Achtung! Oktoberfest 2012

[Tulane Skins Fan]

thanks for all the good information. how long did it take you to get from Munich to Prague or vice versa? Did you take a train?

So, we were a little nuts. We took the train from Munich to Vienna, which was maybe 3 hours or so (I can't remember exactly). And then we decided to drive from Vienna to Prague because we wanted to see this little Czech town called Cesky Krumlov, which is an old medieval castle town. That drive took all day with the stop.

I think the train from Munich to Prague would be only a couple hours.

Check out www.viator.com for packages and also for tours anywhere in Munich. We bought our reservations for Oktoberfest through that site. You want reservations to make sure you get in and have a seat. Especially on the weekends.

[Skinz4Life12]

Thanks TSF! also, I noticed with the Euro rail passes there are multiple sites that you can book through and all have different prices. Does anyone have any experience booking Euro rail train passes and which site did you book through?

Also, how do you find out where the train station is in each country. So if we select "Germany" how do we know if its going to drop us off in Munich or Nuremberg?

[Tulane Skins Fan]

Thanks TSF! also, I noticed with the Euro rail passes there are multiple sites that you can book through and all have different prices. Does anyone have any experience booking Euro rail train passes and which site did you book through?

Also, how do you find out where the train station is in each country. So if we select "Germany" how do we know if its going to drop us off in Munich or Nuremberg?

Not sure about the interface you're looking at, but yea there are train stations all over Germany. There should be one for Munich: Hauptbahnhoff, I think. I believe that is a basic term for "center train station," though. So, there may be other cities with the same thing.

The thing about Eurorail is that you can use it numerous times. You should be able to get a ticket from Munich to Vienna, or from Munich to Prague, or somewhere else, no problem.

[techboy]

Thanks TSF! also, I noticed with the Euro rail passes there are multiple sites that you can book through and all have different prices. Does anyone have any experience booking Euro rail train passes and which site did you book through?

We did rail passes for one of our trips many years ago, but it has been my experience that unless you're planning on doing a lot of train travel in a single day (and sometimes not even then), buying individual tickets point to point is actually cheaper, especially if you book online in advance. I just booked tickets from Rome to Naples for 9 euros each, for example, on the Trenitalia site by getting on near the 2 month availability window and booking a "super economy" fare.

The very best website to look at train travel anywhere in Europe is the German one (of course... ), even for trips outside of Germany (for schedule checks), and you can buy tickets directly through it for German itineraries (just did that too, and again there are discounts for booking early).

Railpasses' biggest selling point are the flexibility, in that you can jump on any train you like almost at a whim, as long as it's a valid day, but even that has been severely curtailed in recent years, due to the number of high speed trains that now require seat reservations and sometimes extra fees for railpass holders, and these usually need to be bought in advance, kind of killing the point to some extent.

If you want to read about railpasses (and when they make sense), I'd recommend Rick Steves' write-up on them. Amy and I love his guidebooks, which are an essential part of our travel planning for each trip. Along with site reviews, he's very solid on practical information like where to find a bathroom, how to skip lines, and what transportation options are best in which scenario, including railpasses.

If you do decide to buy one (as I said, we go to Europe once or twice a year and I haven't found it worthwhile in over 10 years), I'd probably suggest going with Rick Steves' travel agency, or maybe Eurail (I think that's who I used, but it's been forever)...

[Skinz4Life12]

thanks TB that clears some things up for me. See, I don't think we are going to want to ride around on the train from place to place that much.

Here is an example of what we would like to do. Fly to Barcelona. Spend 3 days in Barcelona and take the train to Paris. Spend another 3 days in Paris. Take the train to Munich. Spend 3 days in Munich and then fly home.

Do you think point to point would be my best choice for something like this? Will we be able to get around without a car in these cities? What about hotels vs hostels? What should we be looking for as far as those go?

[Tulane Skins Fan]

thanks TB that clears some things up for me. See, I don't think we are going to want to ride around on the train from place to place that much.

Here is an example of what we would like to do. Fly to Barcelona. Spend 3 days in Barcelona and take the train to Paris. Spend another 3 days in Paris. Take the train to Munich. Spend 3 days in Munich and then fly home.

Do you think point to point would be my best choice for something like this? Will we be able to get around without a car in these cities? What about hotels vs hostels? What should we be looking for as far as those go?

Those places are pretty far from each other by train. You might want to look into flying on that Rien Air. Or Rine Air. Not sure what its called, but its a budget euro airline that is very popular over there.

[techboy]

thanks TB that clears some things up for me. See, I don't think we are going to want to ride around on the train from place to place that much.

Here is an example of what we would like to do. Fly to Barcelona. Spend 3 days in Barcelona and take the train to Paris. Spend another 3 days in Paris. Take the train to Munich. Spend 3 days in Munich and then fly home.

Do you think point to point would be my best choice for something like this? Will we be able to get around without a car in these cities? What about hotels vs hostels? What should we be looking for as far as those go?

Well, first, cars are not only unnecessary in European cities, they are a useless and expensive headache. If you're going to big cities like Paris, Barcelona, Munich, then you definitely want to avoid the car.

Second, though, I wonder if you realize just how long those train rides are going to be. Barcelona to Paris, for example, is 9 hours. Paris to Munich is between 12 and 14 hours.

One option might be night trains. You can book a couchette (which is a sleeper car with six beds) or sleeper car (a bit more expensive). This can be an efficient way to travel, if you can sleep on a potentially cold, possibly noisy and rocking train. We've done it, and the nice thing is that you travel while you sleep, and save awake time for sight seeing. You also don't have to get a hotel. This might actually be a situation where a three country rail pass makes sense, because the long long trains are pretty expensive. Read the link I provided. part 3 includes a map with point to point costs for cities, which you can compare to railpass costs. I believe there are night trains from Barcelona to Paris and also from Paris to Munich. Seat 61 is another excellent resource devoted to train travel.

Another option these days is that many European low cost carriers offer cheap flights from place to place.

If this seems too ambitious, you might want to consider trimming it back, and seeing fewer cities longer.

As for hotels, you have a lot of options. If you're young, and like to party, hostels can be fun. They're not very private, but that's how you meet people.

Hotels can range from a few rooms run by a local (my favorite) to a 5 star posh luxury hotel. It's all about price and preference. I research hotels using a combo of Rick Steves' guidebooks and tripadvisor.

Whatever you decide, I highly recommend getting the Rick Steves book for each destination. It's invaluable info, like how to blow past the 45 minute line at the Colosseum in Rome, etc.

The other thing I'd suggest is that unless you are really set on Munich for a specific reason, like Oktoberfest, I'd probably recommend going somewhere more interesting like Rome, Berlin, London, Prague, or even more time in Paris. Munich is a nice city, and the nearby castles are cool and all, but it's not as exciting as many of the great cities of Europe. That's just my opinion, of course.

[Tulane Skins Fan]

The other thing I'd suggest is that unless you are really set on Munich for a specific reason, like Oktoberfest, I'd probably recommend going somewhere more interesting like Rome, Berlin, London, Prague, or even more time in Paris. Munich is a nice city, and the nearby castles are cool and all, but it's not as exciting as many of the great cities of Europe. That's just my opinion, of course.

I agree with that as well. I loved Oktoberfest and would tell everyone who's interested that its a great experience and you should go. That being said, Munich is not as high on my list as a lot of other European cities. Like I said, Prague and Vienna were both much more beautiful and interesting to me. That says nothing of Rome, London and other greats.

[No_Pressure]

Ich war in München im letzten Sommer. Ein lokaler Freund von mir erzählte mir, dass das Tragen von Lederhosen war ein guter Weg, um Eingang zu gewinnen, um schnell Oktoberfest. Viel Glück auf Ihrer Reise. Persönlich bin ich immer begünstigte die Hofbrau Bier oder Augustiner.

Also, if you don't already know some German you might want to pick up a little in the meantime. Taking classes in college and doing Pimsleur audio cds worked well with me.

[techboy]

See, I don't think we are going to want to ride around on the train from place to place that much.

Two more things:

1. For a honeymoon, and especially for people who have never been to Europe, I'd highly recommend considering just going to Paris. It's romantic, it's very nice in October (cool but not cold weather, "Shoulder season" so lower prices and fewer crowds), it's got world-class museums, activities, and food, and perhaps most importantly, it's easy for someone who's never been to Europe. We did our honeymoon in Paris, and we loved it. There's enough to keep you occupied for many days, and a lot of great side trip possibilites. London is also a quick train ride away via the Chunnel if you must branch out, and that's easy too.

2. My wife says if you still need a wedding photographer, to check out her link in my signature. She also votes for Paris, by the way.

[Skinz4Life12]

The only reason I'd like to go to Munich on the trip is for Oktoberfest. The trip would coincide perfectly with Oktoberfest and I'm not sure how many other chances I'll get to experience it.

Thanks for all the info though, its been very helpful.

Can you estimate how long the train ride from London to Paris is? What about Paris to Amsterdam? I certainly don't want to be on the train for more than a few hours unless its a sleeper like you mentioned

[Tulane Skins Fan]

The only reason I'd like to go to Munich on the trip is for Oktoberfest. The trip would coincide perfectly with Oktoberfest and I'm not sure how many other chances I'll get to experience it.

Thanks for all the info though, its been very helpful.

Can you estimate how long the train ride from London to Paris is? What about Paris to Amsterdam? I certainly don't want to be on the train for more than a few hours unless its a sleeper like you mentioned

Amsterdam blows. :mytwocents:

[techboy]

Can you estimate how long the train ride from London to Paris is? What about Paris to Amsterdam? I certainly don't want to be on the train for more than a few hours unless its a sleeper like you mentioned

Paris to London is like 2, 2.5 hours on the high speed Eurostar. Paris to Amsterdam is more like 3 to 4 on the high speed trains. I have to go to class, but you can play around with different destinations on the German website I linked (it's in English).

[Skinz4Life12]

Amsterdam blows. :mytwocents:

Really? Why do you say that?

[Tulane Skins Fan]

Really? Why do you say that?

Grey, dirty city. Not really a lot to do there. Van Gogh museum was the coolest thing, by far. I guess you have to really want to smoke pot to have a good time in Amsterdam.