Nuremberg to Neukirchen

When you arrive at Nuremberg airport, you will find yourself at the outskirts of town. You can get into town in a number of ways - bus, taxi, underground or car. Further into town, you may also pick up a tram.

Public transport is safe, reliable and not too expensive. The main difference to the UK is that you must have a valid ticket PRIOR to embarking on your journey. You may not purchase a ticket once on board. When a ticket inspector asks for a ticket and you cannot produce one, you will be fined on the spot to the tune of €50 - ouch! So buy a ticket! You will not necessary be checked for a valid ticket on every journey, but there are spot checks much like here.

You will find an automated ticket machine by the entrance to all public services and at bus and tram stops. Most take coins, notes and card.

The most cost effective ticket will be to purchase a 'Bayern Ticket' that allows you to make as many journeys as you like for a whole day in the whole of Bavaria, which incidentally would take you down as far as the Austrian border. A Bayern ticket costs €28 and is valid for up to 5 adults or two adults and all their children. This ticket also allows you the free use of trams, underground and buses - Bargain! If you travel on your own, buy the Bayern Ticket Single for €20, which does exactly the same thing.

If you buy a Bayern Ticket at the airport, it will take you all the way to Neukirchen!

[Should you decide to purchase a multi journey ticket, intentionally or by accident (I don't recommend it), they look like a long strip with numbered fields on them. You can also buy a single journey ticket with only one blank field. In that case, you must stamp your ticket prior to boarding. This is done by sticking the ticket into the 'pinging stamp machine' located at the entrance to the underground or next to ticket machines at bus and tram stops; it looks like a metal box on a stick with a small slot. If you haven't stamped your ticket, you haven't paid for your journey, even though you just bought the darn thing.]

From the airport, take the underground (Line U2) to 'Hauptbahnhof', which means Main Station. This journey will take approximately 15 minutes. Once at Hauptbahnhof, follow the signs to the trains, usually marked in red lettering 'DB' which stands for 'Deutsche Bahn' or German Rail.

You will then enter a fairly large hall, where you will be able to enquire at the Information Desk or check the departures board for a train to 'Neukirchen b. Sulzbach-Rosenberg' or 'Neukirchen b. Su-Ro' for short. Final destination for the train is often 'Amberg', so this will help you orientate yourself.

The platforms all branch off from a central tunnel and are all numbered. If my memory is correct, the trains for Neukirchen usually depart from Platform 16 or 17. Trains will usually leave at around 36 minutes and 48 minutes past the hour. You can check train times and fares at www.bahn.de which you can view in English, too.

Neukirchen is a 35 minute journey from Nuremberg. Enjoy the scenery!

If you are staying at the hotel in Neukirchen, cross the tracks via the underpass and leave the station through the car park. Turn left at the end of the road and follow it. You will enter the main village. Walk for a couple of minutes and you will see the hotel entrance on your right hand side.

If you are staying at the reception hotel in Oed, let us know when you are on the train, so we can arrange a lift for you.