Ramstien to Belgrade

Author Message   Wanda Seals Senior Member Username: Whstravel Post Number: 701 Registered: 07-2007 Posted From: 69.152.240.217 Posted on Tuesday, April 20, 2010 - 02:15 am:    Leland, On one of my trips I did overnight (i.e. stayed in a B&B rather than the train station!) and had about a half of a day to walk around and enjoy. Do remember I thought it was a nice city - but don't remember any details. Always thought I should stay 2 nights (i.e. have a complete day to get to know the city) but never have. Maybe next time? Thanks for making me realize I need to stop and smell the roses. Ciao/Wanda   Leland Senior Member Username: Leland Post Number: 6120 Registered: 05-2006 Posted From: 98.218.147.237 Posted on Sunday, April 18, 2010 - 10:50 pm:    Hi Wanda. As usual, great, detailed information. Just to prove I am an ingrate, however, I need more. Have you ever used Trieste as a destination? I read that they have some great Hapsburg Dynasty architecture, but don't know anything more than that. I googled, of course, but did not find much in the way of subjective opinions.   Wanda Seals Senior Member Username: Whstravel Post Number: 698 Registered: 07-2007 Posted From: 71.42.210.170 Posted on Sunday, April 18, 2010 - 09:20 pm:    Bob asked "Wanda, how long of a bus ride from Trieste? Do you make any transfers" If I remember correctly, I got on the bus in Trieste about 8AM - transferred (about an hour layover in Rijeka, Crotia around noon) - arriving in Beograd around 6AM the next morning. But the drive was great - would have loved to have looked around Rijeka - it is on a lake. Actually, the bus I took in Trieste was not an "international" bus; I could only buy a ticket to Rijeka, Crotia. When I got to Rijeka, I was able to buy a ticket to Belgrade and luck was with me - only about an hour layover. A blip in this travel from Aviano to Trieste: The train was LATE leaving Pordenone, putting me into Trieste about midnight and the last "international" bus had left at 11PM and it only went every other day! So I had to sit in the Trieste Train station which had 24-7 security (bus station does not) until the bus station opened the next morning at 7AM. There are no trains between Trieste and Crotia. My financial notes reflect: American Express - Self ticketing - Train from Pordenone, IT to Trieste, IT - 11.10 euro ($15.92) Cash in Euros: Bus fare from Trieste to Rijeka - 7.5 euros Master card: Autotrans D.O.O.- Lasta bus from Rijeka to Belgrade - 310 KN ($60.76) Paid in Euros: Bus baggage fee from Trieste to Rijeka 1.5 Bus transaction fee from Trieste to Rijeka 0.8 Bus baggage fee from Rijeka to Belgrade 1.5 Master Card DB Bahn (train)- Mannheim to K-Town - 8.30 Euro ($11.70). Taxi from Landstuhl to Hertz in Ramstein Village 10 euros in cash. Since I did a more thorough answer/research to this thread as a result of a private email from some one, I will provide for all my response to his questions/comments which were as follows: (My comments follow his). xxxx's QUOTE: I remember that you were staying with friends in Beograd, but do you have any hotel recommendations? We might be there a couple of nights. BTW: if you're considering a flight to Europe soon, you might be interested to learn that the Washington Post this morning reports that air evac flights from Asia are not stopping in Germany, but are refueling in flight and coming all the way to Andrews. The should generate some extra tanker flights, but from and/or to where I don't know, probably no place we'd want to visit. Thanks, xxxx UNQUOTE My response: QUOTE Hi xxxx, As to hotels - there are many hotels in both Beograd and Novi Beograd (across the Sava River from each other. The latter is more modern. There are trolly and bus systems that go between them. My friend Manolya lives in the Turkish Embassy compound (where I stay when in Beograd) and her daughter Deniz and family live in one of the modern high rise apartment buildings in Novi Beograd. BUT bottom line - I have no idea or recommendation for hotels. Sorry. An internet search will give you ideas. I do know there are some "name brand" hotels in Beograd/Novi Beograd. As far as the refueling bit: Many times the C5's from Kelly do NOT stop at Ramstein on their way back to San Antonio. Instead, after leaving Iraq area, they fly to Rota or Moran Spain for refuel/rest - and then dead-head it back to Kelly. That's how I got back from Rota last year. We didn't even stop on the east coast! Think it was about 11 hours. HERE ARE MY COMMENTS/RESEARCH RESULTS AS TO THE INTERNATIONAL BUS: I looked at the notes in my computer as to the bus from Beograd to Frankfurt. I do have it noted as GLOBUS. But my internet search now doesn’t give what I consider good information with a “globus beograd bus” search. Just putting in “Beograd bus” in the Yahoo search engine, I found this site: http://www.bas.rs/basweb_eng/redvoznje.asp. It even lets you put in the city location, etc and gives you info such as: Timetable - choose between DEPARTURES and ARRIVALS to Belgrade. Lets you put in your bus stop. I put in Mannheim for 10 May and got info “no results found”; then I clicked on 09.05.2010 (the furthurest date available to choose with a bus that day) and got this info: Departure 11:00 – arrive 0900 (i.e. that would mean 22 hours transit time). Return ticket YES (which means you can buy a round trip ticket) – platform 37 (and if I remember, seems like I did leave from platform 37!) – says it is 1403km – start station Beograd – then via various locations – and Carrier PANONIJA BUS (which does seem like maybe the name written on the bus I traveled on). On the screen where you put in your date and destination, there is even a HELP area that guides you. Example – 1. Enter bus stop (city) name. Click on search button. (Guess you could play around with various city names to get to where you want to go.) 2. Choose Station and date from drop-down lists. After click 3. Departures (arrivals) are showed (sic shown) Just for the heck, I put in PARIS as my city. The first date (at random) I choose, said no results found. Then I choose another date at random and TWO buses were listed! So – goes to show us that the buses do not leave for all locations every day. Remember – you can put in DEPARTURES or ARRIVALS as the first part of your bus schedule search. As to cost, my notes reflect: 11 Jun (2009) - Cash Advance 154220291620002247655009 - 10,000 Dinar ($151.79) (I got the money from an ATM machine with my credit card on the corner across from the Turkish Embassy). Bus ticket from Belgrade to Frankfurt was 9,220 dinar. (It helped that Manolya speaks Serbian - she is from Bulgarian - also speaks Turkish and French in addition to English! What a friend to have!). In actuality – I got off at Mannheim, the stop just before Frankfurt. I am familiar with both the Frankfurt and Mannheim bus/train stations and knew Mannheim would save time and money for train onward to K-town/Landstuhl. If I had told the Beograd bus folks that I wanted Mannheim, the ticket might have been a bit cheaper. For sure just driving from Mannheim to Frankfurt is a good 30 minutes more. Also - bottom line - I found the bus ride MUCH MORE enjoyable than the train. Guess that's about it for now. If you have more questions, let me know. Frankly, I am glad I did this research - since I am sure another trip to Beograd is in my future - just have to set aside the time to go! UNQUOTE Hope this helps others - even if it is long. Ciao/Wanda Seals   Bob Dart Senior Member Username: Bobdart Post Number: 1470 Registered: 06-2005 Posted From: 76.29.20.95 Posted on Friday, April 16, 2010 - 08:30 pm:    Wanda, how long of a bus ride from Trieste? Do you make any transfers?   Betty Sellers Intermediate Member Username: Bssellers Post Number: 76 Registered: 12-2004 Posted From: 205.188.116.208 Posted on Friday, April 16, 2010 - 06:38 pm:    I would google The Student Agency Bus out of Prague. It goes lots of places in Europe now and is cheap. It is a very, very nice means of transportation with luxury busses and hostesses. Be sure you check where it will let you off in the city of your choice.   Wanda Seals Senior Member Username: Whstravel Post Number: 693 Registered: 07-2007 Posted From: 71.42.210.170 Posted on Friday, April 16, 2010 - 03:49 pm:    Forgot to mention. As of spring 2009, there was no requirement for VISA for Slovenia, Crotia, or Serbia. BUT do double check - just in case they have changed those rules. I remember about 5 years ago, I was required to exit the train in the middle of the night in the middle of no-where to process paperwork before the train continued into Serbia from Crotia. At the time, it was a bit discerning. I feared the train might leave without me! Just another war story! Ciao/Wanda   Wanda Seals Senior Member Username: Whstravel Post Number: 692 Registered: 07-2007 Posted From: 71.42.210.170 Posted on Friday, April 16, 2010 - 03:45 pm:    Usually when I space-a to Germany, I always go to see friends in Belgrade. Have done it several ways: 1. Take hop to Aviano Air Base Italy - then local train to Trieste - then bus to Belgrade. Cheapest way for the pocket book. 2. Take German train to Mannheim. Then catch CITY NIGHTS train to Vienna (a bit pricey - but the schedule was what I needed at the time - It only stops at major cities and only travels at NIGHT). Then SLOWWWWW train to Belgrade. 3. Fly (expensive) from Frankfurt to Belgrade if you buy ticket with little notice. Yes - cheaper if you plan 7-14 days ahead. 4. Train all the way from Landstuhl to Belgrade - about 20-22 hours. 5. The last time I returned from Belgrade, I came by "International" bus. It left Belgrade about 8 or so in the morning and I arrived at Mannheim the next morning about 4. It is a VERY nice bus - takes stops about every 2 hours (got to accommodate those smokers!). Makes a long rest stop in Hungary about 5PM - time to sit and order food in the restaurant - drivers eat break. Since it is an international bus, it is "express" - stopping at only the major cities once it gets out of Serbia (about 3-4 stops between Belgrade and the Hungarian border). Don't remember what I paid - other than it was cheaper than train. Bus comes into the Mannheim Bahnhof (train station) - so easy to catch a train on to Ramstein. (Not sure how you get a south bound ticket - my friend in Belgrade helped me get the north bound ticket - ALSO - had to pay in CASH in Belgrade) YOU SHOULD NOTE: Trains in Germany, Austria, Italy, and Hungary are decent and pretty fast - so to speak. NOT so for those countries of the former Yugoslavia (Slovinia, Croatia, and Serbia). The tracks are not in the best of shape, so many times the train is creeping along. Also, there are border checks (stops can be long) as you go thru each of the former YU countries. But don't let that deter you. I enjoy looking at the scenery - catching a nap - reading - etc. Ciao/Wanda   Linda Pelletier Member Username: Lphh6 Post Number: 19 Registered: 05-2008 Posted From: 174.60.85.119 Posted on Thursday, April 08, 2010 - 10:54 am:    Must have a senior moment this morning. The train (approx.Euro 210) is one way, one person. The airfare(approx. Euro 240) is round trip, one person.   Linda Pelletier Member Username: Lphh6 Post Number: 18 Registered: 05-2008 Posted From: 174.60.85.119 Posted on Thursday, April 08, 2010 - 10:38 am:    Free bus from Ramstein to Frankfurt Int'l Airport runs M-Fr at 10 AM from terminal and returns approx. 1PM from FRA USO.   Linda Pelletier Member Username: Lphh6 Post Number: 17 Registered: 05-2008 Posted From: 174.60.85.119 Posted on Thursday, April 08, 2010 - 10:34 am:    The train from Ramstein (Landstuhl) takes approx. 22 hours (3-4 changes) and costs approx. Euro 210. If you take the free bus to Frankfurt Int'l Airport and catch a flight to Beldgrad, it would cost you about Euro 240 and takes less than 2 hours   david hawkins New member Username: Dhe9 Post Number: 1 Registered: 04-2010 Posted From: 75.214.240.32 Posted on Thursday, April 08, 2010 - 01:43 am:    Hello, first post and have figured how to get to ramstien from socal but wondering if anyone has traveled by train through europe? i am thinking i may go and visit brother and family in belgrade and wonder how easy/difficult to make the trip by train once in germany? any advice? thanks. david socal