Smals, that is completely correct. But on the other side... we are complaining on a very high level because we dont know worse. Amphigori will know the american train system. And from that... anything else is on the up scale. Especially the european bullet train system. There may be some late connections. But that is at average on the below half hour scale.

At least, i was made believing in that, having oh so much american collegues that moved over to DE to work here instead of the USA. And while they all complain and whine about the lack of customer service that they have to expirience over here, our railways still are something to be proud of - according to them.

Most of my US expat office buddies choose that (or flying) over having to drive a car on the german autobahn. At least in the first year here. But that is understandable when you grew up in a country where nobody drives faster than 112 km/h on a superhighway, a speed where you would get honked at around here for beeing that slow...

Seattle doesn't have trains. We have buses!

I take a train to work here in New Zealand, but it's only a 12 minute ride.

So, yeah, while you might complain, to me it's a very exciting adventure! I'm heading up to the game the day before it starts, so if I get lost/late/whatever I have some breathing room.

And as a traveller, it's a real treat to see as much of a country as I can - not just the touristy bits. So I'm genuinely excited about trying to navigate my way across an unfamiliar country.

Amphigori,

just to get a few things straight. You mentioned to go to Zweibrücken first. That is going 170 something kilometres due southwest from Frankfurt. From there to Hanover you travel again 500+ km to the northeast. From Frankfurt it are "only" 350 km northwards to Hanover. Quite a bit of touring you want to do there. Best connection is via Frankfurt in the first place, so you will be not see that much new things.

And please beware of the tigers, while at the same time keep your camera handy to take some pictures of the amazing waterfalls along the way ... sorry, I do think our train system works acceptably well, but I am still hard pressed to use "germany" and "exciting" in the same sentence, we are world famous for not being exciting .

I'm going to Zweibrücken first to visit friends who have moved to Germany. So, yes, there's a bit of back-tracking for me, but it's unavoidable.

Germany isn't world-famous for being not-exciting. It's world-famous for German Engineering! That's what the TV commercials tell us. So, yes, to be on a German engineered train will be... exciting!

(Mostly, I just enjoy new culutres. I even get excited visiting different airports. Allow me my simple pleasures!)

Bring a book or two, alone Zweibrücken to Hanover will take you something like 5 hours, and it does not look as if those trains were taking the scenic route.

I don't crave "scenic" all the time. I have 2 weeks after Mythodea to drive around scenic areas.

I'm a city girl, who has lived in a "scenic" country for 8 years. A little grit and industrialisation will be just as appealing to me as wide-open planes

I'll be fine. Trust me. And, honestly, I'm such a busy person IRL that 7 hours of sitting on my butt, reading, and listening to music as I watch unfamiliar landscapes go by sounds amazing!