Berlin April 25 - May 1

Dresden to Berlin today, a two Hour Train ride. Must remember that travel on Easter Monday is like Thanksgiving travel in the USA, everyone is out to visit with family. We had train tickets but no seats, all were reserved, but after 30 minutes we discovered an almost empty Restaurant Car and spent the train ride sipping Budweiser Beer (the real one) and eating Cheese with nice German company from the North.

In Berlin Hotel, after a short detour to the wrong direction from the Main Rail Station. There are two "Kastanienalle" Streets in Berlin and we were directed to the wrong one directly the opposite direction from our place, so an extra 25 minute Train / Bus ride for us. Thanks again to a nice lady in the bus that toke the time to explain the different areas of Berlin.
First impression - Berlin is too large - give us back Dresden!     Tuesday used Public transportation to move around Berlin Mitte and Alexander Place.
Wednesday met with two women that know a friend of ours (Klaus) that passed away two yeas ago May 7, 2009, visited grave site outside Berlin and walked around Kurfurstendamm. Our Hotel is in a really upcoming area (former East Germany) with many or mostly young people and many restaurants, bars, coffee shops. Not the real Germany but very interesting maybe the new Germany?  

Thursday 75 F, we are now experts with the Subway, Tram, Bus or S-Bahn. Went to the new Government Center Buildings, Presidents Palace, Memorial for European Jews, Brandenburg Tor, Under the Linden and toke the Bus 100 (Double decker, Public transportation) around the main city sites. Back in our area had Indian Food for the second day, great restaurants in the area most of them Asian, Indian, Turkish with a few German.    Two weeks now and I still get responses in English when I ask in "My German", fishing for the right words in German.  

Friday April 29, 75 F, visited Check Point Charly, East Side Gallery (Wall), North side memorial, Castle Charlottendorf  today = 9 miles of walking and 10 subways, Trams, S-Bahn, Busses, ended the day with Beer and Pizza.

Saturday April 30 went on trip to Potsdam (about 45 minutes by train) and did Tour of  three Castles:  New Palace, Sanssouci and Cecilienhof then spent time in beautiful Potsdam.
Sunday May 1, some problems the night with protesters and marches but not very serious. Today, May 1 Labor Day, there should be many gatherings in parks and some demonstrations. Went around the city with bus 200, and spent some more time in the center "The Mitte". Last day, tomorrow 9:25 train to Hamburg, a 2 hour trip. Today was a sunny day with a cool wind temperature high 63F at Noon.

Dresden April 21 - 25

Arrived at 2:00PM at the main Rail Station, another beautiful day so we walked to our Pension. We will stay in Dresden for 4 nights at Pension Kaubler. A beautiful older house with several rooms to rent and a delicious breakfast table set.

Can only say WOW about Dresden - there is so much to see, Churches, Castles, Halls, Monuments, Gardens, Museums and so on. Also around 30,000 students at the University. Dresden population about 530,000 same as Leipzig but it feels MUCH larger. A great place to visit if in Germany and probably much less expensive than Munich and Hamburg. One of the best transit systems I have ever seen.
Toke a trip to Meissen (30 minutes by train) on Friday, also very interesting, Factory tour was closed but the store was open to look and shop also visited Cathedral and Fortress.

  Meissen
Saturday another day visiting the many sites and several museums including the Armory, Porcelain, Dom Church and the older section across the Elbe River where many students and artist live. It is sunny and 70. Easter day 3 museums at ths Castle Garden, Frauenkirche, Kreuzkirche and a long trip along the river by Tram later on resting in Beergarden.

Wittenberg Lutherstadt April 20

Arrived this AM from Leipzig after an one hour train ride. This is the Town Luther lived and worked, visiting his Church and Home. A small very pretty town and everything to see is within 1 mile.
Left town on Thursday morning (see picture) and toke the train from Wittenberg over Leipzig to Dresden.
Our Place: Stadt Hotel Wittenberg

Leipzig April 17, 18, 19

Arrived early afternoon at Leipzig Main Rail Station and walked 10 minutes to our Pension. Of course Leipzig is not your pretty small town like Bomberg or Wurzburg but it should still be interesting. After the first two hours decided we will stop for one day in Wittenberg-Lutherstadt, on the way to Dresden. This leaves us two full days in Leipzig (3 nights) that should be plenty. Again thanks to the German Rail System - no problem getting a train Leipzig - Wittenberg (45 min) and then Wittenberg - Dresden. It is warmer here, in the 60s - finally.

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Today, Monday April 18,  went all over town to see Thomas Church, Stasi Museum, Bach, Medelsohn, Nicholas Church, Old Rathaus, Borse and many small streets and corners. One more full day to see a few museums (from the inside). It was 68 and sunny so we had coffee and ice cream in one of the many outside cafes. Have tickets to Lutherstadt Wittenberg on Wednesday.   Seija at the Stasi Museum and Downtown Leipzig on a sunny day.
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April 19, another sunny and warm day (74 degrees), went to Bach Museum, Battle of Nations Memorial (Völkerschlachtdenkmal) building began 1829, Museum dedecated to History of Division and Unity of East Germany, also with a one day pass traveled around town (from end to end) by trolley.
Leipzig Attractions   

Bamberg April 16

Our full day day in Bamberg and we had a great German breakfast in our Hotel / Pension. Walked through the hilly city to visit the Dom and Cathedral, Bamberg History Museum, Brewery Museum and some time around the Old City Hall. Another cool day in the high 40s, still waiting for the 60 F days that are supposed to come any day!

It is asparagus season here, many farmers sell there fresh product at the Market. It is like white gold ($10 for a small package).









The Bamberger Dom St. Peter and St. George is one of the German imperial cathedrals and with its four towers, the dominant structure of the World Heritage Bamberg Old Town . Inside are the famous Bamberg Rider , the grave of the only canonized rulers of the Holy Roman Empire and the only pope's grave in Germany and north of the Alps. In addition to the three other Wallfahrtsbasiliken Basilica Marie Weiher , Basilica of the Fourteen Holy and Basilica Gößweinstein fourth is the Bamberg Cathedral, the Basilica Minor of the Archdiocese of Bamberg
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So far the best thing about the Rail travel is that we arrive in the center of town and are able to walk to our Hotel, usually 1-2 KM from the RR Station. The streets are clean and save around the Main RR Stations so far and it gives you a change to get a feel of the city and people when walking. Temperature is in the high 40s to low 50s, it should be in the high 60s, maybe soon. Looking back we walk around 5 - 7 miles a day. Prices are more or less like the US - a pint of Beer Euros 2-3, wine 2-3, Dinner 8-15, Coffee 1-2, Euro right now $1,44.
Tomorrow, Sunday, by train to Leipzig (3 hour train ride).

Bamberg April 15

Arrived in Bamberg Friday April15 1:00 PM after an one hour train ride from Wurzburg. Another easy train ride with the DB. This is a UNESCO town, many students and a fun place to spent 2-3 days. Specialty is Smoked Beer, taste like Beer and smoked bacon, not everyones taste but an experience.

Bamberg is a city in Bavaria, Germany. It is located in Upper Franconia on the river Regnitz, close to its confluence with the river Main. Bamberg is one of the few cities in Germany that was not destroyed by World War II bombings because of a nearby Artillery Factory that prevented planes from getting near to Bamberg. Bamberg is home to nearly 7,000 foreign nationals, including over 4,100 members of theUnited States Army and their dependents. The name Bamberg is supposed to have its origin in the House of Babenberg.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Wurzburg Day 2 April 14

After a full day in Wurzburg and a guided tour of the town and sights from our friend Gisela (back from Connecticut in the 1980's). The Residenze Wurzburg, Fortress and Kapelle were really great sites.and so was the city. We ended the day with a nice dinner in a great small town a few miles away. Wurzburg is in Northern Bavaria, so many Churches here.  Today a few hours in our Hotel then to the train station and a train to Bamberg. 

Würzburg (German pronunciation: [ˈvʏɐ̯tsbʊɐ̯k]) is a city in the region of Franconia which lies in the northern tip of Bavaria, Germany. Located at the Main River, it is the capital of the Regierungsbezirk Lower Franconia. The regional dialect is Franconian.  Würzburg is approximately 120 kilometres (75 mi) from either Frankfurt am Main or Nuremberg by road. The city of Würzburg is not included in the district of Würzburg, but is its administrative seat (Landkreis). Its population is 133,501 as of 31 December 2008.

On 16 March 1945, about 90% of the city full of civilians was destroyed in 17 minutes by 225British Lancaster bombers during a World War II air raid. All of the city's churches, cathedrals, and other monuments were heavily damaged or destroyed. The city center, which dated from medieval times, was totally destroyed in a firestorm in which 5,000 people perished. Over the next 20 years, the buildings of historical importance were painstakingly and accurately replicated. The citizens who rebuilt the city immediately after the end of the war were mostly women – Trümmerfrauen ("rubble women") – because the men were either dead or taken prisoner of war. In comparison, Würzburg was destroyed more totally than was Dresden in a firebombing the previous month.

After the war, Würzburg was host to the U.S. Army's 3rd Infantry Division, 1st Infantry Division, U.S. Army Hospital and various other U.S. military units that maintained a presence in Germany. The U.S. units were withdrawn from Würzburg in 2008, bringing an end to over 60 years of U.S. military presence in Würzburg.
(Wikipidia)

Chicago - Wuerzburg April 12 - 13 2011

The first day started "GREAT". The very nice United Gate Agent put us into Business Class for the Chicago - Frankfurt flight - he liked Alaska  Airlines or us?.  "I am going to bend the rules for you" - he said. With a Non-Rev. Ticket on Stand-By, getting on the first flight and Business class for free is great. Endless wine, real  food (Filet Mignon)  with real silverware and glasses, a chese selection with Port Wine = no time to read, did I mentionen the leg room and  seat space? Well we left Chicago 2:40PM and arrived in Frankfurt  5:20AM. A 5 minute very easy train ride from the Airport to the Main Rail station, then after a small breakfast and a walk in Frankfurt we toke one of the German Fast trains to Wuerzburg. In about one hour we arrived (around 9:10) in Wuerzburg, too early for our room to be ready so we walked around town until Noon.
Cold, 45 F, in Wuerzburg.

Map of Trip Germany 2011

Chicago - Frankfurt - Wurzburg - Bamberg - Leipzig, Dresden - Berlin - hamburg - Bremen - Frankfurt - Geneva - Frankfurt - Chicago.

Germany 2011 Trains

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Types of trains

The DB offers a complete hierarchical assortment of services identified by an alphabet soup of letters.  Here are most of the train types and designations, in descending order of speed and coverage:

ICE (InterCity Express) - The ICE is the flagship of the GermanRail system and provides high-speed connections between the principal metropolitan areas.  Trains usually run every hour or sometimes even more frequently.  There are now several generations of ICE, including new tilting trains which allow for high speed travel on conventional tracks.  (See "High speed trains" below.)

IC/EC (InterCity/EuroCity) - These are high-quality express trains connecting the larger domestic destinations and hubs at speeds sometimes only slightly slower than the ICE.  Trains usually run every hour or two and sometimes share alternating schedules with ICE trains.  Many of these trains travel into adjacent countries as part of the EC (EuroCity) system.

ICN, EN, CNL, NZ (InterCityNight, EuroNight, CityNightLine; Nachtzug) - Various overnight trains providing long-distance sleeping accommodations.

D (Durchgangszug) - The venerable D-Zug is a fairly rapid long-distance train that provides connections on some of the lesser traveled routes or times.  These trains now run almost exclusively overnight.

IRE (InterRegioExpress) - IRE trains are express trains that connect the larger regional cities at regular intervals.

RE (RegionalExpress) - The RE is a regional express train connecting medium-sized towns to the main rail hubs.

RB (RegionalBahn) - The RB is the main local train in the DB arsenal and connects the smallest of towns to the RE system and main rail hubs.

SE (StadtExpress) - A local train that connects medium and large cities to their outlying satellite towns.

S (S-Bahn, Schnellbahn) - Suburban commuter rail service in and around major metropolitan areas.