We are arriving on a Thayls train from Brussels to Cologne at 11:10am Sunday, September 18th. We intend to wander around Cologne near the train station with an emphasis on grabbing a Kolsch or 2 We intend to end our day in St Goar where we have hotel reservations for 3 nights. Since I can't put our actual dates into the DB site using dummy dates the train would cost @42€ (2 adults departing @1600hrs) and we'd have to transfer in Koblenz.
With this in mind I was brainstorming to have a delayed stop in Koblenz to walk around and catch some dinner. Then proceed to St Goar. If we decide on this itinerary and my previous assumption of train passage at 42€ (w/o a delayed stop in Koblenz) is accurate, I was now thinking of getting a Schones-Wochenende to use to get from Cologne, Koblenz & St Goar 44€. As long as we use local trains we can take our time and not have to worry about catching a specific train.
So now my questions:
1 With stopping in Koblenz would the weekender ticket make sense?
2 Can I use the weekender ticket on MRB trains? The DB site lists "All local rail services from DB AG (S-Bahn, RB, IRE, RE), on services offered by many transport associations, and on non-federal railways (in accordance with their applicable regulations regarding 2nd class travel)"
3 Are there a good selection of resturants within walking distance of the Koblenz train station?
Thanks
Heidi
Posted by
Green Bay
20103 posts
MRB (Mittelrheinbahn) is a regional train that is eligible for Schoenes wochenende.
Have you bought your Thalys tickets yet? If not, there is a less expensive way to do this with a compromise.
Instead of using the Thalys, take either an earlier or later ICE train. Sparpreis tickets for Sunday August 22 are 58 EUR total for 2, and you can build in a 4 to 6 hour stopover in Cologne. So that price should hold for September 18. They can bought starting June 19.
The early train is at 6:25 am, getting you to Cologne at 8:15. Maybe too early. The next ICE is at 10:25 getting to Cologne at 12:15.
Taking the later train, you would have about 4 1/2 hours in Cologne (or more or less, you decide when buying the ticket) then take an IC train to Koblenz, getting there at 17:46. By the principal of "Before and After" (there is a German word for it, Lee knows), you can take any regional train there after to St Goar. So if you wanted to stop in Koblenz for an hour or two, or not at all, you can do so and the ticket is still valid as long as it is on a regional train, you made the ICE and IC trains, and the trip is complete that day (or even a little later, I think).
Posted by
Paradise
6644 posts
Sam's suggestion, as I read it, is to buy a Sparpreis ticket not just to Cologne but all the way to St. Goar with a scheduled stopover in Cologne - a good plan, IMO. But for better flexibility, read further...
First off, Koblenz IMO isn't a good place for a stopover meal - not much of interest near the train station and a fairly long trek to the old town. I'd suggest instead that you continue south to Boppard, just 15 minutes further, where you'll find some nice options along the riverfront just a couple of blocks from the station. From Boppard it's only about 10-15 minutes further to St. Goar. As long as you've packed ala Rick Steves and can tote your bags that short distance, that is - Boppard has no station lockers.
The ticket: it might be wise NOT to ride the IC train from Cologne to Koblenz but that MRB train you had in mind - that way you can leave Cologne at ANY hour. Only thing is that you must specify local trains only for the Cologne to St. Goar segment... as long as your ticket shows local/"Nahverkehr" trains for this segment, you can use any local trains at any hour after you are done in Cologne, stopping in Koblenz, or in Boppard, on the way. (It is not possible to ride the MRB trains at will on this segment with a ticket that specifies a high-speed train to Koblenz - such a ticket would require you to leave Cologne as scheduled.)
Posted by
Lakewood, Colorado
19092 posts
you must specify local trains only for the Cologne to St. Goar segment.
When you book your tickets from Brussels to St. Goar on the German Rail website, it will try to route you from Köln to Koblenz on the IC, but if you put in Köln as a stopover (for 0:00 hrs), you can change the means of transport from Köln to St. Goar to regional by unchecking ICE, IC/EC, and IR. Then it will show a ticket with an RE from Köln to Koblenz and you can travel that route at any time on a regional train.
Posted by
OP
North Carolina, US
90 posts
Sam, Russ & Lee- Thank you gentlemen for this new found knowledge of using the DB tickets for such versatility. I had NO idea that after using the ICE portion of a ticket I could use any regional train for the remainder of my forward travel. I thought you were pigeon holed to the exact trains on the remainder of the ticket. This will be good knowledge to have for future travel because alas we have already purchased our Brussels to Cologne segment. Oh well live and learn, at least we had already budgeted this into our trip. Although the cost savings you gentlemen provided would have been nice ☺
Before I make a newbie mistake with my next longer train travel, does the scenario you all suggested work the same but in reverse?
I need to book travel from Heidelberg to Paris Friday, Sept. 23rd. Again playing with dummy dates there is an itinerary DB has which includes a local train from Heidelberg to Mannheim then a train change in Mannheim onto a ICE to Paris (118€). Even when I ask for longer transfer time I can't seem to get the @9am train to Mannheim & @9:40 train to Paris. I'm worried their suggested 11 or 16 min transfer would be cutting it too close. Or am I just being too worrisome 😉
Can I book the passage with their itinerary but use the ticket on an earlier local train to Mannheim and the ICE on the ticket to Paris? Is there a better cost effective way to Paris from Heidelberg?
Posted by
Green Bay
20103 posts
Yes you can, although 16 minutes at Mannheim is very comfortable. You can also specify transfer times by clicking on the box next to "Duration of Transfer", "standard" is the default, click on the arrow and it will give a choice of transfer times from 10 to 45 minutes.
You can also do Heidelberg to Mannheim and check the box "Local transport only" and you will see all the local trains you can use to get to Mannheim. You'll see there is a train more or less every 10 minutes in the morning.
And it looks like the early morning train to Paris will be 5 EUR cheaper per person. Also, since I am looking in August on a Friday (prime vacation time), the prices may drop in late September.