Arriving in Frankfort on a Monday morning. 2 nights in Boppard. Want to see the cathedral in Cologne. Have tickets to see Neuschwanstein Thursday morning, so need to be in Fussen Wed evening. Not excited about train travel from Cologne or Boppard to Fussen due to amount of time and we’ll have larger-than-carryon luggage to handle at likely 3 changes. Enjoy driving and thinking seriously about renting a car. First time in Europe. Daughter speaks German well and has been there for 4 months and she will be meeting us in Frankfurt for the trip (but has not driven there). Thoughts on renting car/driving? Thanks!!!
Posted by
Green Bay
21227 posts
Are you just trying to get validation for your desire to rent a car? You don't need anyone's validation, you know. It is your trip and you are allowed to do what you want.
But I don't see any drawbacks to going by train. Get up Wednesday morning and take a train to Cologne Hbf, stash bags at the Hbf luggage lockers, see the Cathedral, get your luggage back and get the 13:55 ICE to Augsburg and change there to a train to Fuessen. If you don't mind taking another train change in Buchloe, you can be in Fuessen by 19:55. Otherwise, hang out in Augsburg for another hour, have a quick bite and a beer, and take a direct train to Fuessen getting you there by 20:55.
What time is your ticket for? What time do you have to check in at the ticket office? What is your actual travel date?
If you do rent a car, factor in the headaches of dealing with Cologne traffic, parking the car, and general Stau on the Autobahn. Ask your daughter what Stau means. The Cathedral is right outside the Hbf main entrance.
Posted by
Paradise
7108 posts
There are direct trains from Frankfurt (with a "u") to Cologne and between Cologne and Boppard.
Renting a car for a single one-day journey to Füssen doesn't make a lot of sense to me.
It would not have been my choice to schedule Füssen right after Boppard; I assume you booked rooms without much consideration of the journey involved. It's going to be 6.5+ hours of train travel, 5 hours of driving without stops. But then with a car, you have to make stops, and you have to pick up and drop off the car, get gas, etc. So a car doesn't save much if any time.
Train travelers carry full-size suitcases all the time, and you can too. If you have two changes of train and you are worried that you won't have time to make the connecting train, there's usually a good alternative. I normally suggest that you just lengthen the stopover time on your route. Typically your trip to Füssen involves a change in Munich or Augsburg. If the journey you are looking at on the DB site has a 10-minute stopover, try lengthening it to 40-50 minutes. That should allow time for grabbing a snack or whatever even if the train is a little late. Maybe you have a stop in Frankfurt or somewhere else also - the same idea applies. Play with the stopover feature until you get a schedule that looks comfortable for you.
2 nights in Boppard - with your goal of visiting Cologne on a day trip, and with your first day coming right after a long red-eye flight?? - are insufficient. You should have another night in Boppard or in the area. If I were you, I'd consider 2 nights in Boppard, with your 3rd night in Cologne - thus eliminating the backtracking needed for a Boppard - Cologne - Boppard day trip, and giving you some time to do something on the Rhine (like a river cruise, a castle tour, etc.)