10 Things to do near Frankfurt-Hahn

Frankfurt-Hahn may sound close to the city of Frankfurt, but as I’ve written before, it is actually 126km away.

So rather than taking the bus to Frankfurt, here are some things you might like to do that are a little closer:

  1. Drink wine.  Although Hahn is located in the area called the Hunsrück, one of Germany’s main wine-growing areas, the Mosel is only a few kilometres away.
  2. Visit Cochem.  The town lies on the border between the two regions and has a lovely old town, with cafés on the waterfront and even a castle overlooking the river.  Although a fair size, it is sufficiently off the beaten track – and away from the motorway network – to be peaceful, especially as most of the town centre is free of traffic.
  3. Take a trip on the river.  The River Mosel flows from Koblenz, past Cochem and Alf, onwards to the historic town of Trier – allegedly the oldest town in Germany.
  4. Hire a bicycle.  For example in Alf, where the hotels are bicycle-friendly and the hire prices start at around 5EUR/day.
  5. Visit a museum.  The area is documented in the Hunsrück-Museum in Simmern, and the entrance prices are more than reasonable!
  6. Take a walk.  There are 9 different walking routes around Hahn with a total length of 30km.
  7. Go to a football match.  Hahn has its own team.
  8. Play Golf.  Hahn has a 9-hole course (Par 72).
  9. Visit a festival, eg. the Cochem plum festival.  Needless to says that almost every town has a wine festival and a Christmas market.
  10. Visit Luxembourg – it’s only 70km away to the west.  That’s closer than Frankfurt!

Do you have any more suggestions?

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Can you bring back a cactus from Lanzarote?

Have you ever been on holiday and not known whether you are allowed to take something back home with you?

This was the problem facing us last year in a Lanzarote supermarket where there were cacti for sale.  The cacti were packaged almost as presents, so it was an enticing thought to take one or more of them back to Germany with us.

Except, of course, being in the middle of a supermarket on the outskirts of Arrecife is not the best place to get information on whether you are even allowed to take them off the island, let alone import them back into mainland Europe.

In these days of Europe “without borders”, it is easy to forget that customs laws still exist for certain products, and I was pretty sure that cacti would be something that needed looking into.

On the other hand, why would they sell them on an island packaged to go, unless you could take them with you?

The German customs office website brought some answers.  Their general brochure warned about bringing plants back to Germany, noting that some cacti species were protected.

The protected species database indeed listed Spanish cacti as protected, but allowed for their sale within the EU – as long as you have proof of purchase.

The answer is therefore to buy from a reputable shop or at a supermarket, and to make sure that you get a decent receipt.  Buying from a street vendor at a market is probably not such a good idea.

But even then be warned: not every type of cactus is allowed, so if you see something exotic it might be worth checking with your country’s customs office first, or just not bother and leave the cactus on the island.  Take a photo instead!

After our doubts about whether we could even take the cacti off the island, one shop really did make it clear that it doesn’t seem to be a problem:

Cactus House, Flughafen Arrecife
Cactus House, Arrecife Airport

The “Cactus House” is situated airside in Lanzarote Airport, ie. after you have checked-in your luggage and been through the security screening.

Here you can buy a wide range of cactus plants and accessories, and the only place to take them is onto the plane with you.

But hang on a moment, aren’t cacti sharp objects…?

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