London to the Rhine Valley

[Neil_M]

Took a trip to the Rhine Valley in Germany last weekend.

Eurostar at 1434 from St Pancras to Brussels, (only 2 hours now!) 30 minute connection at Brussels Midi easily made onto the 1759 ICE departure to Cologne and Frankfurt. Arrived at Cologne on time at 2015. All very seamless and pleasant. Spent the night in Cologne and enjoyed the vibrant nightlife!

Next day took a stroll around the town and took some photos, including the very busy rail line over the river into the Hauptbanhof, always impressive!

Caught an Inter City service at 1352 from Cologne to Koblenz and then a local service to Boppard, our base for the next 3 nights.

Drunk beer, watched the trains and barges and just enjoyed the scenery and castles along the river. Caught a few boat trips including a trip on the steam paddle cruiser 'Goethe' from Bingen to Boppard. Great restaurant on that boat!

Home on the Tuesday via Cologne, with a 1 hr 45 minute break there in order to take lunch at Fruh, a beerhouse of some repute!

Trip home was same as outward, German ICE from Cologne to Brussels and Eurostar back to London. Back in London by 1900.

Excellent tripette, anyone in the area would be daft to miss out on the Rhine Valley, its an incredibly beautiful river valley, with some picture postcard towns, castles on the hilltops and a 2 track busy railway on each bank!!!!

Some photos here http://50031.fotopic.net/c1562412.html and here http://50031.fotopic.net/c1564754.html

 

[MrFSS]

Took a trip to the Rhine Valley in Germany last weekend.Eurostar at 1434 from St Pancras to Brussels, (only 2 hours now!) 30 minute connection at Brussels Midi easily made onto the 1759 ICE departure to Cologne and Frankfurt. Arrived at Cologne on time at 2015. All very seamless and pleasant. Spent the night in Cologne and enjoyed the vibrant nightlife!

Next day took a stroll around the town and took some photos, including the very busy rail line over the river into the Hauptbanhof, always impressive!

Caught an Inter City service at 1352 from Cologne to Koblenz and then a local service to Boppard, our base for the next 3 nights.

Drunk beer, watched the trains and barges and just enjoyed the scenery and castles along the river. Caught a few boat trips including a trip on the steam paddle cruiser 'Goethe' from Bingen to Boppard. Great restaurant on that boat!

Home on the Tuesday via Cologne, with a 1 hr 45 minute break there in order to take lunch at Fruh, a beerhouse of some repute!

Trip home was same as outward, German ICE from Cologne to Brussels and Eurostar back to London. Back in London by 1900.

Excellent tripette, anyone in the area would be daft to miss out on the Rhine Valley, its an incredibly beautiful river valley, with some picture postcard towns, castles on the hilltops and a 2 track busy railway on each bank!!!!

Some photos here http://50031.fotopic.net/c1562412.html and here http://50031.fotopic.net/c1564754.html

Thanks for the report. I would love to make a trip like that. Four years ago we took a river cruise from Vienna to Amsterdam and the night we were in Cologne the ship docked almost right under the rail bridge. We were told a train enters or leaves that station every 30 seconds during rush hours.

Great beer in Koblenz!

Your pictures bring back many memories.

 

[WhoozOn1st]

WOW. We don't see many reports and pics like THAT. Sehr cool.

Danke, Herr M.

 

[abqdave]

I have never been to Germany, but those photos certainly make me want to. Would being able to speak only English be a problem when traveling in Europe?

In the first photo of the ICE train, I wonder what that plastic tube hanging out of the nose is?

 

[MrFSS]

I have never been to Germany, but those photos certainly make me want to. Would being able to speak only English be a problem when traveling in Europe?

We were in Austria, Germany, Belgium and Holland for a month and never had a problem only speaking English. Most folks over there, especially the younger set, speak perfect English.

 

[WhoozOn1st]

I have never been to Germany, but those photos certainly make me want to. Would being able to speak only English be a problem when traveling in Europe?

We were in Austria, Germany, Belgium and Holland for a month and never had a problem only speaking English. Most folks over there, especially the younger set, speak perfect English.

MrFSS is right. Most Europeans are multilingual, and English is a strong suit.

It does help to know at least a few German phrases, though. A particularly helpful one is "Ich blute stark, und brauche sofort einen Artzt."

 

[Neil_M]

I have never been to Germany, but those photos certainly make me want to. Would being able to speak only English be a problem when traveling in Europe?
In the first photo of the ICE train, I wonder what that plastic tube hanging out of the nose is?

My German isn't so good but I have never been stuck for words. It does seem to be that in the former West Germany english speaking is a lot more common than the former East, but you might expect that.I think Russian was the most common 2nd language taught in the schools.

Visiting a big city like Cologne or Frankfurt language is less of an issue than in some small village in the Harz mountains, but I wouldn't let that put you off. There are lots of organised railway holiday companys in Europe, so maybe that's the way to go if you need to find your feet for the first time.

Safety in numbers and with a tour guide and all that!

The 'pipe' you see on the front of the ICE is part of the coupler which is behind the nose door and when two units are coupled together then it 'draws' the 2 couplers together so they come together straight.

The same set up is fitted to the French TGVs as well.

http://50031.fotopic.net/p45296751.html

 

[gaspeamtrak]

Took a trip to the Rhine Valley in Germany last weekend.Eurostar at 1434 from St Pancras to Brussels, (only 2 hours now!) 30 minute connection at Brussels Midi easily made onto the 1759 ICE departure to Cologne and Frankfurt. Arrived at Cologne on time at 2015. All very seamless and pleasant. Spent the night in Cologne and enjoyed the vibrant nightlife!

Next day took a stroll around the town and took some photos, including the very busy rail line over the river into the Hauptbanhof, always impressive!

Caught an Inter City service at 1352 from Cologne to Koblenz and then a local service to Boppard, our base for the next 3 nights.

Drunk beer, watched the trains and barges and just enjoyed the scenery and castles along the river. Caught a few boat trips including a trip on the steam paddle cruiser 'Goethe' from Bingen to Boppard. Great restaurant on that boat!

Home on the Tuesday via Cologne, with a 1 hr 45 minute break there in order to take lunch at Fruh, a beerhouse of some repute!

Trip home was same as outward, German ICE from Cologne to Brussels and Eurostar back to London. Back in London by 1900.

Excellent tripette, anyone in the area would be daft to miss out on the Rhine Valley, its an incredibly beautiful river valley, with some picture postcard towns, castles on the hilltops and a 2 track busy railway on each bank!!!!

Some photos here http://50031.fotopic.net/c1562412.html and here http://50031.fotopic.net/c1564754.html

AWESOME!!! MORE STORIES AND PICTURES PLEASE NEIL!!!???

 

[Neil_M]

AWESOME!!! MORE STORIES AND PICTURES PLEASE NEIL!!!???

I quite fancy another trip to Switzerland! Always good fun and lots of railway stuff to see and do,September and October is good travelling time. Lots of places I want to go, but its a chore trying to fit them all in! :angry:

 

[caravanman]

Nice trip report, it reminded me of some of my own European trips.. I have been reluctant to post reports about them here as they 'aint Amtrak.. what do folk think?

I should mention great advice available from "The man in seat 61" web site for anyone considering a euro rail trip.. indeed it covers seeing the whole world by rail! www.seat61.com http://www.seat61.com/aboutme.htm

Ed B)

 

[MrFSS]

Nice trip report, it reminded me of some of my own European trips.. I have been reluctant to post reports about them here as they 'ain't Amtrak.. what do folk think?I should mention great advice available from "The man in seat 61" web site for anyone considering a euro rail trip.. indeed it covers seeing the whole world by rail! www.seat61.com http://www.seat61.com/aboutme.htm

Ed B)

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Post travelogues and trip reports of your rail journeys here. All reports involving trains and/or monorails are welcome here. While most reports do include riding on Amtrak, it is not a requirement to have taken a ride on Amtrak to post a trip report here.

 

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