Bad Hersfeld is about a 30 minute drive from my house. It's situated near the 3rd largest forest area and UNESCO Bio-Reservation in Germany, called the Rhön (pronounced "rurn" - like "turn"). If you like the out-of-doors and country life, you have come to the right place - even though Bad Hersfeld is a small city.
Bad Hersfeld is famous for it's half-timbered houses (situated on the Half-Timber House Road) - so there will be no end of how many "cool" German town pictures you can take to show your friends back home. It's also a "spa" town. All German towns that have "Bad" for a first name are spa towns. The have one of those mega-pool-spa complexes called the "Römer-Therme" - everthing from sauna to olympic pool and waterslide.
The city is famous for staging outdoor musical pagents in the ruins of an old monastery church. Among the performances for this year, they are doing William Tell, Carmen and the Lionheart Brothers (all in German, of course).
Surrounding Area:
Point Alpha near Rasdorf. Ever wonder what it was like to be in the U.S. Army facing the Commies face to face every day? Point Alpha was once the hottest spot in the cold war. The U.S. Calvary was stationed here for years. Today it's a museum.
Baroque City of Fulda - Baroque cathedral where Saint Bonifatius is buried.
Bad Salzung - Celtic Spa - The have a medieval salt work - a so-called "Salina" there you can visit. Supposedly the air cures allergies and asthma.
Wasserkuppe - The highest mountain in the state of Hessen. They have rail sleds to slide down the mountain. They also have sail-plane tours, and paraglider training.There is also a real moore to visit nearby.
Eisenach - Famous medieval castle where Martin Luther was imprisoned, and Bach's birth house with live organ performances.
The town of Tann - 3rd biggest tourist attraction in Hesse, famous for it's medieval town gate, baroque castle and open-air 19th century German farming museum.
Sünna - Re-constructed Celtic village
Gersfeld - European animal zoo
Naturally the Rhön in great for hiking, mountain biking, Nordic walking, horseback riding, and eating food that made Germany famous.