Flitting across Germany

Munich, Germany

Green, green as far as the eye could see

Yes, we’d managed to save a few days on our Schengen schedule – mere crumbs in the basket – but felt it was important to cover a bit more of Germany than just Berlin where our Intrepid tour officially ended.  This of course was a WJ3 thing; going against many, many recommendations to stay in Berlin – being that it capably manifests all things for all people.  We made do with a few last minute regrets at not having visited other highly recommended sites (such as the Pergamon Museum) and boarded our ICE speeding bullet (actually it was a train) hoping we’d made the right choices. 

After reading heaps about “Things NOT to miss in Germany” several plans had been concocted.  We wanted to be realistic about what we could cover in the remaining 6 days.  Our airline offered more flights with better connection times to get home from Frankfurt and as we had friends in the area, fixed it as our departure point.  Also, we had been on the move constantly for our 29 day tour and now wanted to stay put with no packing.  We were also looking for a city from which to access some of Germany’s best.  After all, our chances of going back are pretty slim.

Hauptbahnhof in Berlin - a very modern central
train station but looking a bit grim on a wet day

Munich was agreed as our best option because it allowed access to a variety of places.  We could have continued our affair with train travel – it’s such a fantastic way to see Europe but, in the end we chose day excursions on buses.  Someone else drove, excellent guides filled us in on itinerary fine-points, we covered all our choices, and with cunning planning, the bus departure point was very, very close to our very central hotel.  

So, decision time!  We’d signed up to cover Rothenburg on the Romantic Road, Hitler’s Eagles Nest in the Alps, and Mad Ludwig’s Neuschwanstein Castle.  On our final day, we wanted to visit the Dachau Concentration Camp on a self-guided tour then catch an early afternoon train to Frankfurt.  Long days, but absolutely worth the planning effort!

The ICE travelled at speeds of over 240km/h (it can go to 300!); snails pace was a mere 110km/h.  Photos we took of beautiful scenery were mostly just blurs : ) 

ICE blur!

In Aus, we had dilly-dallied about buying Rail Passes, and then, a bit confused, didn’t.  Our best advice was from The Man in Seat 61.  In the end, with only 2 intercity connections, and on advice of the very helpful Deutsche Bahn staff at main stations, we’d purchased and saved heaps with 2^nd class seats and “purchase ahead, no refund” special offers.  Our hotel in Munich provided us with local fares (our accommodation deal) and the fares to Dachau offered cheaper rates for couples.  So trains taken care of, yeah!  The only grumble we had was Wi-Fi.  In every other country we’d travelled this year, free Wi-Fi was part and parcel of our stay or ride - buses, trains & ferries.  Deutsche Bahn (with its significantly higher fares – meow!) wanted passengers to pay for use – unless you travelled first class, of course! 

Petty grumbles aside, we wanted to share our travel planning thoughts because it’s quite possible to travel easily under your own steam through Germany.  There are fantastic road & rail links, convenient accommodations and well-serviced tourist sites with lots of facilities.  You can drive on the autobahn doing “the ton” or amble along delightful country roads on a bicycle.  And you can do it all on your own….