Trains

The European rail system is fantastic, in my opinion. You can go anywhere in relative comfort and if you buy your ticket ahead of time especially, the prices are very reasonable. Since I will be here 4 months, I bought a DeutschBahn railroad card for 25 euros, and it gives me a discount. This train is actually the one I took in France. It has 2 stories, as you can see from the steps at the top of the picture. The seats are comfortable, and I've noticed that blue seems to be the universal color for some reason. Clean, comfortable, efficient, and nice.

This is one of the newer German trains I have been on. This one was one I took coming back from Amsterdam. I always travel in second class coaches, which is certainly fine. Almost every train car has seats going in both directions---about half the car faces one way, and half the other. The seats with tables are scattered so that there are usually 4 (2 on each side of the aisle) spaced out through one car. There are usually plugins near the tables and people often work on their computers. There is good light, generally, and this one has more overhead storage than some do. Some trains have small rooms, generally seating 6, that you can enter and shut the door. This is really good for families and small groups.

I'm at the point where I'd rather go by train than fly. I can get up and move around, there is more space, and I am not sitting and wasting time waiting in an airport for hours and hours.

I hadn't found this type of board in the Bielefeld station but now know where it is. You look for the time of your train, the number, and then you can see how many cars are second class, where they are on the train, and which direction the train will be going. That lets you board an appropriate car. It is also possible, for 4 euros per ticket, to reserve seats. I did that when Heidi and Pete were coming so that we could sit together, and so that we could have window seats where possible. If you also get seats around one of the tables, you can tak with each other, though someone is going backwards. I do not do well going backwards and have learned to check the board to see which way the train will be going. I guess my mental map isn't good enough to automatically know which direction I should face so that I will be going forward!

There are at least 3 ways to buy tickets, with varying costs according to the method. Lots of people buy tickets from the machines. For example, your plane comes in from whereever, and you go to the machine, put in the city to which you want to go, the hour of the day you are traveling, and it tells you a price. Put in your credit card, get your ticket, and go. Tickets can also be purchased online with a credit card, you can print off the receipt on your computer printer, and hand that with your credit card (for identity proof) to the conductor. The most expensive way, though I've used this occasionally for complicated trips, is to go to the main train station and ask for help. I've gotten the same woman both times I have done this, and she has been really helpful and pleasant. Dogs can travel for free on trains, so Brandi has accompanied me on train trips a couple of times.

One thing about train travel is that you have to be paying attention. Frequently, changing trains is involved and you need to watch the time and listen and look for the right station. I do think if you fell asleep, for example, you could end up in the wrong place and the wrong country!! Once you know how to read the schedule, you can easily spot how much time you have between trains, which platform you'll come in on and which you need to get to to leave on the next train, etc. Most trains only stop for a very few minutes, and you had better be ready to get on or get off. Most trains I've been on have done fairly well for schedules, though the one from Dortmund last weekend was 17 minutes late.

There is a wide variety of train stations and services offered, ranging from really large stations offering a variety of stores and fresh flowers, to a few that are simply stations almost in the middle of nowhere with no services whatsoever. Many trains have separate areas in certain cars where people can put their bicycles. This works really great for people who want to go out into the country to ride. Every train I have been on has had the "WC" or water closet, with a varying degree of clean air. Many trains have dining cars. The ICE trains (Inter-City Express) trains travel the same tracks as the regional trains. They are newer (more streamlined and bullet-shaped) and are faster because they don't stop at all the places the regional trains stop. They also, however, cost more. The time for a regional train to get here from Dusseldorf (the airport I flew into from the USA) was close to 2 hours, and the time for the ICE train was closer to 1 1-2 hours. Several of the German here got a chuckle from my language. I called that train an ice train, as in ice cubes. Given the German pronunciation of the alphabet, they call it the EEE SAY AAA train!