gdlamberth

I arrive in FRA from the US via US Airways at 1035. Is there a train or bus that is relatively convienent to get fromthe Airport to the Landstuhl/Kaiserslautern/Vogelweh area? A web site I can check out?
Thanks,
Greg

daysleeper

http://www.bahn.de/international/view/en/index.shtml

etch5895

Look on the bahn website, but I think there is an hourly or once/two hours ICE train from FRA or the Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof to Kaiserslautern Hbf.

gdlamberth

Thank you so much the Website was very helpful. Is taking a suitcase and "carry-on" an issue on any of the types of trains? it looks like I can do ICE to RBE or ICE to ICE or RBE to RBE. Any recommendations? Is 1st Class worth the difference in costs?

Greg

daysleeper

You probably meant RE or RB, which are regional trains. ICE are faster, more comfortable trains, which go long distance. 1st class is a bit nicer, has more legroom. For a 1 or 2 hour trip it's not worth it.

Kathrin

Agree with daysleeper. As for the luggage question: Nobody cares how much or little luggage you bring on board a train as long as you are able to handle it all by yourself and find space to store it. It's entirely your own problem to deal with it. This may include lifting the suitcase onto the luggage rack above your head.

gdlamberth

Thanks again everyone! One more question please. One of options I have involves a 3 minute change from platform 4 to platform 3 in Bad Munster a Stein. Seems like they should be adjacent platforms and therefore easy to make. Am I assuming too much?
Greg

daysleeper

Sure, easy to make. Otherwise, the Bahn website wouldn't suggest this connection. Even if the train is running late, the other will probably wait a few minutes.

flyingfkb

Take a connection with an ICE and as few as possible connections. That is the most comfortable way to go. Remember you will arrive in Frankfurt after an overnight flight. The station you want to leave from is " Frankfurt(M) Flughafen Fernbf " (just copy and paste the name between the quotation marks). It is the long distance train station. So at the airport follow the signs to the long distance train station and not local train station.

The best thing is to buy a "normal fare ticket" which means you don't need to take a certain train. Very handy if for example your flight is delayed or you need longer at the airport. Buy an online ticket and print at out at home. Seat reservation is not necessary but I would recommend it if you arrived on a Friday since Fridays the trains especially the ICEs are pretty full. If you buy a reservation your ticket will indicate a Seat number (Platz) and car number(Wagen). All long distance trains have numbers on the wagons so you can identify in which wagon your seat is. The reservation is only valid for a certain train you choose. If you miss it your reservation is gone.

tom tulpe

The Bad Munster am Stein connection - and I did learn this the hard way - is from one regional train onto another. They stop frequently (the train from Bad Munster am Stein appeared to stop at ALL stations to K-Town IIRC), have noisy diesel engines, are not "low floor" or "level access" carriages, do not provide any sort of food or drink onboard, and are unlikely to wait for late connections for more than 5 or 10 minutes. Bad Munster am Stein is a small place and the station does not offer an awful lot in terms of facilities, should you have to wait a little longer for the next train.

Of course, regional trains are also cheap and frequent (hourly), so none of these things may be much of an issue to you. I would however prefer the IC/ICE connection from the new station in FRA via Mannheim to Kaiserslautern Hbf (which is the main train station in the K-Town area). Now these are nice fast comfy air-conditioned electric long distance trains, usually with a restaurant/buffet car (mmmmh... buffet car...^). Then get a lift from Kaiserslautern to where you need to go. Vogelweh is actually within Kaiserslautern city limits.

cockpitvisit

In case you don't make a seat reservation or miss the reseved train:

On ICE trains, there is either a printout or an LED display above every seat indicating whether that seat is reserved or not. If nothing is displayed, the seat is free to take. If it says something like "Frankfurt-Kaiserslautern", it means that the seat is reserved by someone from Frankfurt to Kaiserslautern and you cannot take it. If it says something like "Kaiserslautern-Saarbrücken", it means that the seat is only reserved starting in Kaiserslautern and can be taken by everyone until then.

Flaflyer

Yes they would be adjacent platforms, although they may be for different tracks. In which case you go along the platform a ways to the crossing, which goes over or under the track to the next platform. In Europe train stations, elevators and escalators are rare. They use stairs. Wear footware and pack so you can carry everything you have down and up the stairs in one trip and it should take about 1 minute to change platforms. The 3 min. on the train schedule is designed so you can walk even in a crowd and get to the desired platform with ease. You don't have time for bathroom breaks or anything between trains, you are just changing trains.