Quite scenic to be fair
But- I was in Germany last week, I'd seriously check how those routes are after the wild rainstorms last week. I know Stuttgart to Ulm was washed out, some routes around Rottweil, Baden Baden etc also. The line via Fulda and Wurzburg is ok as far as I'm aware, but south of Ingolstadt I wouldnt like to say because the Donau burst it's banks. HTIOU!
It's actually the other way around; the Wurzburg route to Munich is the affected one. In any case, I'm glad that I didn't try going down to Munich; going to Frankfurt after Berlin on the same day was bad enough, as I shall now elaborate ...
After my first night in the Dusseldorf hotel (I actually liked it: Domo Mondial on booking.com for those interested), I started my next Interrail travel day by deciding on catching the 0652 ICE to Berlin that I initially planned to start off with, as it didn't report any issues (yet). Just a nice morning stroll to the Hauptbahnhof, grabbing a coffee and some nice bakery food from the many outlets available for the journey ahead. Close to departure time as I made my way up to the platform, it appears the train hadn't turned up from the depot yet, despite no information about a delay until the very last minute when they finally informed of a 5-minute delay at departure time. Not the end of the world though, as the train did turn up as a double ICE 2 set bang on the 5-minute delay, so it was a good start to DB standards. Train was as comfortable as I hoped (literally the 2nd class seats are exactly the same as the ones LNER and GWR use in 1st class) and the journey went very smoothly, although the delay did gradually increase over time after Hannover. We eventually arrived into Berlin Hbf with a 25-minute delay (terminated at Hbf and cancelled the Ostbahnhof stop but I only intended to go Hbf anyway so it's all good), which wasn't too bad as I've had many options for the train to Frankfurt to make sure I had enough time to enjoy Berlin, a city I definitely had fun exploring. After taking some time to admire the Hauptbahnhof, I got an S-Bahn over to Alexanderplatz to explore the main sights and a few shops (managed to find my favourite Lindt pistachio bar in the adjacent Galeria so going back to Zurich was no longer necessary) before walking across the main roads to Brandenburg Gate and Potsdamer Platz, where I had a Currywurst (realised how simple they were to make) for lunch at a nice Turkish Restaurant (which makes them with Halal Chicken) next to Mall of Berlin. Getting back to Hbf from Potsdamerplatz in time for the 1500 ICE to Frankfurt was easier said than done, however, as I ended up in the S-Bahn station where (after trying to figure out which platforms were the right direction) I realised I had to change at Freidrichstrasse for Hbf, as the RegionalBahn trains that go direct are in a completely different station that I didn't have time to transfer to. However, at Freidrichstrasse it turns out all westbound trains to the Hbf were cancelled due to some disruption, so I had to faff about with the trams or U-Bahn (finally decided to get the latter after figuring out the right ticket and where I need to go) and decided I won't make the 1500 train, so I might as well just go straight back to Dusseldorf again (which in hindsight, may have been a better idea) on the 1545. However, on my way back to Hbf, I found on the DB Navigator app that the 1500 to Frankfurt was delayed by half an hour anyway, so I could still make it after all. I just about managed to get it upon arrival to Hbf, which happened to be an ICE 1 set.
Thereafter, I had a fun ride to Frankfurt via Halle-Erfurt, as the line was indeed considerably more scenic than Hannover-Wolfsburg as you have all noted. We actually made up some time (maybe 5-10 mins) upon arrival into Frankfurt, so it was not bad. However, after exploring a bit of Frankfurt city centre, I realised the 2009 ICE to Dortmund I was initially planning to catch back to Dusseldorf was delayed by half an hour (it was coming from Munich via the affected Wurzburg line), followed by an additional hour (no longer calling at Hbf so I'd have to get an S-Bahn to the airport) which made me relax a bit more in Frankfurt Hauptwache. However, I relaxed a bit too much, as I found out the S8 and S9 do not go in the tunnels anymore (at least when I was there) but instead, terminates at the Hbf so the 2117 time for the S8 was actually from the Hbf not Hauptwache (Interrail app doesn't take disruptions into account at all which led me to misread the DB Navigator App), which means I'm screwed as I wouldn't make that ICE connection (even with the delay it already racked up) as I wouldn't make it to Hbf (maybe I should have just walked at this point) until half-past at that point. Thereafter, I was frantic to find a connection to the airport, but found the next one was the S9 at 2150 cos no RB or RE trains departing before then were going that way and there were no ICE services departing for another hour. As for what alternative connections (DB Navigator is helpful) I could get once I reached the airport, I found I could get the (delayed to) 2226 ICE to Dortmund straight back to Dusseldorf instead, meaning I'd be back in my hotel by midnight instead of 11pm (my original plan was 9-10pm). However, as soon as I finally reached the airport and made the unexpectedly long walk to the long-distance station from the regional one, I found that service had been cancelled so I had to wait for the (delayed to) 2233 which terminated at Cologne instead. Luckily, it was one of the new ICE 3 units, so I could relax a bit in speed and comfort. At least at Cologne, the RRX was still running past midnight, so I'd still have connections onwards to Dusseldorf which would ultimately be better as the next direct ICE service was an hour later. The delay increased upon arrival because we were held hostage at the signals on the bridge between M/Dtz and Hbf. Thus, I missed the RE1 at 2349 and had to get the RE6 at 0007 arriving in Dusseldorf 0050, so I ended up back at my hotel around 1am, at least four hours later than originally planned. Ultimately, this ended up better than waiting for the direct ICE, as that racked up a greater delay and I found it arrived in Dusseldorf later than my RRX. However, I was shattered by then so it was straight to bed for me after a quick shower.
Following my very eventful day dealing with DB delays and disruptions, I decided to take it easy for the final travel day and just go to the Netherlands as a quick escape from DB territory. To ensure I got a decent amount of rest, I aimed for the RE13 to Venlo at 0748 instead of the originally planned 0648. This arrived from Hamm packed, but nearly everyone got off at Dusseldorf, so I was able to get a seat. Overall, not a bad ride, although we arrived at Venlo 10 minutes late narrowly missing the IC connection to Utrecht. No matter, as the next one is in half an hour (arrived 5 minutes late but easily made up the time so a far cry from DB), so I decided to have a quick wander around the outside of Venlo station, which was very peaceful. IC services from Venlo are operated by the VIRM trains I've wanted to ride for a while, which I definitely enjoyed. While the Dutch scenery is flat, the landscape still had many interesting things to offer like the dedicated cycle highways in rural areas and canals. While the train from Venlo does go through to Rotterdam, it goes the long way round via Amsterdam Airport and The Hague, so it's better to change at Utrecht for a more direct service. Likewise, this gave me a change to explore the ultramodern interchange that is Utrecht Centraal, which definitely impressed me far more than I expected. It felt like a cross between Leeds and Birmingham New Street, but much neater. Thereafter, it was straight onto an IC Koploper to Rotterdam, which was a surprisingly smooth ride for trains built in the 1970s (they appear to be refurbished very well as they felt more modern inside). It was surreal to finally be at Rotterdam Centraal in person, with its modern architecture surrounded by spacious pedestrianised paving and skyscrapers. One thing I've noticed was that virtually every Dutch station had an Albert Heijn convenience store, which had really nice coffee machines. I decided to walk down to the main road with a canal through it (Westersingel) all the way down to the waterfront at Willemsplein, where I could conveniently get a tram back to Centraal (cheap fare tap in tap out, very easy to use) after taking in the views of the Erasmusbrug and surrounding skyscrapers. Thereafter, I got a new ICNG (which had impressive acceleration and fancy interiors to boot) straight up to Amsterdam and found impressive views of the waterfront from Amsterdam Centraal station. The north side of the station had a nice spacious square-like area to enjoy the waterfront and of course, I didn't miss out on the free ferry ride across the river and back. Thereafter, I walked down the historic centre on the other side, but it was understandably packed with tourists as it usually would be. Rotterdam was definitely much more peaceful in comparison. However, I managed to enjoy some local fries by the Damrak and browse the unique Primark (7 floors and free toilet). Thereafter, I went back to the station to do some NS Sprinter bashing to see other parts of the city, taking a route down to Duivendrecht (very interesting station) then Zuid, where I got a nice view of the skyscrapers (not a side of Amsterdam that most people see) from the station while awaiting my train back to Venlo. However, upon boarding the VIRM to Venlo, I realised my hourly connecting train back to Dusseldorf (RE13) was cancelled when checking the DB Navigator app. Luckily, I could catch it from M'Gladbach if I got off at Utrecht for the ICE service that I saw earlier resting at Amsterdam Centraal. The amazing thing was that the ICE service (which I initially wanted to avoid) was running ON TIME for once, a rarity given my experience the day before. Thus, I booked a reservation using the same app (honestly, DB Navigator has been a lifesaver during my stay in Germany) last minute and bailed at Utrecht, where the ICE actually arrived on time (what sorcery is this?) so I could just recline in ultimate comfort for the next 2 hours. Funnily enough, this (supposedly) high-speed train didn't go above 130km/h for the duration of the trip given the Dutch line speed restrictions, so it was running pretty much the same speed as regional (never mind IC) trains would. Thus, when we passed Venlo, the train I initially got off had just arrived with many disappointed passengers only realising that their connecting RE13 has been cancelled. Luckily, I planned ahead. Arrival at M'Gladbach was 5 minutes late, which wasn't an issue given we could all still make the connection with the RE13 to Dusseldorf. Overall, this day ended up being much nicer than I expected.
