Deutsche Bahn! if you want to go anywhere, learn how to understand German train system. It work wonderfully. If you understand how it works.




Those are tracks leading to Munich main train station.




There are three main categories of trains; ICE, regional and regional express. ICE trains are quick 200+ kph train that travels between large cities. Regional(RB) usually stops on every station and are slow. Picture above is of a guy controlling what looks like a regional train. RE is like regional but it doesn't stop as often.

This is the oldest train I rode. Windows can be opened!



Accommodations are nice in almost every train. All trains other than RB usually have toilets. ICE have dinning cart.


Where a nice refreshing beverage can be purchased! In a glass, nevertheless :P

But when DB start fixing rails and making additions, those create major issues to none-German speaking tourists.


So one can end up in the middle of nowhere on an empty platform waiting for over an hour for a train after mistakenly exiting on a wrong station.

Yeah, travelling by train is actually quite comfy in Germany. Most of the time. I remember one time many years ago I was taking a train with my brother from Heidelberg back to our home town, on December 23rd. It was snowing heavily, there was total chaos on the roads, with 20km traffic jams on the Autobahn, all while we were sitting in the Bistro Café of an InterRegio train, drinking Hefeweizen with a guy from Norway.




So, how was your tip? What did you see?

Those pictures make it look like Germany hasn't changed since I've lived there in 1987 even though I know better.

Zum Geburtstag Para!

It seems like you had a great trip Sim! Welcome back to Dixie.

Yes, yes, we must have details!

Hey, I've taken the train from Munich to Koblenz before!

There is a magic phrase that can greatly assist an American in Germany when trying very desperately to figure things out at the counter:

"Excuse me, I don't speak German very well. I need to go to Ravensburg. Can I get an itenerary to go with the ticket?"

Worked like a charm for me!

Which leads to one of my family's favorite stories of my misadventures in the Fatherland. You see, some have a gift for languages. Others don't. I'm one of the don'ts. I was raised by German immigrants and don't speak German!

I got lost in the aforementioned Ravensburg (great town, highly recommended), and was getting a bit frazzled and frantic in finding the train station. A policeman took note of my sort of hurried wandering and asked what the problem was. He was the only policeman I'd ever encountered that did not speak any English.

"Ja, ich bien verlaufen; wo ist der...." which roughly translates to "Yes, I am lost, where is the..." train station. Train station. Damn, it's one of the first words one learns in German. But suddenly a blank for me. He's looking amused as I do the whole talk slowly in a foreign language (to him) as if that will help.

Train...train...oh, zug is train in German. Platz is place, like a park platz for parking lot. Clearly a zug platz is a way to describe what I need.

It was the first time I ever saw a member of the politzei lose bearing and laugh when dealing with the public. Zug platz?! Ha ha ha! Bahnhof?

Ja! Bahnhof!

Directions given and I made the train to Lindau (another fine place to visit, also highly recommended).

It would have all gone into the ether and forgotten except that at the big family reunion thingie a week later it turns out he was married to some distant cousin of mine and everyone wanted to know how we knew each other.

That's a fantastic story Dart!

Depending on where you look, some places really haven't changed since then. But most big cities look different now.
The further you travel into rural areas the changes become near zero...

The 'Deutsche Bahn' is the best way for travelling long distances, but only if your destination is near a big city. Otherwise I'd prefer my car over any any other form of travel.

Cool story Dart.
Nice of the family to be there to help in your time of need.


Wheels

I notice one of the trains said Koblenz on the front, did you go there? I went there years ago and I remember an excellent Roman ampitheatre ruins. I love Germany as we used to have our family holidays there. 5 weeks in the Black Forest and the on the banks of the Rhein, great times

I would prefer that, too, but since Germany has an excellent mass-transit system it is no great hardship to take a bus, Straßenbahn, OEG, etc to most any destination. At least that's how it was for the 15 years I lived there. I miss it sometimes.

This reminds me, tomorrow evening is German Night for me and several colleagues from work. Every first Friday of the month we meet at a local German restaurant for some bier and German food. In fact, I will probably have some Franziskaner Weissbier like in that picture up there in the first post.