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Train travel in Germany, despite the local folks kvetching about delays and cancellations, is really quite wonderful.

There are several kinds of train services here: RB are regional trains that make multiple stops, RE are regional express trains, IC are inter-city, and ICE are intercity express. International trains are an entirely separate category.

While we were at my cousin’s house, we took a RB designated regional train from the nearby train station in Rotenburg (Wümme) to Hamburg. That’s a distance of about 80km, and on a regional train with 9 stops took about an hour. The return journey for all 4 of us cost €49 and included access to all forms of transit in our destination city: buses, trams, subway (U-Bahn), and elevated trains (S-Bahn) for the entire day. Seats on regional trains are not reserved, so once you have your ticket you simply choose the train that suits your schedule and hope you get a seat. It’s exactly like taking commuter trains in Canada.

From my cousin’s town to Berlin, I had pre-booked an ICE direct train, and reserved front-facing seats in second class in a “quiet” car. Distance Verden to Berlin: 282km/175miles/3-3.5 hours. Cost for two: €116. A few days before our scheduled trip, I got a notice both via email and in the DeutscheBahn (DB) app that our train had bern cancelled. In the app I was easily able to choose an alternate train, although it required a quick transfer in Hannover – simply changing over one track to a waiting train. Even though I had purchased an economy ticket which normally allows no changes, since DB cancelled our train I could choose ANY available train, and even change the date if necessary. Son #2 was quite impressed with the journey, reaching speeds of 200 km per hour.

Today we were on an ICE from Berlin to Munich, a journey of 504km/313mi with 7 stops over 4-1/2 hours. I booked us in first class, with larger seats, faster wifi, and food (at menu prices) delivered directly to our seats. €125 total for two; about $200CAD.

Speed? Impressive. Ride? Very smooth.

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The train arrived in Berlin 12 minutes behind schedule. The app notified me, as it does for any change/delay over 5 minutes. I remain pretty happy with German trains.

En route, a cappuccino, a tender buttered pretzel, and later a black coffee, all at exactly the same prices as they would be off the train. That trend of not having higher prices in places of transit – which is also the case at German airports – is a welcome change. Between Erlangen an Nürnberg, train staff brought everyone little complimentary buttermilk and lemon shortbread cookies.

Announcements on regional trains are in German only, but on the InterCity trains they are in both German and English. It’s a nice touch for tourists.

We arrived Munich’s main train station right on time at 5:01 p.m., having made up our 12 minute delay , and made the short 10 minute walk to the King’s Hotel Centre München, which will be our bed and breakfast for 3 nights.

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The weather here is much warmer than it was in Berlin, so I took the opportunity to change into my dirndl for our dinner at VI VADI Cucina Italiana, where the service was impeccable, but the food just okay, despite fresh ingredients, pretty presentation, and intriguing descriptions. In the case of my risotto, the problem was the quantity; there was simply such a huge helping that it was offputting, and I ended up eating very little of it.

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We took a short walk after our large meal, and then I called it an early night. It may be the neighbourhood we’re in near the train station, or the city may actually have changed since Ted and I were here in 2016 (Episode 85) but my initial impressions this evening were that the city is far less charming than I remembered.

Son #2 took an evening stroll and captured some moonlight photos that perhaps belie my impression.

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We’ll see what tomorrow brings.