I will be finishing a three week trip in Amsterdam before I head over to Nuremberg to live for a couple of years. I will be in Amsterdam through the 25th of August, but then I have a couple of days to be flexible before I need to be in Nuremberg. So, I am thinking that it would be fun to check out a new city for a couple of days, but I also want to stick to a pretty thin budget. Some of my thoughts so far have been Copenhagen, Prague, or Dusseldorf. Firstly, could anyone give me a recommendation on a good city to spend 2-3 days in? Secondly, does anyone have any tips as far as transportation goes? It looks pretty cheep to get to any of these cities from Amsterdam, but much more expensive to travel into Germany. Are there any ways around this? I have heard that the busses within Germany are fairly cheep...would this make Dusseldorf a better option? I'm just playing around with a couple of options, and I appreciate any and all imput. Thanks!
The cheapest way to get to Dusseldorf is probably by train on a Saturday or Sunday, taking most of the day and leaving early in the morning. You would have to pay the normal fare from Amsterdam to the first town across the border in Germany. But once there, you can leave the train, pay for a "Schoeneswochenende" (Happy Weekend) ticket which costs around 33 Euros (and I think 3 extra from the ticket machines but you can buy from a kiosk), and board the next train which isn't a high speed train.
The website bahn.de will help you sort out your route in advance. You can select English language on the website. Search for information about "Schoeneswochenende" tickets to see the codes for the types of train you can use (I think S-Bahn, RB, IRE and RE) and enter these in your route search and you can print the results.
Unless things have changed recently, you can't buy this type of ticket in advance of the day of travel, though there is never any problem buying it. And it is valid from 6 a.m. to 2 or 3 a.m. the morning after the date of purchase.
It is nice to spend all day travelling, and if you have heavy bags, you only have to move them from one platform of a station to another each time you change. Make sure you leave about twenty to twenty-five minutes for this at the bigger stations if you do have heavy luggage between each train arrival and departure time.
You can go anywhere in Germany for this price on Saturday and, paying again, on Sunday. I used to use it to get from Prague to Amsterdam or Frankfurt, paying less than a third of the cheapest rail ticket I could have bought normally, which wouldn't have been on high speed trains either.
When you are in Germany, you may appreciate this opportunity to travel a lot at the weekend for little money also.
German rail site: bahn.de
NS offers specials to Düsseldorf from EUR 19,00.
Prague is something you could do easier/cheaper from Nuremberg. There is a Prag Spezial offer Nuremberg - Prague and return for EUR 49,00 (one of the few specials which are not restricted in numbers and thus always available).
As you will stay longer in Germany you should consider buying a BahnCard 50. Maybe with RAILPLUS option which gives further discounts on travels abroad. Nice thing with the 50% discount of this BahnCard is that you get always this discount, e.g. also for a weekend trip. Specials limited in number are on the contrary difficult to find for weekend trips.
> I have heard that the busses within Germany are fairly cheep...
Hmmm ...? Buses which do not exist are cheep for sure.
There are really few long distance bus connections in Germany. The only frequent such connections are between Hamburg and Berlin.
If you choose Düsseldorf, you could proceed via Cologne and the Middle Rhine Valley to Nüremberg.
DB timetable
From: D
To: N
Via: Koblenz
You need to give Koblenz as a via station to enforce the Middle Rhine route. By default the DB timetable will give you the faster connections via the highspeed train route bypassing the Rhine valley. But the Rhine route is cheaper and much more scenic. Albeit also slower.
Bearing in mind that you'll be spending 2 years in Nurnberg, I wouldn't go somewhere too close to that city, as you will have plenty of opportunity in the future. So I'd rule out Prague - it's on a direct train line from Nurnberg, and easy to get to. Also, you're better off visiting Prague outside of Summer, as it's heaving with tourists in August.
That said, I think Prague is the nicest of the three places you've suggested.
I went to Berlin by train last weekend from Den Haag, and it cost me 75 euros return on the train, if you book in advance (i.e. sooner rather than later). I also travelled cheaply to Koln last December by booking a month in advance (a great city, by the way, and personally I'd go there above Dusseldorf). So you might be ok with travel prices if you plan ahead.
If you can get these cheap deals, then maybe you could try Vienna? Or even Budapest? Because I don't know where your interests lie, I can't recommend somewhere as a definite choice, but you're in the lucky position that you're actually spoiled for choice - I reckon Nurnberg is a good city to have as a base in the future!
Do stay just that weekend in AMS longer: from FRI 24/8 till SUn 26/8 is the UITMARKT= 1 giant new 'what the theaters will show next season, with an enormous lot of freebies etc, this year on that 'splendid' (I sit there now) newly built architectural gem, the East harbor area, walkable from Central along the waterfront.
for just the rip to DUS on day 1 do NOT need weekendticket: go to ANY AH supermarket (NOT in stations), buy the special SUMMerdaypass for 20 euro, can use any day in august and now july, stamp on day used, valid till border point, use train via VENLO (change eindhoven), buy at the orange machine a VRR single for 8,30 or so euro, valid till Dusseldorf (or Essen , orn Dortmund), this is as you most likely will be unable to get the nS 19 EUR special, they simply dont sell those as singles and also you ned to get that ticket mailed to some specific adress.
but this ticket is OK for any longer furhter trips IN Deutschland.
Why not explore the Netherlands for a bit more? The Dutch Railways offers their "summer tour ticket" - zomertour, which costs 59€ and you can travel for two full days all across the country.
Leiden, Utrecht, Groningen, Maastricht, there are a few more nice cities!
There is a nice website for private transport, but only in german language.
http://www.mitfahrgelegenheit.de/<BR><BR>Try to find someone who help you with it.
It's very easy.
regards
Tilo Preitz
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