[RedStripe]

Does anyone have experience with this? I've done some research online, and it looks like a popular method is to take the ICE (InterCity Express, Germany's high speed train). It looks like 3.5 hours and $106 for a 2nd class ticket. Anyone know of a better and cheaper way to get from Frankfurt to Munich?

Also, would anyone be kind enough to give RedStripe a ride from Frankfurt to Munich on Monday, July 25th. Thanks.

[Sean]

I lived in Frankfurt all my life. The ICE is the best and most conftable way to travel between these 2 cities. Unless you have a nice E90 and you know how to drive 155 mph, cause the freeway between these 2 cities has no speed limit.

[jbl16]

NO speed limits, i envy you guys soo much

[RedStripe]

Sean, does the 3.5 hours and $106 for a 2nd class ticket for a one-way fare look right to you? The price is from eurorail.com. Is it cheaper if I buy when I get there?

Also, would you know how to get to the ICE station from Frankfort International Airport? Thanks.

[Robin_NL]

Distance Frankfurt a/M- Munchen is app. 390kms(240miles) and I did it in 2 hours 20 minutes(BMW 330d E46)or so but the ICE is a comfy way of travelling.

[Thomas]

Or you can fly to Munich. I'm flying from Eindhoven (Holland) to Milan (Italy) for €40 (all taxes included).
I checked www.vliegwinkel.nl and you have a ticket to Munich from Frankfurt on 25th of July for €70 euro's incl all taxes.. This site has got an English version so you can check it for yourself. If you google around you'll probably find even cheaper fares..

[RedStripe]

Thanks Thomas for that reply. And everyone else, too. I was inspired to do some more searching, and I found out the source I gave earlier (eurorail.com) was incorrect. I was actually looking at raileurope.com. Anyways, I've deduced that raileurope.com is like a third party vendor or a travel agent. They add value by producing an English website specifically for Americans and they send you the tickets in the mail.

If you're looking to go straight to the source, visit www.bahn.de, the official site of Deutsche Bahn, Germany's privatized national railway. You can go there and buy tickets which you can print from home. That $106 fare I mentioned from RailEurope.com can be had for €79 or as little as €29 if you buy in advance and accept restrictions on the ticket (use of selected train is required, refund excluded). Furthermore, they will show the FULL schedule of trains (RailEurope.com only shows the express trains). English only folks, please use this link: http://www.bahn.de/app_internat.shtml

Anyways, it looks like I'll land in FRA at 11:15am Monday. I'm guessing it's going to take 1 hour to get out of the airport and into the ICE station (I'm guessing, I still have no idea how to get from FRA to the train station). If I get there by 12:15, I can catch the 12:20 IC (non-express) train to Munich which will take 4 hours and the next one after that is the 12:50 ICE which take 3.75 hours. Either way, it looks like I'm getting into Munich after 4pm, and I still haven't yet figured out how to get to the ED pickup center after I get to the Munich station.

Well, I'm not too proud to ask for help. I'll only be in Germany that Monday and Tuesday, so I desparately want to pick-up Monday. I fly out Wednesday (though I'm trying to see if I can't extend this a day or two). Anyways, anyone willing to pick me up (e90 or not) and initiate RedStripe on the "no speed limit" freeway from Frankfurt to Munich? Thanks.

[Thomas]

To get from FRA to the train station can take somewhile, because the airport is -even for American standards- gigantic. The Germans are known for their excellent direction signs, but if you're not familiar at FRA I should reserve another hour to get to the ICE..
Last year I had to go from Schiphol to Frankfurt to SF and I had after some delays 1 hour to transfer on FRA and I made it (running) just on time..

[jubol]

Guys, Take a cab from FAP to the RR station, no fuss, baggage drills, and only about 20 Min's or less ride!!
Fred

[marcus330i]

You might want to spring for a first class train ticket too....I mean after flying all night it would be nice. We took the train from Stuttgart to Munich FC and it wasn't a huge difference to go FC.

If I were you I'd figure on a Tuesday morning pickup...you're really pushing it. You have to transfer to the U6 "subway" at Munich's Hauptbahnhof and just that walk/ticket purchase/wait can be up to 30 minutes plus the ride up to Freimann and the walk to the center another 30 minutes at least.

[mwie]

Hi RedStripe,

unfortunately onyl Lufthansa is flying from Frankfurt to Munich, the cheapest round trip ticket I found is 148EUR
FRA - MUC at 12:25-13:20 on July 25th
MUC - FRA at 20:45-21:45 on July 26th

I don't know if the flight back to FRA is on time for you or if you even need one!?

Regarding the train: check Frankfurt Airport homepage >> on the left click "Terminal Maps" >> at the bottom of the Terminal Map you see two boxes with "Sheraton Hotel" and "Frankfurt Airport Center". Down there is the so called "Fernbahnhof" - that is where you should enter the train to Munich!

The train schedule you states above is from Frankfurt Mainstation - this will take you more than an hour to reach. Just leave the plane, find your way to the "Fernbahnhof" and there you go! Check the Deutsche Bahn homepage and enter "Frankfrurt Airport" as "from" station!

Where will you pick up your E90?? It will be something between 15 and 30 minutes to get there from Munich Mainstation I guess...

HTH,
Michael

[Sean]

Frankfurt Airport has a ICE train station. You can inot or out of it right at the airport or in the city at the trainstain.

[KUweatherman]

Originally Posted by Sean

Unless you have a nice E90 and you know how to drive 155 mph, cause the freeway between these 2 cities has no speed limit.

Argh! If you did live in Frankfurt "all your life", you would know that what you said is a lie. There are speed limits on the autobahn in certain places, and definitely in and around the larger cities you'd pass through. Then there is always the recommended speed limit of 120 kph (~75 mph).

One route you could take would be the A5 south to the A6 then east on the A6 to the A7. South on the A7 to the A8 then east towards Munich. Or the A3 to the A9 is an alternate route. I'd suggest just taking the ICE from Frankfurt to Munich though, it'd be faster and you wouldnt have to worry about any staus (which you WOULD run in to). You can wave at my old stomping grounds in Mannheim as you pass through too, if your trains passes through. There is a train station at the Frankfurt airport so you would be able to catch the train there. I believe the station is right outside the main terminal. I say believe because they were finishing it when I left Germany in 2002.

[Sean]

wow, I am impressed by how sensitive some people on this forum are. So, now I am called a lier. Well good for you Mr. Kuhweatherman. I am impressed and will get you a nice lollypop. The Autobahn between Munich and Frankfurt is one the freeways with huge parts of "no limit" driving. Of course around the big cities, there are speed limits.
And thanks Mr. Kuhweatherman to repead what I said before that the ICE is the most conftable way to travel.

[KUweatherman]

Originally Posted by Sean

Of course around the big cities limits are limited, but most parts of it are without any speedlimit.

That is not true though. Get in an accident going 155 mph and see if you don't get a ticket for speeding, that is, if you live. It's these broad statements that make driver's here in the US think that the autobahn is a wide open free for all when in fact it is not.

And can I have a cherry lollypop, please?

[Thomas]

"It's these broad statements that make driver's here in the US think that the autobahn is a wide open free for all when in fact it is not."

I've been a lot of times on the German autobahn and most of the time you can drive as fast as you want, there are speed limits for example on bad roads, when it's bad weather and at roads around cities where a lot of traffic is. But when we are going on wintersport from Holland to Austria, most of the time we drive around 160+.. Or in the summer when we are going to Italy there are more sections unlimited than limited..

[reardensteel]

Anyone call for a flame war....geez. The guy was obviously generalizing. That's used to simplify conversation.

Anyway. My question is this? Why do you want ED if you are going to be in Germany 1 day RedStripe? And you do realize that if you don't get to the delivery center on time that day (don't know how long the delivery center is open but it won't be much longer after 4) you may have a problem making your other travel arrangements the following day?

Don't you have to dump the car back at a port pickup site too? Like Frankfurt or Bremerhaven?

[RedStripe]

If I get into the Munich Mainstation via ICE train at 3:33pm, does anyone know how long it would take to get to the BMW ED delivery center?
BMW Delivery Center
Kundenzentrum Freimann
Lilienthal-Allee 26
80788 Munich
Phone: (089) 3822 0687
From the U.S.: 011 49 89 3822 0687

Anyone have experience with this? I hope to make it in by 4:00pm and hopefully they won't mind staying a bit to deliver the car to me. I will get in touch with them to see if they would be kind enough to accomodate my schedule.

[KUweatherman]

This might help. I suggest a taxi.

http://www.mvv-muenchen.de/en/index.html

[RedStripe]

Thanks, that was somewhat helpful. Does anyone have a recommended map website for Germany, or maybe Europe in general. In the USA, most people will use mapquest.com, maps.yahoo.com, or maps.google.com.

I will try google maps since they should be worldwide.

UPDATE: google doesn't have anything on Germany (or at least as far as I can tell). Yahoo doesn't have maps outside USA or Canada... but if you go to the German version of Yahoo, you might find some maps. MapQuest actually let me map out the BMW delivery center in Munich!

[A61]

here in Germany, I use www.map24.com or www.map24.de for maps/directions.

recommended speed limit on the autobahn is 130kph (~78mph). although portions of the autobahn have speed limits, you can go above the recommended speed limit but if you get into an accident and found that you caused the accident due to excessive speed then your insurance may not pay up. we all speed here but take note of the risk.

attached is a timetable for train running from terminal 1 at FRA to Muenchen (Munich). Right now, you can get a one way ticket to Munich for 29 euros (second class). second class is comparable to business class on airline flights.

hope this helps.

[xspeedy]

Originally Posted by A61

attached is a timetable for train running from terminal 1 at FRA to Muenchen (Munich). Right now, you can get a one way ticket to Munich for 29 euros (second class). second class is comparable to business class on airline flights.

hope this helps.

Do you have a URL for this resource? Would be nice to have if ever I'm forced to fly into Frankfurt instead of Munich. Can those prices be had if booked online, or is that only at the counter?