German Trains Don’t Have A Coach 13
German stations like a lot of continental ones, have a poster showing where your coach will be on the platform.
German Trains Don’t Have A Coach 13
It looks to be a good idea, but just imagine the system at somewhere like Clapham Junction or Crewe, where we seem to run many more trains than our European cousins.
Incidentally, I don’t think we have a coach 13, as we give coaches on long trains, like those out of Kings Cross and Euston, letters rather than numbers. Several times though, I’ve travelled in coach M. Is that unlucky?
No Maps At Hamburg Station
There were no maps at Hamburg station. But there were cigarette adverts.
No Maps At Hamburg Station
In fact, there were cigarette adverts all over the city.
A Few Hours In Hamburg
I got to Hamburg about eight in the evening and my first priority was to get a hotel. It was a new hotel by the station and I booked for two nights.
Hamburg Station
The hotel was a disaster, or more likely the weather was, as my meter was showing 32°C and 70% humidity. I had to wedge the window open with my shoe and that just made the room hotter, as the air outside got in.
When the Tourist Office opened at ten, I was outside and got myself a free map, after a breakfast of orange juice and coffee, as true to form, there was nothing gluten-free in the station.
The map wasn’t the best, as it was far too large and was gradually disintegrating in the heat and humidity.
Hamburg’s Street Map
As the picture shows, it was impossible to hold with one hand. Luckily there were a few decent signposts and maps.
A Map In Hamburg
Eventually, I found my way to the impressive Rathaus.
Hamburg’s Impressive Rathaus
I had heard of a restaurant called Rudolph at Hafen City, that did gluten-free pizza. If this was as good as those in Munich, then this looked to be worth investigating for supper in the evening. The Internet entry said, that it was near to the U-bahn station. So I went into the U-bahn, quickly and easily bought a ticket and then spent thirty minutes wandering underground trying to find the platform for Hafen City. If I sometimes find Green Park and Kings Cross stations bad in London, they have nothing on the Rathaus station in Hamburg.
Eventually, I didn’t get tpo Hafen City, as the station hasn’t been built yet. So was this a case of “We have ways of getting you lost!”. It was also so unlike Munich, where things the information systems seemed to work well. But I also had a good map from the hotel.
It was then that I said that I should cut my losses and move on. So I went back to the hotel, packed my bag and then returned to the station, where I bought a ticket for Amsterdam.
Would I Go Back To Copenhagen?
The most interesting part of Copenhagen was the journey by which I left to Hamburg. I suppose though, that the grotty hotel ruined it and if I go again, I’ll certainly stay somewhere better.
But I have this feeling that I like quirky and unusual places like Spittelau and the gasometers in Vienna, the Vasa in Stockholm or the Rock in Gibraltar. So perhaps Copenhagen is far too sane for my tastes.
I also like to explore in the early morning and it seems a city that gets up late.
So I doubt I’ll ever return again. But who knows?
From Copenhagen To Hamburg By Train
This is one of the more unusual journeys you can do in a high speed train. Usually, high speed trains, are defined as ones, that are capable of travelling at 200 kph or 125 mph. thus, the UK’s InterCity 125 train, built over forty years ago, are high speed trains, despite being diesel-powered. I thought that the train I was on, was a standard DeutscheBahn ICE. But it wasn’t, as it was an ICE-TD, which is diesel-powered.
You don’t notice the diesel engine in each car, and the comfort is similar to an electrically-powered train.
But the big difference on this route, which is called the Bird Flight Line, is that the train is carried part of the way in a ferry from Rødby to Puttgarden. Here are a few pictures.
I nearly delayed everything by falling asleep and was quickly roused by the guard and told to get off the train at Rødby.
The train arrived in Hamburg a few minutes late. It certainly had been an unusual trip in a train. It was also noteworthy as I saw a hare in the station at Puttgarden. But then a few years ago, I saw one on the dock at the Hook of Holland.
Looking For A Stackable Dining Chair
In my house, I have an unusual elliptical table. I need some chairs to go with it, as the original Habitat ones C bought, are gradually giving up the ghost.
I’d seen one in a shop that might do, near to the grotty hotel, I’d spent the night in. But it was the other side of the station, between the station and the Metro station at Federiksberg. So I took the Metro to that station and then walked back. It was raining hard and my map had collapsed in the rain. I was on the point of giving up and trying to hail a taxi, when I found a parking map, and a helpful Dane, who said I could walk it in about ten minutes. I actually, ran it in five!
The chair is called Zesty and comes from PlyCollection. It is shown here.
At the price shown on the ticket, they are around 290 pounds. But the Latvian company, who makes them, don’t seem to have an agent in the UK.
In the end, I made the train with fifteen minutes to spare.
The Copenhagen Metro
The Copenhagen Metro is unusual in two ways; it is driver-less like the DLR and it doesn’t go anywhere near the main railway station for the city. As to the latter, I don’t think I’ve ever found a metro like that before. It certainly makes it difficult for visitors.
Hopefully, it will be better when they built the next line.
It is also not up to the standards I like in a Metro, with regard to information. As an example, there are no walking maps at the stations. But then I didn’t see a useable map anywhere in Copenhagen, although there were a couple in Frederiksberg.
Angale Merkel Hairstyles
I thought at lunch, how many women of a certain age, I’ve seen on this trip sporting Angela Merkel hairstyles.
There’s no understanding off peoples’ taste.
Lunch In Copenhagen
I had lunch in Copenhagen, by a canal that was lined with restaurants.
A Restaurant-Lined Canal
The food was good, but it was probably served at the slowest pace I’d ever received. I was so bored at one point, that I took to taking a photo of the chair opposite.
An Unsuitable Chair
Why do you put such a chair in a restaurant? It’s impossible to put your coat over the back of it, so I used the chair next to me for my coat. So they might have lost a cover because of the unsuitable chairs.
In the end, this restaurant ruined my afternoon, as they were so slow on service, I didn’t have time to visit the Jewish Museum in Copenhagen. I’ve always been fascinated, as was my father, about how the Danes got most of their Jews out of the country to Sweden, after the Nazi invasion.
At least though I ate well! Albeit very slowly!
The Marble Church
I visited this church, popularly called the Marble Church on my way back from the Design Museum.
It was the first place I’d come across except for the DSesign Museum, that was well and truly open. Consequently, it was busy.
The Anonymous Widower 