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Unlimited travel tickets like this open up so many opportunities. I booked a Eurail ticket with my wife when we graduated college and still can't believe how a

by quartz 3y ago

Unlimited travel tickets like this open up so many opportunities. I booked a Eurail ticket with my wife when we graduated college and still can't believe how amazing it was to travel at-will all around Europe for weeks on end. I think we paid $350 all in? They've gone up a little bit in price but they're still a steal. We even sprang for the 1st class ticket, which turned out to be often empty and sometimes quite luxurious, since it was only something like $60 more.

tuukkah 3y ago
I've learned that travelling on the 1st class Eurail/Interrail ticket can end up cheaper than 2nd class, as some seat reservations will be free or cheaper in 1st class. Also, there are valuable 1st class perks such as free breakfasts, luggage storage etc. that can easily add up.
mywacaday 3y ago
I once had the pleasure of traveling from Bern Switzerland to Milan though the Alps in a business car all to myself. Attempted to get some work done for about 5 minutes and stopped when I realised the views made it impossible. It's over 10 years ago but only cost around €90 one way. Also Milan train station is a work of art in its own right.
constantcrying 3y ago
The Deutschlandticket is not a travel ticket, it is only for local transport and slow regional trains. It is not feasible to travel through the country with it.
- dgellow 3y ago
  You’re not incorrect, the Deutschland ticket is mostly for local transports. But you can travel through Germany using only RE, it’s way slower than via ICE and requires lot of changes but that’s definitely feasible. It’s a quite nice way to explore the country if you do multiple halts.
  - kangalioo 3y ago
    Roughly 2x slower in my experience. The main annoyance are the many changes. Every change carries risk of missing the connecting train
    - euroderf 3y ago
      This observation does not correlate with my pop culture understanding of ruthless German efficiency.
      - ofrzeta 3y ago
        It's a thing from the past. Last year the punctuality of Deutsche Bahn long range trains dropped to 65%.
      - Glawen 3y ago
        It is a pop culture thing, I really wonder when such misconceptions will end. German are striking as often and sometimes more than the French, and their train are very often late, meaning a high chance of missing your connection. When I can I take a train without connection. Even in my very limited use of German trains, I still average around 50% missing connections. I had to take 3 trains a few weeks ago, the first one was 20min late, meaning I missed my first connection. It turned out no big deal because the train I was supposed to get into didn't leave: it was broken! I had to wait an hour at the station, then I had the chance to jump into a packed train (remember the previous train which did not come?). It was such a pleasure.
        Mo3 3y ago
        That's the typical Deutsche Bahn experience. Haven't seen anything else for the 27 years I lived there
      - ulfw 3y ago
        There is no such thing. Most things in Germany generally are delayed. Wether it's construction projects, really ANY construction from an autobahn local repair to a house to large projects like BER airport or Stuttgart 21 or Zweite Stammstrecke in Munich to literally every Deutsche Bahn ride. I've been on a Deutsche Bahn train for the first time in two decades when I visited Germany again last week. I had a short regional connection on an Regional Express train (RE) to make it to the 'high speed' ICE train. The RE train was 56 mins delayed or my generous 24 min connection. So I had to be driven by car instead to make it. The ICE 'high speed' train never hit more than 160kph and that only for minutes. A long time it was slowly creeping along at 40-50kph. My (on-time departure) 2 hour ICE train got me into Frankfurt 28 minutes late. The air conditioning was too weak. The train (1st class) was extremely overbooked. People walked through the aisle continuously to try to grab a seat from someone. The noise level as defeaning (even with noise cancelling Bose) and the service was well... not in service. Food that was advertised couldn't be ordered. The internet connection via WiFI wasn't working either. Hopeless. Next time I visit the country I'll rent a car again.

by quartz 3y ago

tuukkah 3y ago

I've learned that travelling on the 1st class Eurail/Interrail ticket can end up cheaper than 2nd class, as some seat reservations will be free or cheaper in 1st class. Also, there are valuable 1st class perks such as free breakfasts, luggage storage etc. that can easily add up.

mywacaday 3y ago

I once had the pleasure of traveling from Bern Switzerland to Milan though the Alps in a business car all to myself. Attempted to get some work done for about 5 minutes and stopped when I realised the views made it impossible. It's over 10 years ago but only cost around €90 one way. Also Milan train station is a work of art in its own right.

constantcrying 3y ago

The Deutschlandticket is not a travel ticket, it is only for local transport and slow regional trains. It is not feasible to travel through the country with it.

dgellow 3y ago
You’re not incorrect, the Deutschland ticket is mostly for local transports. But you can travel through Germany using only RE, it’s way slower than via ICE and requires lot of changes but that’s definitely feasible. It’s a quite nice way to explore the country if you do multiple halts.
- kangalioo 3y ago
  Roughly 2x slower in my experience. The main annoyance are the many changes. Every change carries risk of missing the connecting train
  - euroderf 3y ago
    This observation does not correlate with my pop culture understanding of ruthless German efficiency.
    - ofrzeta 3y ago
      It's a thing from the past. Last year the punctuality of Deutsche Bahn long range trains dropped to 65%.
    - Glawen 3y ago
      It is a pop culture thing, I really wonder when such misconceptions will end. German are striking as often and sometimes more than the French, and their train are very often late, meaning a high chance of missing your connection. When I can I take a train without connection. Even in my very limited use of German trains, I still average around 50% missing connections. I had to take 3 trains a few weeks ago, the first one was 20min late, meaning I missed my first connection. It turned out no big deal because the train I was supposed to get into didn't leave: it was broken! I had to wait an hour at the station, then I had the chance to jump into a packed train (remember the previous train which did not come?). It was such a pleasure.
      - Mo3 3y ago
        That's the typical Deutsche Bahn experience. Haven't seen anything else for the 27 years I lived there
    - ulfw 3y ago
      There is no such thing. Most things in Germany generally are delayed. Wether it's construction projects, really ANY construction from an autobahn local repair to a house to large projects like BER airport or Stuttgart 21 or Zweite Stammstrecke in Munich to literally every Deutsche Bahn ride. I've been on a Deutsche Bahn train for the first time in two decades when I visited Germany again last week. I had a short regional connection on an Regional Express train (RE) to make it to the 'high speed' ICE train. The RE train was 56 mins delayed or my generous 24 min connection. So I had to be driven by car instead to make it. The ICE 'high speed' train never hit more than 160kph and that only for minutes. A long time it was slowly creeping along at 40-50kph. My (on-time departure) 2 hour ICE train got me into Frankfurt 28 minutes late. The air conditioning was too weak. The train (1st class) was extremely overbooked. People walked through the aisle continuously to try to grab a seat from someone. The noise level as defeaning (even with noise cancelling Bose) and the service was well... not in service. Food that was advertised couldn't be ordered. The internet connection via WiFI wasn't working either. Hopeless. Next time I visit the country I'll rent a car again.