Traveling in Germany, Rail Is Still the Way to Go

German trains are slick as can be. With a Eurail pass, I’m going first class. Packing light, I toss my bag onto the rack, pop open my laptop, burrow down into my writing, and before I know it, I’m in the next city. The trains are clean, sleek, comfortable, and on time. The old clackity-clackity rhythm of the rails is no longer there as it’s a nearly silent swoosh. On line schedule sites take all the guesswork out of departure options and times. And, across Europe, it seems train stations are remodeled and gleaming shopping malls—as slick and commercial as American airports.

 

 

 

Comments

5 Replies to “Traveling in Germany, Rail Is Still the Way to Go”

  1. The trains look great. We drove through Germany and we rented a car because there were four of us. We looked into train tickets at one point for a trip into Cologne and for four it was pretty expensive from where we were going. But the train looks terrific and I think that if my husband and I went alone sometime we would try it. I love the train in Europe. Very relaxing. Although driving through Germany was one of the easiest drives we have ever had. The roads are terrific and with Germany the rules are pretty clear cut.

  2. I always travel by train when I am in Germany, The Netherlands and Belgium. They are clean, modern, efficient and on-time. Plus it gives me plenty of time to read Rick’s guidebooks, before I arrive at my next destination.

    A few hints: Book early on-line to receive HUGE discounts on fares. Plus make sure you pay the extra few Euros to actually reserve a seat, otherwise you could be standing. Especially if you are on a busy route during commuter hours.

    Happy Travels !

  3. The last time I drove was in the year 2000. It was fun and there were 3 family members, including me, we drove from Netherlands, through France, Belgium, Luxemboug, Germany, Switzerland to Italy and back to Germany. I loved the back areas that you could travel that a train doesn’t.
    However, for the last 7 years, last year included, my brother and I have bought a Saver Global Eurail Pass for our travels in Europe. Depending on what we were going to do, ie which countries we were going to visit or stay, we have used the Flexi Pass and the Global Pass.
    Especially, since we traveled each year from Germany to Italy or Netherlands to Italy and wanted to see different countries in between. Most of the time, it has been more than 5 countries, however a couple of years we used the Select Pass for just 3-5 countries and for 10 or 15 days. This worked well.
    But for the rest of the trips we used the Global Pass which was great and didn’t have to keep tabs with the time and date marked on the pass for each trip and the days used. With the Global Pass it was used anytime and anywhere we wanted to go and you knew it was good for a month of 2 months. The only difference was that last year they really enforced writing the train number, date, time and where it went each time you changed trains or used a boat with the Eurail Pass. If not, the railroad conductor could take the pass away or make you pay a penalty or buy a new ticket. Last year we went from Germany, Netherlands, France, Luxemburg, Switzerland , Austria and Italy and back to Germany on each train we had to present the Eurail Pass they also looked at the Usage on the Folder of the Eurail Pass. In fact, on one train, they looked at the beginning to the current train to see if we wrote down everything. But even with this inconvenience the Pass was worth it. In years past, you filled in the log, but it could be done right after the train trip that day, but you didn’t have to unless you wanted a record. But now it must be done before you board the train.
    The trains in Europe are wonderful, and you can relax and enjoy the trip without worrying about parking a car, paying for the car park, or filling up with gasoline every so often. We enjoyed the Passes because you could cover long distances in comfort and quickly, but even within a country, ie Germany, Italy etc it was very useful and was fun to take for quick side trips or just to get around. In my opinion the German and Dutch trains are the best, and the French, Swiss, Austrian are also great, the Italian trains were good on international routes and long distance, but some of the regional trains were only 2nd class or were very crowded even in the non- tourist season. I have been on the ICE, Thalys, TGV, Eurostar Italia, and some others, but I loved the ICE and the Eurostar the best. However all the train travel was fun, and you make the trip what it is. It is fun to travel with the ordinary citizens on the ordinary trains that they also use, but traveling first class is even better of course. But if you are traveling long distances and have to get to a place quickly or for sure, not counting strikes or interruptions, then it would be better to also have seat reservations. They definitely came in handy from Milan to Rome and Rome to Innsbruck, the train was quite full from Verona to Innsbruck and everyone had a reserved seat. No other seats were available. Each year that we were lucky to go to Europe we have treasured and hopefully we will continue to be able to travel and see something different each time.

  4. We love using rail passes.
    Should you ever want to travel by Eurostar from London to Germany, book it under”Diebahn.de”. It is the German rail website (you can pick english language).
    They have a deal with London where they offer 2 trains a day at reduced cost.
    It does not matter how far you go in Germany, the price from Lodon stays the same.

  5. I love travelling by train when I am in Germany or Europe, it is a really comfortable and fast way to travel! I used the official englisch Website of DB Bahn. There I found information about booking, the different trains and services.

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