I had the honor of being invited to speak at a very unique conference in Berlin over the weekend. And while previously I've spoken about low cost flying or internet hitchhiking to Germany, this time I decided to take the train.

There are a few trains you can take daily, Amsterdam-Berlin/Berlin-Amsterdam, a six hour train ride in total. The ride itself is smooth and relaxed, regardless if you take the normal IC train or the shnazzy ICE bullet looking trains. Unfortunately, at least at this time of year, there is only one direct train per day going in either direction. But if you can't catch that one, you'll have to switch at least once at Schiphol Airport or in a city by the name of Amersfoort.

The trick to keeping this train ride affordable is to plan ahead. German rail is especially good at giving deep discounts to tickets booked at least 3 days ahead of time, even better if you book it 2 weeks in advance. Unfortunately if you decide to go the night before, cough cough, you'll find the cost is at least 90 euros each way. Ouch.

Still the windows are big, the ride is lovely, and you can watch as Germany changes to Netherlands as you take the long ride through so many lovely German cities. By the time I arrived back in Amsterdam the sun was shining, the birds were singing, and my tram was right there waiting for me... perfect timing!