Hi,
We are planning on driving from Lindau to Freiburg on day three of our trip, after touring Meersburg, Hagnau, and Uberlingen the day and a half before. (Based on a few comments on other posts, I think we've decided to skip Mainau since we may be a little short on time - what are your opinions?) We would very much like to drive to St. George (St. Georgen?) to take the Schwarzwaldbahn for the section that travels through 30+ tunnels from St. George via Triberg to Hornberg, then back for a return trip to St. George. I have been unable to figure out how to do that, how much time it will take, and what the "lay over" time would be before returning to St. George. I am wondering if it is even possible to fit it in to the day. We would also like to see the falls at Triberg, but don't know if that would fit in to the train schedules and how long the "lay over" would be between trips. Any suggestions are appreciated. I am beginning to realize that we are going to have to pare down our itinerary a great deal. So much to see - so little time! Thank you!
Posted by
Lakewood, Colorado
19274 posts
According to the German Rail (Bahn) website, the trip from St. Georgen to Hornberg takes a little less than ½ hr. If you leave St. Georgen at 9:58, you'll get to Hornberg at 10:26. There will be a train leaving Hornberg at 10:26, but you probably can't get to it in time. Spend an hour in Hornberg and catch the 11:30 train back to St. Georgen. It gets back to St. Georgen at 11:57, so your round trip takes about 2 hours. The station at Triberg is a little bit out of town. There are buses into town, from which the falls are fairly close. There are trains every hour from Triberg to St. Georgen (13 min), so even if you spend several hours at Triberg, doing this trip in a day shouldn't be a problem. In Triberg there are also buses from the train station to the water fall. For schedules, use the German Rail (Bahn) website. Start with "Triberg" in the from or to field, and when it gives you a list, pick Bahnhof Bus, Triberg im Schwarzwald for "from" and Triberg Über dem Wasserfall for "to".
Posted by
OP
Delhi, Iowa
5 posts
Thank you for the helpful websites. I was able to get a listing of all the times the trains ran so we have several options as far as arrival time. Very good to know ahead of time. I'm assuming the train stations in these two towns are rather small, not much chance of getting on the wrong train? After looking at the times, I think we will take the train round trip to Hornberg, spend an hour there, then head back, and will go to Triberg by car on way to Freiburg. Have you been to Hornberg? Any "must sees" or "must do" there? Have you been to Triberg? If so, is it worth seeing and appr. how long will we spend there? Thanks again for the info.
Posted by
Lakewood, Colorado
19274 posts
I've been through both Hornberg and Triberg on the train but never stopped. I don't even remember Hornberg, but as I recall, the station at Triberg is more like a bus stop. I just looked up the Hornberg schedule on the Bahn. During most hours there are only two trains, one going each way. There are three tracks, but only two, 1 and 3, are used. Trains going south, to Triberg, use track 1. Trains going north, to Hausach, use track 3. It would be hard to get lost. This youtube video (www.youtube.com/watch?v=S4y5uxsRTi0) shows a train coming into the station at Hornberg heading south, towards Triberg. Note, the station is so small it doesn't even have an underpass between tracks, just a track level walkway that is closed when a train comes in.
Posted by
Northamptonshire, England
33820 posts
Lee's description is about right. Most of the trains are just 1 or 2 coaches long, the operators are used to tourists, there are PA systems - although they are as easy to understand as PA systems everywhere ;-), and there are white and yellow boards available. It really is easy. Do you have a smartfone? If so or an ipod there is a downloadable audio guided tour for the Schwartzwaldbahn in several different languages. It is a tough fiddly so worth downloading and pracicing before travel - quite informative and in quite a lot of detail. Will you see the huge model railroad layout on your stay?
Posted by
OP
Delhi, Iowa
5 posts
Hi, Nigel,
Yes, I do have a smartphone. Unfortunately I can't always get it to do what it should be capable of doing! Where do I go to download the audio guided tour? Where is the model display? Hadn't planned on seeing that, but if it is along the way, we just may stop. Thanks!