FYI. We are working on a trip for later this summer to Germany and Switzerland. Included in the itinerary will be some trips (8 as of now) on DeutscheBahn (DB) in Germany. We will take at least two trips on the DB "ICE" (InterContinent Express) trains, which can and do travel at up to 300 KM/hr per their literature. 300 KM/hr - Wooo Eeee! The old Frisco "Will Rogers", No's 3 & 4 between StL and Rolla, were never like this! Ken ps: 1.6 KM/hr = 1 MPH. Figure it out! Wooo Eeee!
Oh, I dunno'... as a kid, I remember the Frisco passenger trains coming through the Merriam, KS area pretty stinkin' fast. (However, I understand your point.) Andre Ming
Terry - I found this very interesting; thanks very much for sharing. I always enjoy seeing comments on how things "really were." Ultimately, I suppose as long as the engineer didn't arrive at his station prior to the scheduled time on the employee timetable or heeded his train orders, it sounds like anything could go? Best Regards,
Ken While the ICE trains are nice, don't make the mistake of taking the new high-speed line between Frankfort and Cologne -- the old way via Mainz and up the west side of the Rhine is one of the most interesting trips in all of Germany. Make sure you sit on the east side and you will have amazing views of the Rhine and the villages along the way. The high-speed line is either in a tunnel or else surrounded by concrete sound barriers for almost the entire distance. Fast, but not interesting. Have fun. Gordon
Ken .. I hope that you have a riverboat cruise on the Rhine planned in there as well - I know it's not a train - but a very nice way to see the countryside (boat one way - train back). Back in the "old" days, Mainz was in my top three layover points when I was working. Such a beautiful town. Your planned trip took me back to when my wife, kids, a couple friends and I took the train from Barcelona -Madrid- Paris- Geneva- Zurich- Frankfort. What a time we all had. Would jump off the train at a station stops along the way, grab a few bottles of wine, some cheeze, a couple sticks of bread, and whatever else we needed for the trip ... what a time we all had .. those were the good days. We took a lot of locals soes we could see the smaller towns and cities along the way.
Danke!, I appreciate your comments! Our planned ICE runs on DB this trip will be Dusseldorf - Bielefeld, and later, Bielefeld - Berlin. We'll be in Bielefeld for family reasons. I've never been to Berlin so I look forward to that. Eurail passes are great! No trip along the Rhine this time, though I have done that. I agree it is one of the most charming scenic travel routes there is. I still can sing "Die Lorelei" (sp?) which I learned in high school German classes. It was a thrill to actually see Lorelei later in life. I also agree that Mainz is a very nice visit. Spent only one night there, but enjoyed it. On a later trip, I rode the French TVG (TGV?) between Brussels and Paris. Again I say "Wooo Eeee"! The hammer was down! The views out the window do roll by very fast, but what was most impressive to me was a meet with one going the opposite direction. The "blur and woosh" effect is most impressive! Herr Ken
Ken, In 2005, my wife and I took the TGV Paris-Amsterdam and the ICE from Amsterdam to Frankfort. I tried to take photos with my older Nikon digital but it couldn't compensate for our speed. It was quite a treat for us to pass cars on the autobahn while going up a grade in Germany. After going to Europe I can see why a lot of people like modeling it. European railroads are very interesting but they are not the Frisco!
