Driving versus train in Germany

Old Feb 3rd, 2008, 04:24 AM
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Driving versus train in Germany

Since there are many on this forum who ask advice about driving-based itineraries in Germany, I wanted to ask if many other travelers in Germany have experienced what I have. I have traveled to Germany three times - once I used a car for two weeks driving around with my two sons, the second time I stayed entirely in Munich and used the regional bahns for traveling around Bavaria with my family of five, and the third time my wife and I used trains exclusively to travel around western Germany, mostly in Rhineland-Pfalz.

The main thing I recall about the driving trip was that it always took much longer than indicated on planning sites like CNN Europe or MapQuest. Inevitably, a drive that was supposed to take two hours in reality took three. While we had a great time, and still got to see all that we wanted, we were often squeezed for time when we arrived at our destination.

With the trains, however, there was no such stress. It's true that you lack some control over when and where you can go, and the trains are not 100% on time as you will sometimes hear. But we found that we were able to keep to our itinerary much more easily with the trains versus a car. Perhaps this was because the train schedules made us much more realistic about what we could accomplish, but nevertheless, it made for a more enjoyable vacation, in my view. Aside from the lack of stress about driving, there were also far more opportunities to interact with the people locally.
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Old Feb 3rd, 2008, 04:29 AM
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ira
 
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Hi S,

Driving times at www.viamichelin.com and www.mappy.com seem to be slightly conservative.

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Old Feb 3rd, 2008, 04:58 AM
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In 2005 we drove from Amsterdam to Munich by way of Paris, the black forrest, Zurich, Innsbruck, Salzburg.
We had the same experiance as you. Planned drives took way more time then we gave ourselfs. We still joke about it. If we have a 1 hour drive we say we'll be there in 4!. In Europe I was driving sometimes over 100 mph and still it took us way more time then planned? Last year while in Germany we used the train system. Munich to Mittenwald 29 Euro for 2 people, 2 hours. Mittenwald to Wurzburg 29 Euro for 2 people, 5 hours. Wurzburg to Frankfurt 1 1/2 hours, 29 Euros for 2 people. We loved the train and didn't have any trouble. Each train we took was on time to the minute plus at the station we bought beer and snacks for the ride. I think it is the best way to travel now and when it says 2 hours... it takes 2 hours not 5! LOL
 
Old Feb 3rd, 2008, 05:04 AM
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As a German, I decide for each trip whether I drive, ride a train or fly.

I take the train if my destination is downtown and if there is a good connection. I always check www.bahn.de. Some trains (Rhein-Berlin, Köln-Frankfurt, Hamburg-Berlin) are so fast that they beat every other mode of transport. Train rides are mostly comfortable and relaxing. I like to sit in the restaurant car and enjoy a decent meal and a drink (food is quite good on German trains).

The car is the option if my destination has no good train connection, like small villages, castles and abbeys in the countryside.

Flying is an option if travelling time would otherwise be more than five hours (like Düsseldorf-Dresden or Düsseldorf-München).

The route planners always underestimate driving times because they ignore speed limits (which are quite frequent on the Autobahn), road construction and traffic congestions. It is always wise to add at least 25% to driving time.

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Old Feb 3rd, 2008, 05:17 AM
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Pinchme, you mentioned something else I forgot that's really nice about the train. There were several times my wife and I missed the train because we were a few minutes late and it left right on time. But inevitably, there is a nice cafe in or near the train station where a nice beer or glass of wine will make the half hour or hour wait quite pleasant!
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Old Feb 3rd, 2008, 05:18 AM
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As an inveterate car user I would hate to be tied to a train timetable. I enjoy driving, and going off the beaten path, exploring backroads and the countryside. I never have my itinerary so set in stone that I have to be somewhere for a certain time, which helps.
I take the train only if I am going into a city for any reason, (which is not often as I hate cities - all of them) simply because it is easier than trying to find parking. That said I will often drive to a station on the outskirts of the city and get the train in from there.
Good route planners will allow you to put in maximum speeds for various types of roads, and are in my experience reasonably accurate, provided you don't meet a traffic jam. I use Map24 mostly.
smetz, I hope you were only doing over 100mph in Germany on autobahns. Anywhere else you were risking a huge on the spot fine. I assume you do mean mph not kmph btw.
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Old Feb 3rd, 2008, 05:29 AM
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hetismij, that was Pinchme who was talking about going over 100mph. There may have been a couple of times that I exceeded that level, but very rare. I did notice that many of the autobahns had speed limits - in talking to people here in the US it seems to be a common myth that there are no speed limits in Germany. And, I noticed many people on the autobahns keeping their speed to around 60.
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Old Feb 3rd, 2008, 05:32 AM
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I am one of those people who still prefers travel by car whenever possible. On a recent trip to Germany in December, we had a car for the first few days to be able to drive from Munich to Nuremberg to Rothenburg and down the Romantic Road. We could be on our own schedule and not worry about having to make it back to a train station for our departure time. Sure, we had to find parking which can sometimes be difficult, but that is okay for us. Having the option to pull over for a photo op or detour to a little town is what makes driving enjoyable for us.

That said, on that same trip, we turned the car in when we got back to Munich and took trains for the rest of the time. The longest train ride was to Salzburg (so it wasn't far at all) but with the snowy roads we wouldn't have wanted to deal with driving. I felt though like we wasted a lot of time in the station waiting for the train, but I suppose that is my own fault for worrying that we would be late and miss the train.

I guess it all boils down to your itinerary and what you want to see. If you want to be at a particular place at a certain time, then yes, take the train. If your schedule isn't so rigid and driving is fun for you, I think driving is the way to go. We've stopped in little towns on our driving trips that we never would have known were there if we had been on a train.

We loved driving in Germany and Italy, but for an upcoming trip to Rome and the Amalfi Coast, we will use the trains and private drivers for transportation. We don't have the need for a car, nor will we ever try to pick up or drop off a car in Rome again!
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Old Feb 3rd, 2008, 05:40 AM
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It was me that said I drove over 100 MPH (140 to 160 KPH) at times. It is not just in Germany you can drive fast or at least in 2005 it wasn't. If the speed sign has a circle with a line through it.. that means no speed limit. When we was driving from Amsterdam to Paris on the highway. I was driving close to brussels going 150 KMH and was passed by 2 belgian motorcycle cops. From Zurich to Innsbruck driving next to lake Zurich, same thing except they were Swiss cops in a car.
 
Old Feb 3rd, 2008, 05:47 AM
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You license will be consfiscated on the spot plus you'd have to appear in court for your trial, would you dare to go 100mph on a German highway.
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Old Feb 3rd, 2008, 05:48 AM
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>has a circle with a line through it.. that means no speed limit.
Means the speed limit is 100kmh on highways.
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Old Feb 3rd, 2008, 05:50 AM
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Is a highway a small road? I was talking about major freeway systems/ Autobahn like roads..
 
Old Feb 3rd, 2008, 05:56 AM
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Autobahns have no speed limit unless posted otherwise. You're free to go once you see the white sign with the black stripes. If you go above 130kmh and survive an accident, be prepared to take responsibility for the excessive speed.
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Old Feb 3rd, 2008, 07:03 AM
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smetz sorry!

You were lucky not to get caught Pinch Me. Just because there is a circle through the speed limit does not mean there is no speed limit. On Dutch motorways/freeways it is either 100kmph or 120kmph depending on whether you are near a city or not.
In Belgium it is the same though they all drive like lunatics there. You would have had a really nasty fine if you had been caught there, as they increased the fines to try and reduce poeple speeds - they had a very high accident/death rate on Belgian motorways.
France it is either 110 kmph or 130kmph - depending on the type of motorway.
In the Netherlands you lose your license for going more than 50 km over the limit, and your car can be confiscated. You lose it on the spot. No more driving allowed.
I think for foreigners they probably just impose a really heavy fine.
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Old Feb 3rd, 2008, 08:09 AM
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We lived in Germany for 2 tours (army) and had our own car and loved to travel by driving.

Now that we are returning for visits, we like the train and do focus our trips on cities. I suppose that we have adjusted the types of sights we visit to the mode of transportation that we prefer.

One advantage to the train for us is immersion travel. Instead of traveling in our own bubble, we travel with German families, oriental college students, other Europeans and even other Americans. I enjoy people watching.

Regards, Gary
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Old Feb 3rd, 2008, 08:14 AM
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Gary Mc: Couldn't agree more about your comment on "immersion" travel. We found the people on trains to be very friendly. Our german is limited, but I've also found that Europeans are really good at working around language barriers, which is natural I suppose due to the number of languages on the continent.
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Old Feb 3rd, 2008, 08:19 AM
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My hubby prefers to be mobile so we always rent a car. Once again, this will be the plan for our upcoming March trip. Now, just to find something reasonably priced. Jennifer
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Old Feb 3rd, 2008, 08:40 AM
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Hi smetz,

I'm another HUGE fan of the trains, both in Switzerland and Germany. I love munching on food and wine, doing some people-watching, and enjoying the scenery slipping by. No worries about tolls, one-way streets, getting lost, finding and paying for parking, or enjoying a glass of wine with lunch.

I spent a month in the village of Mittenwald in Dec 06-Jan 07 and didn't have a car. Didn't need it. Didn't miss it. Never even thought about it. I went to Garmisch-Partenkirchen once a week and went hiking locally about two or three times a week.

I've never understood this link between "freedom" and the car. The trains run frequently enough that I can always get where I want to go in a reasonable amount of time. If, however, a traveller is trying to see 12 things between sunrise and sunset . . . well, that's a different discussion. Yes, I enjoy the casual kismet and time in a cafe or slurping some ice cream if I happen to miss a train. Some lovely memories --

I'm a third who likes to get out of that hermetically-sealed bubble they call a car!

s

ps, it's also the Green thing to do!
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Old Feb 3rd, 2008, 09:04 AM
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swandav2000: That's a great point, regarding the lower polluting aspect of train travel. I found that it was far cheaper, too. Whereas during our last trip of two weeks, we probably would have spent over $1,000 for car rental, insurance, and gas, the train costs were probably a mere 250 euros for two. We had two long range trips on IC trains, and the rest were regional trips, for which we picked direct tickets, laender tickets, or mini-gruppe tickets, whichever was cheapest.
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Old Feb 3rd, 2008, 10:31 AM
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Have done several road trips through Germany. It seems particularly appropriate there since things are kind of spread out and you want to visit small towns and castles in the countryside.

Unlike your experience we usually find that trips take less time than listed on the various web sites. But- we do allow time for meals and gas/potty stops when we estimate driving times. Also - we drive FAST on the autobahns (much faster than we would in the US) - since the places with limits are higher than they are here (55).
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