train vs. driving
 

I'll only have 4-5 days in Germany. What would be the best way to travel, (car or train), from Mainz to Rothenburg, Rothenburg to Dachau, then Munich to the Czech border. I can't decide if I want to rent a car or not. I won't be doing TOO MUCH sight seeing from place to place.

Solo? train. With any other driver (ideally one that could help drive, and comfortable with manual transmission), car. <BR> <BR>Best wishes, <BR> <BR>Rex <BR>

I second what Rex said. We were in Germany for about a week last summer and we drove. It was wonderful, but had three possible drivers for the trip. If you go solo......take the train. Have a great trip!

YES! Take the train. They are the greatest in the world, especially if it's an ICE,(Inter City Express). We rode 2nd class out of Berlin and it was wonderful. I don't know what 1st class gets. They must feed them because 2nd class on the ICE can't be beat.<BR>It's the greatest frustration I get going to Germany and riding the train. Why can't we have that in the good old USA?<BR>

I would recommend also the train,even if you are not solo. Summer holidays just started and go all the way to 2nd week of September, and as we have a rotating systems between the different states you always have good chances to run into a week-end when one country stops and the other one starts. Going to the czech border it depends where you want to go. Check the web-page of the German rail www.hafas.de, where they have the routes and time tables. Dachau you will reach with the subway from Munich main station, it´s about 30 minutes. And yes, the trains are good, no they don´t feed us in the first class, it´s just more space. And this luxury costs the German state quite a lot of money as the rail company is loosing quite a lot of money. Have fun

one thing to think about with taking a train:<BR><BR>you meet many more people that way, than driving solo. <BR><BR>so it's a trade off. if you want complete autonomy, drive. if you want less hassle (or maybe a different kind of hassle - lugging luggage etc.) then take the train, and be sure to bring a picnic lunch, bottle of wine, extra glasses, and a corkscrew. you'll have interesting conversations...

Train. Definitely. Especially if you are not planning to move around alot once you get to destinations. Take a book... and let someone else *drive*.<BR><BR>Geoff

If youy take the train, try to get some type of travel package. My relatives in Germany complained about the high price of train tickets, to the point that it was cheaper to by a special RT air flight from Baden Baden to Berlin and use it only one way than buy a one way train ticket. But I would also go with the train option.

Why raise this fifteen month old question, and direct an answer to the original poster?<BR>

Because some of us are still interested in this thread sourpuss.

Trains rule. Cars are a waste of money and an endless source of stress and frustration.

For a family of four... cars rule and trains are a waste of money and an endless source of stress and frustration. <BR>

On a train I'm not stuck in traffic and my chance of being killed, along with the other three, is far less. HA

Depends<BR><BR>There are some conveniences in going by train, especially if you are solo.<BR><BR>Regardless, I prefer to be in control of where I go and when. I would get a car.

up up up<BR>

Cars rule. Trains are a waste of money and an endless source of stress and frustration.<BR><BR>It's very difficult for me to take questions like this seriously. How can someone not have a preference: car vs. train. I personally hate schlepping my luggage around on a train, racing to find a seat by the window and ending up sitting in a car full of crying babies if I want to sleep or a car full of sleeping babies if I'm in a mood to talk. I don't like getting to the train station and having to find a hotel. Hotels near the train station practically everywhere are a little seedier and a little more expensive. I've never had a GREAT meal on a train. when I want to stop, I stop. When I want<BR>to go, I go. Are people like Marcia in the majority?<BR><BR><BR><BR>&quot;Im going out to dinner. Should I eat at an Italian or French restaurant?&quot;