ozboy
Member of DD Central
Mine's a Large One! (Snigger, snigger .......)
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Post by ozboy on Sept 27, 2023 19:26:35 GMT
The idea is of vague interest to me and I imagine that you spend a pleasant day/half day/overnight/whatever in selected Towns/Cities of Interest en route, however I also think that a great deal of the time you are stuck in a carriage being either bored $hitless at the scenery flashing by and falling asleep and/or getting quietly pi$$ed? Can anyone on here enlighten me with unbiased experiential comment please? I thank you.  PS - Similar to cruising I suspect, which I also have never done, but at least with cruising you obviously have much more space and facilities when at sea. |
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Post by mostlywrong on Oct 2, 2023 21:12:30 GMT
The idea is of vague interest to me and I imagine that you spend a pleasant day/half day/overnight/whatever in selected Towns/Cities of Interest en route, however I also think that a great deal of the time you are stuck in a carriage being either bored $hitless at the scenery flashing by and falling asleep and/or getting quietly pi$$ed? Can anyone on here enlighten me with unbiased experiential comment please? I thank you. PS - Similar to cruising I suspect, which I also have never done, but at least with cruising you obviously have much more space and facilities when at sea.
I have travelled a lot by train throughout Europe. The landscapes are much bigger and flatter than in the UK. And for the most part, the railways tend to follow the rivers. Choose well and you see some fabulous places. The Rhein and Mosel valleys. The Harz mountains. Austria and Switzerland are lovely and the Swiss railways are impeccable (buy the week long tourist card before you go).
You have to watch that you have the correct ticket for the train you are boarding; a 3rd class ticket to Berlin will have you thrown off the TEE ein bisschen schnell...
The TEE are fantastic and fast but very expensive (I was on business).
The only restaurant/buffet cars that I remember were on the IC and TEE trains. Nowhere else.
The main advantage is that the main stations are generally right in the middle of the cities/towns.
I did not manage to travel much in the East. Too little time. But I would like to. Places like Chemnitz look very attractive.
I briefly sampled (2 days and nights) the Rhein/Mosel cruise. It was a pleasant enough journey but might have got pretty miserable if bad weather had set in. Sitting on top in the sun whilst guzzling wine was very nice. Der Mausetuerm rings a bell? Of course, the biggie is the Danube (Die Donau auf Deutsch). But that can be very industrial.
Of course, with river cruising, you can always abandon ship if conditions get too bad.
MW
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