4 ms·

If I were a 20-something all over again and taking weekend trips all over Germany and where money was more important than time, I would be all over this. Taking

If I were a 20-something all over again and taking weekend trips all over Germany and where money was more important than time, I would be all over this. Taking the train is an adventure in its own right, so it's ok if it takes a little longer to get there. That said, we are hoping to take a 10 day trip to Germany in November. For a short tourist hop, it probably doesn't make sense for us to use this ticket given that time is of the essence (IE: take the ICE). We might buy the Bahn card though to lock in some discounts.

ajmurmann 3y ago
Definitely take advantage of the Banh Card and do the math. On my visits I usually only take 2-3 train rides on the ICE, but it pays off very quickly. Cancelling is a PITA though.
- poulsbohemian 3y ago
  That was my thinking as well, especially with a family of four and intending to make a loop of the country by train. I understand a lot of the criticism of the transit system in this thread, but when I compare the options and flexibility there compared to Washington / Oregon (where I live, and comparable in geographic size to Germany) it becomes readily apparent how superior any European nation's transit options are to our own.
  - ajmurmann 3y ago
    Living in Oregon, I've taken the train to Seattle a few times. It's nice, but of course could be better. As much public transit-envy I have for Europe or Japan and China, I just am increasingly coming to be convinced that inter-city transit at the west coast just isn't suited for public transit. The density just isn't there. When I take an ICE from Bonn to Hamburg I pass by so many major cities all of which are served by the ICE. There isn't much to speak of between Portland and Seattle and even less if I wanted to take a train to SF. The math just doesn't work as well.
    - laurencerowe 3y ago
      The area surrounding the Rhine Valley is the most densely populated part of Europe. I recently drove up the west coast from SF and at least from I5 it seemed like Eugene-Vancouver Canada was pretty built up most of the way. It’s a bit more sparse on the 100 mile stretch between Vancouver WA and Olympia but it’s not really that far, two thirds of Hamburg-Berlin which is less densely populated than western parts of Germany. But just look at France or Spain to see high speed rail working well in more sparsely populated countries. I think the bigger problem is how much you need a car within American cities which tend to be much more spread out than their European equivalents, though Seattle, Portland and Vancouver Canada aren’t terrible in that respect. It probably makes sense to prioritise regional rail before HSR, but then if you have to build new railways to get separation from freight traffic, electrify and remove crossings so you can run 100 mph European regional rail speeds and frequencies I guess you may as well build HSR.
- carlmr 3y ago
  You can cancel by email now, which is fairly easy, but has to happen at least 6 weeks before renewal. Also you can get the Probe BahnCard for 17,99€ for 3 months (i.e. cancel it after at most 6 weeks).
  - ajmurmann 3y ago
    Yeah, I've been doing that. It just always rubs me the wrong way when I can sign up for something via website or app, but need to do something less convenient to unsubscribe. Such a dark anti-pattern!
    - carlmr 3y ago
      I think we need some regulation there. Cancellation should be at most as many clicks as signing up, in the same app or website, the buttons have to be the same color, size and placement as sign up buttons.
      - lars_francke 3y ago
        This regulation exists in Germany: https://www.verbraucherzentrale.de/wissen/vertraege-reklamation/kundenrechte/gesetz-fuer-fairere-vertraege-mehr-schutz-bei-kosten-und-laufzeiten-55274 https://www.verbraucherzentrale.de/wissen/vertraege-reklamat...

ajmurmann 3y ago

Definitely take advantage of the Banh Card and do the math. On my visits I usually only take 2-3 train rides on the ICE, but it pays off very quickly. Cancelling is a PITA though.

poulsbohemian 3y ago
That was my thinking as well, especially with a family of four and intending to make a loop of the country by train. I understand a lot of the criticism of the transit system in this thread, but when I compare the options and flexibility there compared to Washington / Oregon (where I live, and comparable in geographic size to Germany) it becomes readily apparent how superior any European nation's transit options are to our own.
- ajmurmann 3y ago
  Living in Oregon, I've taken the train to Seattle a few times. It's nice, but of course could be better. As much public transit-envy I have for Europe or Japan and China, I just am increasingly coming to be convinced that inter-city transit at the west coast just isn't suited for public transit. The density just isn't there. When I take an ICE from Bonn to Hamburg I pass by so many major cities all of which are served by the ICE. There isn't much to speak of between Portland and Seattle and even less if I wanted to take a train to SF. The math just doesn't work as well.
  - laurencerowe 3y ago
    The area surrounding the Rhine Valley is the most densely populated part of Europe. I recently drove up the west coast from SF and at least from I5 it seemed like Eugene-Vancouver Canada was pretty built up most of the way. It’s a bit more sparse on the 100 mile stretch between Vancouver WA and Olympia but it’s not really that far, two thirds of Hamburg-Berlin which is less densely populated than western parts of Germany. But just look at France or Spain to see high speed rail working well in more sparsely populated countries. I think the bigger problem is how much you need a car within American cities which tend to be much more spread out than their European equivalents, though Seattle, Portland and Vancouver Canada aren’t terrible in that respect. It probably makes sense to prioritise regional rail before HSR, but then if you have to build new railways to get separation from freight traffic, electrify and remove crossings so you can run 100 mph European regional rail speeds and frequencies I guess you may as well build HSR.
carlmr 3y ago
You can cancel by email now, which is fairly easy, but has to happen at least 6 weeks before renewal. Also you can get the Probe BahnCard for 17,99€ for 3 months (i.e. cancel it after at most 6 weeks).
- ajmurmann 3y ago
  Yeah, I've been doing that. It just always rubs me the wrong way when I can sign up for something via website or app, but need to do something less convenient to unsubscribe. Such a dark anti-pattern!
  - carlmr 3y ago
    I think we need some regulation there. Cancellation should be at most as many clicks as signing up, in the same app or website, the buttons have to be the same color, size and placement as sign up buttons.
    - lars_francke 3y ago
      This regulation exists in Germany: https://www.verbraucherzentrale.de/wissen/vertraege-reklamation/kundenrechte/gesetz-fuer-fairere-vertraege-mehr-schutz-bei-kosten-und-laufzeiten-55274 https://www.verbraucherzentrale.de/wissen/vertraege-reklamat...