I’m a huge fan of Germany’s experiment with public transport this summer: 9€/month for unlimited local transit across the entire country?
Bravo!
Strangely, though, I’ve not really taken advantage of it, other than my trips to the airport, I’ve been out to the northern end of the S1 (Oranienburg), the northern end of the S25 (Hennigsdorf), and twice to the area around S-Mühlenbeck-Mönchmühle.
Oranienburg was fantastic: I went with a friend to Schloß Oranienburg (we purposefully did not go to the most (in)famous attraction in the area). The park was outstanding and fun.
Hennigsdorf was an utter disappointment. Had I paid for an extension ticket to visit the village I would have cried. Given that it was “free” under the terms of my 9€ ticket, I can now say that I’ve visited it. No need to ever return.
As for S-Mühlenbeck-Mönchmühle – the first time I walked back from the station to the city, the second time I wanted to visit a pizzeria in the area, but decided against it after seeing it in person.
Would I have done any of these things without the 9€ ticket? No.
Am I glad I did them? Yes.
Next weekend I’ll be visiting another city in Germany – the 9€ ticket will be very helpful there. I’m not using the 9€ ticket to get there because taking local trains would take at least 7 hours and 50 minutes and a lot of tight connections. Instead I am taking an express train – just shy of four hours in an InterCity Express.
I hope that Germany is able to figure out a way to extend the 9€ ticket – maybe not at 9€, but in some way, some form.
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