I'll be flying into Frankfurt in late August will then make my way by train to Leipzig with a few days to kill. I can't rent a car because I'm leaving from Leipzig and one-way drops look expensive. I was wondering if anyone had a recommendation for a stop not to far out of the way where one could hike at least a few miles, overnight, and get back on the train. A quick look at Germany hut hiking mostly returns hits on Alps but I'm wondering if there's something interesting that's do-able in that part of the country. I certainly see lot's of green spots on Google Maps.

Ideas?
Thanks!

You could hike over to St. Thomas Church to see if Johann Sebastian Bach is there, de-composing!

Rent a car in Leipzig and drive to the Harz Mountains. You can ascend the Brocken, the highest peak, via an old-fashioned steam train or hike the trail, your choice. Of course it's long past Walpurgisnacht (when you don't want to be there anyway since it's a drunken party, with tons of trash left behind when I went up on May 3), but consider reading that part of Goethe's Faust to get into the mood. Plus, there's lots of info in this wikipedia artlcle with links to trail info.

Eisenach, where I stayed overnight after visiting the Brocken, is the home of the Wartburg Castle, the home of St. Elizabeth in the 13th century and where Luther hid out after the Diet of Worms and translated the Bible into German (the basis for the modern German language). Johann Sebastian Bach was also born in Eisenach. If you don't want tor rent a car, it's still worth a stop on the railroad between Frankfurt and Leipzig, and you'll get plenty of exercise hiking up to the castle.

For me, this trip (RT from Leipzig) was part of visiting the Martin Luther sites (Wittenberg, Eisleben, Eisenach), so if you have interest in the Reformation (500th anniversaryy coming up next year, so this year is a better time to visit) that might be worthwhile)

Do expect plenty of delays on the Autobahn! If you try to schedule too closely, a stau (traffic jam lasting hours ) is inevitable!

If you're at all into Bach, the Thomaskirche in Leipzig (his grave is in the sanctuary, so he really is decomposing there ) is a must. If you can catch a concert with the Thomanerchor, so much the better.

Bach, not so much, but Luther definitely (although I'm partial to Huss via Zinzendorf). You've reminded me that this trip should be more about history than hiking but I still want to try to spend one night sleeping rough if at all possible. Thanks for the Harz Mtn tip.

OM's suggestions sound great. My "hiking" experiences in Germany were all in the Army, so not exactly normal ...

I believe there are day hikes available out of Frankfurt in the Taunus mountains, and I think even via public transport if you're disinclined to rent a car (?). A web search would likely turn up something.

Not a hiking thing, but one of my favorite places in Germany is there --- IF you're into history, and particularly ancient history. A roman fort, partly reconstructed, near Bad Homburg, called Saalburg. I saw that literally decades ago and the impression remains.

Saalburg looks interesting, I love any old ruins anywhere and the Romans really did it right. It looks as though day hikes are plentiful and probably a better use of time, maybe with a little history to go with them.

A little more searching turned up: http://www.walk-in-europe.com/germany/top-trails/map/ which suggests a Rennstig Trail near Eisenach, on the train route I think. It's supposed to be an ancient trading route so there'll be some history value. The site also says it's served by public transportation. I don't know about camping but it's a long trail so there must be some sort of rustic accomodation.

I'll pick up a car in Leipzig and then we're heading south into the Alps so there will be plenty of hiking and huts there, but at that point I won't want to park overnight at any remote trailheads. As built-up and institutionalized as that area of the world is there's probably valet garage parking at the hiking trails.