Hi,
My Dad and I have just booked flights into Frankfurt (not ideally located but the cheapest) and are looking for suggestions on the best way to go about our itinerary. We definitely want to see Berlin, Munich and Krakow Poland, we enjoy history, beautiful scenery and we are interested in WWII sites. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
You can do it! The website - Man in Seat Sixty-One - is fantastic and will help you with planning your travel routes. It is the best! http://www.seat61.com
Sleeper cars are great for saving time and possibly some money, but not so great for actual sleeping ;-) ...at least for me
You may be able to do a loop of Frankfurt, Berlin, Krakow, Munich, Frankfurt. If you have time, I would suggest throwing in Nuremburg for a day (really great WWII history).
But www.bahn.com will show you the train schedules.
Sleeper cars are great for saving time and possibly some money, but not so great for actual sleeping ;-) ...at least for me
There are no sleeping trains for the legs under consideration. The night train system has been reduced continually over the past years and will be stopped by the end of the year.
If you can commit to specific train times, you will get significantly cheaper train fares for all these journeys if you book at www.bahn.com around 90 days in advance.
Hi,
For the cities you have in mind, there is also the bus connection which is not only cheaper but also has the choice of going by night bus. A number of German bus companies serve cities in your itinerary, such as berlinlinienbus, which has an office at Berlin Ostbahnhof.
There is a night train connection to Berlin from Munich, unfortunately no longer direct, since it's Munich to Hannover Hbf, where you can transfer to Berlin. I took that night connection three weeks ago. DB has the IC bus connection Berlin-Krakow. With the 13 day time span and some creative routing by night and by day, you can definitely see Berlin, Krakow and Munich.
There is also a night train between Krakow and Prague, if you want to stop and see Prague. Otherwise, see www.skyscanner.com for nonstop flights between Prague and Germany on one leg of the trip. On my test date of Sept. 13, flights to Dortmund or Stuttgart are cheaper than to Munich, Frankfurt, or Berlin, but train tickets aren't free, either.
If you choose a "single-country" German Rail Pass, from $180 per person, it covers the DB-operated direct bus between Berlin and Krakow.
If you need a very inexpensive transport option between Poland and Germany, there's the Polski Bus:
http://www.polskibus.com/en/bus-stop.htm
Personally, I can't imagine a trip to Krakow without taking a day trip to the little town of Oswiecim, better know by the German name of Auschwitz. It's an easy, inexpensive train ride from Krakow and, once there, everything is within walking distance. You would first want to visit the converted Polish army barracks referred to as Auschwitz I with an excellent museum and historic information. From there, you can walk or take a very short taxi ride to the extermination camp known as Birkenau. This place is huge. So large in scale, that the Germans referred to the northern end of the camp as Canada and the southern end as Mexico. You could, potentially, spend many hours here. So, wear comfy shoes and pack a snack.
I've had the honor to make this pilgrimage twice in my life, first in the early '80's and then again in 2000, and it can be a very emotional experience. I hope you are able to add this destination to your journey. Please feel free to ask me any questions.
Safe and happy travels!
Thanks so much for your help everyone!
