How to know which days the train will run? + Question about Switzerland

You can check the train schedules right now for tomorow's date and that will give you a representative sampling of what the train schedule should be like next summer. Exact schedules simply are not yet available.

Thanks Russ. So if I'm switching on, say, a Wednesday, and I check the schedule for an upcoming Wednesday - that should be similar to what it would be on any given Wednesday?

I don't want to be stuck not able to get from one area to the next simply because of the day we picked to check-out.

Camping Jungfrau is amazing and the many amenities and views …

It sounds like you are completely new to train travel in Europe. Since you have plenty of time, I highly recommend familiarizing yourself with the great info on the Man in Seat 61 website: https://www.seat61.com/

Don't be too worried about having trouble finding a train on days you want to travel. You need to realize that trains are a primary means of travel for many people who live in Europe. Unlike the US who depend on their cars. Unless you are heading to a remote rural village, chances are there will be a train or trains to get you there. Learn about the national rail companies and how to use their websites for schedules and prices. Don't just depend on Eurail. And look long and hard before committing to a Eurail pass, if you are thinking of that. Nowadays it is often cheaper just to buy individual tickets from the specific rail company. Switzerland alone, with several different passes, needs a bit of research, depending on where you are going and what you will be seeing.

I don't want to be stuck not able to get from one area to the next simply because of the day we picked to check-out.

That won't happen in Germany and Switzerland, where rail systems are highly developed - unless you are trying to board way late into the night.

Take a slow Monday night in late November as an example. Stuttgart > Bern. From 17:00 to 21:00 there are 9 different journey options that take about 4 hours. After that hour, the foolish traveler who thinks getting to Bern always takes 4 hours will end up with some absurd travel schedules on 5 or more trains that will leave him stranded and freezing between 1 and 5 am at some dark train station, with final arrival around sun-up.

The DB scheduling machine provides the best information.

https://int.bahn.de/en/

Yes I am new to trains :) I've never been to Europe so this is all brand new to me (us). I've done a fair amount of research, but nothing beats first hand experience. I appreciate the tips, good to know!

And thanks for the heads up on Camping Jungfrau, it definitely looks beautiful

Swiss trains are as reliable as they come. Within Switzerland, it is guaranteed to have a train stopping minimum once per hour in each direction at every station in the country. The Swiss train from Stuttgart to Zurich runs every 2 hours at 17 past the odd hours (7:17, 9:17, etc). Zurich to Bern is 5 times per hour. Bern is the political capital of Switzerland and Zurich is the financial capital and home of the primary international airport for Switzerland, so it is a very busy route. Bern to Lauterbrunnen is every 30 minutes.

Even though Stuttgart to Zurich is a Swiss train, it is operated by a German crew to the Swiss border. so it could be effected by a German rail strike, but you will have plenty of advance notice to make a plan B if such an event should arise.

Rebecca,

trains are how millions of Europeans get to and from work, do their shopping, go out for the night, go to the beach and pretty much everything else.

Yes, they run 7 days a week, every single day of the year, unlike in England where they don't over Christmas.

Count on multiple options every hour, slow and fast, with good connections and comfortable trains. If you ever have to wait an hour it is because you missed the previous train on a lightly travelled line by a whisker and have to wait for the next.

On busy lines you're looking at 10 or 15 minutes or at most half an hour between.

While there are timetable changes twice a year across the continent the changes are usually either very small or non significant or not at all. Maybe change by one or two minutes.

Swiss and Germans count on getting to the station and the train will be there. Because the Swiss tickets by and large are valid all day and the ticket prices don't change, you just take the next one when you get there.

Think New York City subway on steroids. Not Amtrak.

Is Bern a place to change trains or a visiting spot for a while?

Don't use the Eurail website. Use the actual operator such as Deutsche Bahn in Germany (link above) and SBB (Swiss federal railways) in Switzerland https://www.sbb.ch/en in Switzerland. If you are new to the SBB, be aware that their app and webpage default to half price because most people using them have half price cards.

Before you buy any passes come back here and work through the numbers. You may find that the Eurail pass will be best, but it is unlikely. In Switzerland some combination of national or regional pass and / or half fare card will work out best. And if you do that kiddoes are free with a free family card.

Careful - Eurailpasses don't get you up mountains the way the regional passes do.

Kids ages?

Thanks Sam & Nigel!

Kids will be 6, 8 and 11 by next summer's travel dates. Bern will lead us to Lauterbrunnen, wasn't planning to stay in Bern.

It's over whelming since there's so much to learn and research. I've planned dozens of family trips for us, but this Europe one has taken me out! Once I learn the tube in London, we'll be off to Belgium to learn a whole new system, and so on... I know it'll be worth it but I'm trying to iron out as much as I can as early as I can.

STUTTGART: An unusual pick for first-timers to Germany. Is this just a place to break up the train trip on an overnight stop between Brussels and Germany?

RE: Stuttgart, my 11 year old is a car enthusiast so the museums are what's drawing us there. But yes, also a stop over between Belgium & Switzerland. Was originally considering Strasbourg instead, but nothing draws us there other than a dot on a map. Stuttgart has the car museums and also a possible detour to Europa Park.

The rail station nearest the Mercedes Museum is Neckarpark.

The rail station for the Porsche Museum is Neuwirtshaus (Porscheplatz).

Your Eurail-site journey search may or may not turn up these stations. The DB site will.

Neither museum lies in the city center. It may be best for you to stay closer to one museum or the other.

To find rooms near these museums, use Neckarpark and Neuwirtshaus (Porscheplatz) Zuffenhausen at booking.com.

I will make an alternative stopover suggestion for you - the Technik Museum in Speyer is a museum with something for everybody with everything imaginable in one place. Locomotives. Space Shuttles. Vintage cars and trucks. Submarines. Very cool.

https://speyer.technik-museum.de/#languages

Speyer also has train service and is a much smaller historic German town. Speyer Hbf is the main station in Speyer. To find rooms near the museum, use Technik Museum Speyer as the place name.

Thank you very much Russ!