Today I kicked off the “Germany Tour- Fall ’16” with a ride from the home base in Linz, Austria to Paderborn. Why Paderborn in particular will be the topic of another post coming soon. The ride from Linz Hbf to Paderborn is an interesting trip as it’s quite typical for long distance rail travel in Germany. Two ICE trains took me across the approx. 480mi/770km distance in close to seven hours. That sounds not too impressing but that is still 68mph/110kmh average speed, not counting in 30 minutes layover in Nuremberg. Also the trains were on time to the minute! I boarded ICE (Inter City Express) 228 in Linz in the morning and changed to ICE 1224 in Nuremberg. The title pic shows that particular train pulling in at platform 6. What we see is actually the front set of a doubled unit which has been parted in Würzburg some 60 miles to the West. From there the leading section continues via Frankfurt to Cologne as ICE 720 while the rear unit travels as ICE 1224 to Dusseldorf and on Saturdays even further to Cologne as well. Interestingly DB leaves the nose covers for the couplers open. Seems they do not want to take the risk of malfunction disrupting tight schedules.

I boarded the rear section (ICE 1224) and enjoyed the trip over well mentioned old lines at a top speed of 86mph/130kmh as well as popping in and out tunnels and hopping across valleys in-between on a modern high speed lines between Würzburg and Fulda at a max. speed of 155mph/250kmh.

All that leads to a very high acceptance of high speed rail travel in Germany. The train was packed and I have two hints for the ones who want to try fast intercity traveling by rail:

1. Reserve a seat! I strongly recommend reserving a seat on ICE trains as otherwise there is a good chance that you end up standing for quite some time. Its not for free but worth the small extra fee. Don’t bet on off peak times. Lots of people have the same idea.
2. Bring a snack! Sure, there are restaurant cars and attendants bring coffee but, as the trains are packed, its a challenge to get through the crowds. Also, stations- especially the ICE hubs offer a good selection of stores and restaurants but clockwork like connections leave not much time for shopping once you’re on your way.

Last but not least – the two reasons for my preference of trains over planes when traveling in Europe are:

• NO SECURITY CHECKPOINTS!
• Stops are usually located in downtown areas and local transit is awesome. No need for a rental car!