Mitfahrgelegenheit

Mitfahrgelegenheit (Mfg., lit. opportunity to ride with s.o.), is a very convenient and cost-effective way of travelling between European cities. I would describe it as registered hitch-hiking. Just log into mitfahrgelegenheit.de and enter your start and destination, and you're likely to find someone who will be able to take you along. It's mostly very safe, because people are required to register before offering rides, but users should make sure only to ride with people who have confirmed their phone number, email address, and/or Facebook account and have a reasonable picture to their profile. Also make sure that the meeting location is safe, central and easy to find.

I had no reasonably priced means of getting from Geneva back to Freiburg. So I decided to ride with a woman who works at CERN in Geneva. She was on her way back home to Germany and was offering rides for only 20 Euros. Since she wasn't headed to Freiburg, I decided to get off in Zürich, where I could get a Fernbus back to Freiburg. I was even able to spend a couple hours in Zürich! And I had the pleasure of speaking with an engineer from CERN.

Mein Fernbus

If your traveling throughout Germany and its surrounding countries and are looking to pay a fraction of the cost of a train ride with the Deutsche Bahn, look no further than Mein Fernbus. Until 2013, the Deutsche Bahn had monopolized public long-distance inter-city transportation by land within Germany. Following the Passenger Transportation Act (Personenbefördersgesetz) in 1964, no long-distance bus lines can compete with the existing German rail or bus lines, which enabled the Deutsche Bahn to successfully monopolize this service for nearly 40 years. Then, with the help of the internet, students offered trips with rented buses so that people were able to travel around Germany inexpensively. The Deutsche Bahn was not very pleased and brought the students to court. It was then decided that the Fernbusse could not be considered bus lines, because they did not have regular departure and arrival times. The case even gave Mein Fernbus so much publicity, that they were able to develop their company further. Now, hundreds of Fernbusse travel throughout Germany regularly, at only a fraction of the price the Deutsche Bahn would charge.

I took a Fernbus from Zürich (CH) to Freiburg (DE) for only 8 Euros, whereas the Deutsche Bahn would have charged me nearly 60 Euros...The driver in the advertisement above was actually my driver, if I'm not mistaken. He was great! I highly recommend travelling with these buses if you want to get around Germany.