One option we are considering for our northern Italy trip next spring is to leave Venice by train to Munich. The interest in Munich is two-fold. One is that we have never set foot in Germany and a short visit would be of interest. The other is that we are able to fly home non-stop from Munich, unlike Venice. The train trip is about 7 hours. We are wondering what this trip is like in terms of scenery and comfort? We would go first class. How smooth is the track? This may sound like an odd question but one of us has a bad back and finds this to be a problem sometimes (not usually in Europe).

There is a daytime intercity train via Bolzano and Innsbruck.
The train passes through Austria. All three countries have very advanced railway systems. There is no need to worry about the smoothness of the track.

the train trip over the Brenner Pass features great scenery. When we lived in southern Germany years ago my husband insisted that we take the train from Munich to northern Italy (we stopped the first night in Trent) so that we could see the Alps and appreciate the train engineering on this route. He was right.

I am not an expert but think it sounds like a reasonable plan. 7 hours is not too long of a day train ride imo. You get a peek at Germany. And a nonstop flight home as an extra perk.

I went first class by train from Venice to Munich last June. The trains are quite comfortable. But I stopped over for the night in Bressanone. It is a pretty town in the mountains. The train on to Munich took a little over 3 hours. The scenery is beautiful.

Hi G,

Great scenery. Well worth the ride. You also get to see the Brenner Pass, where Hitler met Mussolini.

Thanks for the reasuring responses. Ira, will we see the historical plaque from the train?

Hi G,

The train stops at Brenner.

I don't recall if there is a plaque.

schedules www.bahn.de

For Bahn schedules I always use http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.exe/en. Bahn.de gets you here eventually. Why not start here?

Larry - why do folks report problems buying these Allegro train online? trenitalia.com nor bahn.de seem to work - at least on discounted tickets

any knowledge of how to book these Allegro trains online and if so at a discount?

thanks as this has been a common complaint it seems

The only "palque" I've ever seen at the Brennero stop was that sign with the line in the middle signifying the border between Italy and Austria on the retaining wall.

I've taken this trip several times and once you get to Trento the scenery becomes a little more interesting.

Oops, sorry for the typo..meant to say "plaque"

Er, I was joking about the plaque.

I am starting to explore the idea of a stopover in the mountains. There are a few alpine birds missing from our life lists.

Bahn.de shows a discount tickets, at least for Munich to Verona for €53. I was able to find tickets a few weeks from now for that price, and I went as far as I could in the ordering process without giving my card number. For most dates, however, the €53 tickets seem to be sold out and only €63 tickets were available. I think that is a real popular route so they only offer a few of the lowest price ticket. It's called "market based pricing".