Something interesting to do in/around Berlin

[SeanG]

Hi All

At the start of February we are going to be flying to/from Berlin in order to get to the Harz railway. Now, we will have one day before and one day after to effectively get from Berlin Airport to Quedlingburg and then from Weringerode to Berlin Airport. We will be travelling on Deutschland tickets and have done most 'transporty' things in Berlin itself. Does anyone have any recommendations of interesting ways to get to/from the Harz railway and to spend a couple of days? Happy to go via other places or in a roundabout route for interest - both of us on the trip are there solely for the trains so no need to cater for any non-transporty things

Many thanks

 

[TrainBoy98]

In Berlin there's the Nature Park Schöneberger Südgelände if you haven't visited there before.
It's a nature park on what was once a railway yard, and still had lots of features as such (including iirc at least one steam locomotive). Preisterweg station on the S2, €1 entry (or at least, was the last time I visited)

 

[SeanG]

Thanks, yes I've been to Nature Park Schöneberger Südgelände. For anyone else reading I can confirm that its a voluntary €1 donation (coin in the box on entry)

 

[Sir Felix Pole]

If trams are your thing you could stop over in Magdeburg (with an extensive network) or Halberstadt (with a dinky network). The latter is also a very attractive town. For a more roundabout route you could go via Leipzig with its monumental Hauptbanhof and another extensive tram network.

 

[30907]

If trams are your thing you could stop over in Magdeburg (with an extensive network) or Halberstadt (with a dinky network). The latter is also a very attractive town. For a more roundabout route you could go via Leipzig with its monumental Hauptbanhof and another extensive tram network.

Continuing on the tram theme, there's Halle, Naumburg, and (probably too far and you'd want to do touristy stuff) Erfurt. Plus Nordhausen but you're presumably going there on the HSB.

 

[Terry Tibbs]

I highly recommend the Stasi museum. Book on a tour if you go. It’s absolutely fascinating.

 

[Beebman]

If trams are your thing you could stop over in Magdeburg (with an extensive network) or Halberstadt (with a dinky network). The latter is also a very attractive town. For a more roundabout route you could go via Leipzig with its monumental Hauptbanhof and another extensive tram network.

Or if trolleybuses are more your thing there's a small system in Eberswalde.

 

[SeanG]

I highly recommend the Stasi museum. Book on a tour if you go. It’s absolutely fascinating.

Yes that's very good. Have you been to Hohenschönhausen Prison which is on a similar vein, not too far away, and is very interesting?

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 1 Jan 2025 ==

Or if trolleybuses are more your thing there's a small system in Eberswalde.

Thanks all for the tram and trolleybus suggestions, some great ideas there.

Just wondering if anyone can give heads up on good loco haulage in the area?

 

[43096]

Just wondering if anyone can give heads up on good loco haulage in the area?

Depends what you define as good?!

Off the top of my head I can think of...
Regional Services
RB10 - DB Class 182 Taurus
RE2 - DB Class 182 Taurus
RE3 - DB Class 112/146/147
RE4 - DB Class 112/146/147
RE5 - DB Class 112/146/147
FEX (Flughafen Express) - DB Class 147 or 182 Taurus

Long distance
Berlin-Amsterdam - NS Vectron
Hamburg-Berlin-Praha - ČD Vectron
Berlin-Frankfurt Oder-Warsaw/Gdynia/Wroclaw - PKP Taurus or (leased) Vectron
FLIX - (leased) Vectron or Hector Rail Taurus
Nightjet - DB Class 101
Sleeper to Sweden - Vectron
Railjet (one daily service from Austria via Praha - think this still runs) - ÖBB Class 1216 Taurus

There's also still plenty of ICE1 and ICE2 sets around, which have power cars rather than being EMUs.

 

[MarcVD]

German Museum of Technology - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

Displays a very nice collection of railways artifacts, including rolling stock.

The metro lines to arrive there are interesting also.

 

[StephenHunter]

I highly recommend the Stasi museum. Book on a tour if you go. It’s absolutely fascinating.

The Palace of Tears is also well worth doing.

 

[Spamcan81]

Technical Museum is good but doesn’t open on Mondays.

 

[StephenHunter]

Technical Museum is good but doesn’t open on Mondays.

Many museums in Europe don't, I think.

 

[daodao]

Potsdam is a place of major historical and cultural significance close to Berlin on the S Bahn network, with many palaces and lakes. It also has a tram network.

 

[simonw]

Potsdam is a place of major historical and cultural significance close to Berlin on the S Bahn network, with many palaces and lakes. It also has a tram network.

You can visit the bridge of spys and the place where the Postdam conference was held after the war; there is also an interesting Russian quarter and an interesting Dutch quarter.

 

[duesselmartin]

Potsdam Pirscheheide is an oddity as it was the Hauptbahnhof in GDR days.

 

[Lost property]

The television tower is a must...as is the currywurst museum, well ok, you don't have to visit the museum to enjoy this culinary delight (with mayo !)

 

[Porty]

Not railway related but I've just come back from 4 nights there. Loads to do. If you're into museums then the 3 day pass for about €30 is good value if you intend to visit more than two. All the Museum Islands sites are good. In particular the one with the Egyptian artefacts and designed by David Chipperfield was particularly good (I forget what it's called). Also the temporary diorama thing whilst the Pergamon Museum is being redeveloped.
Reichstag dome is free and well worth going to. Book a time slot. I booked on Friday afternoon, nothing available till Sunday, so do in advance to get a choice of times

 

[Beebman]

Scottish travel vlogger Steve Marsh (who I think is well-known here among forum members as he often includes public transport in his videos) has recently released a 38-minute report of a visit to Berlin:

He visits the Reichstag, the Brandenburg Gate, the Palace of Tears, the Berlin Wall Memorial, Alexanderplatz, the Cathedral, the Volkswagen Museum and Trabiworld.

 

[scragend]

Scottish travel vlogger Steve Marsh (who I think is well-known here among forum members as he often includes public transport in his videos) has recently released a 38-minute report of a visit to Berlin:

He visits the Reichstag, the Brandenburg Gate, the Palace of Tears, the Berlin Wall Memorial, Alexanderplatz, the Cathedral, the Volkswagen Museum and Trabiworld.

When that video came out I was keen to watch it as Berlin is somewhere I know fairly well from my previous visits, unlike most of Steve's videos which are to places I haven't been and usually result in me adding another destination to my list.

I was a bit surprised that he didn't appear to have heard of the Reichstag. "Some sort of government building" indeed!

 

[SeanG]

I watched that video thinking "he's going the wrong way" or "he could have gone down those stairs to get there quicker" etc. My wife called me sad!!

 

[Tester]

I watched that video thinking "he's going the wrong way" or "he could have gone down those stairs to get there quicker" etc. My wife called me sad!!

Welcome on board

 

[alex397]

Potsdam Pirscheheide is an oddity as it was the Hauptbahnhof in GDR days.

And the station appears semi-abandoned, with vandalism and graffiti yet incredibly trains still stop there. Can’t imagine it’s an enjoyable station to visit at night. I found it fascinating though. Right on the end of a frequent tram line, so easy to visit.

Incidentally, it’s fascinating to see the Cold War era map of the railways around there (and all of Greater Berlin) and the maps of today.

 

[SeanG]

Adding to my own thread here - the Siemensbahn is worth a look if you like disused railways
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siemensbahn

Youtube Video