First off let me start by saying this is only my opinion and my reasons
for using this mode of transportation. I’m going to start off by touting the
train service although it is not my preference.
Germany has an excellent rail system which can take you to most parts of the country but it
can’t take you everywhere you might want to go. It is one of the world’s best and most efficient railway
systems and can get you to almost every city of the country including most of
the smaller towns. It’s an easy to use system, comfortable, fast, reliable, and
reasonably priced. It has many ticket options that allow for lower priced
travel over multiple days.
The problem I have with
using the train system is if you have a wife like mine that travels with multiple
bags you have to tote them on and off the train and then you still have to get
a taxi to the hotel. If you plan on seeing attractions that are not within
walking distance you will still need a car. If you’re just traveling by
yourself or two of you it is a viable option. If you are there with more than
two you might want to consider a car.
My favorite mode of
transportation is a car. As you drive through the countryside you’re not
limited to what you can see out the window of a fast moving train. If you see
something that looks interesting it is easy to just stop the car and take your
time to see it.
One of the first things
we do after renting the car is find a grocery store. My wife loves her diet
coke so we get two cases of coke and a case of water that we can keep in the trunk
of the car for our travels. This has a two- fold purpose. One is that cokes are
very expensive (you can get more beer at a cheaper price) and my wife will go through two of them during the night and the
other reason is that when you get water in Germany it is usually mineral water
and we like plain water which is hard to find in a restaurant. If you want non carbonated water in a restaurant order” stilles wasser”.
Our first trip we had
rented a car and was on our way to Triberg (which is in the Black forest region
and famous for cuckoo clocks) and noticed about 4 tour busses to our right. We figured
that there must be something worth seeing there so we turned around and went
back. It was an area built to look like an old German village with signs in English
of the history of why everything was built and designed the way it was. If we
had been in a train this would have been missed along with a pleasurable experience.

Travel in Germany is incredibility easy. The German roads are excellent and using a car can be a great way to tour the country. You can Google some fantastic driving tours.
One drawback I should
mention if you want to go into one of the larger cities is that almost all
bigger cities have a severe parking problem. One way I avoid this is by staying
outside the city and leaving the car at a train station and taking the train or
subway into town. Most of the larger cities have these extending out up to 25
miles around the city. It is economical to use and you don’t have to worry
about the city driving and maybe have some brews while there.