On Saturday August 8th my family will arrive at Kiel by cruise ship. Can we use a "Happy Weekend " ticket to travel to Berlin useing the local train and switch to the ICE (probably at Hamburg). The local, ICE combanation is about 3.5 hours where the local trains only takes about 6 hours. I am not sure if the Happy Weekend ticket can be used on the ICE,if not what is the best fare avalible ? Also does anyone know how far it is from the cruise ship pier (MSC cruiseline) to the train station in Kiel ?
Posted by
Lakewood, Colorado
19274 posts
George, the Schönes-Wochenende (Happy weekend) ticket is only valid for regional (RE, RB, S) trains. It is not valid for express (ICE/IC/EC) trains. That's why it is a great deal price-wise; you are giving up something time-wise.
Posted by
Laguna Woods, Ca
33 posts
George, if you go on www.bahn.de you might be able to get a ticket for Euro 29.00. But you have to reserve in advance. Karin
Posted by
Lakewood, Colorado
19274 posts
That's the problem with those discount fares on German Rail (I love them), that they are train specific and non-refundable. Will your cruise ship get you there on time? How much time buffer do you have to allow for late arrival?
Posted by
Laguna Woods, Ca
33 posts
George, I suggest you ask your Travel Agent or cruise operator for the exact address, where the vessel will dock. Then go to Google Maps and type Kiel Germany. The train station is called Kiel Hbf (main station) The address is Sophienblatt. It looks like it is close to the harbor. Good luck. If you need more help, send me a private message, Karin
Posted by
Laguna Woods, Ca
33 posts
Hello George, looking at the bahn.de site. The Happy Weekend ticket is probably your best bet, unless they have a special price for groups. And with 11 people you certainly would qualify as a group I think. But Lee knows much more than I do, so contact him. I am sure he would love to help you. Enjoy your stay in Europe. Karin
Posted by
Berlin, Germany
337 posts
An MSC cruise ship on August 8th? The "MSC Opera" is scheduled for the Ostseekai 2009-08-08 10:00 to 19:00.
The Ostseekai is like most of Kiel's cruise terminals directly in the center of Kiel. Look it up on Google Maps, just as Karin recommended.
It's possible to walk (and since it's "along the waterfront" it's fairly easy to find), and as far as I know MSC operates shuttle busses. In the case they don't you could take the public bus line 41/42, but it is a very short ride. Two stops: Seegarten/Ostseekai - Bootshafen - HBf (= main station)
Posted by
OP
Levelland, Texas, USA
19 posts
Thanks to all who replied to my questions. We are ariving on the MSC Opera at 10:00 AM. I don't know how long it will take to get off ship. Are the 29 Eur train tickets good for one specific train/time only ? Are there one day train passes ? There will be eleven of us ages from 15 to 76 . I have been to Germany once before but rented a car ,so I don't have any experience with the trains. Thank you again.
Posted by
Frankfurt am Main, Germany
2779 posts
Why does it have to be Berlin? There is SOOOO much to see in Hamburg and Lübeck! Hamburg is the 2nd largest city in Germany after Berlin, very beautiful, largest model railroad in the entire world (including a Western US section, the Swiss alps, Scandinavia etc etc) and Lübeck is just a medieval gem and really worthwhile...
Posted by
OP
Levelland, Texas, USA
19 posts
It must be Belin because our flight home leaves from there and we want to see Berlin. I would love to see more of Germany but we get off ship Saturday morning and fly home from Berlin on Tuesday morning. I wanted to see Dresden also but there is not enough time. Thanks for the sugestion anyway. My wife and I spent twelve days traveling southern Germany and Austria two years ago and loved the country.