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Even though I work in Darmstadt, it's taken some time to pull together the elements of one great day there. But after sampling lots of lunch spots, exploring the town and a bit of the outskirts, here it is - everything you need for a great day. Getting around Darmstadt by car or transit is easy - we took a Deutsche Bahn train and arrived at Darmstadt central station about 30 minutes later. The station's a bit out of town, so you'll have to tram or bus into the central square, Luisenplatz. If you exit the train station on the main side, you'll see where the trams pick and up and can hop on any one. Luisenplatz is shopping central, and also the beginning of the Techniker University (TU) campus. Turn south on the first road you see, and head to the Darmstadt Dom. It's a much smaller church than in Mainz, but was designed after the Pantheon, and has a beautiful blue ceiling with nice, simple decor. Head back to the Luisenplatz and walk west down Rhinestrasse and as

I just returned from a perfect Saturday afternoon spent in Baden-Baden, a well-heeled town nestled in the Black Forest, in the state of Baden-Wurttemburg. B-B is an easy 1.5 hour train ride from Frankfurt, and if you book in advance, can cost around 50 euros per person (you can also take 4 friends along via the budget/scenic route - 3 hours - on the Happy Weekend ticket, only 40 euros total). The B-B train station is just outside of town. The 201 bus runs into town every 10 minutes, and it's a 13 minute ride to the main square, Leopoldsplatz. From there, catch either the 204 or 205 to Merkurwald , a good starting point for a Black Forest hike. As you head up the hill, take note of the homes - or rather villas - that pepper the side of the road, and the forest in the background! At the end of the line, you'll reach the foot of Merkur Mountain. You can pay 4 euros for a roundtrip ticket up the funicular railway ( bergbahn ), or hike up and train down, as we did (2 euros), so as