why not take you guys with me so you can see what it's like for me to get on the
German train and negotiate all of that as an American. hey guys! what's up it's
Kelly again and welcome back to my channel. I went to Rüdesheim about a year ago
when I first got here and I absolutely loved it but the weather wasn't that
great and so I really really want to go back and check out this gorgeous
monument, it's massive you can see it all the way down from the Rhine, and I want
to hike up to it. I think there's also a cable car you can take up to it and
check it out. so let's go!
all the train stations have these charts which lists out every single train by
its arrival time and platform number. so this says that my first train leaves at
1113 from platform 3a. there are also electronic signs like this one which
reflects any platform changes and delays.
there are all sorts of trains in Germany to include the famous high-speed trains
or ICE which stands for inter-city Express. this one's just a regional train
though which is quite a bit slower and takes way more frequent stops. depending
on the type of train there will be different cars available like first
class, business class, second class, quiet zones... just make sure you pay attention
to which car you're sitting in because it will get a little awkward for you
when they come to check your ticket and find out you're in the wrong spot. the
trains all have bathrooms and trash cans you can also get a seat with a table in
which you will see friends or families sitting together and playing games and
so on. the trains are owned and operated by a
private company called Deutsche Bahn and from what I understand the German
government helps to subsidize tickets to make it more affordable for Germans to
be able to travel by train. you can pretty much take a train anywhere in
Germany. their railways system is impressive and a lot of Germans rely on
the trains for travel both for pleasure and for work.
I haven't had to ask anyone for a ride to the airport since I moved here and
when I travel by train I can just turn my brain off and relax or even sleep.
I've even been able to take a really long bike ride to a city and then just
take the train back but if you plan to do this, just make sure you get the train
that allows bikes because not all of them do and you have to buy a special
ticket for your bike as well. not knowing German makes riding the train extra fun.
some trains do announcements in both German and English but some don't so if
there are announcements made about a train delay or issue I sometimes don't
really know what's going on. I usually just read the body language of
the people around me and if it seems like suddenly everyone's really stressed
or disappointed I'll ask someone around me if they speak English and can tell me
what's going on but if everyone seems relatively unaffected I'll just roll
with it. and never board the train without a ticket because they do check
and if you get caught, you'll get fined. I have successfully
made it to Rüdesheim and right when I was getting off the train, the deutsche
bahn worker I don't really know their proper title, the one that goes around
and checks all the tickets and make sure everything's going alright... she stopped
me and noticed that I was filming so she clearly knew I was a tourist and
told me to make sure that I get some Rüdesheim coffee. I guess it's a special
coffee here so I will be checking that out. she was really, really nice! The monument I want to
go to is right behind me up on this hill and there's a couple ways you can get up
there. you can hike or walk or you can take this cable car which maybe you can
see it running behind me I think I'm gonna take the cable car to get up there
to take in the view and see the vineyard from above and then I will walk back
down. during my travels throughout Germany I've seen a lot of old buildings
with paintings like this one on its outside walls and I think it gives it a
nice unique characteristic. another thing that I've noticed specifically in the
Rhineland Pfalz, Hessen region of Germany, I don't know where else, but there will
be this combination of letters and symbols and numbers painted on a door or
written in chalk and I believe that refers to a very specific Bible verse.
and that's not the only thing to see up here. I think there are trails that take
you to some castle ruins so let's check it out!
and here is the castle. it looks like it's gated off so I won't be able to go
into it. when I came to Germany I of course expected to see some castles
but I was amazed by how many castles there are, especially all up and down the
Rhein, and if you look at the history of Germany it makes sense why there are so
many but I just I didn't think about it. I'm gonna walk down to the zentrum or
the center of Rüdesheim and try to find one of those coffees that she told
me about.
I really didn't know what I was getting myself into that was elaborate. it's
really good! that coffee was good but it was a little bit more than I expected
and I am feeling it, but it's time to catch a train to go back to Mainz.
I am finally back home from the day I spent in Rüdesheim. I got to see that
huge monument, got to see the castle ruins, walk around the vineyard just like
I wanted to, and on my way home I actually had the train with the same
woman from the train that I took to Rüdesheim and I was able to tell her
what I thought of the Rüdesheim coffee. so that's all I have for you guys today!
I hope that you enjoyed this video. if you haven't subscribed to my channel yet
click, Subscribe if you saw anything that you want to correct me on or tell me how
I can do it better just put it in the comments. I love to read them and I
really try to respond to them. thanks guys! bye!