Traveling to Germany

This coming summer I am planning my first trip to Germany and would like some suggestions on how best to spend approximately two weeks. My interests are quite general but specifically transportation related.

The intention is to visit the Molli-Badersbahn and the Dresden area, along with what other rail, tram, paddle steamers, & etc should be included in the itinerary. The narrow gauge lines are to be given preference.

Any help someone might like to offer me in planning this trip will be greatly appreciated.

Rich Taylor

Rich T wrote:This coming summer I am planning my first trip to Germany and would like some suggestions on how best to spend approximately two weeks. My interests are quite general but specifically transportation related.

The intention is to visit the Molli-Badersbahn and the Dresden area, along with what other rail, tram, paddle steamers, & etc should be included in the itinerary. The narrow gauge lines are to be given preference.

Any help someone might like to offer me in planning this trip will be greatly appreciated.

Rich Taylor

It would probably be worth your while getting a rover ticket of some kind. Inter-rail is one possibility. There may be tickets of that kind just for Germany. Inter-rail would probaby cover an area larger than just Germany.

The rails round Dresden are interesting and the Hauptbahnhof has just had a full refurbishment to its original pre- first world war finery.

I saw the narrow gauge trains when they were still owned by Deutsche Reichsbahn, and carried some freight, just after the wall came down.

I suppose the most important fact about Germany is that you wont see all of it in two weeks. You've already mentioned Dresden and, there is no better place to start. The two narrow gauges, really one and a half right now, are very interesting and the Radebuel line retains some of the old atmosphere and runs every day all day.
There are the nine paddle steamers, also, every day all day. At Bad Schandau is the Kirnitzschtalbahn a rural tramway, Germany's smallest, using only four wheel cars. Note that this line is reached from the Bahnhof by ferry from which you will see that company's steam ferry 'Whelen-Bastai" now used mainly for charter, the smallest European steam vessel. Dresden's tramway is large and comprehensive, few buses reach the center. A collection of historic cars is at the Trachenberge Depot, sometimes open at weekends and the cars are often seen on charter. Leipzig with an even bigger tramway is only a couple of hours away as is Berlin or Prague. There are often steam railway charters but, they are advertised mostly locally or in German. On the internet, look for Lok Report and then click on "termine" which gives events of railfan interest. So, my recommendation is to start with Dresden, no other place has so much variety, and they are friendly.
On second thought, you wont see all of Dresden in two weeks either but it'll be fun to try.
LS

Hi,

I certainly second Leo's remark about two weeks being to little time to see all of Germany's railroad. If you're into narrow gauge, Dresden is a good starting point. You may want to check out the Harzer Schmalspurbahn, which runs several narrow gauge lines, one of them leading up the Brocken mountain (1125m). Wikipedia has an article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harzer_Schmalspurbahnen. The HSB is roughly 150 miles northwest of Dresden and would be a good stop on your way north to Molli, which is on the Baltic coast near Rostock. Information in English here http://www.molli-bahn.de/Englisch.4.0.html.

Tickets: There is a 16-day Interrail-Ticket for one or two zones. Germany forms a zone with Poland, Czech Republic, Switzerland, Austria and some other smaller eastern countries. The one-zone ticket is 286€ and would allow you to check out some of the older railroads in Poland and the Czech Republic which many people here are rather enthused about. For more information, go to http://www.bahn.de, click "International Guests" in the horizontal navigation bar and then select "Interrail" from the right column.

If you're into freight, there's nothing like the west of Germany, especially the Ruhrgebiet. A former mining region, but still with a lot of steel mills and heavy industry, probably the densest rail network in Europe. I live at the Cologne-Oberhausen main line which averages about 150 freight trains on weekdays. Of course, comparing with American standards, these trains are almost rediculously short and light, but faster and there's many of them. Lots of electrics and diesel here, many privately owned railroad companies, too(Railion, Germany's largest rail freight operator, is still state-owned). However, the interrail ticket for Germany does not cover the Netherlands or France, so you'd have to buy a two-zone ticket if you wanted to check out these countries, too.

For region-specific help, I recommend Germany's largest and most important railroad forum, Drehscheibe Online: http://www.drehscheibe-online.de. For your questions, select the "Allgemeines" forum. Registration is free, posting in English is no problem.

If you have any further questions, you can also contact me off board.

Having been to Germany yearly for the past twenty years, exploring railroads every time, I can ditto the recommendation/s for the Dresden area, the Harzer_Schmalspurbahnen from/to Wernigerode/Nordhausen up to the Brocken, and definitely the Ruegensche Kleinbahn on the island of Rugen. (Putbus to Ostseebad Binz and on to Goehren. (not to far from the Molli)

In the summer the Rugen experience is great, as is the Kleinbahn to get there. You can even rent bicycles on the island and transport them by train from one part to another along the way.

Thank you all for these suggestions as the trip is still in the planning stage.

I am a little curious - how was your trip?

If anyone plans somethin alike - another ditto to the posts above - do start in Dresden and make sure not to miss the Radebeul-Radeburg narrow gauge and the Kirnitzschtalbahn. If you can spare a rail-free moment, the Frauenkirche is the place to visit, especially with its symbolism for friendship instead of war.

With only two weeks you will have to think about your priorities - yes to Northrhine-Westphalia for freight (and for HST fans - it is a nice view from the ICE3 from Frankfort to Cologne with 300 km/h to see the cars on the Autobahn seemingly standing still, even though some might well exceed 200 km/h).

Therefore if you are sure about Dresden as a starting point, do continue with the Harz mountain area. Besides the famous Brocken line, the Selketal (HSB branch line) is really beuatiful and also offers steam service. From there it is only a couple of miles to the Ruebelandbahn with heavy diesel trains in a nice scenery.

When done, Berlin of course also offers a variety of interesting destinations, including the new central station (if it does not fall apart in the next storm). From there on contining north you reach the "Molli", and the "Rasender Roland" is also a nice piece of narrow gauge steam. By checking the dates, you might also catch some museum standard gauge trains (also see [url]http://www.drehscheibe-online.de/termine/index.php3[/url].

Florian

Our trip will probably be in August, or perhaps September.

We are discussing doing a one week organized rail tour that covers several of the narrow gauge lines we are interested in, and the Dresden paddle steamers. Then one week, and a few extra days if possible, on our own.

Another decision to be made is should we be flying from the US to the UK, then the Eurostar, or going directly to Germany.

Is there an English language web site that lists the upcoming mainline museum steam trips?

Thank you kindly for the suggestions as they will certainly be considered.

Rich T wrote:Florian

Our trip will probably be in August, or perhaps September.

We are discussing doing a one week organized rail tour that covers several of the narrow gauge lines we are interested in, and the Dresden paddle steamers. Then one week, and a few extra days if possible, on our own.

Another decision to be made is should we be flying from the US to the UK, then the Eurostar, or going directly to Germany.

Is there an English language web site that lists the upcoming mainline museum steam trips?

Thank you kindly for the suggestions as they will certainly be considered.

Flying might be the cheapest option, but Eurostar and trains to Dresden are possible in daylight, or of course by sleeper.
Leaving Waterloo at 07.42 you can be in Dresden by 22.01 (one hour time zone change).
For the day train you would change trains in Brussels, then to Mainz and then on to Dresden. For the night train you travel from Brussels to Frankfurt and then take the sleeper from there. (I had hoped there was a through train from Brussels, but sleepers are dying in Europe because of high speed trains and cheap airlines.)
In normal times you will find timekeeping is good. Of course these days there is the danger of unusual weather events such as serious flooding if the summer goes that way. Dresden was one of the cities that was flooded a couple of years ago. Heavy rain in Central Europe has to pass down the river there. Another route would be via Paris and Berlin. There is a sleeper from Paris to Berlin and then a quite reasonable trip from Berlin to Dresden. You would see the grandiose new Berlin Hauptbahnhof. This sleeper can also be picked up in Brussels.
For train timetables all over Europe use this web site.
http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query. ... 3&OK#focus

As my German uncle told me when I visited over Christmas, Munich is the 'true' capital of Germany, the one with the most beauty and culture, the one that looks like we envision German cities to be. Make sure you take time to visit. It's Hauptbahnhof is not the most attractive but it has tons of transportation systems to experience. I also really enjoyed Bamberg when I visited it many years ago with my parents.

Here are some German (and other) sites that give some info on events by month.

http://www.drehscheibe-online.de/

http://www.db.de/site/bahn/de/unternehm ... useum.html

http://66.218.71.231/language/translati ... c715e081a1

http://www.germansteam.co.uk/

http://www.railserve.com/jump/jump.cgi?ID=15703

(While I agree that Munich is quite nice, I'll put in a word for Hamburg..the Venice of Germany...which also has three historic and quite busy bahnhofs...Hauptbahnhof, Dammtor (the Kaiser's station) and Altona....boat rides on the Alster in August are great!)

Now I will be monotoring this forum more clostly as the trip is finally past the talking stage.

I will fly into Hamburg the middle of August and meet a American friend who will already be in Europe. We are renting a car and expect to spend about one week doing the narrow gauge steam lines, along with whatever other rail, tram, steamboat, canal, & etc transportation subjects we come across. We plan to be around Dresden the weekend of August 18 & 19 to do the paddle steamers. After that my friend leaves for home and I will spend two weeks traveling around the country.

Are there any country or interurban tram systems operating in Germany? Additionally what are the best tram cities to visit?

Thanks again

Rich,

Not sure if you are aware, but both Emirates and Continental now have direct flights from NYC to Hamburg. I prefer Emirates as they fly the new 777s and the food is excellent.

Munich, Dresden, and what was East Berlin have trams (Straßenbahn). Several other cities also have.

Here is a great German Tram website:

http://www.trampicturebook.de/tram/germany/
and also
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trams_in_G ... y_networks

As far as 'interurbans' are concerned, the Germans have "S" bahns as well as the regional trains.

While in Hamburg (by far my favorite German city) take time out to take an Alster and canal boat ride. The fleet and canal tour is the best. The Hamburg Hauptbahnhof is also a great train station, that not only houses the DB trains but also the S bahns and U bahns (subways) Don't miss the Dammtor train station (the Kaiser's station)

http://www.hamburg-tourism.de/index.php?id=621&L=1

Are you planning on purchasing a DB railpass before you leave?
I highly recommend the second class 5 or 6 day pass for about $260US.
It is a bargain, as if you were to purchase day trip tickets in Germany one trip alone could cost you that much. The overnight accommodations saves a whole bunch of money vis a vis what you would pay for a decent hotel.

If you don't mind 'roughing it' a bit, the liegewagen 'couchette' costs only about $45, and you end up seeing more of Germany because you are travelling overnight city to city. I do it every time I am in Germany each year for the past 20 years.

The German rail systems (ICE, IC, R, S, and U) systems are so good and convenient, that I gave up renting a car years ago. (no place to park anyway!!)

Feel free to email me if you wish more info. (just click on my name to the left of a post, and it takes you to the email)

Carter

I became intimately aqqauinted with the east berlin tram system , when my front wheel got caught in ther tracks . Luckily there was no trams coming .
The only thing i can think of in Germany to recomend at the moment is the technology musuem in Berlin .

RichT wrote:

Are there any country or interurban tram systems operating in Germany? Additionally what are the best tram cities to visit?

For interurban tram systems I recommend Karlsruhe. They have the "oldest"(15 years) and best system. Saarbrücken´s is smaller, Kassel has problems getting the service started.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karlsruhe#Transport

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tram-train