 Holidays are expensive things. For most families, they are easily the biggest item in their annual budget behind life’s essentials such as food, shelter and transport (such as the family car). Travel and accommodation make up the largest chunk of holiday expenses, but by the time the holiday starts, they have already been accounted for, if not necessarily fully paid, and have lost their power to annoy. “Extras”, on the other hand, have not. “Extras” are all the things that your loved ones want and that you cannot deny them. After all, you don’t call them your “loved ones” for nothing. “Extras” include that dress spotted in a boutique along the way, the visit to the ice cream parlour as a reward for the long hours of walking through foreign landscapes (or museums), and they certainly include all types of public . . . → More Easy Hiking: KONUS Makes Your Family Holiday In The Black Forest Lighter On The Pocket  Over the years, the Deutsche Bahn has been trying to improve their online services at www.db.de. Today, you can now conduct a transaction in at least 10 languages. Language aside, though, what may be self-evident to its regular online customers might be missed by those who may be ordering their cheapest train tickets in Germany via the DB ticketing portal for the first time. So, here are some beginners’ tips to help you navigate the site to make sure you are getting that exact cheap train ticket you want, plus help you to plan your trip better. Supposedly the English version, but still in German, here’s where you indicate your departure location (von) and your arrival destination (nach). It’s important to indicate your preferred departure time (Uhrzeit). Then, hit “Suche”. Next, you get here, . . . → More Easy Hiking: How To Get The Cheapest Train Tickets in Germany  Last year, we gave Deutsche Bahn a bit more than €600 to ferry our family of 4, plus dog, from our holiday base in West Germany to the city of Erfurt in the East, and back. This year, we only spent €120 for our round-trip to the north eastern town of Goslar, which is roughly the same distance. The big savings was possible with the (relatively) new ticket offering from Deutsche Bahn – the Quer-durchs-Land-Ticket. Is this the cheapest train ticket in Germany? This ticket can get you and your group (up to a maximum of 5 people) anywhere in Germany for a fixed price of €42 for the first person and an additional €6 for each additional traveller. Children – as long as they are your own – aged up to 14 traveling with 1 or 2 adults travel for free. Pets count as . . . → More Easy Hiking: Is This The Cheapest Train Ticket In Germany?  With my next three posts, I will provide those of you who are planning to hike in Germany with some concrete practical advice, starting with a few notes about the German public transport system. Public transport in Germany is, on the whole, excellent. Many, even fairly small towns, have a railway connection, and of those that do not, most have bus services throughout the day that can take you into the next larger town. It is railways, however, that are the hiker’s best friend. Whenever you come across a town – or a village – with a “DB” logo on the map, you can be confident that there will be a service to the nearest city or large town in intervals of no more than two hours, often until late in the evening. That’s always good to know. Bus services are less . . . → More Easy Hiking: Transport Tips If Hiking In Germany | |
