June in Germany and Austria – our Trip to Bachfest
PART 3 - European train travel, and our day in Dresden, Germany
During the trip to Bachfest in Leipzig, we had 2 free days in a row after the first 4 days of concerts and touring. The first day we took to rest, work, and explore the gigantic train station in Leipzig, since we were taking our first European train trip in many years the next day. Here are my pics from our station:
I had booked our tickets for the day in Dresden through a travel partner named Rail Europe.
https://www.raileurope.com/en-ca
It’s really easy to book on their site, and they pay out agent commissions almost right away, rather than after the trip has taken place. Of course, you can book directly through their site without using an agent. I strongly recommend booking trains well in advance, choosing your class of travel, and making special note of your train number, its ultimate destination (which may or may not be your stop) your car number, (wagen) and seat number. What we found weird during our 5 train trips in both Germany and Austria was that people just go and sit anywhere, and then when confronted that they’re in your seat, they’re either pissed off or surprised that you’re asking them to move. By the time this happened the 5th time (on our trip from Salzburg to Vienna), I just showed the woman my ticket, pointed to the seat number, and yelled “GET OUT”! I’d had it by that time. LOL
Otherwise, train travel in Europe is fabulous and easy. As my traveling companion says, “Europe could teach North America many things, if only North America were willing to listen.” Train travel rather than clogging highways is a prime example of this. Their trains are electric, and they have their own tracks, (i.e., not sharing them with freight lines as we do in Canada), enabling them to be super fast and efficient. They also post the current speed of the train on the screens within your car. At one point, we were traveling 240 km per hour! It certainly puts VIA Rail and the GO train to shame.
Trains in Germany are almost NEVER late, and when they are, by even 5 minutes, they are super apologetic about it. There is free wifi on board, which you can use to order food and drink on the train from your seat. It’s a wonderful way to travel!
To find your train in Germany, check the electronic information displays at the station for your train's number, destination, and platform/track. (Gleis). Then use the platform displays or a wagon sequence poster on the platform to find your specific coach (Wagen) and seat. Sometimes the 1st class car will be at the front of the train and sometimes not. When you’re shlepping a tonnage of luggage (as you know we do), it’s important to be prepared and standing at the right spot, as the trains don’t necessarily stay in one station for very long.
Anyway, we cased out the Leipzig train station on Monday to prepare for our trip to Dresden on Tuesday. Here’s a blurb about Dresden:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dresden
We had heard from friends that it was a city not to be missed, and they were right. Dresden, like Leipzig, is beautiful and charming. We had 2 activities planned – since my travel companion is NOT a sightseer, I try to pick excursions that will be enjoyable for him. I used Get Your Guide (https://www.getyourguide.com/) and booked the Dresden River Sightseeing Cruise (the Elbe) and the tour of the VW Transparent Electric Car Factory.
There was something magical about being on a boat/ship and cruising down the Elbe River, drinking wine on a Tuesday, and hearing about the sites on each side.
After the cruise, we walked to the centre of town, had a quick look inside the Frauenkirche https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frauenkirche,_Dresden, (spectacular but no inside pics allowed), and then had a yummy lunch at a café with a view of the Church.
After lunch, despite being told one cannot get a taxi in Dresden, we walked in the direction of the VW Factory, hailed a taxi, and ended up there in about 10 minutes. After the required security checks, we met our tour group, and learned about electric cars in general, VW’s approach to making them, and saw various parts of the factory. We could take pictures of some of the areas, but not of the assembly line, as they prefer not to give away proprietary information. But I will tell you, the assembly line was really neat. Seeing how they combine human work and automated work is amazing. We saw many parts of the vehicle assembly process. (they call it “the marriage”) Steve was fascinated that the assembly line floor is wood, and the guide explained that this is because the robots are guided by magnets in the floor, and a wood floor makes it easier for the robots to detect the magnets.
Here are pics of what I was able to photograph – the area where assembled vehicles are lined up, waiting to be picked up by their new owners that day – they book them well in advance. The other picture is of the tower of completed cars that are waiting to be shipped out. It was a really interesting tour and I’d recommend it if you go to Dresden.
The front desk staff at the factory called a taxi for us, and we returned to the train station to catch our train back to Leipzig – it was a great way to spend a free day!
Next week, we’ll talk about our 2 day trip to Salzburg, Austria.
I’d love to help you with your trip planning!
Happy Travels!