European Railroad Discussion > Berlin. Germany

Best place to watch
Trains in Berlin?
Will be there end
of June. Thx.
AL

Posted from Android

The Hauptbahnhof or main train station would be my first choice. It's new and spectacular. Well worth a visit.

Definitely visit the HbF

On my first visit to Berlin I spend several hours there photographing a wide variety of train for S-Bahn to ICE to trains headed to Poland and Russia. Easy access to all the platforms and no one questioned me about what I was doing.

My favorite shot was just as I walked into the station from the south side.

Enjoy
WP17



jfrank39 Wrote:
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> The Hauptbahnhof or main train station would be my
> first choice. It's new and spectacular. Well
> worth a visit.

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WOW !!! Mine too !!! :):):)

Viewpoints (paste codes into Google maps search field):
Bridges over the railway interchange near Gesundbrunnen and Bornholmer Str. S-Bahn Stations, corner of Behmstr. and Schwedter Steg.
9F4MH92X+9R

Warschauer Brücke near eponymous S-Bahn station, nice view especially near sunset. There's also the interesting elevated subway terminus in the vicinity, and one stop to the west, the subway crosses the scenic Oberbaumbrücke.
9F4MGC4X+HQ

General (off the top of my head):
Some elevated parts of the subway are interesting: they run between Nollendorfplatz and Mendelssohn-Bartholdy-Park on the U2 line, and between Kurfürstenstraße and Warschauer Str. on U1.
The subway stations in the city centre have retained some old-time flair.

Nostalgic streetcars run in the southeast to Schöneiche and Rüdersdorf, and to Woltersdorfer Schleuse.

And then there's the Museum für Verkehr und Technik (Transport and technology museum).

If you plan stay within the city limits, you can get the Berlin AB day pass which is valid for one day until early next morning 3am IIRC. Some tickets have to be validated before first use, others are already valid after you get the from the machine, read carefully what is written upon them.
A Berlin ABC pass will include the greater Metropolis including Potsdam with its nice parks and independent streetcar network.
These are valid on nearly all trains, buses, streetcars, except the long distance services, so you can't take IC,ICE,EC trains, but RE and RB in the A,B, and/or C zones are included.

Have fun in Berlin!

Posted from Android

In 2002 a gentleman I met took me out to an area which I believe was in the south east to watch trains approach and depart the Berlin area. It may have been near Schönefeld or somewhere around there.

Bob Krieger
Cheyenne, WY

Thanks everyone for the
good info. Looks
like there is wide variety
of places to railfan.
Looking forward to
the trip.
Thx again,
AL

Posted from Android

If you are interested in nature and the outdoors and trains, a very nice place to see both is Natur-Park Südgelände which is adjacent to the Priesterweg S-Bahn station. Lots of intercity and commuter trains going to and from Berlin Südkreuz station. The park is a nature preserve that has been developed on the site of a rail yard that was abandoned after World War II. A website in German about the park but with pictures and maps that are easy to understand: https://gruen-berlin.de/natur-park-suedgelaende

Hi
I don't know if you have have arranged your accommodation but I can recommend the Hotel 1 which is just across from the main HBf, Here is a view from my window. You may have to ask for this view and be about 4/5 floors up. Also behind this picture is the Intercity hotel but I don't know about that one and it looks a bit too close. Its worth looking at some of the hotel websites for this one as I seemed to pay much less that the rate advertised within. I would try Hotels.com, Booking.com or Trivago. (Advantage of Booking.com is you pay when you arrive rather than when you book and many hotels will allow free cancellation with them). Lots of good food outlets at the station. Schonefeld is also good for freight but variable as to frequency and not many facilities there although you can walk through to the airport for refreshment (or you could in 2013). Its quite a long ride from the HbF though 40 mins to an hour I seem to remember.

Watch out for the credit card scam where you get the choice to pay in your home currency. Always pay in the local currency on a credit card. This is because the company providing the service always apply their own exchange rate AND a commission charge. Its seems to be more and more common in Europe and it now seems to default to your home currency and you have to change it to the local currency but it saves you about 5%

Hope this helps

Roger P
Winchester UK

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It's actually Motel One (with an "m") where you stayed. The Intercity Hotel there is excellent; I've stayed several times in rooms directly facing the tracks and with the window closed, you'd never know they're there. The hotel is only about two or three years old and completely new on the inside. Compared with the Motel One the rooms are a bit roomier and more comfortable, and the breakfast area more relaxed (Motel One converts the lobby into the breakfast area and it gets quite hectic with a much younger crowd).

The Intercity Hotel Berlin Hauptbahnhof is not to be confused with the one at Berlin Ostbahnhof, which is getting quite long in the tooth.