Tips for Summer 2026: 5 Countries, 2 Months & 37 Collections.

[Prochilodus246]

Hello all,

In the Summer of 2026 me and one of my friends have planned two months visiting 37 collections in 5 countries being Belgium, The Netherlands Germany, Czechia & Poland. We are deciding on interrail tickets due to only one of us being able to drive and it will likely be cheaper than hiring cars. The interrail however, gives us a time constraint of two months which we thought should be plenty of time as it will also allow us to see parts of the cities that the collections are located within and some museums not part of our itinerary already.

The collections on our to visit list are the following in the order we plan to visit in each country respectively:

Belgium: Antwerp Zoo
Germany: Cologne Zoo, Aquazoo Dusseldorf, Wuppertal Zoo, Duisburg Zoo, Frankfurt Zoo, Donnersberg Tierpark, Wilhelma, Hellabrunn Zoo, Nuremburg Zoo, Dresden Zoo, Chemnitz Tierpark, Leipzig Zoo, Magdeburg Zoo, Bierer Berg Zoo, Hanover Zoo, Hanover Landesmuseum & Weltvogelpark Walsrode x2,
Czechia: Plzen Zoo x2, Prague Zoo x2, Zajezd Zoo, Jihlava Zoo, Brno Zoo, Zlin Zoo, Ostrava Zoo, Olomouc Zoo, Dvur Kralove Zoo & Liberec Zoo
Poland: Wroclaw Zoo
The Netherlands: Best Zoo, Burgers Zoo, Dolfinarium Harderwijk, Artis Zoo, Vogelpark Avifauna & Rotterdam Zoo

A few notes:

• Collections such as Krefeld will only be added if the Mountain Anoa is still alive by this point in time.
• We found Pairi Daiza and Hagenbeck to be a little too expensive and we thought although we would be missing species of note such as the Spix Macaws at Pairi and the history at Hagenbeck, it wouldn't hinder our enjoyment of the trip overall.

So to cut to the chase the main reason I am posting is to ask for any tips or easily missed highlights/interesting species at particular collections whether it be lighting is still on in a particular nocturnal house until a given time, or a species tucked away in a toilet block.

If you have any other tips about travelling via rail and also bus between locations or in particular cities and countries that too would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance

 

[Philipine eagle]

Donnersberg : Frankfurt - Bad Kreuznach - local train to Rockenhausen : 800m to the (very bad) Tierpark.

Any reason you skip Berlin?

Otherwise a very fine selection and a promising project. I think you choose all the key players in both Germany and Czechia. Germany has a lot of interesting mid-sized zoos which you can add if time available: Osnabruck, Münster, Zoom Erlebnis, Hamburg, Rostock, etc.

Make sure you stay 2 nights at Stuttgart: the Wilhelma is large and you will have tired feet at the evening. If needed, I can pm you a good and rather cheap hotel nearby and close to the U14 line, ideal for the zoo and the city center.

Unless things are changed, don't arrive very early or very late at Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof. It was the only place during my 2022 itinerary I didn't feel safe.

Munich is an underrated city, it is very lovely and if you like arts then you should visit the Pinacotheques.

 

[Prochilodus246]

Thanks for the tips @Philipine eagle

Berlin is being skipped as I was there in the summer, and unless a great deal of change happens between now and the trip I feel happy that my trip to Berlin was satisfactory.

Thanks for the note about Wilhelma, yes if you have a good affordable hotel recommended that would be greatly appreciated.

I should have really mentioned if anyone has any hostel recommendations in the areas we will travel to that too would be very much appreciated.

 

[EliasNys]

1. You might want to buy the Deutschlandticket if you travel by train, it's 53 for an entire month I believe, will likely save you a lot of money when travelling through Germany.

2. You could consider visiting Planckendael in Belgium as well, it's easily reachable from Antwerp by train and is the countryside version of Antwerp, with a nice bird and mammal collection.

3. For Belgian train tickets: you can save 50 percent on train tickets if you buy the discovery ticket (more info on the zoo websites) This is the case for both Antwerp and Planckendael.

 

[TeaLovingDave]

In the Summer of 2026 me and one of my friends have planned two months visiting 37 collections in 5 countries being Belgium, The Netherlands Germany, Czechia & Poland. We are deciding on interrail tickets due to only one of us being able to drive and it will likely be cheaper than hiring cars. The interrail however, gives us a time constraint of two months which we thought should be plenty of time as it will also allow us to see parts of the cities that the collections are located within and some museums not part of our itinerary already.

As someone who has used interrail passes on a number of occasions in recent years (a three-week trip covering southern Germany, Austria, Hungary, Slovakia, Czechia and Croatia in autumn 2022, a four-week trip covering the Low Countries, northern Germany, Denmark, Czechia and western Germany in autumn 2023, and a three-week trip covering France, southern Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Croatia and Czechia in spring 2024) and will be using one again in a few weeks throughout northern Germany, Scandinavia, the Baltic States and Poland, I can wholeheartedly recommend this means of travel!

The collections on our to visit list are the following in the order we plan to visit in each country respectively:

Belgium: Antwerp Zoo
Germany: Cologne Zoo, Aquazoo Dusseldorf, Wuppertal Zoo, Duisburg Zoo, Frankfurt Zoo, Donnersberg Tierpark, Wilhelma, Hellabrunn Zoo, Nuremburg Zoo, Dresden Zoo, Chemnitz Tierpark, Leipzig Zoo, Magdeburg Zoo, Bierer Berg Zoo, Hanover Zoo, Hanover Landesmuseum & Weltvogelpark Walsrode x2,
Czechia: Plzen Zoo x2, Prague Zoo x2, Zajezd Zoo, Jihlava Zoo, Brno Zoo, Zlin Zoo, Ostrava Zoo, Olomouc Zoo, Dvur Kralove Zoo & Liberec Zoo
Poland: Wroclaw Zoo
The Netherlands: Best Zoo, Burgers Zoo, Dolfinarium Harderwijk, Artis Zoo, Vogelpark Avifauna & Rotterdam Zoo

If you've presented these in the order you plan to visit them, you're going to be taking an excessively convoluted route with a lot of doubling-back on yourself if you go a more logical route you should be able to get more places visited overall and also have more time overall.

Considering you plan for two months, I recommend you also add Austria to the list - not only is Vienna worth the visit anyhow, for numerous reasons both zoo-related and otherwise, but you will find it significantly increases the ease of visiting Zlin!

Unless things are changed, don't arrive very early or very late at Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof. It was the only place during my 2022 itinerary I didn't feel safe.

I very much second this point - with the adjustment that Frankfurt HBF and the surrounding environs are *not* somewhere to linger at ANY time of day, and that if at all possible Prochilodus should attempt to stay closer to the Südbahnhof if he intends to actually spend the night in the city.

 

[TeaLovingDave]

1. You might want to buy the Deutschlandticket if you travel by train, it's 53 for an entire month I believe, will likely save you a lot of money when travelling through Germany.

2. You could consider visiting Planckendael in Belgium as well, it's easily reachable from Antwerp by train and is the countryside version of Antwerp, with a nice bird and mammal collection.

3. For Belgian train tickets: you can save 50 percent on train tickets if you buy the discovery ticket more info on the zoo websites) This is the case for both Antwerp and Planckendael.

As @Prochilodus246 will be using an interrail pass, your first and third suggestions won't be relevant - other than certain trains which are mandatory reservation all of his trains will be covered by the pass. Moreover, the Deutschland-Ticket only covers regional trains, and as such won't be all that useful for a busy cross-country itinerary of the sort described.

 

[EliasNys]

As @Prochilodus246 will be using an interrail pass, your first and third suggestions won't be relevant - other than certain trains which are mandatory reservation all of his trains will be covered by the pass. Moreover, the Deutschland-Ticket only covers regional trains, and as such won't be all that useful for a busy cross-country itinerary of the sort described.

Ah yes, I somehow looked over that

 

[Prochilodus246]

I can wholeheartedly recommend this means of travel!

Brilliant, that's very reassuring indeed, thanks.

If you've presented these in the order you plan to visit them, you're going to be taking an excessively convoluted route with a lot of doubling-back on yourself if you go a more logical route you should be able to get more places visited overall and also have more time overall.

I should have worded this a little better, the travel goes in this order:
Antwerp Zoo, Cologne Zoo, Aquazoo Dusseldorf, Wuppertal Zoo, Duisburg Zoo, Frankfurt Zoo, Donnersberg Tierpark, Wilhelma, Hellabrunn Zoo, Nuremburg Zoo, Plzen Zoo x2, Prague Zoo x2, Zajezd Zoo, Jihlava Zoo, Brno Zoo, Zlin Zoo, Ostrava Zoo, Olomouc Zoo, Dvur Kralove Zoo, Liberec Zoo, Wroclaw Zoo, Dresden Zoo, Chemnitz Tierpark, Leipzig Zoo, Magdeburg Zoo, Bierer Berg Zoo, Hanover Zoo, Hanover Landesmuseum, Weltvogelpark Walsrode x2, Best Zoo, Burgers Zoo, Dolfinarium Harderwijk, Artis Zoo, Vogelpark Avifauna & Rotterdam Zoo

Germany has a lot of interesting mid-sized zoos which you can add if time available: Osnabruck, Münster, Zoom Erlebnis, Hamburg, Rostock, etc.

Considering you plan for two months, I recommend you also add Austria to the list - not only is Vienna worth the visit anyhow, for numerous reasons both zoo-related and otherwise, but you will find it significantly increases the ease of visiting Zlin!

I'll see what my friend says as although we both love our zoological collections adding too many excess collections may burn us out, or more likely the soles of our feet

Unless things are changed, don't arrive very early or very late at Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof. It was the only place during my 2022 itinerary I didn't feel safe.

I very much second this point - with the adjustment that Frankfurt HBF and the surrounding environs are *not* somewhere to linger at ANY time of day, and that if at all possible Prochilodus should attempt to stay closer to the Südbahnhof if he intends to actually spend the night in the city.

Noted, thanks both for this point. Where between Frankfurt & Rockenhausen would likely have affordable hostels out of interest?

 

[Prochilodus246]

2. You could consider visiting Planckendael in Belgium as well, it's easily reachable from Antwerp by train and is the countryside version of Antwerp, with a nice bird and mammal collection.

I had completely glazed over Planckendael, but I'll see what my friend says at that'll break up Antwerp to Brussels quite nicely on our way back to the UK. Thanks

 

[lintworm]

Sounds like a great trip!

Best Zoo

Donnersberg Tierpark

I would however strongly advise against visiting these places, they are not worthy of inclusion compared with all the great zoos already on the list.

Especially Donnersberg is just bad, despite the attractive species list (where I would be wary of the correct ID of the hoffman's sloth and lesser screaming armadillo), is a place no Zoochatter should sponsor. The complete disinterest in animal welfare should be worthy of a boycot of anyone who claims to like zoos. If you insist on seeing African palm civet, visit Poznan Nowe Zoo instead. And if you are looking for places to visit between Frankfurt and Stuttgart, try Heidelberg or Karlsruhe instead...

Best Zoo is not as bad as Donnersberg, but still a place where collecting species is prioritized over fixing animal welfare problems, many of the biggest rarities (flying squirrel & opossum) are behind the scenes here too and in a country like the Netherlands there are so many better zoos to visit.

The same could be applied to a lesser extent to Zajedzd and Liberec too...

We found Pairi Daiza and Hagenbeck to be a little too expensive and we thought although we would be missing species of note such as the Spix Macaws at Pairi and the history at Hagenbeck, it wouldn't hinder our enjoyment of the trip overall.

I disagree. When looking at the total sum of money you will spend over the course of 2 months, it is quite meaningless that either zoo is 20 euros more expensive than the competition. Both are zoos that are really must see in my opinion, though neither is a favourite of mine. If you go for such a monumental trip, make sure to have no regrets because of penny pinching, which in hindsight didn't matter. Now you have the opportunity and the means, so take it, you never know what life throws at you and when you might get another chance.

In general it seems like the list was created mainly based on Zootierliste. To each their own, but that seems like a massive missed opportunity to me. When visiting Burgers' and Dolfinarium, you basically should see Apenheul too. Even if you don't particularly like primates, the way of exhibiting them is so unique, that it should not be missed. You could even do Apenheul and Dolfinarium on the same day, Dolfinarium could easily be seen in 2 hours (and be a waste of money if you visit Pairi Daiza, meaning you only miss harbour porpoise)

Other for me obvious misses not mentioned here yet include:
- Tierpark Gorlitz, which could be seen the same day as Dresden or used as a stopover when traveling from Wroclaw to Dresden.
- Basel & Zurich, both zoos can be visited as day trips from Germany (from e.g. Freiburg or Stuttgart) so you don't have to sell one of your kidneys for food and accommodation in Switzerland. Entrance fees of Swiss zoos are relatively low.
- Alpenzoo Innsbruck, which is just 2 hours away from Munich by train.

If you want to wander a bit away from the beaten Zoochat track I would strongly suggest visiting Rostock+Vogelpark Marlow + the 2 Stralsund aquaria. They are more quality over quantity places, but they are all very underrated here.

I would prioritise those, together with Vienna, Poznan Hamburg & Pairi Daiza.

 

[antonmuster]

With Pairi Daiza, Zurich, Vienna, and Berlin you are leaving out the most remarkable (though not all of them necessarily best) zoos along your route of travel. From your list I only consider Prague and Burgers (though I haven't visited the latter) and possibly Leipzig to be similarly memorable. I think leaving these out would be a mistake and let you miss out on some of the best and most memorable experiences zoos anywhere have to offer.

Pairi Daiza exists entirely in its own parallel universe, Zurich has an entire list of standard setting best-in-class (or very nearly best) exhibits, and Vienna combines historical heritage with modern zoo design like no other. With the new management, Zurich is beginning to lean ever more heavily into exhibiting and breeding endangered (and rare) species. I would also consider adding Basel, Bern, and Hagenbeck to your itinerary. Basel is unique in how it combines a museological aesthetics in their exhibits with modern husbandry; Hagenbeck does not live up to its heritage, but quite a bit of its iconic heritage is still there and on visiting it was a much more pleasant zoo day out than I expected; Bern's former bear pit, now bear park, is steeped in history dating back to the 1400s and the Tierpark a 40 minute stroll downriver has an excellent collection of European fauna in excellent exhibits as well as an exotarium which together with Basel's and Zurich's imho is second only to Berlin's.

If you book early and also consider youth hostels, accomodation in Switzerland doesn't have to be expensive (though still not cheap). Basel is right on the border with France and Germany and both Bern and Zurich are only 1h by train from Basel, so you could also overnight outside of Switzerland and do easy day trips.

 

[Prochilodus246]

I would however strongly advise against visiting these places, they are not worthy of inclusion compared with all the great zoos already on the list.

Donnersberg has been taken off the list, however, Best is staying on the list as this will likely be the collection I'll be meeting up with a friend.

And if you are looking for places to visit between Frankfurt and Stuttgart, try Heidelberg or Karlsruhe instead...

Karlsruhe has been added to the maybe list.

The same could be applied to a lesser extent to Zajedzd and Liberec too...

The sheer amount of interesting chameleon taxa keeps Zajezd firmly on the list but Liberec has also been removed but traded out.

I disagree. When looking at the total sum of money you will spend over the course of 2 months, it is quite meaningless that either zoo is 20 euros more expensive than the competition. Both are zoos that are really must see in my opinion, though neither is a favourite of mine. If you go for such a monumental trip, make sure to have no regrets because of penny pinching, which in hindsight didn't matter. Now you have the opportunity and the means, so take it, you never know what life throws at you and when you might get another chance.

Very good way of putting it and Pairi is certainly in its own right just interesting architecturally and its way of keeping animals. Therefore, it has replaced a collection previously on the list.

In general it seems like the list was created mainly based on Zootierliste. To each their own, but that seems like a massive missed opportunity to me. When visiting Burgers' and Dolfinarium, you basically should see Apenheul too. Even if you don't particularly like primates, the way of exhibiting them is so unique, that it should not be missed. You could even do Apenheul and Dolfinarium on the same day, Dolfinarium could easily be seen in 2 hours (and be a waste of money if you visit Pairi Daiza, meaning you only miss harbour porpoise)

The Dolfinarium has been removed as now Pairi is on the cards and Apenhuel added, as although primates aren't my favourite, it is interesting in its own right.

Other for me obvious misses not mentioned here yet include:
- Basel & Zurich, both zoos can be visited as day trips from Germany (from e.g. Freiburg or Stuttgart) so you don't have to sell one of your kidneys for food and accommodation in Switzerland. Entrance fees of Swiss zoos are relatively low.

Day trips from Germany have made these collections into maybes as Stuttgart isn't the cheapest of German cities but Zurich and Basel are very good collections.

I would prioritise those, together with Vienna

Austria is firmly on the list in regards to Schonbrunn and Haus de Meeres

 

[Prochilodus246]

Berlin you are leaving out the most remarkable (though not all of them necessarily best) zoos along your route of travel.

I visited Berlin last summer and was a tremendous trip, albeit very hot and the decision not to pack boots was a regret!

Bern

Along with the rest of Switzerland, Bern is now a maybe.

 

[Prochilodus246]

Itinerary updated in order of travel:

Antwerp Zoo, Cologne Zoo, Aquazoo Dusseldorf, Wuppertal Zoo, Krefeld Zoo*, Dortmund Zoo*, Duisburg Zoo, Frankfurt Zoo, Karlsruhe Zoo*, Wilhelma x2, Mulhouse Zoo*, Zurich Zoo*, Basel Zoo*, Bern Tierpark*, Hellabrunn Zoo, Nuremburg Zoo, Plzen Zoo x2, Prague Zoo x2, Morsky Svet, Prague Crocodile Zoo, Zajezd Zoo, Jihlava Zoo, Tiergareten Schonbrunn, Haus de Meeres, Brno Zoo, Zlin Zoo, Ostrava Zoo, Olomouc Zoo, Dvur Kralove Zoo, Wroclaw Zoo, Dresden Zoo, Chemnitz Tierpark, Leipzig Zoo, Magdeburg Zoo, Bierer Berg Zoo, Hannover Zoo, Weltvogelpark Walsrode x2, Hagenbeck Zoo, Osnabruck Zoo*, Burgers Zoo, Best Zoo, Artis Zoo, Rotterdam Zoo & Pairi Daiza.

*Collections that are maybes and not fully decided upon

 

[Prochilodus246]

Updated Itinerary in order of travel:
Antwerp Zoo, Cologne Zoo, Wuppertal Zoo, Dortmund Zoo, Duisburg Zoo, Krefeld Zoo, Aquazoo Dusseldorf, Frankfurt Zoo, Opel Zoo, Heidelberg Zoo, Karlsruhe Zoo, Karlsruhe Museum, Tierpark Oberwald, Wilhelma x2, Hellabrunn Zoo, Nuremberg Zoo, Plzen Zoo x2, Prague Zoo x2, Morsky Svet, Zajezd Zoo, Prague Crocodile Zoo, Jihlava Zoo, Brno Zoo, Haus de Meeres, Schonbrunn Zoo, Zlin Zoo, Olomouc Zoo, Ostrava Zoo, Wroclaw Zoo, Dvur Kralove, Dresden Zoo, Chemnitz Zoo, Leipzig Zoo, Magdeburg Zoo, Bierer Berg Zoo, Hannover Zoo, Hannover NH Museum, Walsrode Weltvogelpark x2, Hagenbeck Zoo, Osnabruck Zoo, Burger's Zoo, Apenheul Primate Park, Artis Zoo, Zie-Zoo, Best Zoo, Beekse Bergen & Pairi Daiza


Question:
What is the best way of reaching Dvur Kralove by public transport as all options look like somewhat of a headache? Any help/tips would be much appreciated.

 

[TeaLovingDave]

What is the best way of reaching Dvur Kralove by public transport as all options look like somewhat of a headache? Any help/tips would be much appreciated.

The headache is your own fault borne of your choice in route and itinerary placement, I'm afraid you will want to visit Dvur Kralove as a daytrip from Prague, as there isn't a feasible way to reach it from Wroclaw!

Trains from Prague to Dvur Kralove (usually changing in either Pardubice or Hradec Kralove) are fairly regular throughout the day. Once you have arrived, there is usually a bus from Dvur Kralove railway station to the zoo and visa versa, which is timed to synchronise with train arrival times, but I naturally can't guarantee that it will still be running in summer 2026!

The walk to and from the railway station is actually quite a pleasant one, but it is a fairly long distance so the bus will be preferable given this is your first visit.

Updated Itinerary in order of travel:
Antwerp Zoo, Cologne Zoo, Wuppertal Zoo, Dortmund Zoo, Duisburg Zoo, Krefeld Zoo, Aquazoo Dusseldorf, Frankfurt Zoo, Opel Zoo, Heidelberg Zoo, Karlsruhe Zoo, Karlsruhe Museum, Tierpark Oberwald, Wilhelma x2, Hellabrunn Zoo, Nuremberg Zoo, Plzen Zoo x2, Prague Zoo x2, Morsky Svet, Zajezd Zoo, Prague Crocodile Zoo, Jihlava Zoo, Brno Zoo, Haus de Meeres, Schonbrunn Zoo, Zlin Zoo, Olomouc Zoo, Ostrava Zoo, Wroclaw Zoo, Dvur Kralove, Dresden Zoo, Chemnitz Zoo, Leipzig Zoo, Magdeburg Zoo, Bierer Berg Zoo, Hannover Zoo, Hannover NH Museum, Walsrode Weltvogelpark x2, Hagenbeck Zoo, Osnabruck Zoo, Burger's Zoo, Apenheul Primate Park, Artis Zoo, Zie-Zoo, Best Zoo, Beekse Bergen & Pairi Daiza

In general, your proposed route is going to result in a fair bit of doubling-back and wasted time, especially if you are travelling by public transport - as such I suggest the following route and location hubs, with suggested additions in bold italics, and suggested removals for public transport reasons underlined.

BRUSSELS - Antwerp, Pairi Daiza
COLOGNE - Cologne, Wuppertal, Dortmund, Aquazoo Dusseldorf
(en-route to next hub, visit Frankfurt)
KARLSRUHE- Opel-Zoo, Heidelberg Zoo, Karlsruhe Zoo, Karlsruhe Museum, Tierpark Oberwald, Basel, Wilhelma
MUNICH - Hellabrunn, Nuremberg, Zurich, Alpenzoo
VIENNA - Haus de Meeres, Schonbrunn Zoo
(en-route to next hub, visit Zlin)
OSTRAVA - Ostrava Zoo, Olomouc Zoo
WROCLAW - Wroclaw, Poznan
PRAGUE - Prague, Plzen, Morsky Svet, Zajezd Zoo, Prague Crocodile Zoo, Jihlava Zoo, Brno Zoo, Dvur Kralove
DRESDEN - Dresden, Chemnitz
LEIPZIG - Leipzig, Halle, Magdeburg, Schonebeck
HANNOVER - Hannover Zoo, Hannover NH Museum, Walsrode, Hagenbeck, Osnabruck
(en-route to next hub, visit Duisburg and Krefeld)
ARNHEM - Burgers, Apenheul
AMSTERDAM - Artis Zoo, Zie-Zoo, Best Zoo, Beekse Bergen

Unless otherwise specified you could do the collections in any order from each hub.

 

[Prochilodus246]

Thank you @TeaLovingDave your expertise is valuable and incredibly helpful. Would you mind looking over our in depth travel plans via a PM if that would be alright, once they are relatively complete?

I think centering around a hub will be good for the likes of the zoos in North Rhine-Westphalia & other close collections. However, we are very much individuals who prefer to spend as long as is exhaustively possible to see zoos in their entirety. It also doesn't help I'm an excessive snapper and note taker

 

[TeaLovingDave]

Thank you @TeaLovingDave your expertise is valuable and incredibly helpful. Would you mind looking over our in depth travel plans via a PM if that would be alright, once they are relatively complete?

I think centering around a hub will be good for the likes of the zoos in North Rhine-Westphalia & other close collections. However, we are very much individuals who prefer to spend as long as is exhaustively possible to see zoos in their entirety. It also doesn't help I'm an excessive snapper and note taker

Always happy to help and you'll note I have slightly edited my previous post to fix an error - I accidentally wrote Krefeld as a suggested hub rather than Karlsruhe!

It also doesn't help I'm an excessive snapper and note taker

Join the club

As regards having time to see a collection properly, its worth noting that travel on Interrail isn't limited to off-peak trains, so even when using another location as a hub its entirely possible to get a nice early train in order to ensure you have as long as possible at a given collection. The other advantage, of course, is limiting how often you are forced to drag your suitcases around with you and/or find somewhere to deposit them!

 

[Prochilodus246]

Always happy to help and you'll note I have slightly edited my previous post to fix an error - I accidentally wrote Krefeld as a suggested hub rather than Karlsruhe!

You needn't worry, as I read Krefeld as Karlsruhe. Suggesting Krefeld as a hub would have been long winded indeed, particularly for likes of Wilhelma.

Travel on Interrail isn't limited to off-peak trains, so even when using another location as a hub its entirely possible to get a nice early train in order to ensure you have as long as possible at a given collection. The other advantage, of course, is limiting how often you are forced to drag your suitcases around with you and/or find somewhere to deposit them!

Ah that's reassuring to hear as I seem to remember interrail used to be only limited to generally off peak times. I also recall the two months continuous travel didn't exist as a ticket until recently too, so very reassuring it is now a thing as this trip would not be possible without it.