Freiburg im Breisgau Travel Forum

I'm taking a trip to Germany in about two weeks (and am waiting until now to plan...) Anyways, my original plan had been to go from Frankfurt (where my flight gets in) to HEidelberg, spend the night there, and then spend the next day in the Black Forest. Now I'm sort of leaning towards spending the night in Freiberg, though. Does anyone have any advice for spending longer in Heidelberg or Freiberg? Also, I have a Euro Youth Railpass, so are there trains into Freiberg that I can use my pass on? If not, what other way is there for me to get to Freiberg? Thanks for any help!

Go online to bahn.de and look up the train sched, there are several trains a day from Frankfurt to Freiburg. Your Eurail Pass is good On DeutscheBahn. Did you get a first or second class pass? Why do I ask? Because in summer, especially when you are going, the universities are ending and the 2nd class cars, escpecially on weekends may be packed with students going to or from school. You may have trouble finding a spot unless you buy a 1st class up-grade. Usually first class is not full on any trains. I'd prefer Heidelberg myself, but Freiberg may be cheaper as it isn't as big a tourist town as H-berg is. Gute Faehrt!

Also, did you realize that the World Cup is going on at that time? You may have to alter your plans if the city where you want to go is hosting a game when you want to go there. It's likely going to be packed!

Bill is right that nearly all trains in Germany are of the national railway, and can be looked up at www.bahn.de . I assume that your pass is a 2nd class pass (I don't think 1st class is an option here). Note that some trains in Europe are first class only, and to ride on them, you will have to upgrade (basically pay a surcharge that is the difference between first class and second class). Other trains (or sometimes the same ones) require reservations for all seats; in this case, you will need to make a reservation for a second class seat, even though you won't have to pay extra for the seat. Not to worry, reservations are cheap (at least, they are in Italy - 3 euro), and, as the other Bill points out, they may be occasions this summer when they will be useful.

Note that if the train doesn't require reservations, then anyone with a ticket can board, whether or not the train is oversold. This happens sometimes, and you just sit in the aisleway or stand around - it's a great way to meet other young travelers ;-)

Anyway, go to www.bahn.de and get used to the train features and schedules...and have a great time!

Bill

DB timetable
http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.exe/e
From: FRA Airport
To: Heidelberg
To: Freiburg

All trains which will show up are covered by your Eurail Pass.

I guess you want to go to Freiburg im Breisgau, as you posted it in this forum.
A university town with a famous cathedral at the Black Forest.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freiburg
There is also a Freiberg in Saxony.
A university town with a famous cathedral in the Ore Mountains.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freiberg%2C_Saxony

Make sure to use the correct spelling, FreibUrg, not FreibErg,when you check bahn.de Otherwise you'll get a schedule for the wrong place.

>Note that some trains in Europe are first class only, and to ride on them, you will have to upgrade

This is a very very rare exception nowadays, and only in a few countries. Not in Germany. The days of TransEuropeExpress are long over...

My experience has been that one rarely needs a reservation for DB. They put a card in a slot on the luggage shelf over the seats that are reserved, and you can sit in them as long as you vacate them at or before the stop where the people who reserved them are boarding. If it is full, they pack them full, so it will be very cozy! I hope you aren't claustrophobic!
Yeah, I remember now that student passes are just 2nd class, unless that has changed, she may have to up-grade if the train is full and wants a seat. Depending on where she goes that could be a hefty charge, because they will calculate from the normal 2nd class and difference of 1st class fare for last-minute passengers! If it is on train that is going some distance that could be expensive!

>they will calculate from the normal 2nd class and difference of 1st class fare for last-minute passengers!

There is no "fare for last-minute passengers". The difference between 1st and 2nd class fare is 50% of the full 2nd class price, and that is what you will have to pay (plus 5 Euro supplement for buying from the conductor instead of before boarding). if you decide to pull your "upgrade" ticket from a ticket machine before boarding, it costs the same whether you do it 10 days or 10 minutes before boarding (the same fare as in the train, minus 5 Euro)

Thank you everyone so much for you help! I checked the train schedules (Yes, I have a second class youth pass) and have decided to go ahead and spend my first night in Heidelberg and then go to Freiburg (yikes! didn't mean to misspell that in the first one; my German teacher would be ashamed) so that I get to spend a full day in both of those cities. I e-mailed Railpass and asked about reservations and they told me they aren't necessary for any of the trains I'll be taking.

And yes, I know World Cup is going on, and I'll be arriving in Berlin and Frankfurt (to catch my flight to Azerbaijan) right on the tail ends of game days in those cities. I think in Berlin I'll miss most of the craze since the game will have ended a couple days earlier, but I'll get back into Frankfurt on the night after one of the games... but there's no avoiding it, it's where my flight leaves from.

Thank you for your help and for the links; I'll definitely be studying them, since I'm not used to public transit and schedules.