurt, then the A66 towards Wiesbaden. Keep driving until the A66 ends and you will be driving along the Rhine. Drive until Rüdesheim. Pull over on your left at the tourist office. Get a free map of the Rüdesheim-Assmannshausen area and a 10-euro ticket that will pay for your cable-car, chairlift, and ferry tickets. Then park in the nearby free parking lot (ask the tourist office where it is).

Walk on the main street along the Rhine until you hit Drosselgasse, a very quaint alley leading up the hill. Walk by all the little tourist shops and go to the cable car ("Seilbahn"). The cable car will take you up to the giant statue of Germania, built after the Franco-Prussian War. The views are impressive. Kids can try to see if Germania is wearing a crown. Walk along the hiking trail with its fun stops, such as fake castle ruins built by a duke for his visitors. Walk through the Enchanted Tunnel ("Zauberhöhle"); bring a flashlight if members of your party are scared of the dark! Feed some deer carrots and apples in the fenced-in animal area ("Tierpark"). Then after the hourlong hike, you can take the chairlift ("Sesselbahn") down to the valley of Assmannshausen. If you walk to the main street along the Rhine, you'll find a little restaurant with super Apfelstrudel and English menus. My youngest son had the kids' fish sticks meal with yummy peas and what really tasted like homemade mashed potatoes.

Enjoy the ride down the Rhine back to Rüdesheim. If you are in luck, you might catch the ferry that has a playground on the upper deck. Keep walking along the Rhine when you get out of the boat, and you'll be back to your car. Perfect getaway afternoon.

Hunt for Easter Eggs at the Opel Zoo

The Taunus area has its own zoo set in the hills. Kronberg's Opel Zoo is a 20-minute drive east on the B455 from Eppstein. If you have children, the annual pass (40 euros for adults; 15 euros for children) is worth it. My boys have always enjoyed bringing carrots to feed the animals, particularly the deer. It's nice that the animal signs are in both German and English.

The adventure playground is fantastic. Ropes to climb, poles to slide down, long winding tunnel slide. If you go early Saturday morning, your child can jump into the large ball pit without having to worry about jumping onto a toddler. There are also pony and camel rides, for which you have to pay extra (1,50-2 €).

The petting zoo area is quite big, which is the reason my children prefer the Opel Zoo to the Frankfurt Zoo. You can buy carrots at the zoo's entrance and food pellets from dispensers. But beware, I am somewhat traumatized from the time I went through the petting zoo's gates during the winter and the hungry animals stampeded me for the food--goats on their hind legs, hooves on my winter coat, sheep pushing towards me. I threw my pellets into the air and ran back out the gate.

The French fries from the kiosk at the playground are very tasty, but I would not recommend the cappuccino (instant) from the zoo restaurant in the center. You can enjoy a picnic at the zoo or even reserve a grill (06173/79749). Watching the gibbons play while eating at the snack bar on the water is fun, but for finer dining, there is a steakhouse overlooking the savannah with giraffes. You don't have to enter the zoo to enjoy the view from the steakhouse.

The Opel Zoo might not be the biggest zoo, but it is one of the most peaceful. During your stroll, you can observe Arctic foxes and owls, lamas, elephants and zebras, monkeys and parrots, turtles, fish, and much more. The scenery is beautiful, with the Falkenstein castle in the background, and a visit is refreshing rather than exhausting. On Easter, the zoo traditionally holds an Easter egg hunt (2010-April 4/5; 10-12:00).

Skate at the Henkell Ice Rink

 The Henkell ice skating rink in Wiesbaden is still the best deal around for winter fresh-air fun (50 cents for children on weekday mornings!).  The outdoor rink is conveniently open for two- to three-hour blocks of time (9-12, 12:30-2:30, 3-5). You can rent skates (3,50€/pair), or bring your own. Little ones just learning how to skate can borrow a penguin or dwarf to push (5 € deposit, 1 € rental).

When you get hungry for a snack, the hot chocolate is a treat, piled high with whipped cream; the French fries are my favorite. They play peppy music, and even have a disco with lights in the evening (6-9:30 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays).

If you plan on going often, the five-ticket pass for 6€ for children/12€ pass for adults is a bargain. For the list of single-ticket prices, click here.

Enjoy Rettershof

Enjoy a walk and meal at Rettershof, a 15-minute drive on the B455 from Eppstein past Fischbachtal. The estate, founded in 1146 as a monastery, has many, many walking paths and quaintly painted stalls and buildings.

They keep horses and have both a gourmet restaurant (Le duc) in a manor house and a more down-to-earth restaurant (Zum fröhlichen Landmann) nestled in the woods.

In the summer, we enjoy the fröhliche Landmann's "Grüne Soße" (Goethe's favorite meal--potatoes with eggs in a yogurt-herb sauce). In the fall, try their fresh venison. Make it a day's excursion--have lunch at the Fröhlichen Landmann (closed on Mondays and Tuesdays), then take a walk around the grounds, along the brook, by all the sprouting mushrooms, and end at the Tudor manor house built by an Englishman in the 1880's, which now houses a Schloßhotel.