Tubingen....

Check out http://www.tuebingen.de/1560.html

It's a university town, lots of students, good shopping, a nice walk along the river. When will she be there? In December there is the Christmas market on the weekend of 14 - 16 December, in spring and summer there are boat rides on the river.
All the best!

Theklia: I'll be in Tübingen next week and be able to give a first hand report afterwards so please top this thread in a week's time.

Tübingen has got a castle (a palace, in fact) of its own. The old town is very pretty and romantic.
Nearby, there is Bebenhausen monastery and palace - more here
Link to Tübingen's official website

Hi amsel07
she will be there next week and the following week till about the 25th of November i think.
Can you recommend any medium price restaurant for dinner?

KathrinE thanks for the liks.
Enjoy your time there and please post some info if you can next week.

Thanks

Tübingen is small city with a great atmosphere and lots of students. Definatly very entertaining with lots of bars and restaurants. Bebenhausen is nearby and quite near to Tübingen you will have psoibiltie sto walk in the forests. The Swabian Alb is also nearby so it might be posible to visit a castle or some caves there.

local public transport map Tübingen

There is a small botanical garden (stop "Botanischer Garten").
Kunsthalle Tübingen had some interesting art exhibitions in the past. Currently there is an exhibition with portrait photography (stop "Kunsthalle").

Bebenhausen belongs to Tübingen, thus this will certainly not fall under "far from the hospital". 13 minutes by bus from Tübingen Hauptbahnhof (main railway station).

Metzingen,, the factory outlet capital of Germany, is 17 minutes by train from Tübingen.

A famous castle is Burg Hohenzollern. Home castle of the house of Hohenzollern which ruled Prussia and later the German empire from 1871-1919.
There is only one daily connection directly to the castle:
Tübingen dep 11:01 IRE train
Hechingen arr 11:18
Hechingen dep 11:24 bus
Burg Hohenzollern arr 11:40

The return bus departs only late afternoon (16:10) and only on request. But it is possible to walk down to Hechingen station (2-3 km). Frequent trains to Tübingen from there.

DB timetable
From: Tuebingen Hbf
To: Bebenhausen
To: Metzingen(Wuertt)
To: Burg Hohenzollern

She can give as departure point also the closest bus stop to where she will stay.
No prices with the DB timetable, as for all of these trips the naldo tariff applies, not the DB tariff. naldo is the local public transport network of this region.

A trip inside Tübingen (incl. suburbs like Bebenhausen) is EUR 1,95. Day ticket is EUR 4,00.
Tübingen to Metzingen or Hechingen (incl. Burg Hohenzollern) is EUR 3,65. Day ticket is EUR 7,30.

Also not far from Tübingen and worth a visit:
Rottenburg (8 min; EUR 2,55/5,10)
Reutlingen (9 min; EUR 2,55/5,10)
Bad Urach (48 min; EUR 4,75/9,50)

I live in Tuebingen, so hopefully I can give some specific answers
1) I'm guessing that by the hospital you mean the Universitaetskliniken. They're located up on a hill outside the city center. There are not really any shops within walking distance, it's just a big medical and research complex. It's about a 10 minute bus ride to the city center (bus stops Stadtgraben or Lustnauer Tor) where there is beautiful medieval architecture and many boutique shops and restaurants. The Schloss Hohentuebingen is located in the Altstadt (old city), about 5-10 minutes walk up a hill from the bus stops. As mentioned before Hohenzollern is possible to reach on a day trip outside of Tuebingen.
2) There are nice forests with walking paths in the north of the city (in the direction of Bebenhausen). There is an island in the Neckar river with a walking path, maybe 500 meters long. If she follows the road along the ridge behind the Schloss, after a kilometer or two, there are extensive walking paths in a nature reserve.
3) There is an H&M which should be about what a teenage girl would be interested in. Another place is Zinser, which is a department store just on the south side of the river from the Altstadt (bus stop Neckarbruecke).
4) There are several museums including the Kunsthalle, an ethnographic museum in the Schloss, the Stadtmuseum. There are also quite a few cinemas playing a mix of Hollywood and European films.

You also asked about a medium priced restaurant. A popular traditional place is the Neckarmueller, directly on the river. You can get a meal for about 12 EUR including drink and tip. Upstairs is El Chico, where you can get Mexican food for about 15 EUR including drink and tip. For about 8 EUR, you can get an Italian meal with drink, and possibly some live music at Stern on Lange Gasse. There would definitely be a lot of young people around, which might be good to cheer her up.

Well, my favourite budget-friendly restaurant was the Schnitzelakademie. It is a true student place with large portions, 2 people frequently order one dish together and ask for a second set of silverware. I also liked the Turkish eatery across the river from the Neckarmüller. I've eaten at the Neckarmüller and was not impressed with the food - it seemed bland and uninspired.

Thanks to every one for your replies.

In case we have any other questions i will ask again.

You've been very helpful.