Private Plane to Speyer, German 9 Euro Ticket Adventures, Scotland, Mallorca
Oct 29, 2022, 2:32 pm
#16
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10. 9 Euro Ticket down to Switzerland and back
When I got around to checking all the chapters I had written, this one contained no text which meant I had forgotten to write it. In fact, I had allocated a number of later chapters to my adventures with the 9 Euro Ticket in Germany. During the summer I made two trips down to Switzerland and back again, all of which took a long time because you could only use regional and InterRegio trains with the 9 Euro Ticket. As I wrote later on, I wouldn't do this again if the 9 Euro Ticket is offered again. It was a one-off experience, a sort of test of my own resolve and endurance, that I don't need to repeat.
Even 1st class was full on the regional train
Arriving at Mainz main station
The trip wasn't entirely a nightmare, with normal amounts of people on the platform here
But it very much reminded me of travelling from SW England to the North of Scotland when I was at school. That was a torturous journey, usually on the overnight bus, that makes the 9 Euro Ticket seem like a chicken outing in comparison. This offer was also very useful for going around the Ruhrgebiet, Niederrhein and Sauerland regions of North Rhine Westfalia. I was able to complete a number of hikes I probably would otherwise never have done, as well as visit charming towns I had never heard of: Geilenkirchen, Hattingen, Breckerfeld and others.
There were also normal passenger loads on the trains
At Offenburg it became a nightmare again, with hordes of people jamming the platforms so that the trains rarely left on time
Heading northwards again, a lot of the trains were standing room only
Lastly, I made good use of the local bus networks, doing the full length of routes I otherwise would never have done. For example, bus 122 from Oberhausen Forum to Mülheim Hbf, or tram 901 from Mülheim to Duisburg Obermarxloh, a slightly scary suburb of Duisburg. The VRR network has a complex and user unfriendly ticketing system, which severely deter many outings: it's just simpler and often cheaper to take the car. So it was hard going back to the normal high cost of short distance tickets here after the 9 Euro Ticket ended. I find that there is something wrong with the fact that I have been able to get a Ryanair flight for less than the cost of a local train from Oberhausen to Dusseldorf.
One of the trains, from Mannheim to Mainz, became totally chaotic with people jammed in like Bockwurst sausages stuffed into a jar
Local train at Ergste, near Dortmund
Boarding a STOAG bus in Oberhausen, the Wasserturm (water tower) in the background
Even 1st class was full on the regional train
Arriving at Mainz main station
The trip wasn't entirely a nightmare, with normal amounts of people on the platform here
But it very much reminded me of travelling from SW England to the North of Scotland when I was at school. That was a torturous journey, usually on the overnight bus, that makes the 9 Euro Ticket seem like a chicken outing in comparison. This offer was also very useful for going around the Ruhrgebiet, Niederrhein and Sauerland regions of North Rhine Westfalia. I was able to complete a number of hikes I probably would otherwise never have done, as well as visit charming towns I had never heard of: Geilenkirchen, Hattingen, Breckerfeld and others.
There were also normal passenger loads on the trains
At Offenburg it became a nightmare again, with hordes of people jamming the platforms so that the trains rarely left on time
Heading northwards again, a lot of the trains were standing room only
Lastly, I made good use of the local bus networks, doing the full length of routes I otherwise would never have done. For example, bus 122 from Oberhausen Forum to Mülheim Hbf, or tram 901 from Mülheim to Duisburg Obermarxloh, a slightly scary suburb of Duisburg. The VRR network has a complex and user unfriendly ticketing system, which severely deter many outings: it's just simpler and often cheaper to take the car. So it was hard going back to the normal high cost of short distance tickets here after the 9 Euro Ticket ended. I find that there is something wrong with the fact that I have been able to get a Ryanair flight for less than the cost of a local train from Oberhausen to Dusseldorf.
One of the trains, from Mannheim to Mainz, became totally chaotic with people jammed in like Bockwurst sausages stuffed into a jar
Local train at Ergste, near Dortmund
Boarding a STOAG bus in Oberhausen, the Wasserturm (water tower) in the background
Last edited by Concerto; Oct 29, 2022 at 3:03 pm
Oct 29, 2022, 4:10 pm
#17
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You are totally right, I wrote the article by memory and neglected to look again at the Rother book. If you are in the cities of the Ruhrgebiet and North Rhine Westfalia, you can really get away from the urban landscape by coming to places like this. I would also include Kettwig (near Essen) and Hattingen (near Bochum) as wonderful time capsules of beauty, away from the urban buzz of the cities of Essen and Bochum themselves.
Earlier, I replied to one poster that the private plane reviews would be coming up soon, but in fact they will begin at chapter 16...which is not so far away now!
Earlier, I replied to one poster that the private plane reviews would be coming up soon, but in fact they will begin at chapter 16...which is not so far away now!
But you are right, Kettwig and Hattingen (in parts) are nice towns with historical substance. Hattingen has a very nice Christmas market.
Oct 30, 2022, 2:05 am
#18
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Thanks for the tip about Hattingen Weihnachtsmarkt! I will try and get down there in December, although I don't come back here until 22nd December.
Oct 31, 2022, 4:26 pm
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11a. Hiking Trip 4: Jülich - Linnich
Rother Wanderführer - Niederrhein, Tour 49
At the start of this walk, I thought Jülich was a bit of a depressing place although there appeared to be an old fort called Zitadelle in a sea of greenery in the middle of the town, so there are some items of interest there. The walk didn't start well because the second pedestrian bridge across the Rur river (Roer on Google maps) was closed due to structural problems. So I had to retrace my steps back to the beginning and cross the first bridge. Later on, at the end of the walk, it was even more nonsensical because the road bridge, the only way across the river to get to the little train station of Linnich, was completely closed off. This time I used my mountain experience to scramble over the barriers and along the wall, which required a good sense of balance and a head for heights. Really, the western part of Germany is beginning to resemble the DDR at the time the wall came down with the mess its infrastructure has become. This situation should knock the walk out of the book, because nobody should attempt scrambling over the barrier like I did. The alternative is what looks like a 4km detour up to the next road bridge.
View of the river Rur from the bridge closest to the town of Jülich
Later on I walked across open farmland in the beating sun, in a curious linear imitation of the river photo just above
Some parts of the walk were on a small trail through the woods
Looking out over the Barmener See (lake) at the village of Barmen
Otherwise, there were no navigational issues with this walk. After passing under the A44 highway the route went along a series of dead straight right angled farm roads across agricultural land, with no protection from the blazing sun. Then, in the village of Barmen you follow the X markings on the trees, which takes you to the shore of the lake (this is the only place where the red line denoting the walk route in the book is slightly inaccurate). Shortly afterwards the way passes Schloss Kellenberg, which looks like it's seen better days.
The village of Barmen had a lot of buildings that made me feel like I was in the Netherlands
The trail continues through the woods towards Schloss Kellenberg
Castle Kellenberg, which was more run down than my photos reveal
Abandoned mill beside Schloss Kellenberg
From this point on the route was a pleasant path shared with cyclists along the Rur river, with plenty of shade from the trees. There was an impressive weir on the river (Wehr in German) near Linnich. All the way, I was aware that there are no less than three Tagebau in the surrounding countryside, huge open pit mines the largest of which, Hambach, is larger than the city of Cologne.
Later the trail became broader and the way was shared with cyclists
Linnicher weir on the Rur river
The final stretch of the walk along this straight street was a bit tedious...
Finally, at the end of the straight street, the route turned right onto a high bridge over the Rur river and flood plain to reach the small station of Linnich
I ended up clambering over the two skips, an undistinguished end to this hike; luckily there was an EDEKA superstore on the other side, with a bakery and café where I finished the walk, sitting outside with the wasps
At the start of this walk, I thought Jülich was a bit of a depressing place although there appeared to be an old fort called Zitadelle in a sea of greenery in the middle of the town, so there are some items of interest there. The walk didn't start well because the second pedestrian bridge across the Rur river (Roer on Google maps) was closed due to structural problems. So I had to retrace my steps back to the beginning and cross the first bridge. Later on, at the end of the walk, it was even more nonsensical because the road bridge, the only way across the river to get to the little train station of Linnich, was completely closed off. This time I used my mountain experience to scramble over the barriers and along the wall, which required a good sense of balance and a head for heights. Really, the western part of Germany is beginning to resemble the DDR at the time the wall came down with the mess its infrastructure has become. This situation should knock the walk out of the book, because nobody should attempt scrambling over the barrier like I did. The alternative is what looks like a 4km detour up to the next road bridge.
View of the river Rur from the bridge closest to the town of Jülich
Later on I walked across open farmland in the beating sun, in a curious linear imitation of the river photo just above
Some parts of the walk were on a small trail through the woods
Looking out over the Barmener See (lake) at the village of Barmen
Otherwise, there were no navigational issues with this walk. After passing under the A44 highway the route went along a series of dead straight right angled farm roads across agricultural land, with no protection from the blazing sun. Then, in the village of Barmen you follow the X markings on the trees, which takes you to the shore of the lake (this is the only place where the red line denoting the walk route in the book is slightly inaccurate). Shortly afterwards the way passes Schloss Kellenberg, which looks like it's seen better days.
The village of Barmen had a lot of buildings that made me feel like I was in the Netherlands
The trail continues through the woods towards Schloss Kellenberg
Castle Kellenberg, which was more run down than my photos reveal
Abandoned mill beside Schloss Kellenberg
From this point on the route was a pleasant path shared with cyclists along the Rur river, with plenty of shade from the trees. There was an impressive weir on the river (Wehr in German) near Linnich. All the way, I was aware that there are no less than three Tagebau in the surrounding countryside, huge open pit mines the largest of which, Hambach, is larger than the city of Cologne.
Later the trail became broader and the way was shared with cyclists
Linnicher weir on the Rur river
The final stretch of the walk along this straight street was a bit tedious...
Finally, at the end of the straight street, the route turned right onto a high bridge over the Rur river and flood plain to reach the small station of Linnich
I ended up clambering over the two skips, an undistinguished end to this hike; luckily there was an EDEKA superstore on the other side, with a bakery and café where I finished the walk, sitting outside with the wasps
Last edited by Concerto; Nov 1, 2022 at 3:39 pm
Nov 1, 2022, 3:40 pm
#20
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11b. Hiking trip 5 - Deilbachtal
Rother Wanderführer - Ruhrgebiet, Tour 23
Nice scenery in the Deilbachtal, although the trail doesn't get much foot traffic
This very scenic walk in the hilly south of the Ruhr region made me realise that large parts of Germany escaped the damage of the war and have not changed for centuries. For some reason these walks make me think of Johann Sebastian Bach, who walked between his various church appointments in the central part of Germany, namely Weimar, Mühlhausen, Leipzig, even as far as Lubeck. No made up roads, no Autobahns, no Deutsche Bahn.
The path becomes more overgrown the further I follow it
Here, the way is becoming quite difficult to walk through
The path is now almost invisible
I really don't know how I got through this entanglement, but it was touch and go getting out again
This walk offered an almost insurmountable difficulty near the beginning, where the route of the path heads away from the Astrath farmstead back into the woods and open country. We go down a tiny narrow path with a fence on either side, stopping you from going into the fields on either side, on the way to Nipshaus farmstead. The path quickly becomes invisible and choked with weeds, nettles and brambles. Maybe I should have given up earlier, but I reached a point where I was so far in that I could neither go forward not turn around and go backwards. The brambles were choking, the nettles higher than my head and I was beginning to look like Jesus with the scratches from the brambles. With the GPS, I calculated that I had about 10 meters to go, so I slowly began to move each big bramble and nettle so I could inch forward, getting severely stung by the nettles in the process. When I finally somehow emerged at Nipshaus I found myself in a very rundown farmyard. It reminded me of Scotland, where you could really tell which farmer was on the drink by looking at the physical state of the farm and the animals.
When I finally emerged from the overgrown path I found myself in front of a timber framed house
Beside the Deilbach (Deil brook) itself
The remainder of the walk was easy in terms of navigation. The map in the book is fairly accurate and you just need to follow the A5 signs, which follow the route exactly, all the way back to the small carpark. There was again another choked section towards the end, combined with a very steep downhill scramble, but this was passable. The section along the Deilbach brook is of great beauty. There is also quite a lot of up and down on this route, which is tiring if you are out of condition. On the Rother website, there is a mention of this difficulty from another walker.
Later on, towards the end of the walking tour, the path went steeply downhill which is not apparent in this photo
Once again the trail became quite overgrown
Nice scenery in the Deilbachtal, although the trail doesn't get much foot traffic
This very scenic walk in the hilly south of the Ruhr region made me realise that large parts of Germany escaped the damage of the war and have not changed for centuries. For some reason these walks make me think of Johann Sebastian Bach, who walked between his various church appointments in the central part of Germany, namely Weimar, Mühlhausen, Leipzig, even as far as Lubeck. No made up roads, no Autobahns, no Deutsche Bahn.
The path becomes more overgrown the further I follow it
Here, the way is becoming quite difficult to walk through
The path is now almost invisible
I really don't know how I got through this entanglement, but it was touch and go getting out again
This walk offered an almost insurmountable difficulty near the beginning, where the route of the path heads away from the Astrath farmstead back into the woods and open country. We go down a tiny narrow path with a fence on either side, stopping you from going into the fields on either side, on the way to Nipshaus farmstead. The path quickly becomes invisible and choked with weeds, nettles and brambles. Maybe I should have given up earlier, but I reached a point where I was so far in that I could neither go forward not turn around and go backwards. The brambles were choking, the nettles higher than my head and I was beginning to look like Jesus with the scratches from the brambles. With the GPS, I calculated that I had about 10 meters to go, so I slowly began to move each big bramble and nettle so I could inch forward, getting severely stung by the nettles in the process. When I finally somehow emerged at Nipshaus I found myself in a very rundown farmyard. It reminded me of Scotland, where you could really tell which farmer was on the drink by looking at the physical state of the farm and the animals.
When I finally emerged from the overgrown path I found myself in front of a timber framed house
Beside the Deilbach (Deil brook) itself
The remainder of the walk was easy in terms of navigation. The map in the book is fairly accurate and you just need to follow the A5 signs, which follow the route exactly, all the way back to the small carpark. There was again another choked section towards the end, combined with a very steep downhill scramble, but this was passable. The section along the Deilbach brook is of great beauty. There is also quite a lot of up and down on this route, which is tiring if you are out of condition. On the Rother website, there is a mention of this difficulty from another walker.
Later on, towards the end of the walking tour, the path went steeply downhill which is not apparent in this photo
Once again the trail became quite overgrown
Last edited by Concerto; Nov 1, 2022 at 4:11 pm
Nov 5, 2022, 7:34 am
#22
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Nov 5, 2022, 11:42 am
#23
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Well, I have quite a few more coming up. Sorry it's a bit irregular but if I am busy with rehearsals and recitals it's hard to find the time to do the posts. Usually I'm crawling over the Alps at this time of year, sometimes on scary routes up rock faces. But most of these hikes are in the Ruhr and Niederrhein regions in northwest Germany. "Niederrhein" means Lower Rhine, which is the area along the border with the Netherlands which forms part of the Rhine and Maas river drainage systems.
There are also quite a lot of flight reviews coming up, including flights in private aircraft to little regional airports that can only be described as charming and pull you back to a bygone era. A lot of these airfields have 3-letter IATA codes, presumably because it was expected that they would have a lot more traffic than turned out to be the case. These codes are for airline systems, such as ticketing and baggage. Pilots use the 4-letter ICAO codes for aviating because the 3-letter codes apparently have no relevance for them.
There are also reviews of train trips, hotels and places to visit, such as Istanbul in Turkey, or Cinque Terre, which will be in the Autumn/Fall trip report.
There are also quite a lot of flight reviews coming up, including flights in private aircraft to little regional airports that can only be described as charming and pull you back to a bygone era. A lot of these airfields have 3-letter IATA codes, presumably because it was expected that they would have a lot more traffic than turned out to be the case. These codes are for airline systems, such as ticketing and baggage. Pilots use the 4-letter ICAO codes for aviating because the 3-letter codes apparently have no relevance for them.
There are also reviews of train trips, hotels and places to visit, such as Istanbul in Turkey, or Cinque Terre, which will be in the Autumn/Fall trip report.
Nov 5, 2022, 2:01 pm
#24
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12. The True 9 Euro Ticket Test part 1
Today promised to be a long and tough day, as I had decided to test the 9 Euro Ticket on long distance travel. Having concluded that the seats on regional trains are just not intended for travel over long distances, I have to say that the seat comfort turned out to be quite good. In all the trains I traveled on the seating seemed to be newly installed and upholstered. The carriages were clean, amazing considering the hordes of people tramping through them every day, and the toilets weren't bad either. The routing was as follows:
Oberhausen Hbf - Koblenz Hbf
Koblenz Hbf - Mainz Hbf
2 hours break in Mainz
Mainz Hbf - Karlsruhe Hbf
Karlsruhe Hbf - Offenburg
Offenburg - Basel Bad Bf
2 hours break in Basel
Basel Bad Bf - Basel SBB
Basel SBB - Bern
Bern - Lausanne
Lausanne - Montreux
Travelling up the Rhine near Koblenz
In the Rhine gorge, the most scenic part of the trip
At Mainz main station free cherry tomatoes were being given out as part of some promotion
Because I had completed three Preisstufe-A busrides the day before which would have cost €2.80 each, today's trip technically cost only €0.60 in order to make the price up to €9, the cost of the German special offer ticket currently offering unlimited travel on all regional train networks and city transport. The normal cost of a regional train ticket to Basel Bad would be €63.70, including the bus trip to Oberhausen main station.
Mainz Hauptbahnhof, the main station of Mainz
Not quite Grand Central Station in NYC, but the station hall in Mainz is quite impressive
In Mainz I built a 2 hours break into the itinerary, ostensibly to walk up to the Best Western Hotel to recuperate my washbag which I had left in the hotel earlier in July. Luckily I had 2 hours, because there was total confusion and the reception staff were at sixes and sevens about it. When I called after leaving the hotel back in early July, the receptionist had promised to put it aside ready for collection (I should have accepted her offer to mail it to me). Luckily, with the help of a few proactive suggestions from myself, they managed to find it today! Just outside the hotel, despite the heat, I munched a sandwich in the shade, in a small park which overlooks an odd Jewish cemetery on the hill which dates back to the year 1286! Quite an interesting relic.
The train became quite crowded between Mainz and Karlsruhe
Offenburg turned out to be a bit of a strangle point on these trips
At each station requiring a change of train there was always a considerable wait in the timetable I chose (51 minutes in Offenburg), which was just as well because each time we approached the station in question we had picked up considerable delay. Right at the beginning of the trip, I thought everything was going to be screwed because we waited so long before being able to enter Duisburg main station. In the end we had 19 minutes delay on arrival at Koblenz (22 minutes layover) so I had 3 minutes to dash to catch the connecting train to Mainz. I was lucky to find a seat because it was standing room only all the way down to Mainz (this train ended in Frankfurt Hbf), which ended up being the case with all the trains except the last one into Basel.
The nice thing about Offenburg was the Café Voyage, shown here just to the left with the station in the background
Waiting on the platform was a daunting affair; it was essential to be there at least 10 minutes before departure
In Basel I had another 2 hours wait, because in the end we arrived with only 7 minutes delay and I had built enough buffer between tickets (the German 9 Euro Ticket and my Swiss ticket) in case of delay or missed connections. At the suggestion of a local, I wandered 10 minutes down Rosentalstrasse and reached a district which had a big choice of restaurants and bars. I chose Klara, a sort of open plan place with a big bar in the middle serving local soft drinks and craft beers (none of the usual industrial chemical sugar rubbish that has strangulated the drinks industry). The left hand wall of the open plan Klara place consisted of various small outlets offering meals from different cultures around the world for CHF15-25. I chose Vietnamese for CHF22.
The Klara food court in Clarastrasse in Basel
Some of the small Swiss brewers on tap here
The Swiss part of the journey, as shown in the timetable I wrote further up in this post, was on normal InterCity and InterRegio trains and was booked as a Supersaver ticket with the half fare card. The fare was booked just the day before and cost CHF29.40. The usual flexible fare with the half fare card is CHF37.00 so I thought that was a decent reduction for a ticket booked just 21 hours beforehand. The entire trip worked like clockwork and after arriving at Montreux I walked home from the station. I walked into the house at 23h20, having left Oberhausen with the bus at 06h03. So it was a long trip indeed, but totally successful.
The food outlets inside Klara
The Vietnamese meal I had, good but not life changing
Conclusion : the 9 Euro Ticket is totally doable for long distance trips but you have to prepare for it as you would for a lengthy flight itinerary in economy class with connecting flights and no airline status. If you can build a bit of buffer into the trip then that will protect most of your connections. The DB app timetable gives a good overview, but sometimes, depending on your station of departure, it doesn't show you all possible connections. It can be worth checking itineraries from other cities, even those starting upline before your train reaches your city, to see what gives. Another app (and website) feature worth using is the Via option, whereby you type in the name of an intermediate city you would like to go through. In normal searches with intercity trains I often tap in Frankfurt Flughafen (airport) as a transfer point even if I won't transfer there, and it has been interesting to see what other itineraries and prices pop up. If you change the parameters of the app, such as adding a via, or the duration of a stop (such as 45 minutes), remember to undo them before going back to doing a normal search. I was getting absurd results, routings and prices before I realised that I had not changed the app settings back to normal.
Oberhausen Hbf - Koblenz Hbf
Koblenz Hbf - Mainz Hbf
2 hours break in Mainz
Mainz Hbf - Karlsruhe Hbf
Karlsruhe Hbf - Offenburg
Offenburg - Basel Bad Bf
2 hours break in Basel
Basel Bad Bf - Basel SBB
Basel SBB - Bern
Bern - Lausanne
Lausanne - Montreux
Travelling up the Rhine near Koblenz
In the Rhine gorge, the most scenic part of the trip
At Mainz main station free cherry tomatoes were being given out as part of some promotion
Because I had completed three Preisstufe-A busrides the day before which would have cost €2.80 each, today's trip technically cost only €0.60 in order to make the price up to €9, the cost of the German special offer ticket currently offering unlimited travel on all regional train networks and city transport. The normal cost of a regional train ticket to Basel Bad would be €63.70, including the bus trip to Oberhausen main station.
Mainz Hauptbahnhof, the main station of Mainz
Not quite Grand Central Station in NYC, but the station hall in Mainz is quite impressive
In Mainz I built a 2 hours break into the itinerary, ostensibly to walk up to the Best Western Hotel to recuperate my washbag which I had left in the hotel earlier in July. Luckily I had 2 hours, because there was total confusion and the reception staff were at sixes and sevens about it. When I called after leaving the hotel back in early July, the receptionist had promised to put it aside ready for collection (I should have accepted her offer to mail it to me). Luckily, with the help of a few proactive suggestions from myself, they managed to find it today! Just outside the hotel, despite the heat, I munched a sandwich in the shade, in a small park which overlooks an odd Jewish cemetery on the hill which dates back to the year 1286! Quite an interesting relic.
The train became quite crowded between Mainz and Karlsruhe
Offenburg turned out to be a bit of a strangle point on these trips
At each station requiring a change of train there was always a considerable wait in the timetable I chose (51 minutes in Offenburg), which was just as well because each time we approached the station in question we had picked up considerable delay. Right at the beginning of the trip, I thought everything was going to be screwed because we waited so long before being able to enter Duisburg main station. In the end we had 19 minutes delay on arrival at Koblenz (22 minutes layover) so I had 3 minutes to dash to catch the connecting train to Mainz. I was lucky to find a seat because it was standing room only all the way down to Mainz (this train ended in Frankfurt Hbf), which ended up being the case with all the trains except the last one into Basel.
The nice thing about Offenburg was the Café Voyage, shown here just to the left with the station in the background
Waiting on the platform was a daunting affair; it was essential to be there at least 10 minutes before departure
In Basel I had another 2 hours wait, because in the end we arrived with only 7 minutes delay and I had built enough buffer between tickets (the German 9 Euro Ticket and my Swiss ticket) in case of delay or missed connections. At the suggestion of a local, I wandered 10 minutes down Rosentalstrasse and reached a district which had a big choice of restaurants and bars. I chose Klara, a sort of open plan place with a big bar in the middle serving local soft drinks and craft beers (none of the usual industrial chemical sugar rubbish that has strangulated the drinks industry). The left hand wall of the open plan Klara place consisted of various small outlets offering meals from different cultures around the world for CHF15-25. I chose Vietnamese for CHF22.
The Klara food court in Clarastrasse in Basel
Some of the small Swiss brewers on tap here
The Swiss part of the journey, as shown in the timetable I wrote further up in this post, was on normal InterCity and InterRegio trains and was booked as a Supersaver ticket with the half fare card. The fare was booked just the day before and cost CHF29.40. The usual flexible fare with the half fare card is CHF37.00 so I thought that was a decent reduction for a ticket booked just 21 hours beforehand. The entire trip worked like clockwork and after arriving at Montreux I walked home from the station. I walked into the house at 23h20, having left Oberhausen with the bus at 06h03. So it was a long trip indeed, but totally successful.
The food outlets inside Klara
The Vietnamese meal I had, good but not life changing
Conclusion : the 9 Euro Ticket is totally doable for long distance trips but you have to prepare for it as you would for a lengthy flight itinerary in economy class with connecting flights and no airline status. If you can build a bit of buffer into the trip then that will protect most of your connections. The DB app timetable gives a good overview, but sometimes, depending on your station of departure, it doesn't show you all possible connections. It can be worth checking itineraries from other cities, even those starting upline before your train reaches your city, to see what gives. Another app (and website) feature worth using is the Via option, whereby you type in the name of an intermediate city you would like to go through. In normal searches with intercity trains I often tap in Frankfurt Flughafen (airport) as a transfer point even if I won't transfer there, and it has been interesting to see what other itineraries and prices pop up. If you change the parameters of the app, such as adding a via, or the duration of a stop (such as 45 minutes), remember to undo them before going back to doing a normal search. I was getting absurd results, routings and prices before I realised that I had not changed the app settings back to normal.
Last edited by Concerto; Nov 5, 2022 at 2:41 pm
Nov 11, 2022, 4:04 pm
#25
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13. The True 9 Euro Ticket Test part 2
After a couple of busy but pleasant days in Montreux and Lausanne, despite the almost overwhelming heat, I was ready to begin my trip back up to Germany using the 9 Euro Ticket. The ticket for the Swiss part of the journey was a Supersaver with the half fare card for CHF27.80. The routing was similar to the outbound trip:
Territet - Yverdon-les-Bains
Yverdon-les-Bains - Biel/Bienne
Biel/Bienne - Basel SBB
Basel SBB - Basel Bad Bf
Basel Bad Bf - Offenburg
Offenburg - Karlsruhe Hbf
Karlsruhe Hbf - Mainz Hbf
Mainz Hbf - Koblenz Hbf
Koblenz Hbf - Oberhausen Hbf
Pre-dawn view of Lac Léman from Rivaz, around 05h15
Interior of the Swiss SBB train on the way to Basel
The Swiss part of the trip went well and there were no delays. The first choke point was Basel SBB because if the train from Bern or Biel/Bienne arrives just a couple of minutes late then there is little chance in getting over to platform 2 in time for the S6 to Basel Bad (it continues to Lörrach and Wiesental). But everything worked fine today and I had a short break at Basel Bad with enough time to go to the Coop pronto and get a sandwich and drink
The trains became ridiculously crowded between Offenburg, Karlsruhe and Mainz
If you didn't board the train at its point of origin, there was no hope of finding a seat
The German part of the trip began badly with a door that wouldn't shut, giving us 10 minutes delay. But I still had time at Offenburg to eat my sandwich then have a coffee and biscuit in the Cafe Voyage across the street by the bus station. From Offenburg to Karlsruhe the train was very full with standing room only but I managed to secure a seat. Again we picked up some delay.
The crowding was such that the train was unable to depart on time from the intermediate stations, so the delays began to pile on
Later on, after Koblenz, the train was miraculously empty
The worst part of the whole trip was Karlsruhe to Mainz, where I didn't manage to secure a seat and had to stand for the one and a half hour trip. There was a truly multicultural presence in the train, with Mexico, Laos, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Thailand and Germany all represented among the good humoured travellers. The bicycles and heaps of luggage were a real pain, as were the people who wouldn't take their rucksacks off, but we all mucked in and kept our optimism and humour. But the delays piled on as people burst out of the doors like a tin of anchovies exploding, and more people stuffed themselves in like Bockwurst sausages in a glass jar. In Mainz I had only 3 minutes to change train and it was a LONG way out to platform 11, located in another part of the station entirely (that platform distance in Mainz is worth bearing in mind).
A view of the Rhine as we travelled down the Rhine gorge
It looks idyllic, but the water level was distressingly low
After that, the train to Koblenz had countless empty seats and it was a pleasant trip down the Rhine gorge. The water level of the Rhine itself was frighteningly low, so much so that navigation is shortly going to be impossible if the drought continues. We picked up about 10-12 minutes delay coming into Koblenz, but I had time for a refreshing Apfelschorle with ice in a cafe opposite the station with a Syrian travel companion. The area surrounding Koblenz station is a public area much nicer than that around most German stations. The RE 5 train from Koblenz to Wesel, which would finally deliver me to Oberhausen, left with around 13 minutes delay and there was no problem with getting a seat. The train filled up though, and did an unusual detour around Cologne due to trackwork to go directly to Duisburg via Neuss, picking up about 30 minutes delay in the process.
The northern part of the route, as we approached Neuss near Düsseldorf, was blissfully and inexplicably quiet too
The train picked up quite a bit of delay, probably due to the fact that we had to travel up the left bank of the Rhine to Duisburg; the train didn't even go all the way to Wesel in the end.
Conclusion : On both trips, down to Switzerland and back up, I did not get my 9 Euro ticket checked once. Usually ticket checks in the Regio trains are the norm, whereas in the S-Bahn sporadic checks are carried out. Apart from that, one common sense trick with this sort of trip is to get yourself onto the platform at least 10 minutes before the train is due to leave. On the electronic display you can often see the composition of the train and you can perhaps calculate where the doors might be. Keep your eyes open, there are many people and many loose fingers. Another thing to watch out for is that there is absolutely no service whatsoever on these trains, no trolley, nothing. So brings snacks, a sandwich and drinks, like I did. But watch out with the drinks, often there is only one toilet on the train, which was just as often out of order.
Territet - Yverdon-les-Bains
Yverdon-les-Bains - Biel/Bienne
Biel/Bienne - Basel SBB
Basel SBB - Basel Bad Bf
Basel Bad Bf - Offenburg
Offenburg - Karlsruhe Hbf
Karlsruhe Hbf - Mainz Hbf
Mainz Hbf - Koblenz Hbf
Koblenz Hbf - Oberhausen Hbf
Pre-dawn view of Lac Léman from Rivaz, around 05h15
Interior of the Swiss SBB train on the way to Basel
The Swiss part of the trip went well and there were no delays. The first choke point was Basel SBB because if the train from Bern or Biel/Bienne arrives just a couple of minutes late then there is little chance in getting over to platform 2 in time for the S6 to Basel Bad (it continues to Lörrach and Wiesental). But everything worked fine today and I had a short break at Basel Bad with enough time to go to the Coop pronto and get a sandwich and drink
The trains became ridiculously crowded between Offenburg, Karlsruhe and Mainz
If you didn't board the train at its point of origin, there was no hope of finding a seat
The German part of the trip began badly with a door that wouldn't shut, giving us 10 minutes delay. But I still had time at Offenburg to eat my sandwich then have a coffee and biscuit in the Cafe Voyage across the street by the bus station. From Offenburg to Karlsruhe the train was very full with standing room only but I managed to secure a seat. Again we picked up some delay.
The crowding was such that the train was unable to depart on time from the intermediate stations, so the delays began to pile on
Later on, after Koblenz, the train was miraculously empty
The worst part of the whole trip was Karlsruhe to Mainz, where I didn't manage to secure a seat and had to stand for the one and a half hour trip. There was a truly multicultural presence in the train, with Mexico, Laos, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Thailand and Germany all represented among the good humoured travellers. The bicycles and heaps of luggage were a real pain, as were the people who wouldn't take their rucksacks off, but we all mucked in and kept our optimism and humour. But the delays piled on as people burst out of the doors like a tin of anchovies exploding, and more people stuffed themselves in like Bockwurst sausages in a glass jar. In Mainz I had only 3 minutes to change train and it was a LONG way out to platform 11, located in another part of the station entirely (that platform distance in Mainz is worth bearing in mind).
A view of the Rhine as we travelled down the Rhine gorge
It looks idyllic, but the water level was distressingly low
After that, the train to Koblenz had countless empty seats and it was a pleasant trip down the Rhine gorge. The water level of the Rhine itself was frighteningly low, so much so that navigation is shortly going to be impossible if the drought continues. We picked up about 10-12 minutes delay coming into Koblenz, but I had time for a refreshing Apfelschorle with ice in a cafe opposite the station with a Syrian travel companion. The area surrounding Koblenz station is a public area much nicer than that around most German stations. The RE 5 train from Koblenz to Wesel, which would finally deliver me to Oberhausen, left with around 13 minutes delay and there was no problem with getting a seat. The train filled up though, and did an unusual detour around Cologne due to trackwork to go directly to Duisburg via Neuss, picking up about 30 minutes delay in the process.
The northern part of the route, as we approached Neuss near Düsseldorf, was blissfully and inexplicably quiet too
The train picked up quite a bit of delay, probably due to the fact that we had to travel up the left bank of the Rhine to Duisburg; the train didn't even go all the way to Wesel in the end.
Conclusion : On both trips, down to Switzerland and back up, I did not get my 9 Euro ticket checked once. Usually ticket checks in the Regio trains are the norm, whereas in the S-Bahn sporadic checks are carried out. Apart from that, one common sense trick with this sort of trip is to get yourself onto the platform at least 10 minutes before the train is due to leave. On the electronic display you can often see the composition of the train and you can perhaps calculate where the doors might be. Keep your eyes open, there are many people and many loose fingers. Another thing to watch out for is that there is absolutely no service whatsoever on these trains, no trolley, nothing. So brings snacks, a sandwich and drinks, like I did. But watch out with the drinks, often there is only one toilet on the train, which was just as often out of order.
Last edited by Concerto; Nov 11, 2022 at 4:43 pm
Nov 12, 2022, 2:10 am
#26
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I'm really surprised at the bad state of German trains, I thought they where as reliable as Japanese ones. The overcrowding is worse then London!
Nov 12, 2022, 11:11 pm
#27
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These are regional and InterRegio trains only. But on the InterCity trains there are often, if not nearly always, delays and there have been a lot of cancellations at the last minute. The overcrowding issue is due to the absurdly cheap nature of the 9 Euro Ticket. It was offered for the months of June, July and August, so it cost me a total of €27 to have the freedom of Germany for 3 months. But on the longer distances, such as all the way to Switzerland, I wouldn't do it again. It was simply too much hassle and used up too much time, overall.
Nov 13, 2022, 4:13 pm
#28
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14. The S1 in the VRR network
Flyertalk is a site for frequent flyers where they can discuss the collecting and use of their points and miles. So I believe that all my trip reports should somewhere have some aspect of aviation associated with them, which will always be the case with me. However, this quarter the trip report is turning into a series of reviews of hikes that take place in less well known areas that are not so famous from a tourist's point of view, as well as a series of train trips. Flyertalk is great because there are actually forums for discussing trains, hotels and general travel experiences. Including this trip report forum! But fear not, there are a few aviation surprises coming up despite a couple of private plane experiences which didn't work out!
Underpass at Solingen train station
There are some fine old buildings in the center of Solingen, possibly townhouses for rich industrialists in former times.
Some interesting details above this optician's shop
The S1 runs through the middle of the Ruhrgebiet, beginning at Solingen just southeast of Dusseldorf and ending at Dortmund, passing through Duisburg, Essen and Bochum. The route certainly does not win any beauty or scenic contests, but the cities they visit have been very much regenerated and have a lot to offer. I am thinking of the Zeche Zollverein area in Essen, a coal mining center that has been transformed into a cultural center with some amazing museums, like the Red Dot Museum. Or the Bermuda Triangle district of Bochum, to name just two, a buzzing downtown area with a good vibe where one can apparently taste the best Currywurst in the whole region.
Main street in Solingen, which leads off in front of the station
The S1 between Solingen and Dusseldorf, beautifully empty
Solingen is a pleasant enough but odd place and seems to have no real center as the city is, typical of a number of industrial places like Wuppertal, spread out over several districts. The S1 begins at Solingen main station (although there is also Solingen Mitte some distance away, which looks like being more of a true city center) and there is a nice enough pedestrian zone with the usual endless Eiscafés and a few old buildings from the industrial era. Solingen is known for its knives and other products made by Zwilling. From there I boarded the S1, for what is the most scenic part of the trip between Solingen and Dusseldorf. A little further on we came to Dusseldorf Airport, where I stopped and spent an hour. I will cover that in a separate post.
The S1, leaving Dusseldorf Airport. It was a mistake to board this train because it was stuffed like sausages in jars, had no air conditioning and was a train only half the usual length.
Dortmund main station
Stadtkirche St. Petri Dortmund, just a couple of minutes walk from the station
Most S-Bahn trains seem to consist of two regional trains joined together, which offer enough seating without being too overcrowded. But I drew the short straw with the S1 I caught on platform 5 because there was only one train, meaning it was a Kurz Zug, or shorter train, and it turned out to be totally jammed. It was the middle of the August heatwave and the air conditioning was not working. It seemed to get more and more crowded the closer we got to Dortmund although I was lucky enough to have a seat. The driver even came on the tannoy to ask people to assume responsibility and leave the train if they felt ill. I don't want to say anything too uncharitable about my fellow passengers because most of them were very nice and just normal people, but they have no idea what the concept of responsibility is and many are just too self-centred.. I also don't get annoyed with those that blatantly refuse to wear a mask, it's not worth it and better not to. But things came to a head when a girl standing in the aisle just behind me with her friend suddenly puked violently. It came so fast there was no chance for the girl sitting opposite me to dodge it. I got splattered slightly on the left side of my leg and slightly on one shoe, but the incident really pissed me off.
Westenhellweg, a major pedestrian street in Dortmund; it's weird to see how Woolworth still has a presence in Germany, despite its embarrassing bankruptcy in the UK.
I haven't often seen these in Germany: a gun shop, here in the center of Dortmund
The Dortmunder U, an art center and gallery with a cafe and public spaces
Another scenic section of the route is between Duisburg and Mülheim, where the train crosses the Ruhr River and the meadows surrounding it. The track is elevated along an extended bridge, which keeps it clear of flooding which happens a couple of times a year. There isn't any amazing scenery on the way to Dortmund but the way is very green, during the summer anyway.
In Dortmund I visited the Dortmunder U, a high rise cultural center which houses the Ostwall Museum, an exhibition of contemporary art with a permanent exhibition containing some good works by Jawlensky, Emil Nolde and Kirchner, along with Joseph Beuys. Outside, on the plaza in front of the museum, was a temporary stage with deckchairs set out across the plaza. There I enjoyed an open air jazz concert, with trumpet and trombone (this latter quite unusual in jazz) and bass guitar, which was very good, while downing a local Dortmund beer from the drinks stand.
Access through the atrium by escalators to the galleries of the Ostwall museum, which were free to visit.
This exhibit was a musical instrument a bit like a big organ, which you were encouraged to play.
The design of the Dortmunder U is really cool, with stairways interlinking the galleries
I was able to complete the whole trip at no extra cost thanks to the 9 Euro Ticket. Otherwise it would have cost €41.70. In conclusion, the trip was quite interesting with a wide variety of elements extending from Dusseldorf Airport (landside review in the next post) to the exhibits in the Ostwall museum in Dortmund.
There was also a gallery of traditional modern art, with some good pieces; the figure just right of center is actually an exhibit.
"Einsamkeit" by Alexander Jawlensky
Open Air seating outside the Dortmunder U where a good jazz band was playing
Underpass at Solingen train station
There are some fine old buildings in the center of Solingen, possibly townhouses for rich industrialists in former times.
Some interesting details above this optician's shop
The S1 runs through the middle of the Ruhrgebiet, beginning at Solingen just southeast of Dusseldorf and ending at Dortmund, passing through Duisburg, Essen and Bochum. The route certainly does not win any beauty or scenic contests, but the cities they visit have been very much regenerated and have a lot to offer. I am thinking of the Zeche Zollverein area in Essen, a coal mining center that has been transformed into a cultural center with some amazing museums, like the Red Dot Museum. Or the Bermuda Triangle district of Bochum, to name just two, a buzzing downtown area with a good vibe where one can apparently taste the best Currywurst in the whole region.
Main street in Solingen, which leads off in front of the station
The S1 between Solingen and Dusseldorf, beautifully empty
Solingen is a pleasant enough but odd place and seems to have no real center as the city is, typical of a number of industrial places like Wuppertal, spread out over several districts. The S1 begins at Solingen main station (although there is also Solingen Mitte some distance away, which looks like being more of a true city center) and there is a nice enough pedestrian zone with the usual endless Eiscafés and a few old buildings from the industrial era. Solingen is known for its knives and other products made by Zwilling. From there I boarded the S1, for what is the most scenic part of the trip between Solingen and Dusseldorf. A little further on we came to Dusseldorf Airport, where I stopped and spent an hour. I will cover that in a separate post.
The S1, leaving Dusseldorf Airport. It was a mistake to board this train because it was stuffed like sausages in jars, had no air conditioning and was a train only half the usual length.
Dortmund main station
Stadtkirche St. Petri Dortmund, just a couple of minutes walk from the station
Most S-Bahn trains seem to consist of two regional trains joined together, which offer enough seating without being too overcrowded. But I drew the short straw with the S1 I caught on platform 5 because there was only one train, meaning it was a Kurz Zug, or shorter train, and it turned out to be totally jammed. It was the middle of the August heatwave and the air conditioning was not working. It seemed to get more and more crowded the closer we got to Dortmund although I was lucky enough to have a seat. The driver even came on the tannoy to ask people to assume responsibility and leave the train if they felt ill. I don't want to say anything too uncharitable about my fellow passengers because most of them were very nice and just normal people, but they have no idea what the concept of responsibility is and many are just too self-centred.. I also don't get annoyed with those that blatantly refuse to wear a mask, it's not worth it and better not to. But things came to a head when a girl standing in the aisle just behind me with her friend suddenly puked violently. It came so fast there was no chance for the girl sitting opposite me to dodge it. I got splattered slightly on the left side of my leg and slightly on one shoe, but the incident really pissed me off.
Westenhellweg, a major pedestrian street in Dortmund; it's weird to see how Woolworth still has a presence in Germany, despite its embarrassing bankruptcy in the UK.
I haven't often seen these in Germany: a gun shop, here in the center of Dortmund
The Dortmunder U, an art center and gallery with a cafe and public spaces
Another scenic section of the route is between Duisburg and Mülheim, where the train crosses the Ruhr River and the meadows surrounding it. The track is elevated along an extended bridge, which keeps it clear of flooding which happens a couple of times a year. There isn't any amazing scenery on the way to Dortmund but the way is very green, during the summer anyway.
In Dortmund I visited the Dortmunder U, a high rise cultural center which houses the Ostwall Museum, an exhibition of contemporary art with a permanent exhibition containing some good works by Jawlensky, Emil Nolde and Kirchner, along with Joseph Beuys. Outside, on the plaza in front of the museum, was a temporary stage with deckchairs set out across the plaza. There I enjoyed an open air jazz concert, with trumpet and trombone (this latter quite unusual in jazz) and bass guitar, which was very good, while downing a local Dortmund beer from the drinks stand.
Access through the atrium by escalators to the galleries of the Ostwall museum, which were free to visit.
This exhibit was a musical instrument a bit like a big organ, which you were encouraged to play.
The design of the Dortmunder U is really cool, with stairways interlinking the galleries
I was able to complete the whole trip at no extra cost thanks to the 9 Euro Ticket. Otherwise it would have cost €41.70. In conclusion, the trip was quite interesting with a wide variety of elements extending from Dusseldorf Airport (landside review in the next post) to the exhibits in the Ostwall museum in Dortmund.
There was also a gallery of traditional modern art, with some good pieces; the figure just right of center is actually an exhibit.
"Einsamkeit" by Alexander Jawlensky
Open Air seating outside the Dortmunder U where a good jazz band was playing
Last edited by Concerto; Nov 13, 2022 at 5:22 pm
Nov 14, 2022, 2:10 am
#29
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Nov 15, 2022, 12:06 am
#30
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15. Dusseldorf Airport (DUS) on a midsummer Sunday afternoon
I was scheduled to fly from Dusseldorf Airport (DUS) on a Sunday afternoon in three weeks, so I decided to pay an earlier short visit to the airport on a Sunday afternoon to see how things looked. I don't need to remind anybody what a mess travel and flying had been during the summer of 2022 and I find the airlines and airports somehow unforgivable for the whole unacceptable situation. Luckily, I didn't need to travel on scheduled flights during most of the summer so I just watched the situation unfolding in German, Dutch and British airports with disbelief and horror.
Düsseldorf Airport train station is linked to the main terminal of the airport by something called a Skytrain, a bit like the elevated Schwebebahn system in Wuppertal
This was taken landside in the main atrium of the airport and it was pleasantly calm
Getting to the airport from the train station involves a trip on the Skytrain, a Schwebebahn type suspended train thing, which adds 10-15 minutes to getting to or away from the airport. Today it was functioning perfectly, but when it's out of order the transfer can be lengthy because of the replacement bus service.
There were a lot of people at Eurowings check-in, but I think that this volume of people is fairly normal during the summer months
An overview of the terminal atrium near the Eurowings check-in desks revealed that it was quite calm
The Eurowings priority check-in for business class and status passengers was beautifully calm
The landside part of the airport seemed to be totally normal, at around 14h00 on a summer Sunday afternoon. I was able to peer through the glass to see the security line in Terminal A and it looked totally normal. I managed to speak to an off duty security officer just as he came out. He said it was more a question of luck and today was a good day, but he did say that things at DUS had got much better in the last couple of weeks. I wandered into the main concourse of the landside area in the terminal which was busy, but not unduly so. The only scary sight was the Eurowings check-in area but I suspect that it had been like that during normal times too. There are two priority check-in areas for Eurowings, one to the extreme right when you exit the airtrain and the other just to the left of the main check-in area, and they were both more or less empty.
Entry to Terminal B security seemed a bit restricted
Terminal A was busy, certainly, but not unduly so and, again, I felt that it was a normal load for the summer
I did not venture up to the Terminal C landside area but I was able to see up through the B area (landside at Dusseldorf is an open-plan horseshoe shape and the terminals are not separate buildings). Most of the usual shops and cafes appeared to be open and everything looked like it was back to normal post-Covid.
Düsseldorf Airport train station is linked to the main terminal of the airport by something called a Skytrain, a bit like the elevated Schwebebahn system in Wuppertal
This was taken landside in the main atrium of the airport and it was pleasantly calm
Getting to the airport from the train station involves a trip on the Skytrain, a Schwebebahn type suspended train thing, which adds 10-15 minutes to getting to or away from the airport. Today it was functioning perfectly, but when it's out of order the transfer can be lengthy because of the replacement bus service.
There were a lot of people at Eurowings check-in, but I think that this volume of people is fairly normal during the summer months
An overview of the terminal atrium near the Eurowings check-in desks revealed that it was quite calm
The Eurowings priority check-in for business class and status passengers was beautifully calm
The landside part of the airport seemed to be totally normal, at around 14h00 on a summer Sunday afternoon. I was able to peer through the glass to see the security line in Terminal A and it looked totally normal. I managed to speak to an off duty security officer just as he came out. He said it was more a question of luck and today was a good day, but he did say that things at DUS had got much better in the last couple of weeks. I wandered into the main concourse of the landside area in the terminal which was busy, but not unduly so. The only scary sight was the Eurowings check-in area but I suspect that it had been like that during normal times too. There are two priority check-in areas for Eurowings, one to the extreme right when you exit the airtrain and the other just to the left of the main check-in area, and they were both more or less empty.
Entry to Terminal B security seemed a bit restricted
Terminal A was busy, certainly, but not unduly so and, again, I felt that it was a normal load for the summer
I did not venture up to the Terminal C landside area but I was able to see up through the B area (landside at Dusseldorf is an open-plan horseshoe shape and the terminals are not separate buildings). Most of the usual shops and cafes appeared to be open and everything looked like it was back to normal post-Covid.
Last edited by Concerto; Nov 15, 2022 at 12:29 am