Riding the Train

Some things can be slightly intimidating in a new country, like riding the train. My initial concerns were what if I go the wrong direction or what if I get lost? The language barrier also adds some hesitancy when taking the leap solo. I wasn't going to let a little intimidation stop me from figuring this thing out. The train stop is about 100 yards from our house! I would say it is the easiest and cheapest, not to mention safest way to travel when drinking!

So how do you ride a German train?

The easiest place to start is on the Deutsch Bahn website (Bahn.de) this is where you can look up time tables for your stop or connecting trains if necessary. At the top right of the webpage it says 'deutschland' if you click this it will give language options, choose 'English version' at the top and wa-la everything is now all English! 

So you have your time & you head down to the station. At every stop is the ticket machine where you buy a ticket BEFORE your journey to legally ride. Again very easy to navigate and to change to english! At the bottom of the touch screen is country flags, I selected the Great Britain flag and wa-la again! ENGLISH! I added two adult tickets to the destination of our choice and we paid. FYI the machine only takes up to 10€ bills at our particular machine I'm not sure if that's universal so have smaller bills just in case. Our total was 7,60€ for one way. We were planning on a different way home so did not do a round trip this time.

The large train stations have information windows or service counter to buy tickets but not at the small stops in the villages. Plan ahead of time if you're using the train round trip it will be cheaper to chose the day pass or round trip when you first buy tickets. A day pass allows you unlimited riding for the day so if you have several plans or want to see all you can that's the way to go! 

So your train arrives! You push the green button on the outside & the door opens for you! Be sure to let anyone coming out go first if it's a busy stop.

It is very simple and depending on the route can be very inexpensive. The more people you travel with the cheaper as well! Group tickets discount each extra ticket after the base price. There are also overnight trains with rooms and meals & speed trains to get you there faster with less stops ! You can drink on the train, bring your bike, or even your pet! 

So next time Paris or Prague is on the agenda consider the train. You can train two people to Heidelberg for half the cost of gas & with the convenience of the train getting you there instead of driving yourself! Something to think about!