After an early rise from Axel Guldsmeden we went to find where the bus that was temporarily replacing the train (I guess due to some kind of maintenance work) left. The guy in our hotel told us that it was “to the right of the Central Station”. We found the spot, but quickly realised that it was seemingly only private companies using it. We asked a Flixbus driver at the spot and he too confirmed we were in the right spot. But fortunately, we were getting a little paranoid at this time and doubled checked the info and realised our bus was leaving next to the central station building in a totally different spot.
Where togbussen leaves from
After a semi-panicked brisk walk we found the right spot for “togbussen” (there were signs inside the central station building) and was safely on our way to Rødby.
Taking the train onboard a ferry
In Rødby we boarded a train just next to the ferry terminal and were driven onboard the Scandlines ferry, quite cool and there are only a few ferries like this left in the world (we’re taking one of the others in a week or so.).
The ferry was packed with Germans, Danes and probably the most by fellow Swedes. We had a quick curry sausage with fries for breakfast (when in Rome) and after 45 minutes we jumped back on the train and rolled off into Puttgarden and Germany.
This leg we had upgraded to first class, and we were sat in a mini cabin with two comfortable chairs facing each other. There were electrical outlets in the roof (took me half trip to realise) and free wifi. No food or drink of any kind by some reason. DSB’s website promised breakfast for before-10-departures as well as coffee. But you couldn’t even buy any.
We were about 35 minutes late arriving Hamburg where we had a connection that we hence missed. On the train they told us to go to the ticket office to get a new ticket in Hamburg, which we did with very little effort. Convenient.
From Hamburg to Berlin in ICE First Class
For our final leg to Berlin we got to try Germany’s famous ICE high speed train, a very sleek, spaceship looking vehicle.
The interior was nice and comfy with leather seat and 1+2 seating across the cabin. We sat next to an older guy that seemed to be some kind of celebrity since people stoped and took selfies with him. In first class there was table service from the dining carriage, but you had to pay for it. We tried an apple spritz that came in proper glassware by the super friendly attendant. Since the train goes up to 330 km/h the trip to Berlin took only 1.45 hours and we arrived right on time, an hour after our intended arrival, giving us nearly 6 hours to explore Berlin before our next train. We locked our backpacks in a locker for €6 (coin locker) in the station and went on our way.
5 hours train transit in Berlin
And what do you do in Berlin if you are a hungry person like myself if not taking yourself to the nearest decent kebab shop? The likes of Müstafas gemüse kebap were a bit too far, so we found a place called Kebab Baba looking nice within a 15 minute walk from the central station. The kebab was really good and the guys working there friendly.
From there we walked to Brandenburger Tour, the Reichstag and then back to the central station where we had a faßbier or two on Hans Im Glueck, which had a nice outdoor terrace. Half way into our beers two police men arrived and started cordon off the area. We were told a suspected bag was found and hence evacuated indoors. We never saw how it all ended, since we had to get to our train, but I guess it was in a good way since we could not find any more info online after leaving.