ON THE (T)RAILS

What do Neckarsteinach, Kaiserslautern, Bensheim, Jockgrim, Wiesental and Biblis have in common, besides the fact that all are locations of  Volksmarches?
Answer: they're all very accessible by train thanks to the VRN (the local regional public transportation network) and its 24-hr. plus ticket. For the price of between 6 and a maximum 14 Euro, you can spend all day Saturday AND Sunday enjoying the comfort and convenience of any local regional train, bus or tram in an area reaching from K-town in the west to Osterburken in the east and from Bensheim in the north to Eppingen in the south.  Why, you can even take the train to France (Wissembourg or Lauterbourg)!  The best part is, you can take up to 4 friends with you at no extra charge!! And for those whose volksmarching takes them a little further away, I suggest getting a "Nice Weekend" (schoenes Wochenende) ticket for 28 Euro. This ticket is good EITHER Saturday or Sunday on all local and regional trains and allows you to take the same 4 friends along, too!  You'd be surprised how many start halls are located right in front of the railroad station, in fact they couldn't be any closer! Take Kindsbach, Kirnsulzbach, Muenchweiler (Rodalb), Jockgrim for instance.  Many city transport systems also accept this ticket on their local trams and buses (Karlsruhe, Heilbronn) and certainly on any S-trains (Stuttgart, Frankfurt), so if a connector from the HBF to the start hall is needed, there is no need to get any other ticket. For those who are "nuts" about riding trains (like me), I suggest looking into purchasing a BahnCard, a wallet-size card good for one year which gives you a 25% discount on any railroad ticket, regardless of train type (even the ICE). By purchasing your ticket in advance and taking friends along you can save even more, as much as 62.5%.   Even if you only make 2 trips per year say Heidelberg-Hamburg or Heidelberg-Berlin, the BahnCard is worth your while.

So, why not "leave the driving to them", sit back and relax while enjoying the scenery on your way to the volksmarches, enjoy a beer or two (or more!) after the event and put your feet up and snooze on the way home!  Anyone wishing to try it out for the first time, please feel free to get in touch with me; I'll be glad to play travel guide. See you on the (t)rails???

Don Casper
HIWC Translator
Tel. 0621/853780 (answering machine)
E-Mail: Don.Casper@t-online.de