"5 Stunning German Train Trips at a Bargain Price"

The link is very interesting.

I like the train journey from Hamburg to Sylt. Especially because Northern Germany is still somewhat new territory for tourists from overseas.

Sylt is a beautiful island and now one of the areas in Germany with the highest real estate prices. Very popular with German celebrities, but of course also popular with families, etc.

In any case, it can get very crowded, and in recent years there have been occasional 'protests' against day trippers. Especially when the 9 Euro ticket was introduced.

Nevertheless, the island of Sylt is worth a visit, like all the islands in East and North Frisia.

One little bit of misinformation is that you can get off the Koblenz-Trier train at Bernkastel-Kues. You have to get off at Wittlich and take a 40 minute bus ride to get to Bernkastel-Kues.
NYT fail?

PS, Missing here is the Baden-Black Forest railway between Offenburg and Singen.

You have to get off at Wittlich and take a 40 minute bus ride to get to Bernkastel-Kues.

Been there, done that. Bernkastel is ground zero for Riesling wine. One of the most famou$ Riesling vineyards is right above the town.

I think there used to me a train going along the river through Bernkastel. The restaurant where I had lunch advertised itself as the "Old Mosel Bahnhof". The Mosel loops a lot in this area. A train along the river would have been the long way and slow. The new train line just touches the western loops of the river and buses connect those stations to other town, like Berkastel, which is on an eastern loop.

I was also a little surprised they didn't include the Schwarzwaldbahn. It's great for scenery, hanging on the side of the Gutach river valley.

They mentioned the narrow gauge steam train from Zittau to Oybin, but it's not included in the Deutschland pass. It's a private line and extra. The same is true of the narrow gauge steam train from Wernigerode to the Brocken. I took it; it's also very scenic.

Yes, the old Moseltalbahn is now a bike trail along the river. It had an interesting history as the "Little Boozer's Train".

The Moselle Line Bullay-Trier, Nicknamed ‘Little Boozer’s Train’ (Saufbähnchen)
The Moselle line known as ‘Saufbähnchen’ or ‘Moseltalbahn’ (Moselle valley line) came into existence because the Moselle towns of Bullay and Schweich wished to be connected to the economically important line Trier – Koblenz. The privately owned line, finished in 1905, quickly gained important passenger and freight traffic.
In 1908 a fast train connected Trier and Traben-Trarbach, in which passengers were supplied with food and drinks. The drinking bouts on board soon gave this train its name ‘Saufbähnchen’.
Being one of the most wellknown passengers, writer Kurt Tucholsky in 1929 reported the wine tastings at each station and changing trains in Bullay, calling this train a ‘decent’ train.

The bus from Wittlich to Bernkastel travels directly to the old Bernkastel train station Lee mentions. That bus connection takes 27-32 minutes depending on which bus line your train arrival time in Wittlich dictates. The DB site will show you the train + bus itineraries - use "Kues Forum, Bernkastel-Kues" as the destination.

It's a handsome train station. Here's a shot of it from 2012. In 1973 when I first visited Bernkastel, it was a busy place with taxis out front, no cafe tables, but the building itself looked much like it does today. I believe the now-retired railway that got me there, which followed the river's every turn at a snail's pace, was terminated sometime in the 80's. It really was a fine train ride back then.

I remember what a shock it was on my first visit thereafter to just walk around the station building to the back, where the tracks and platforms once were, and find this huge parking lot for cars and buses that now serve the area, and of course the taxis, now parked where the tracks used to be.

Here's what the back of the station looked like back when the "Schienenbusse" (rail-buses) on this route were still running:

https://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/xq90/922/SNYphR.jpg

Today's bus ride into Bernkastel is nowhere near as romantic, but Bernkastel is still as stunning as it was 50 years ago, and there's nothing difficult about getting there today; I hope those who consider going there won't be put off by the bus ride.

The route from Kaiserslautern, Neustadt, Landau, Winden, to Wissembourg is extremely scenic as it basically goes right down the Wine Road along the scarp face of the Pfalz. There are over a dozen large castles on the hills, vineyards and orchards, the cities are attractive, and the small towns are nice too. Even better, this route, like the Rhine and Mosel stretches, has biking paths all long eht way so you can easily bike and ride.

I also like the route from Alzey (a medieval horse trading center) to Neustadt. This route passes through around a dozen of the more attractive little towns, most of which are around 1000 years old, and some excellent wine country.

All of this is available with the Deutschland ticket, which I use.