The Best Way to get around Germany

Recently I made two trips in Germany to visit friends and family. Considering that there are various ways of getting around, it basically comes down to price for me which one to use. I could rent a car, take the train, fly, find a bus, or share a ride with someone. Although we Americans are very individualistic and don't feel very comfortable about traveling places with random strangers, and rather be in the comfort of our own cars, for many Germans and young people in Europe, owning a car is just too expensive and ride sharing a good alternative.

Driving in Germany, despite Germany's obsession and pride in their automobile industry is still quite an expensive luxury. In fact, owning a car in Germany is the number one money eating luxury for someone's personal expenses. Remarkably, cars are about 1.8 times more expensive here, despite them being built here, insurance rates are on par if not a little lower, but gasoline is a whopping 2.5x more expensive. Ever feel pain at the pump? As an American, coming to Germany, driving may burn holes in your pockets faster than you thought imaginable!

America's love of unleaded gasoline cars is only so strong because Americans have never really seen high gas prices. I understand everything is relative and when prices shoot up 200% it hurts, but we have it lucky. Oil, for now, is traded in dollars and so changes in prices, albeit, acute are not so bad for us. For Europeans, a change in the price of a barrel of oil has distinct consequences, because not only do they see the price fluctuate, but the prices also have to be adjusted for currency value as well. Recently, the US Dollar has become stronger and the Euro weaker. This only exacerbates the price fluctuations in oil.

50% of cars in Germany run on diesel, and their not smelly, slow or gross pollutants. Since diesel has more carbon bonds per cubic cm than regular fuel, it can propel a vehicle over a larger distances using the same amount. That usually means that European cars with their 1.8l engines and smaller can travel over 47mpg or about 5l/100km on the standard European driving cycle. Most of these cars are still able to drive at autobahn speeds as well.

To make it short, gasoline is €1.39 per litre for regular. That's about €5.25 per US gallon. Want to know the dollar price? $7.13 per gallon.

Are you ready to pay $7.13 for a gallon of gas? In reality however, the gas prices in Europe are so high also due to the very high taxes Europeans governments levy on gasoline and fossil fuels in general.

>>> Driving is really expensive, and renting cars and owning them are extreme luxuries.

German Railways are also very reliable (most of the time) and offer frequent services. You can get basically anywhere in Germany and often will get their much faster than driving. Due to higher population densities and the high cost of driving, training is a great alternative. Many people purchase month travel cards for their local region so that they can use the public transportation in their regions unlimitedly. This is a great deal as the price is often pennies on the dollar when paying for every individual ride fare. Many people commute this way to work despite owning a car too.

However, taking a Deutsche Bahn train anywhere in Germany is also quite expensive. Despite Germany subsidizing the industry, (it's a money loosing industry and very very expensive to operate: not unlike the US airline industry). To take a train ride 100km (62 miles) on a high speed train, the price is somewhere around €20-30. So taking a train can become quite expensive as well. Traveling Frankfurt to Berlin is approximately 4 hours with the high speed train. The price per direction? 126€. That's full fare of course, and sometimes there are rebates for early bookers. For those prices, it's often times cheaper to even fly.

So, for people like me, who have to watch their expenses, ride sharing is a great way of getting around and meeting new people. It's called mitfahrgelegenheit in Germany. Mit Fahr Gelegenheit >> With Drive Opportunity directly translated.

Going online to www.mitfahrgelegenheit.de, one will find a search function where one can look up who's driving where and contact that person to see if they have seats available. Often times, cars are booked full and you have to call various listings to see if you can get a ride. This is a great feature, I think, because you pay approximately 25% of the train ride, and you get to meet new people and reduce your carbon footprint by driving fewer cars and reducing road congestion. Although it has its disadvantages as well, as ride sharing often is late trying to make an appointment requires you to leave well before to ensure you get there on time.

Yesterday I travelled Frankfurt to Berlin. The 1 way price? 25€. Travel time: 9 hours!!!! but this is an extreme case due to Easter Weekend traffic, impatient autobahn drivers, and the end of the work week. Luckily, the people who I drove with were all approximately my age and I made some great new friends. I also got to practice my German, see the countryside and learn a lot of random facts. We drove in a Mercedes-Benz B Class or small tall vehicle. It was a rental so it was quite nice because it was new. The drive took so long though because of heavy traffic and multiple accidents causing the complete blockage of all three travel lanes.

Some pictures.

So whenever I plan on traveling in Germany, I make sure to check out mitfahrgelegenheit because I can often save 80% of my travel costs and I'm pretty flexible with my times. Of course, I also have the advantage of getting 50% all train travel with my BahnCard50, so I always have a reliable backup option.

Unfortunately, I don't really see this becoming an option in the US as our distances are just too far to drive places, and the relatively slow speed limits on our highways makes flying much faster. Also, prices aren't so high here that it's even that necessary. From Detroit to Chicago, I believe there is a bus for only $10 each way with WIFI, so when cost is a factor, we have other choices.