-
Anyone bought this ticket?
€49 DEUTSCHLAND TICKETThinking of buying one for a couple of weekends away and explore major cities and surrounding areas.
@ExpatinBerlin has used and recommended it. Valid on mostly regional trains I think so good for those like me who are not in a hurry and enjoy getting off the beaten track. Planning to make use of it on tour through Germany next year.
It’s a subscription and runs from the 1st to the last day of every month.
Mainzer Mobilität and mobil.NRW apps have been recommended for tourists.
Some apps may only take payment via SEPA direct debit, and some apps require subscribing and/or cancelling before the 10th of each month for the next month, although one bus company in Thuringia sells it on paper for cash (you are meant to fill in a subscription form and give it to the driver!) Only Germany could make something simple (that they already did last summer) into something so complicated.
@roger it is indeed a bargain! Just be aware that it will only get you free travel on local services (so i.e. in Berlin that would be the U-Bahn underground trains, the S-Bahn overground trains, buses and trams so you could get the S from Charlottenburg to Potsdam, for example) but it excludes any high speed intercity trains auch as the 4 hour Berlin to Munich ICE. You do also need to keep an eye on the subscription aspect! I moved back to London from Berlin a few weeks ago and cancelling my BahnCard (equivalent to a UK railcard that gets you a % fare discount) was a pain as you have to give something like at least 2 weeks notice and the cancellation process, like many things in Germany, was pretty faffy! But the Deutschland ticket is excellent value if you intend to do plenty of localised/regional travel at a leisurely pace. Enjoy!
The t&cs of when you need to cancel the following month by so you don’t get charged has caught out some of my German friends so best to make sure you know and follow all the t&c to the letter!
The most comprehensive guide out there: https://www.seat61.com/train-travel-in-germany.htm#Deutschlandticket
^seconded, Seat61 is great at unravelling the idiosyncrasies of German train travel! It was a great help for me planning a 3 change rail journey from Berlin to Mayrhofen and back to go skiing in March in terms of making sure I got the cheapest tickets that have a seat reservation.
Interesting article by Nick Curtis in the Evening Standard this week reviewing the Brussels to Berlin sleeper train including some interesting recommendations for things-to-do in Berlin
https://www.standard.co.uk/escapist/sleeper-train-st-pancras-berlin-guide-2023-b1090402.html
For those planning visits to the many museums the Pergamon mentioned in the above article – is closing on October for a couple of years to allow the completion of its restoration and expansion.
@WaynedP the Museum of Photography is definitely worth visiting and right behind Zoologischer Garten Station. The only thing to note is that it is closed on Mondays and doesn’t open until 11am on any other day! Took my parents a few months ago and ended up hanging around outside for 5 mins as we arrived at what we thought was a very leisurely 10:55…
Thanks all for the feedback.
@ExpatInBerlin, assume you just carry the electronic ticket with you and board the allowable trains and there is no need to do further pre-book even on RE or RER trains say from HAM to BER.@WaynedP the Museum of Photography is definitely worth visiting and right behind Zoologischer Garten Station. The only thing to note is that it is closed on Mondays and doesn’t open until 11am on any other day! Took my parents a few months ago and ended up hanging around outside for 5 mins as we arrived at what we thought was a very leisurely 10:55…
Good to know, thanks @ExpatInBerlin, as is your info re Pergamon museum, @BA_Flyer_IHG_Stayer.
To my shame I’ve not yet visited Berlin despite learning lots about it when studying A-level equivalent German (interestingly just a few years before the Wall fell but a few years into Glasnost and Perestroika already making their presence felt).
Will definitely rectify that in next few years, hopefully combining with some decent time spent exploring a number of former DDR towns and cities.
On a Mediterranean cruise a couple of years before Covid I was seated at a lunch table with a delightful lady in her late seventies from the former (rural) DDR who didn’t speak a word of English and was overjoyed at finally meeting someone else on board who spoke German so regaled me with fascinating insights about her life.
Could have chatted for hours if not for her silent husband who whisked her away as soon as lunch was over and probably considered me to be a modern day Stasi informer.
For those planning visits to the many museums the Pergamon mentioned in the above article – is closing on October for a couple of years to allow the completion of its restoration and expansion.
A fantastic museum
There is a video on Youtube where someone tries to get from Basel to the German-Polish border on the Baltic in 24 hours using this ticket.
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.
