The trains I took in Europe:

I love taking trains when I am travelling. Maybe it’s the lack of trains in Canada although I have had the privilege to travel on trains regularly while working such as the Rocky Mountaineer, a luxury train with different routes where you overnight in a hotel or of course VIA Rail that connects the East with the West where you sleep on the train.

Canadian trains are very different from Europe, not a lot of fast commuter trains. In the big cities you’ll find subways in Toronto and commuter trains in the East between Windsor, Ontario and Quebec City, remote trains running on elevated tracks like the Skytrain in Vancouver, or the C-train in Calgary that is powered by green energy from wind turbines.

Trains in Europe are relaxed and stress free for me, I don’t have to deal with crazy traffic on the roads, they get you where you want to go smoothly (normally) and you can read, sleep, watch the scenery change, day dream, or write a blog. 🙄

Cost wise if you travel on your own definitely a great option too. There are many options to reduce your expenses even further by choosing the less frequented times, less direct connections, saver fares and train cards/Bahnkarten that you can purchase to get discounts on train tickets, 2nd class, 1st class, and international options like the Eurail Pass and Interrail Pass (if you live in Europe).

I purchased a trial card 1st class which gave me 25% off any purchasing price. Love taking the fast ICE trains in Germany and they give you an automatic seat reservation too which I find relaxing as you know where to go, which car to look for, and there is no hauling your bags around the train to find a seat. Especially during popular travel hours and destinations this makes a big difference.

I did run into a bit of trouble with my discount card as I purchased it online through the DB app and it was not automatically added to my profile. In fact I only received my access PIN 3 days later and even then I had to go a long way through the main page to purchase a discounted ticket and add the Bahnkarte as I couldn’t make it work through the app. So be aware when you purchase your own tickets online. If you purchase tickets in person just show the Bahnkarte/train card and it’s super easy. It is recommendable though to purchase tickets ahead of time if you know when and where you want to go as they are usually cheaper than booking them on short notice. And if you get a trial card make sure you cancel it again right away. Otherwise it turns into a subscription and you end up with a full annual card.

Trains in Germany are in very good shape and quite pleasant. And it’s a lot more environmentally friendly than taking your car. There are lots of options to get you to your destination with multiple departures to choose from. And they are very punctual. I overheard a conversation where a long distance train was running 42 minutes late due to a damaged train bridge where a truck had crashed and the travellers were quite upset. Compare that to Canadian train delays due to heavy freight traffic on the tracks that can last many hours, in the past even a full day.

When I took the train from Venice to Munich I had the fast German ICE in mind but it was an older Austrian Euro City Train which was not quite as fancy. It got me safe and smooth to Munich though and the best part was seeing all these areas I had hiked through again, this time from the train. The EC or Euro City is a collaboration between the main train companies for each participating country: Trenitalia (Italy), SBB (Switzerland), Deutsche Bahn (Germany) and OBB (Austria) connecting Austria, France, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, and Poland.

There are many regional trains connecting the bigger cities with the country side. The Deutsche Bahn kept all their intercity connections within the company, the regional traffic is mostly outsourced to private companies and therefore very different looking trains.

There are commuter trains with a big network all around every major city and Inter City Trains, faster and less stops.

And of course the ICE, the fastest city connections, my favourite. I booked early so a trip from Munich to Frankfurt for example cost me only Euro 39.90 in First Class. You also have free wifi, a dining car, and even a waiter service that will bring food, coffee and drinks right to your seat if you are travelling First Class. And it’s so quiet and smooth!