Originally Stolley bought the annual second-class youth ticket for €2,600 but has upgraded since to the first-class ticket for €5,888. (The adult BahnCard 100 costs about €4,000 and €7,700 for second- and first-class respectively).
Mostly things go well and Lasse no longer needs earplugs or his airbed. He has rationalised his other possessions, too: after starting with a 60-litre rucksack he has halved that again.
“Minimalism was always my thing, and having as few things as possible means I don’t have to think about things and have more time for the beautiful things in life,” he says.
Stolley shakes his head with a smile. The journeys cost DB little but, every day, he eats his breakfast, lunch and dinner in the rail company’s first-class station lounges. The food is simple – fruit, focaccia, soup, pizza – but it’s enough for the lanky teenager.
I think this is ingenious. For the first-class Bahncard 100 fare, he essentially gets housing, transportation and food -- for a 4%-rule approved €147'200, not counting subscription cost inflation.
it's really nice, but i wouldn't draw attention to it, because if too many people do it, it might get nerfed.
Something similar can be done in switzerland, but as their are no night trains, you wild camp in rural location.
Those strategy work well with interrail too. Interrail is cheaper, but doesn't include your country of residence.
Food is not included of course, but there are groceries in a lot of train stations, many have normal prices.
The biggest hurdle to frugality is the huge amount of convenience food tempting you while taking trains.
