To simplify the logistics of our upcoming trip to Germany, we decided to stay in one hotel for the week that we’ll be there and make day trips to other locales. We selected Koblenz as our base because it was at the confluence of the Moselle and Rhine Rivers. Link
The German Railroad (Deutsches Bahn or DB hereafter) posts its schedules online. Link We found that the DB provides direct service from the station at the Frankfurt Airport to the main station in Koblenz. The ride takes a little more than an hour and was much more convenient than renting a car.
Examining the schedules for Koblenz, we learned that DB provides morning departure and afternoon return times to the cities and towns that we wanted to visit. We decided to use DB for our day trips as far as Koeln and Luxembourg and as nearby as the Moselle and Rhine country wineries.
DB offers several types of railway passes for tourists on its website. We opted for a pass designed for non-Europeans that provided seven consecutive days of train travel. Moreover, DB was offering a autumn season discount! We ordered our tickets on the DB website and printed them out at home. When we board the train in Germany, we merely show the passes and our passports to the attendant.
Travels with Owen 