How to cheaply travel across Germany
One of the best parts of studying abroad in Europe is how easy it is to travel to different countries. But there are also plenty of amazing cities to visit within Germany itself. When I was in Munich, I wanted to find a cheap way to to get to Berlin for the weekend. Many of my friends recommended the Mitfahr-System, where you carpool with a group of people traveling between the same cities for a fraction of the price of public transportation!
One of the main websites that people use is Mitfahrzentrale. You have to register, total kostenlos, and then you can search for drivers that happen to be traveling in your desired direction. I quickly found someone offering to drive people from Munich to Berlin for only €15! I met him a train station in the southern part of the city, and got into a car with three Germans, none of whom knew each other prior to the trip. It definitely was a great opportunity to practice my German over the day-long car ride, as they were all so aufgeregt to be traveling with an Amerikanerin!
But because I only started looking less than a week before I traveled, I wasn't able to find one that worked for me coming back to Munich. I ended up taking a bus with Berlin Linien Bus, which I believe cost around €30. And if you book further in advanced it can be much cheaper with their special Aktion-preisen. Basically, don't take the Deutsche Bahn! I do love the DB, but it's not the best deal for trips of this distance, whereas Mitfahr is great way to met Germans and cheaply explore new cities.
Here are some photos from my trip to Berlin!
