Here are a few tips from the excellent Thorsten Butz on getting around when you arrive in Germany.
Venue
Dorint Hotel Pallas Wiesbaden
Auguste-Viktoria-Straße 15, 65185 Wiesbaden
The venue located close to the Wiesbaden Hauptbahnhof (Central Station), 400 m walking distance.
Arriving at Frankfurt Airprot (FRA)
Generally, we recommend installing the official app of the national railway company. The name of the company is “Deutsche Bahn”, the app is called “DB Navigator”. You can also use the website: “bahn.de”.
The app also allows ticketing, no printer required. Be aware, that you should NOT try to buy tickets in advance. You need an account, you can create it in the app. This can be done in advance.
The German system is split into lots of providers, the DB Navigator app knows 90 % of routes and tickets, which is fine.
Likely you want to ride:
- from “Frankfurt(Main) Flughafen”
- to “Wiesbaden Hbf”
- with a local train (S8 or S9), which costs 6,90 €.
- The name of the ticket is “Einzelfahrt Erw”, the first offer.
Dictionary:
- Frankfurt(Main) = Frankfurt on Main (Main is a river)
- • Deutsch = German
- • Bahn = Railway
- • Flughafen = Airport
- • Hauptbahnhof = Central station
- • Einzelfahrt = Single ticket
- • Erwachsene (abbr. Erw) = Adult
Arriving at Amsterdam Schiphol (AMS)
If you arrive at AMS (Amsterdam Schiphol), you can use a train (about 2h).
This is a bit more challenging, since prices differ a lot and you have to change multiple times.
Ticketing:
- You can also use the DB Navigator (as mentioned above).
- You can use the Dutch railway site: nsinternational.nl
- You can use a search provider: thetrainline.com
Again: prices differ a lot, from less than 100 € to more than 200 €. Booking in advance makes sense, but the cheap tickets are bound to specific connections. Mind the gap.
Searching via Trainline makes sense. If you have the DB Naviagtor installed you can compare prices and – in case the price is the same – book the connection directly in the app. Again: no printer required.
Deutschlandticket
A final, more advanced tip: you can buy a so-called “Deutschlandticket” for 63 € if you plan to stay for a few more days. That is the cheapest you can get. BUT there are some hurdles:
• It is valid for a calendar month, June in our case.
• It covers local trains, busses, trams all over Germany. (Very tempting)
• You have to use an app, no paper ticket available
• It is a SUBSCRIPTION !
Here’s the trick: Use another app called “Mopla”. Only this company allows you to subscribe to the ticket and cancel the subscription by the 10th of the month. In our case, this would be 10 June. This way, you can get it legally for just one month. You can do this in advance.
Final advice
Germany might be the last bastion of cash. The Germans love cash. They do not like credit cards. You will be able to pay a lot of things cashless, but that might not work all over the places. So, if you plan to return the Eurozone, you might want to get some coins and paper money from an ATM.