Hi,
I will be travelling from Erfurt to Cologne at around 20th December before flying back home. I am deciding between driving or taking the train. I enjoyed my previous 2 driving experiences in Germany, but this will be my first time driving in winter.
Would like to listen to advices from folks who are familiar with this route.
Thank you.
Last Friday before Christmas weekend?
Definitely train with seat reservations because a lot of people will travel by car plus unknown weather situation.
Also these parts of Autobahn are not fun driving. A4 is often busy, so is A3 from South towards Cologne. A45 has a lot of long-lasting constructions around bridges currently. See Autobahn construction map (status with reduced scope because Euro2024 and summer vacations ahead). Next push of costructions will start in September.
Too far out to look at the schedule for that date, but there is one direct IC train in the morning on the current schedule, but it takes over 5 hours, making a lot of stops. Quicker would be ICE trains in under 4 hours with a connection at Frankfurt Hbf. A Friday before Christmas? Yes, spend the extra 5 EUR for a seat reservation. And our bank note friend has been reported.
