abhineet

Trip route as of now

Place (no. of nights at location)

Prague(0) - Salzburg (3) - Fussen (1) - Blackforest (2) - Augsburg (1) - rothenburg (1) - Prague (2)

I am have already purchased German-Czech EuroRail pass for most of travel. For Black forest and romantic road I will rent a car.

Queries:
1. Any inputs on the route
2. Pls confirm that Salzburg travel is included in German pass
3. My pass does not include Austria. For Prague to Salzburg - What is the best mode for me. How much extra do I have to pay for traveling via Linz?
4. For Fussen to Freiburg (Blackforest) can I travel via Switzerland (with the pass I have)
5. What is the best place to stay in black forest?
6. For my train travel - Will I be able to get a seat adjacent to my wife without any prior reservations?

Thanks in advance,
Regards

PalenQ

2 - yes Salzburg Hbf is considered a German station for pass purposes.

4. No not without paying for the Swiss portion- however the line from Schalffhausen (sp) to Basel i believe may be valid with your pass even though it goes thru a slice of Switzerland - seems to be a German rail line.

6- Yes usually - do you have a 2nd or 1st class pass - if 1st class yes nearly always - 2nd class usually - you can make optional seat reservations ahead of time for a few euros if you want on German trains (except regional trains where not are available I believe.

For lots of great info on trains and answers to questions like this check out these IMO fab sites - www.seat61.com; www.ricksteves.com and www.budgeteuropetravel.com.

Freibough is the favorite Black Forest base for many but if you like to be up in the mountains in smaller towns check out the Titisee (sp?) area - a very scenic train trip goes from Freibourgh to Titisee - where it is popular to walk around an Alpine lake there.

Russ

How many railpass days are there on your Germ-CZ pass?

Did you know that for train travel within the Black Forest region, you don't need a car or a railpass day? You get completely FREE travel there if you stay in any of the 130 towns that offer the KONUS card:

http://www.blackforest-tourism.com/konus

(Freiburg is not one of those and is pretty far from the forest anyway.)

Is there something special in Augsburg you want to see? I didn't find it particularly special. (The fact that a town is listed as part of the Romantic Road doesn't necessarily mean it's important for you to see it; also, I wouldn't get too hung up on driving the Romantic Road - there are other places you can see that are more interesting, generally, including Bamberg, Nuremberg, Regensburg, places you can easily visit by train instead.)

You can use your railpass to travel to Salzburg via Munich.

I actually think it's misguided to drag yourselves over to the Black Forest when you've got all of Bavaria, Salzburg, and Prague at your feet - not worth the travel time and expense.

PalenQ

I agree with Russ about Black Forest - perhaps more romantic hype in our minds than what we actually find - anOK place and yes forests but IMO not any more so than say Harz mountains or Bavarian alps, Saxon Switzerland, etc.

Aramis

"Misguided"? That is a little heavy handed.

abhineet

Thanks everyone for the inputs. Seems there are a lot of changes required. Here is what I make out of it:

(A) Car rental is not required

(B) Romantic road and Black forest - can be skipped.

(C) I should spend more time in Prague, Salzburg & Fussen.

Q1 - For Bavarian alps - should I stay in Fussen or someother place?

Q2 - If I were to add one more place to the list - what should it be?

Russ - I have a 5 day pass.

Thanks again

Russ

Some comments on your transportation:

(1) Prague-Salzburg: Use a railpass day. A long trip by train, nearly 8 hours with the best connections. The easiest and quickest route by rail is probably the connection at 9:07 out of Prague (only one change of train in Landshut; other connections typically force you to change trains 3-4 times.) There is an express bus that can be used to get you to Munich in about 4 hours, plus 1.5-2 hours to Salzburg, but your railpass doesn't cover the bus completely, as I understand it - only gives you a discount - and you need a seat reservation as well.

Salzburg-Füssen, Füssen-Augsburg, Augsburg-Rothenburg, Rothenburg-Nuremberg: 4 railpass days

R'burg-Prague is another long day - nearly 7 hours by train and 3-4 changes. Again, there's an express bus that keeps it closer to 5 hours.

I would definitely reconsider the railpass. Because express bus + train tickets can be bought at the DB website for around 30€ each for Rothenburg-Prague and for Prague-Munich, and because the Bayern ticket (26€/day for two) daypass can be used to cover the other 4 legs of your travel (Munich-Salzburg, Salzburg-Füssen, Füssen-Augsburg, Augsburg-R'burg) your itinerary could be completed for about 220€ total, a lot less than the $575 or so that you probably paid for the Germany-CZ twinpass. (Additional travel days on the Bayern Ticket to other places - Bamberg, or wherever - would cost 26/day. You could travel all 10 days, if you wanted to, for a total of 350€.) Can your pass be refunded?

PalenQ

passes are typically refunded up to six months or one-year for 15 or 20% cancellation fee - but do not judge a pass strictly on costs - the ability in Germany to just hop any train anytime to me at least is priceless - taking the Bayern ticket between Salzburg and Fussen restricts you to regional trains and this could take a few hours or more longer than the faster trains the pass just lets them hop on.

Russ

"taking the Bayern ticket between Salzburg and Fussen restricts you to regional trains and this could take a few hours or more longer than the faster trains the pass just lets them hop on."

The above comment isn't very accurate.

1.) The railpass allows you to use the fast trains from Salzburg to Munich, but it also restricts you to regional trains on lines like the one between Munich and Füssen. There are no fast trains there at all.

2.) The Bayern Ticket/regional train option takes about 40 minutes longer for Salzbur-Füssen, not "a few hours or more longer", than the railpass (fast train) option:

Salzburg-Füssen at 9:09 with the Bayern ticket: 4 hours 48 min total on regional trains with one change in Munich.

Salzburg-Füssen at 9:51 with the railpass: 4 hours 6 min. total with one change in Munich, using the EC from Salzburg to Munich, and then the regional train to Füssen (the exact same trains you'd use with the Bayern ticket.)

3.) The railpass lets you hop on any train at will, but likewise, the Bayern ticket allows you to "hop on" any of the regional trains at will. The only hours restriction is that on weekdays, the Bayern ticket must be used after 9 am. (The Bayern ticket also allows you to use virtually all buses and inner-city transport options - subway, trams, etc. - unlike the railpass.)

It is however wise to check out schedules for all the routes you have in mind, and to check both the regional-train-only schedules as well as the fast train options, where they might be an option.

And in your case, abhineet, the railpass is guaranteeing you longer trips (by about 2 full hours) between Prague and Salzburg unless you pay extra for the express bus; same problem with Rothenburg-Prague.

abhineet

Based on the feed back on itinerary - I made some revisions.

I am planning to change few places, skip romantic rd and may be cancel my train pass. I have posted a revised itinerary ...
Thanks for the inputs so far.

Pls critique the new itinerary:
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...rst-prague.cfm