On ICE in Germany

Germans are renowned for many things – beer, bratwurst, leather pants, precision engineering and playing starring roles in most WWII movies. Today I decided to sample one of these treats. Yes, you guessed it, precision engineering! I took a high speed Inter-City-Express from Essen in the north to Munich in the south, around 650km in a shade over five hours. The ICE looks something like an albino sausage garnished with a thin line of tomato sauce... but it's really a very fast train made by German engineering concern, Siemens. It's very comfortable, too. And quiet... so easy to let the German countryside, cities and hours drift by as Deutsche Bahn rushes you from one location to the next.

The ICE standard fares aren't cheap. They depend on the route and distance you're travelling and range from EUR~50 to ~150 (more for first class). If you're a frequent traveller, purchase a discount card – or Bahn Card – to entitle you to discounts of 25% and up. Or, if you can plan in advance, go online for discounted fares. Today I'm travelling on an EUR29 ticket – a snap compared to the full fare of EUR122. A snap compared to low cost airlines as well.

Did I say the ICE was fast? Depending on the track, the ICE can top 300 km/h. Each carriage has an information display at either end so you can keep an eye on your speed as you go. Not quite like watching the speed display on Concorde click over to Mach 2, but pretty cool, nonetheless.

It's possible to reserve your seat on the ICE and doing so is a good idea. These trains are well patronised and often full, so the EUR2 to confirm a comfy place is money well spent. Book a window or aisle seat, and I recommend requesting a table as well – place to put your stuff, and you're not looking at the back of the seat in front (although you may be looking at the face of the person opposite). Most seats have power so you can hook up your electronic devices. Did I mention wireless? You can connect to the internet using T-Mobile. It's not cheap, but then neither are leather pants.

Did I say the ICE was fast? At times your train will scoot along next to a sans-speedlimit autobahn. You'll race past the best that BMW, Porsche and Audi have to offer... but then, you're on ICE, already.