I've obtained a 7-day German Rail First Class Twin Pass, valid for 2 persons traveling together. The first advantage is that rail passes are denominated in US dollars and are repriced just once a year, so in the current environment that's a big advantage. And, in comparing what I'm paying this year compared with 2003, the rate is not substantially different. Now, compare that with what's happened with the $ vs. the Euro.

Next, I take a look on the excellent German Rail website, which not only shows all my train options (anywhere in Europe, actually) but also shows what platform the trains leave from and regular fares. Most local travelers who use trains a lot will have a Bahncard offering a discount off of these fares, but I as a point-to-point tourist would not typically make that initial investment.

Here are the basic Euro prices I would have to pay for my mostly ICE rail segments in F for one traveler:

Frankfurt Airport-Köln: 53
Köln-Dresden: 167
Dresden-Czech border and return: 34
Dresden-Berlin: 48
Berlin-Halle, Leipzig-Berlin: 98
Berlin-Hamburg, Hamburg-Hannover, and Hannover-Berlin: 218
Berlin-Frankfurt Airport: 149
Total for 1 traveler: 767, or about US$997.

But wait, there's more. For 2 people to travel on this itinerary, the price would be twice that, or about US$1994. Certainly very expensive.

However, the TOTAL COST for the 7-day German Rail 1st Class Twin Passes is just US$543 complete for the 2 persons.

Certainly, my itinerary is quite rail-intensive. But I selected the number of travel days based on my needs. And, once I've decided to get a rail pass, I will use it intensively because extra use costs nothing. The more you use it, the better it gets. Thus, a triangle trip Berlin-Hamburg-Hannover, with each leg taking 90 minutes or less becomes doable, while it would be unaffordable to the poor traveler inquiring about individual tickets. Thus, we can stay in Berlin, visit a friend in the early evening in Hannover, but also first throw in a city tour up in Hamburg before heading to Hannover. In the mid-evening, we return to our Berlin hotel by 10pm, having covered hundreds of miles effortlessly.

I will not be making any seat reservations based on past experience, and the only surcharge will be for the nonstop ICE Sprinter from Berlin to Frankfurt. Meanwhile, I look forward to dining car meals, still widely offered, although not on all trains, and offering the best train meals in Europe.

This pass is also available in 2nd class, unlike Eurail passes.