A few days ago I had published a short list on sledding areas around the Frankfurt area. Now the ski aficionados and aficionadas get their turn for a good run.

Short list of recommended places for skiing around Frankfurt:

* Odenwald – located between the Main and Neckar rivers. Downhill and cross country skiing, bob car riding and tobogganing. More at Odenwald Wintersport

* Vogelsberg – The toboggan runs on the Herchenhainer Höhe and Hoherodskopf are some of the longest ones in Hessen. There are downhill ski trails and night skiing trails. Opportunities for snow shoeing and cross country skiing. Five-km-long trails around Taufstein in Oberwald provide the city of Taufstein to be host of the official Hessian Ski Association Competitions. More at Vogelsberg Touristik.

* Rhön – On the 900-meter Wasserkuppe mountain, you are sure to find snow. Three lifts take skiers to elevated trails. Good terrain for cross country skiers as well. More at Rhoen.

* Willingen – 85-km-long ski runs, most modern 8-person cable car, 12 ski lifts, 25 ski runs. Downhill and cross country trails are well maintained. More at Skigebiet Willingen.

* Taunus – 100 km of cross country ski trails, downhill trails; the downhill trails are at the Feldberg and Triesberg. Cross country trails run from the Saalburg to Rod an der Weil. More round trip trails at Billtalhöhe, Am Sandplacken, Langhals, Sängelberg, Weißeberg, Weilsberg, Windhain, Am Loh and Am Cratzenbach.

(The most popular sledding trails are on the hill in Falkenstein, downhill from Hohemark, at Oberreifenberg and at Sporthotel Erbismühle in Weilrod.)

Skiing and sledding at Oberreifenberg/Taunus

Photo published with friendly permission by Seungyeon Lim

Thinking about traveling somewhere on 01 May 2010? If you do and you live in the Taunus area, then either leave home early on Saturday, 01 May Tag der Arbeit (Labor Day) or check the bike race route beforehand as 01 May  is the big day of the Frankfurt/Taunus bike race.

Until 2008 it was called Henninger Turm Radrennen, but then sponsorship changed. These days it is called Rund um den Finanzplatz Eschborn-Frankfurt.

Throughout the years I have heard of several expat families, trying to leave for a short get-away to Paris or Keukenhof, getting stuck for hours as roads are blocked. The bikes go through pretty quickly, but the road block set-up by the police takes time.

One year we got stuck as the first car to be held back by the road block and we had to wait in front of the U-Bahn tracks with many other cars lining up behind us. What usually would have been a one-hour wait turned into two and a half hours. Well, we were the first car in line and got hit by a passing police motorcyclist. Of course, he could not investigate the accident himself and had to call his colleagues. They in turn took a bit longer to get through – as there was a bike race – and finally a report was made. Our little one got to sit in the police car for a couple of minutes, but by then, when all was done, I was just ready to go home again.

Expats, unfamiliar with this event, might reconsider their travel plans. Leave earlier (8 a.m. seems a safe time for me to recommend, no matter where your residence is on the route), or take an earlier train to the airport, etc.  Inquire at your local police station for the time your route is blocked.

I hope this post saves you some time and trouble.