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.
The Anonymous Widower 