On the Road Again!

All booked. In the end the anti-fraud system at Capital One, whilst a good idea, totally screwed my booking. It became a case of get their bank to call us and we can authorise the payment. Not as easy as it sounds with the bank being in Germany! In the end the booking was made through DB UK, whom I found on the DB website. An email and a fax of the train details got it sorted. A cheque for £380.16 went off today. Yes it is a lot but a price to pay for getting 650 miles each way whilst mostly asleep. Paying now means there is plenty of time for putting money aside for when we get there.

Had a bit of a set back today with Autozug. In the end it was good really that when I tried to book the motorail tickets that Capital One rejected the transaction as it was for a large amount and the website was based in Germany. About 45 minutes later I got a text message asking me to call them at the bank. Must remember to keep them in the loop when we go away! Especially as Bosnia might be a little unusual.

All the advertising you are about motorail shows how well it compares with driving. Okay, they have bike places but the majority of travellers on the train will be families in cars. Or at least that's what over 20 years experience tells me. So I did a bit of research. In the off season the difference between train and riding is much smaller. I used Michelin's route planner to work it out for me - Dusseldorf to Villach. A route I did back in 1986 bit from Cologne on that occasion. The train comes out more expensive but does the trip overnight. To do that I'd have to tranquilise Claire "Mr T" style. So motorail it is!