Trains

                Traveling in Germany is an experience in itself…  As one of the students who had the most trouble following the train schedules I discovered the easiest way find the trains and departure times.  Realizing who important this is for future students I will share my secrets with you.  The easiest way to find trains and departing times is to use the internet.  If you go to the website www.bahn.de you will be able to access the schedules.  There is a drop down link at the top of the webpage where you can select the language of the page.  Once you have changed to English, or any other language you like, all you have to do is enter the departing station or town and the destination.  Be sure to remember that they will use military time when telling you the departure and arrival times for the trains.  Also be sure to check what gate the train is departing from so you won’t miss it.   Now I realize that things happen and train schedules change, most of the time they will announce those changes over the intercom at the station (in German). 

                If you don’t have access to the internet there are red ticket machines at the main train stations with a touch screen that you can use to access schedules.  All you have to do is touch the British flag on the screen to change the language to English.  Then I think you select Ticket Reservations, after that you just follow the directions on the screen until it gives you a list of trains that will stop at your desired destination.  Once you have this list you can print out the selected schedule for your journey.  However; be careful when selecting your trip to check and see if there are any stops that you have to switch trains.  If you do not pay attention to this you could miss your connecting train and have a lot more trouble getting to your destination.

                Last but not least the most basic way of finding trains, but in my opinion the most confusing, is to look at the paper schedule that is posted on the wall at the train station.  Be sure to know the difference between arrivals and departures, because there are two different schedules posted.  I hope that all of this information will be helpful when you are planning your trips.

Leave a Reply