meyerfamily

Hello,
I am hoping someone may be able to provide me w/ some good advice in regards to taking the train rather than car in Europe. I will be traveling w/ my Mother to Oberstuafen for 1wk in Sept/06 & want to see some of the Black Forest area as well as end our travel in Switzerland and finally Austria. I know there is a train station in Oberstaufen, but cannot seem to find an easy way to get all the details needed to plan my day trips & routes to points of interest. Does anyone happen to know of an informative web site or book w/ all these details, exact routes times, ect..?? Seems like it would be such a simple thing. Thank you for your time & any help you can provide.
Thank you,
Kim

ira

Hi m,

www.bahn.de

meyerfamily

Hi,
Thank you! I had checked this site although a bit confusing. Example, checking to see if I can take the train from Munich to Rothenburg, it pulls up about 10 differnt options for Rothenburg. How do you figure out which would be the correct one to choose? Thank you for your help.
Kim

rkkwan

The Rothenburg that most people go to is:

Rothenburg ob der Tauber

Choose that and you'll get the connections.

ira

RK is correct.

meyerfamily

Thank you very much!! Is there an easy way to figure all this out on my own? I have many trips I would like to plan by train. Do I need to rent a car? Thank you again.
Kim

RufusTFirefly

Get a detailed map of Germany, or check out possibities on www.viamichelin.com--this will help some. When a town name has several possiblities, some of the options provided show the nearest big town or city.

Danna

I don't know the area you want to visit, but I suggest looking beyond the train and to the bus. Many towns that aren't on a train line have bus service. It's not necessarily as immediate as a car, but far cheaper, easier and you get to meet folks. If possible, I suggest the bus (or coach). When that won't get you to the place you want, it's easy to arrange for a taxi. This worked for us in Northern Ireland and Scotland. I love the coach (bus).

ira

Hi M,

>I will be traveling w/ my Mother to Oberstuafen ... & want to see some of the Black Forest area as well as end our travel in Switzerland and finally Austria. <

If you gave us your proposed itinerary, we might be able to help you better.

meyerfamily

Hello,
Thank you very much for all your help. Good to know about the bus & coach option also. As far as my itinerary, the only dates I have set are Sept 23- Sept 30th in Oberstaufen. I am looking into different flight arrival locations such as arriving in Munich taking train to Oberstaufen or arriving in Switzerland possibly Zurich & taking the train to Oberstaufen. From each of these loc.'s I could stay for 1-2 days & see the area. Thinking maybe I should arrive in Zurich stay for two days & see the area & then take the train to Oberstaufen. From Oberstaufen do some day trips to Lugwigs Castle ect.. & end the trip w/ train to Austria/ Vienna & stay there for 2-3 days. Any suggestions. I sound a bit all over the place right now. Sorry, I do appreciate any help.
Thank you,
Kim

PalQ

Go to www.budgeteuropetravel.com and request their free European Planning & Rail Guide that will answer many of your questions - full of rail maps, travel times, etc. Lots of info on using trains in each country.

MaureenB

Definitely go to BudgetEuropeTravel.com, and maybe call their 800 number, too. They are very knowledgeable and helpful. They sell tickets at face value, plus a small ($15?) S&H fee for the total order.

meyerfamily

Thank you! Thank you! I am very excited about taking my Nother on this trip & want it plan it well. All the great help is very appreciated!