The start of the adventure...

Part One. Niestetal, Hessel First of July: Valencia Airport to Frankfurt (Hahn) had one hour delay but the shouts of “Gol” from the waiting passengers kept the atmosphere light. Yes Spain has won the European Cup. Great! Hahn is a long way from the city of Frankfurt so Hotel Advance was booked for a very late arrival time. The booked airport/hotel pickup didn´t happen and I arrived by taxi to a closed reception but an open door and envelope lying there with a room key. Three flights of stairs with suitcase wasn´t the best at 1a.m. Breakfast was good, hotel spotless, my 9 euro taxi fare was refunded (how kind) and I was dropped off at airport for the regular bus to Frankfurt´s main railway station (1.75 hours). The information system there was super efficient despite the 45 minute queuing time and I asked for recommendations for the different types of rail passes. As I had no definite plans about how many journeys I’d be making and when, the friendly assistant offered a very flexible German Railpass which gives a full month’s rail travel for 299 euros which will prove beneficial. I got the impression that they would rather sell the passes with restrictions but as I played “dumb”, I ended up with a terrific deal. Just think…I can use this for all rail journeys (except sleepers). By the end of week two, it had already paid for itself and more importantly, meant I didn’t have to waste time searching for fare deals or purchasing tickets. Just hop on and show the pass and passport. Oddly enough, in Berlin, where I used it every day, no one asked if I had a ticket! A daily ticket there would have been 6.30 or 6.80 depending on the zone. So easy….I thoroughly recommend getting one if intending to explore Germany and wishing complete flexibility.