Braunschweig
Braunschweig is known to the British as Brunswick.
I passed through on a train on my Home Run from Gdansk and as it was a place I’d never heard of before that trip, when I planned this trip, I noticed that I could change trains at the city.
This Google Map shows the layout of the city.
Braunschweig
It could be a sensible stop on a rail trip across Europe.
It was also a friendly stop, which started when the lady in the tram information kiosk, gave precise instructions on how to either walk or use a tram to the centre and then sold me a pair of tickets for the tram. The tram was not very new, but it was in good condition with very good information. Incidentally, the tram system has a unique metre gauge, which is being updated so that the tram routes can share with trains. Sounds like stealth train-trams to me!
As I had a good late lunch in the Cafe Alex, I’m glad I visited. It was only after I returned that I found that it was a brand controlled by Mitchells and Butlers. Some of their UK restaurants I’ve eaten in, don’t know their allergies as well as the Germans.
I must try out some of them again.
Would I Go Back To Dresden, Chemnitz And Leipzig?
I enjoyed my two days spent exploring these three cities in the former East Germany. On a properly planned trip, there is a lot to see to satisfy any particular taste.
I would probably choose Dresden or Leipzig as a base, depending on which was the easiest for you to get to.
An interesting trip would be to perhaps fly to Prague and spend time there, before taking the train to Dresden up the Elbe. After Dresden you could go on to Berlin, from where you could fly home.
Typical journey times are as follows.
Prague to Dresden – 2 hr. 15 min.
Dresden to Chemnitz – 1 hr. 30 min.
Dresden to Leipzig – 1 hr. 30 min.
Dresden to Berlin – 2 hr.
The two shortest routes are double-deck regional trains, so you can relax upstairs and enjoy the countryside. Comfort on these double-deck trains is about the same on say any of the Class 379 trains or similar, that are fairly numerous in the UK. But the on-board train information is generally of a much lower quality than we would accept in the UK.
A Railway Station In A Tent
Leipzig Airport station is unusual.
But why shouldn’t a railway station have a tented roof, if it’s good enough for Lords and Goodwood Racecourse?
From Leipzig To Braunschweig
This was the longest leg of my journey from Krakow.
Most of the journey was across the former East Germany, with the old border at Helmstedt, which is on the Magdeburg to Braunschweig Line.
Magdeburg and its Hauptbahnhof seem to be definitely worth a visit. Wikipedia says this about reconstruction of the station after 1945.
At the end of March 1946, the restoration of the electrification was completed on the rail networks in the Soviet occupation zone. The Soviet military authorities then demanded the removal of the overhead line equipment and the transfer of the electrical rolling stock as reparations to the Soviet Union, which was partly returned in the early 1950s in need of repair. The rail network was then electrified for the third time, and electric train operation resumed in 1956. Reconstructed of the main station started in 1946, but without the roof of the historical station was omitted.
In 1974 the Magdeburg S-Bahn was established. More extensive alterations were made in 1984. In 1992, platforms were altered to allow Intercity-Express operation. In 2003, the pedestrian tunnel was extended to connect the various platforms to an entrance on the western side of the station. The station is being modernised again between 2008 and 2015 at a cost of about €300 million.
What a way to manage a railway!
This Google Map shows Magdeburg and its location with respect to the railway and the River Elbe.
Magdeburg
Magdeburg would be another place for a stopover. It’s probably a city on a par with somewhere like Stoke or Middlesbrough.
Leipzig
I didn’t know what to expect in Leipzig and I was pleasantly surprised.
It was another city, where you could find a city centre close to the excellent rail station. I wasn’t specifically looking for a hotel, but I saw several that looked to be a sensible place to spend the night. Although, I’ve just looked for next Friday and everything affordable seems to be sold out.
The Largest Railway Station In The World
My journey took me to Leipzig Hauptbahnhof. Wikipedia says this about the station.
Leipzig Hauptbahnhof is the central railway terminus in Leipzig, Saxony. At 83,460 square metres, it is the world’s largest railway station measured by floor area. It has 19 overground platforms housed in six iron train sheds, a multi-level concourse with towering stone arches, and a 293-metre long facade. Two Leipzig City Tunnel underground platforms were inaugurated in December 2013. The station also functions as a large shopping centre.
Train services are operated by Deutsche Bahn, S-Bahn Mitteldeutschland, Erfurter Bahn and Mitteldeutsche Regiobahn. As of 2008, Leipzig Hauptbahnhof handled an average of 120,000 passengers per day.
The station is probably bigger physically than Kings Cross and St. Pancras International combined, although together they handled 153,000 passengers per day last year. This Google Map shows the station and the centre of Leipzig.
Leipzig
Note the size of the station and the number of platforms. And there are two more underneath on the Leipzig City Tunnel.
I found it an easy walk between the station and the centre.
These pictures show the station.
Note how like St. Pancras, there is a shopping mall underneath the platform level. I bought some excellent strawberries there. They were smaller and flavourful, unlike the tasteless, large Elsan variety we get offered in Supermarkets all the time.
From Dresden To Leipzig
This was not the most stimulating of journeys, as there was nothing worth photographing.
The train was fairly full.
There was also a bit of a problem at Leipzig, where the passengers had to manhandle and womanhandle a guy in an electric wheelchair out of the train. Obviously, Deutsche Bahn have a different attitude to wheelchair passengers compared to most UK rail companies.
Where My Friend David Goes To Let Off Steam
I just had to take this picture of a tram destination in Dresden.
I’ve no idea what’s there! Perhaps it’s a Zoo?
An Impressive Structure In Dresden
It may only be a shelter for a number of lines at a tram interchange in Dresden, but I like it.
We should create more structures like this that combine engineering, art, beauty and practicality in suitable proportions.
Riding Dresden’s Trains
Dresden’s Trams are an impressive network.
I took these pictures as I roamed around the city.
The trams are single-ended, with the rear of each tram configured so several people can sit in the tail. Many of these pictures were taken looking backwards.
I didn’t go to the end of a line, so do they go round in a loop or is each end of the tram convertible from driving position to four seats for tail-gunners? If it’s the latter, they would surely be ideal for somewhere like Blackpool, which runs another variant of Bombardier’s Flexity trams.
Note that nearly all Dreseden’s trams are low-floor models and unlike many other systems I have ridden, getting in and out is easy for all. I would say, that if you are in a wheel-chair and want to go to a historic city, then Dresden would be a place to put on your list. But make sure you check the arrangements, if you’re using the trains.
I didn’t see one, but Dresden’s tram network is possibly unique in allowing cargo trams to use the network. I think that we’ll see more developments around the world, where trams or even tram-trains are used to transport commercial loads. Look at a city like Manchester or Sheffield with an extensive tram netwqrk, that in future will call at major industrial parks and shopping centres. Would it be easier and cheaper to deliver goods for shops say to an outlying depot and then wheel them on to a low-floor tram for delivery to the shopping centre, where they are then wheeled off to the shop. This could be done at night, just as freight for shops and businesses is now delivered into Euston station.
The Anonymous Widower 