Germany trains
 

I'll be taking the train from Frankfurt to Cochem at the end of Sept/beginning of October. From Cochem, I plan to just take day trips with the train to the various villages. My question is, would it be better for me to get a railpass, or will it be cheaper to just buy tickets on the day I decide to go somewhere? Also, what is the difference between 1st class and 2nd class (is it really worth the extra money)? Thanks!

The price depends on how far you are going and how many trips you are taking. The beauty of a railpass is that you can hop on and off the train as much as you like each day that you validate it.

I noticed that some of the small towns that I traveled to in Germany had trains that were only one class. You might want to check into that before you buy a pass.

I suggest you visit www.railpass.com or www.railsaver.com and use their built in trip planning mechanism which allows you to compare the economy of point-to-point tickets vs. passes for your particular needs.

I would not get a German railpass - too expensive. You can travel any weekday after 9 am with the RE and RB trains (the only ones that stop at the small towns anyway) on a daypass (Rheinland-Pfalz ticket) for 21 Euros - and bring 4 friends with you for free, if you like. If making short journeys, like to Traben Trarbach or Moselkern for the Burg Eltz hike, individual tickets are probably a little cheaper. On weekends, get the Schoenes Wochenende Ticket - same idea, but it covers all of Germany and costs 28 Euros. You can buy these tickets from the counter in Cochem - it's a manned station - or from a red/blue DB ticket machines (a little trickier.) You can use credit cards with both. You can buy tickets in advance for other days you know you'll be travelling too at either the machines or the counter. I bought most of mine this way this summer at the machines - there's an English option, and a schedule feature that lets you print out itinerary cards for your trip. I wold recommend going to the counter to ask for a "Tachenfahrplan"- a pocket schedule - for the mosel trains for the easiest getting asround.

Sorry - that's "Taschenfahrplan".

Another question, and since I started this thread, I didn't want to start a NEW one! I'm still taking the train from Frankfurt to Cochem, and would love to get an idea of what I'm in for. I understand the train station is in the Frankfurt airport, right? Do I need to buy the ticket before I go, or can I get it when I arrive? I'll be landing, dopey and dazed, at 7:30 in the morning, and I'm afraid I won't find the train station in time to catch a scheduled train! Thank you!

I think you should wait until you arrive to buy the ticket..and I think you'll have no trouble finding the railway station at the airport. I'll give you a schedule in a subsequent post.

Trains leave the airport station for Cochem about every hour at around 58-59 minutes past the hour. Be aware that on some departures you'll be required to change twice..in both Mainaz and in Koblenz. On other departures you'll only have to change once, in Koblenz. Hope this helps a bit.

Opps..sorry..that's in MAINZ and Koblenz.

I would highly doubt that a railpass would make sense. Check the DB site (http://www.db.de) for fares for your day trips. (For short trips (within a single state railway system) they may not show, but as a guide, the 1 hour trip from Marburg to Frankfurt is around €11. You can get these from the regional authority sites if you want the exact price.) You can also "hop-on and hop-off" with a regular ticket, I think 4 hours for trips under 40 km and 24 for trips over 40 km. One thing to watch for is that in some smaller stations, there may only be a "local" machine, which will only take cash.

As mentioned above, there's the Rheinland-Pfalz and Schoenes-Wochenende ("Happy Weekend") tickets, though it may be a better deal to just buy single tickets as these are only _really_ good deals for groups. (Like the time 10 us took the 10 hours trip from Marburg to Oberstdorf -- on the Austrian border -- for 4.20 a person.)

As for the station in the airport, basically you just follow the signs. First you get to Terminal 1 if you fly into Terminal 2 (which many US airlines do -- notable execptions being United and American as well as Lufthansa). When you enter the station (after the long escalator down), off to the right there's a DB Travel Center (Reisezentrum), where they can help you with any and all questions. (They'll be at least one English speaking clerk. Most likely, they'll all speak English.)

Enjoy your trip and let me know if you have any more questions,
Paul
(An American in Marburg, Germany)