katzen

Here I go again with the car vs. train dilemma.

My sister and I will be doing a whirlwind Christmas market trip mainly at the end of November… we are thinking Nov. 24 - Dec 2. The towns (and order) we are thinking of are:

Freiburg
Colmar
Strasbourg
Kassel
Gottingen
Nuremberg

I realize Kassel and Gottingen are a bit out of the way but I really want to hit a couple of the ‘Fairy Tale’ towns. My husband and I just returned from Germany in August so I wanted a bit of a change from Bavaria. Kassel and Gottingen look to be two towns that have Christmas Markets on the Fairy Tale route and which have a 'fairy tale' feel.

On my trip in August we drove …. This trip it will be my sister and I … so debating whether to drive or train it. It’s going to be a relatively fast paced trip …

We will probably spend 2/3 nights in Freiburg and visit Freiburg, Colmar and Strasbourg … then go to Kassel and Gottingen (probably base in Kassel) and then head to Nuremberg for 2 nights. Again, the main purpose for this trip is Christmas markets .. looking for a nice mix of ‘big’ markets and ‘smaller, quaint’ markets.

We will be flying into and out of Frankfurt.

If we were to rent a car it would have to be automatic .. and would prefer GPS. I’ve heard the weather at the end of November, beginning of December is basically up for grabs .. it can be snow or rain or ice. I wouldn’t mind driving .. but not sure if it’s cheaper, easier than train. I know on our last trip I loved having a car .. but that was due mostly to we could take our time and make pit stops .. this trip is all about the christmas markets .. and fitting in a bit of the fairy tale stuff.

Any thoughts on train vs. car keeping in mind all of the above?

Thanks

PalenqueBob

If doing the German portion by train you should look into the German Twin Pass, which starts at 4 days of unlimited travel in a one-month period - Twin pass means two names on one pass - for individual passes you'd pay more.
To compare ordinary prices for German trains in euros and to get sample schedules go to the German rail web site (www.bahn.de) - a good way to access its English language schedule page where you can see real fares in euros for tickets bought at stations in Germany go to: www.budgeteuropetravel.com and on the home page click on the link "All European Railway Schedules" and up pops the English schedule page where you just plug in Kassel and Nuremberg and a date and you'll get all the schedules and fares in euros. If there are special SPAR discounted fares it will also be noted. SPAR fares don't exist on except mainlines i believe and the nice thing anyway about the pass is that it's valid on all trains just by walking on (few ICE Sprinter trains require supplements but you'd rarely be taking these) - so easy to compare pass to real fares. On the home page referenced there are also several tips on how to use the German site for schedule info - there is a wealth of info - which platforms, etc. And i always recommend BETS as well for their expertise in my long experience with them. But if discount fares do exist or the real in Germany prices don't warrant a pass then you can on the German site buy and print out your own tickets - i'd search this forum for TimS or LarryinColorado as these two German train ticketing/travel gurus have posted volumes on using the bahn site and discounted tickets and regional passes and the cheap Weekend ticket, etc. For current German Railpass prices check the BETS home page i referenced above.

PalenqueBob

Oh and the tickets from German border to Strasbourg (few euros) and Colmar are so cheap that you just buy them in Germany - don't get thinking you need any Eruailpass or Germany-France pass (if it exists) - the German pass is the only one you should even consider.

katzen

Thank you PalenqueBob. I will check out the information your provided above. In looking at my schedule, I think I'll need 5 days of travel... so hopefully that exists .. I haven't looked yet but will shortly. Thanks again!

PalenqueBob

German railpass exists in 4-, 5-, 6-, 7-, 8-, 9- and 10-day versions
A 5-day pass Twin in 1st class = $225 p.p.; in 2nd class $169 p.p. - prices can vary as to currency fluctuations even though the price is the same everywhere in the U.S. - S&H can be added on - BETS has none except on rush orders - some have a $15 fee; RailEurope has none on orders over $200.

katzen

Thanks PalenqueBob! My train segments at this point (if we decide to go by train versus car) seem to be:

~Frankfurt to Freiburg

**Freiburg to Colmar/Strasbourg (will get seperate tickets)**

~Freiburg to either Bremen or Kassel

**during our stay in one of the above places we will probably make a day trip to Gottingen or hameln***

~Either Bremen or kassel to Nuremberg

~Nuremberg back to Frankfurt

I've read that the twin rail pass for Germany is not consecutive. so I can use it any 4 days within a month? My next question is ... although the above seems like a 4 day pass .. do we need to get seperate tickets for out 'side trips' to gottingen or hameln?

I guess what I'm trying to ask and not doing a very good job of it is ... say I take the train from Freiburg to Bremen ... that would be my 2nd day of the 4 day twin pass ... and the next day i want to take a side trip to kassel ... would that be considered day 3 used of the pass? I always seem to royally confuse myself.

PalenqueBob

I think you should get a 5-day pass - any five days unlimited travel over a one-month period - it seems the Bremen-Gottingen fare would be more than the amount you'd pay for the fifth day - the 5th day would cost you $19 - so go to www.bahn.de and see what your planned trips would cost to see whether or not you want to buy a 5th day. You certainly can use the basic 4-days for your longer trips.

I'm not sure of your exact question however??

Underhill

Christmas markets are usually in town centers; no need for a car.

katzen

Thank you for responding. I think I confused myself ... what I'm trying to figure out is if I get a 4 or 5 day pass (twin),I'm going to be spending the night in Bremen for two nights .. and I want to make a day trip to Kassel ... I'm assuming that 'day trip' on the train will count as one of my days.

PalenqueBob

Yes it will if you chose to use a day on the pass - see if a regular ticket is cheaper on the www.bahn.de site - extra day is $19 - i believe ordinary fare would cost more. Seems 5-day pass is best for you. Whether you take one train or 30 trains, it's still one day used on a pass - unlimited number of trains in a calendar day, midnight to midnight.

logos999

I would skip Kassel (and Göttingen as well) and. Kassel isn't really that interesting. How about the Harz mountains, up the Brocken where the whitches meet? ;-)

Underhill

Which witches?

logos999

http://starfsfolk.khi.is/salvor/fyrs...rz-fjollin.htm

katzen

PalenqueBob, thank you for clearing that up!
logos999, you have intrigued me with the witches!

In doing research on-line, Kassel nor Gottingen didn't look to be real exciting to me so maybe from Bremen I will hit the 'witch' area!

PalenqueBob

Gottingen is a pleasant university town that would make a great base for doing the Brocken tour - go to nearby Wenigerode (sp?) and take the Harzer Bahn tiny steam train up to this famous summit with a view all over the Harz Mountains. A beWITCHing view! German railpass not valid on the Harzer Bahn railway but it's not all that expensive.
actually Celle, near Gottingen is a more dreamy city and just as good a base for Brocken. Wenigerode itself is a comely city of half-timbered houses. Just down the rail line from it is Quedlingberg, a UNESCO World Heritage town that i haven't been to but it must be swell.

logos999

Quedlinburg and Wernigerode are sure worth visiting!

katzen

Thank you both .. I was just on Quedlinburg's web site and their Christmas market this year doesn't start until December 1. We will be in Nurnberg on December 1. We can still go... I do love the folklore of witches.

The Wernigerode web site is in German and unfortunately I am not up to par on my German. Celle is also worth looking into as a base. I have read a bit on this town.

Thanks again for your help. We'll only be in this area for two nights so not sure how much we would be able to do it justice .. but will certainly try.

logos999

>web site is in German
The like to the English site is in German only. Wonder how anybody who doesn't speak german could find it. ;-) Here it is:

http://www.wernigerode-tourismus.de/uk_home.html

PalenqueBob

Alles über Harzer Schmalspurbahnen GmbH
And for the Harzquerbahn and Brockenbahn (a spur off the Harzquerbahn) try this German site:

(HSB)Harzer ... - [ Translate this page ]3.3.1: Das gesamte HSB-Streckennetz; 3.3.2: Brockenbahn; 3.3.3: Harzquerbahn; 3.3.4: Selketalbahn. 3.4: Im Bahnbetriebswerk; 3.5: Zeichnungen & Pläne ...
www.hsb-wr.de/