Recommendations for northern Germany

[Flying Snail]

I have a few days left on an interrail and am going to be in Berlin for work so looking at staying a little longer there and possibly a night or two in Hamburg, as flights home from there seem cheaper, to use up the remaining travel days.

It isn't a region I have been in much so any suggestions would be welcome, preferably something other than miles of flat plains and privacy barriers, some older and more interesting haulage would be a bonus.

 

[Bletchleyite]

The Rendsburger Hochbruecke is probably one of the more interesting things you might ride over - think Forth Bridge but bigger with long, curved approaches. Worth knocking around the city a bit too.

Oh, and don't forget Minatur Wunderland if you haven't been there before!

 

[farci]

if it interests you Hamburg has a well developed local transport system including ferries, underground and historical vertical passenger tunnels in the port area. Also one of Europe’s best model transport layouts worth half a day Miniatur Wunderland

 

[Richard Scott]

I have a few days left on an interrail and am going to be in Berlin for work so looking at staying a little longer there and possibly a night or two in Hamburg, as flights home from there seem cheaper, to use up the remaining travel days.

It isn't a region I have been in much so any suggestions would be welcome, preferably something other than miles of flat plains and privacy barriers, some older and more interesting haulage would be a bonus.

Depends what you want to do. The diesel hydraulic 218s still work IC trains from Iztehoe to Westerland. They also occasionally work the car trains from Niebuell to Westerland, can ride on these courtesy of the DMU that attaches to the back.
All are interrail valid.

 

[Bletchleyite]

if it interests you Hamburg has a well developed local transport system including ferries, underground and historical vertical passenger tunnels in the port area. Also one of Europe’s best model transport layouts worth half a day Miniatur Wunderland

Yeah, the ferries are good. And a lap of the Ringlinie (U3) is a good plan, only a small section is underground and it gives excellent aerial views of the city including the harbour.

 

[30907]

You could rake a look at the n/g steam from Bad Doberan to Kūhlungsborn or the Rügen line - you'd probably need to stay somewhere on the coast to do both.

The Hanseatic cities on the Baltic are nice - Lübeck obviously, but also Wismar, Rostock, Stralsund (making allowance for the DDR-era stuff that surrounds the historic bits.

 

[Flying Snail]

Thanks for all those suggestions, plenty of options for 2-3 days.

 

[DelW]

You could rake a look at the n/g steam from Bad Doberan to Kūhlungsborn or the Rügen line - you'd probably need to stay somewhere on the coast to do both.

AKA Mollibahn, featuring street running through the middle of the town of Bad Doberan. Quite a sight, and maybe the only remaining such working (with steam) in Europe?

 

[Spamcan81]

AKA Mollibahn, featuring street running through the middle of the town of Bad Doberan. Quite a sight, and maybe the only remaining such working (with steam) in Europe?

The Lößnitzgrundbahn from Radebeul Ost in the outskirts of Dresden has some stretches of street running. Not quite so spectacular as the Mollibahn though where you can sit drinking a beer within touching distance of the loco.

 

[JRT]

Yeah, the ferries are good. And a lap of the Ringlinie (U3) is a good plan, only a small section is underground and it gives excellent aerial views of the city including the harbour.

The U3 was originally the ,Hochbahn' ('high way' or elevated railway) and runs through the City ABOVE the Schnellbahn routes!

 

[30907]

The Lößnitzgrundbahn from Radebeul Ost in the outskirts of Dresden has some stretches of street running.

...and is only a couple of hours from Berlin, with the bonus of Czech and Hungarian restaurant cars

 

[Struner]

The Lößnitzgrundbahn from Radebeul Ost in the outskirts of Dresden has some stretches of street running. Not quite so spectacular as the Mollibahn though where you can sit drinking a beer within touching distance of the loco.

Northern Germany?

 

[Gloster]

One trip I used to like was out to Travemünde Strand beyond Lübeck. The AKN is also worth a look, including the way it dovetails with the S- and U-Bahn.

 

[duesselmartin]

The line from Hamburg towards Westerland is very scenic and diesel hauled. If the full distance is too much, Husum is a wonderful town for a stopover

 

[JRT]

The line from Hamburg towards Westerland is very scenic and diesel hauled. If the full distance is too much, Husum is a wonderful town for a stopover

The train over the Hindenburgdamm to Sylt is interesting.

 

[duncombec]

It's been a few years now since I've visited, and a few more since I lived there for a couple of years, but Schleswig-Holstein was my "German home", so I certainly know how things used to be.

Agreed the Rendsburger Hochbrücke is a great thing to travel over - although I'm not sure what the view is like at the moment as I believe they are performing some sort of works on it again (or between there and Felde). I haven't been over it since the new double-deck trains were introduced either, which may give an even better view. Travelling northbound, the line then loops around the town, and the station is almost underneath the bridge. (Was quite handy for knowing whether you'd make the train or not... I could just get to the station in the 8 minutes it took the train to loop).
There is also a transport bridge under the bridge, which is now back in service after bashing a ship some years ago - if the cafe is still open, it plays the national anthem of the passing ship. Not super-close to the town centre, but worth it if you like quirks.

There are new battery trains on the Neumünster - Bad Oldesloe RB82, with the RB63 to Büsüm to follow. They meet swiss-style in Neumünster. More battery trains should be introduced soon (if not already) as part of the plan to de-diesel the network.

There's a beach at Eckernförde if you get bored of fields and wind turbines (random aside: I recommend the hand-made sweets from https://www.bonbonkocherei.de/)

Fully agree with those who say the Hindenburgdamm is interesting in its own right - the only way onto Sylt, and it's not road! At Niebüll, there are various connections with bits of the NEG. The service to Tønder in Denmark is now a boring Arriva Danmark LINT (I think!), but the neg look to still have something elderly on their own journey to Dagebüll. I never did it myself, but I understand it goes right down to the ferry terminal to Föhr and Amrum (see https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e4/13-09-29-nordfriesisches-wattenmeer-RalfR-03.jpg).

"Sadly", the VTA diesel units from AKN seem to have been replaced by more LINTs, although the southern section between Kaltenkirchen and Hamburg is being converted to S-Bahn operation.

Not the most exciting (and relying on it actually working...), the three-part folding footbridge in Kiel is an architectural wierdity: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hörn_Bridge

There's a pretty decent map at https://www.nah.sh/assets/05-Karten/BahnlinienSH_A3_2024_5.pdf, and with a Schleswig-Holstein ticket you should be able to plot yourself a circular route... and still have time to go to Miniatur Wunderland!

 

[blackfive460]

Agreed the Rendsburger Hochbrücke is a great thing to travel over - although I'm not sure what the view is like at the moment as I believe they are performing some sort of works on it again

The view should be fine. See the live webcam!

 

[reb0118]

Schwerin is worthy of a few hours. Very pleasant and relaxed.

 

[duncombec]

The view should be fine. See the live webcam!

Excellent! I couldn't remember where the works were between Rendsburg and Felde and wasn't aware of the webcam. I lived there in the period between 1992 and 2014 (!!!) when the bridge was heavily refurbished and spent most of that time with at least one side covered in plastic. It seems the work is actually taking place on the structures leading up to the bridge on both sides.

Bauarbeiten in Rendsburg: RB75 fährt 2024 nur bis Felde

Ende Januar wurde der Entwurf für den Fahrplan 2024 durch die nah.sh vorgestellt, der neben Verbesserungen auch eine böse Überraschung enthielt. Die RB 75 (Kiel-Rendsburg) soll im nächsten Jahr auf Kiel-Felde gekürzt werden, die Halte Rendsburg, Schülldorf, Bredenbek entfallen. Dafür sind Halte...

pro-bahn-sh.de

Grund dafür sind Arbeiten an den Viadukten in den Dämmen, die auf die Rendsburger Hochbrücke führen. Genaueres zu den Arbeiten der DB Netz ist noch nicht bekannt, Zahl und Länge der Viadukte lassen aber ausgedehnte eingleisige Abschnitte zwischen Rendsburg und Österrönfeld erwarten.

Die Situation ist nicht neu. Zwischen 1992 und 2014 wurde die Hochbrücke vom Fundament bis zum Niet instand gesetzt und für erheblich schwerere Güterzüge ertüchtigt. In der Zeit war die Brücke nur auf einem Gleis befahrbar – der Halbstundentakt zwischen Kiel und Rendsburg, den sich das Land schon seit den frühen Zweitausendern gewünscht hat, war deswegen lange nicht möglich. Erst nach Abschluss der Arbeiten konnte 2014 die RB75 eingeführt werden. Jetzt sind die Einschränkungen wieder da.

Roughly translated:

The reason for this is works on the viaducts in the banks that lead to the Rendsburg High Bridge. Precise details of the DB NEtz works aren't known, but the number and length of the viaducts mean lengthy single-track sections between Rendsburg and Österrönfeld.

The situation isn't new. Between 1992 and 2014 the High bridge was refurbished from foundations to rivet and toughened up for very heavy goods trains. In that time, the bridge was only travellable on a single track - the half-hourly frequency between Kiel and Rendsburg, which the State had wished since the early 2000s was impossible for a long time. Only after completion of the works could the RB75 be introduced in 2014. Now the restrictions have returned.

It's almost making me want to return for myself and try the new battery trains!

 

[30907]

Northern Germany?

Well, it's not Southern, Western or Central - and Berlin is as far East
Seriously, it's a sensible trip from Berlin.

Schwerin is worthy of a few hours. Very pleasant and relaxed.

Agreed, and is one of those exDDR cities with a small tram network.