All aboard! Scenic railroads in southern Germany

This summer has been filled with lots of new and exciting adventures and discoveries. One of my favorites has been investigating and exploring the different scenic railroads of southern Germany. Taking the modern train around Germany is super cool too. Here’s more on how to take the train.

Most of the railways are only open during the summer and fall months due to weather. However, some are open earlier or longer during the year. Check each website carefully.If you have any questions or concerns please feel free to ask questions in the comment section.

Swabian Railway – NaturPark Express

In May, my family and a few friends decided to try out the NaturPark Express in the town of Sigmaringen. If you haven’t visited this town all on it’s own, take the trip, just about an hour and a half from Stuttgart this is a beautiful day trip.

Set your GPS directions for the Sigmaringen Bahnhof (train station.) Although this is not the beginning of the line we decided it would be a beautiful place to start from.

Tickets are available at the train station at the kiosk on the platform. The cafe owner was nice enough to direct us. Because this was our first time out and we weren’t sure what our day would reveal we purchased a Naturpark-Express-Tageskarte MAXI (all day ticket on the line for 5 people for €22. What a deal, right?

This is a beautiful, modern train with cars for (bikes) Fahrradtransport and you can bring your bike along for €3 – round trip ticket.

On our gorgeous train ride along the Danube river to the town of Beuron, we saw castles, people canoeing, old train stations and lots of people out riding bikes. This train has huge windows for you to see all the scenic wonders and weaves you through green valleys with enormous cliffs. Just breathtaking! We also included a stop into the Beuron monastery and took a hike along the Danube to the Jagerhaus .

Sauschwänzle – Steam Train in the Black Forest

Just yesterday I took my first steam train ride in Germany and it was a lot of fun! This train runs very close to the Swiss border. So much so that my phone’s data plan was all weird trying to switch over to roaming. The Wutach Valley Railway is called the Piggy’s Tail Railway. They even have a little pig at the station signifying its distinction.

Used mostly for military purposes at the turn of the century, it is a tourist train today that is kept alive through donations and public support as a non-profit. Our views of the valleys and forests were incredible for taking great photos.

Tickets are only available on-line and in advance. CLICK HERE for more details. After taking my exploring group and researching for several weeks, I found out that they do this to know how many “train cars” to tow. They also have really cool excursions available, like visiting the “Fasching Museum in Bonndorf” and “Visiting a Brewery.” For these excursions you need at least 40 people as they rent a bus to take you to the separate locations. They all look really cool, there are six different group excursions.

Historical booklets and snacks are available on the train ride and the Engineer will walk through to say “hello” and check your ticket reservation.

We rode from Zollhaus-Blumberg to Weizen and after about a 15 minute stop, we returned back to Zollhaus. There is a historical railroad museum and gift shop where you can also walk around to take pictures and see the station.

I hope you have enjoyed the scenic railroads in Germany journey through the forest with me. Thanks for joining me here.

It’s always an adventure when you ©Travel with Wendy!