Hello! My husband and I will be spending Thursday October 4th in Luxembourg City. Friday morning we'd like to take the train to Karden or Moselkern and hike the long path to Castle Eltz. From there we need to head to Munich - but I can't figure out how to connect the dots! What's the best route (via train) from Karden/Moselkern to Munich? If there is no good route should we consider renting a car? Thank you for the help and advice!
Cullen
Posted by
Green Bay
21159 posts
The train runs from Moselkern to Koblenz. Koblenz is a main line station so you should be able to get to Munich with only one change (I've done it). A quick look at the DB website shows trains once per hour to Koblenz at 42 past the hour, each has a connection to Munich. Some change Frankfurt, some change at Manheim, and some change at Wurzburg. Another consideration is what you will do with your luggage. There are no luggage lockers at these smaller stations. It is about an hour and a half hike from Moselkern station to Burg Eltz, and somewhat strenuous. There are luggage lockers at Koblenz, but you would need to backtrack to Moselkern. Another option would be to spend the night at a hotel in Moselkern. They could hold your luggage until you left.
Posted by
OP
Atlanta, GA, USA
2 posts
Thanks Green Bay! The European train websites make my head spin so I appreciate the help. Our packs are light and relatively small so I'm not too worried about hiking with them.
Posted by
Green Bay
21159 posts
OK. If you just have a backpack and you're comfortable hiking the Apalachian Trail this should be no problem.
Posted by
Lakewood, Colorado
19274 posts
Looking at the schedule on the German Rail (Bahn) website, with a stop of 4 hours in Moselkern (1½ hrs each way plus 1 hr at the castle), the trip from Luxembourg City to Munich is going to take you 12 to 13 hours. If you leave Lux. City at 9:15, you won't get to Munich until after 10 PM! On the other hand, you could leave Lux at the same time, check into a hotel in Moselkern, and hike to and from the castle. How fast you hike and how long you want to stay at Burg Eltz would no longer be an issue. Then the next morning, you could make the 6½ hr trip to Munich and get there with plenty of time in the day. You might even have some time to stop in the St. Goar, Bacharach area on the way.
Posted by
Green Bay
21159 posts
Leave Lux at 8:20, there is a saver fare available for 19 Euro. The 16:42 out of Moselkern gets to Munich at 22:26 is available fro 89 Euro and is the connection. The 15:42 gets to Munich at 22:13. That gives you exactly 6 hours in Moselkern and a comfortable 2 hours at Burg Eltz. Time for lunch!
Posted by
Lakewood, Colorado
19274 posts
I still think you should not try to do this in one day, but if you were willing to commit to the 16:42 out of Moselkern, which you would have to do to get that 89€ fare Sam mentioned from there to Munich, you could have done the entire trip, Luxembourg to Munich with the stop in Moselkern for 99€. Actually, as of this time, you can no longer get any of those discount fares (99€, 9€, or 19€) for Thursday; they have to be booked 3 days in advance. You could still get the 99€ fare for Friday. With early enough booking (up to 92 days), you could get the entire trip for only 39€. Book the entire trip as Luxembourg Gare at 8:00 to Muenchen Hbf and use the stopover function to specify a little less than 6 hours in Moselkern. That will show you a trip arriving at Moselkern at 10:42 and leaving for Munich at 16:42, and the fare would be as low as 39€ for the entire trip.