Hi fellow travellers :)
We are planning our first overseas vacation/ adventure with our family - 2 adults and 2 kids (5 & 10).
We are planning on travelling from Stuttgart to Lake Como next year (April) and I was wondering if the scenery on the train is worth the trip? It is quicker to fly, however with 2 boys I thought the adventure on the train going through the Alps would be great. Could you please offer any advice?
We have an option to leave from Stuttgart or Munich.
More than likely Stuttgart as we are visiting the car museums there.
Also, once we arrive in Como, Lake Como - how can organize transport to our holiday rental in Pescallo? (just over the hill from Bellagio?
Thank you so much for any help.
Simone
Posted by
Germany
1117 posts
I'll tell you quite honestly I haven't done the trip, but going through the Alps by train should be great.
It looks like they would normally take you via Karlsruhe and Basel. You may want to check out the alternative route via Ulm. That's going to take longer, but it appears that they would take you across Lake Constance by boat part of the way which should also be fun.
Depending on how tight your schedule is, you could also make Lake Constance an additional stop on your way. The island of Mainau ("flower island") for instance is a nice place to visit, and you should get some beautiful Alps vistas from around Lake Constance.
I personally would prefer Lake Constance over Stuttgart (the most polluted city in Germany) any time, but then, I am not a car crazy boy. :-)
On a side note, the railroad between Stuttgart and Ulm is featured in a Swabian folk song about a farmer who has bought a goat at the market and wants to take it home, tying it to the rear of the train.
Posted by
Bavaria
2510 posts
It looks like they would normally take you via Karlsruhe and Basel.
Not necessarily. The direct connection is via Zuerich and Lugano (e.g., Stuttgart dep. 10:29). It offers nothing spectacular but is much nicer than the boring route through Mannheim and Karlsruhe.
but it appears that they would take you across Lake Constance by boat part of the way which should also be fun.
Yes - there are two possibilities, either the ferry Friedrichshafen - Romanshorn or the Catamaran Friedrichshafen - Konstanz. With either you will end up in Zuerich.
On a side note, the railroad between Stuttgart and Ulm is featured in a Swabian folk song about a farmer who has bought a goat at the market and wants to take it home, tying it to the rear of the train.
To be pedantic for a moment:
»Auf der schwäbsche Eisebahne gibt's gar viele Haltstatione, Schtuegert, Ulm und Biberach, Meckebeure, Durlesbach.«
Apparently, the song describes not stations along a certain line but a selection of »famous« stations in the network of the former Royal Wuerttemberg railway. ;)
Posted by
Germany
1117 posts
Apparently, the song describes not stations along a certain line but a
selection of »famous« stations in the network of the former Royal
Wuerttemberg railway. ;)
Why would you think so? Aside from the fact that Meckenbeuren and Durlesbach are switched around, those towns all are in a straight line between Ulm and Friedrichshafen.
Posted by
Bavaria
2510 posts
Right - but not "Schtuegert" ;)
Posted by
Germany
1117 posts
Well, of course not. Because Schtuegert is the first station, way before Ulm. Obviously, that's where the farmer got his goat. :-)
And the train from Schtuegert to Friedrichshafen goes on via Ulm, Biberach, Meckebeure, and, in former times, Durlesbach. Just as the song says. :-)
Posted by
Rick Steves' Europe
16896 posts
From the town of Como to Bellagio, see schedules for bus route C30 or for lake ferries.