The Great German Escape 2019 # 6 Freiburg and The WelcomeKarte

The main reason for writing this blog is to fill in the gaps for English travellers wishing to visit Heidelberg and Freiburg so they get the best experience without going to jail!

With typical German efficiency – which does not extend to the ICE trains as you will read later – the exit from the main railway station ‘Freiburg Hauptbahnhof’ is a flight of steps or mechanical lift up to the tram line which traverses all the railway lines above street level.   There are, of course, the street level exits on both sides of the station and via the underpass.   The  city centre is just a couple of stops away.   The trams are clean, efficient and arrive every few minutes.

With the assistance of a 10 year old girl the ticket regime was explained as follows.

1. No, just because everyone gets on and off the trams without any apparent formalities it does not mean travel on the trams or buses is free.   If you make this assumption it could be very expensive!
2. No, buying a single ticket is not cheap.   In September 2019 a single ticket for zone A was €2.40
3. No, you do not have to travel in pairs to take advantage of the multiple ticket option displayed on the ticket machine.    This option is more economical than a single ticket.
4. No, the English option did not seem to make the options any more transparent.
5. No, you cannot keep any ticket in pristine condition by not validating it on entry.  You will not go to jail but you may get a hefty finger wagging by an inspector
6. No, you do not need a child to travel on the trams ….. but it helps!

Now there are some very useful options which I assume you can buy at the Hauptbahnhof – main railway station.   You can definitely buy these at the Tourist Information office situated in the Old City.   Oh, btw, by the way, just to confuse the lost traveller, unlike English or French Tourist Information Offices, the German TIO’s have a red flag not a blue one.

Option 1

The option is a 24 hour REGIO24 card.   This covers all public transport within a defined area from the time you first validate it for – yes – 24 hours.   This is particularly useful if you wish to do a days touring around Freiburg and then have the option to use it the next morning to get a tram or bus or any combination to the train station to leave Freiburg.

Option 2

A great option if you are staying in Freiburg for 3 or more days is a WelcomeKarte.  €26.00 as at September 2019.   This card gives you access to all trams, buses, trains within a wide area of the region around Freiburg as well as the city itself.

But (not strictly grammatically correct but used for dramatic effect) But what is great is that it gives you access to the cable car.   And (also as before – sentences should not start with But or And but…..) And you can go up and down the cable car as many times as you want! More about this later.

Finally, I have found the map trarifzonenplan  which clearly sets out the extent to which you can travel using the WelcomeKarte and REGIO24 card.

Of course, having travelled to the furthest extent using these cards, there is nothing to stop you continuing to travel beyond these stations providing you buy a separate ticket to cover travel outside of the zone.

Included in the images of tickets and maps above is the Wert-Bon/Voucher which has little to do with travel but is a curiosity.   The toilets in railway stations visited cost €1.00 per visit.  However, each time you are issued with a ticket which you have to use to go through the barrier.   The Wert-Bon refers to the €0.50 voucher you can use to reclaim half the cost of your visit to the toilet when shopping within the station.   For each €2.50 you spend €0.50 can be refunded using the vouchers and more than one voucher can be used for each multiple of €2.50.

And finally….. where is Health and Safety when you need it?   In addition to the tram bridge over the railway lines there is a corresponding road bridge.   It appears that here some 5 meters above the road bridge and probably 20 meters above the street level is where students choose to sit and chill out on a summers afternoon.

Next time…… White Knuckle Ride to 1/7th the height of Mount Everest