Trains and other things: Rødekro, Bad Wilsnack, Neustadt (Dosse), Berlin

Day 2 of my Xmas/NY 2019 trip starts in Kolding. Today I will make it to Berlin where I will take a night train to Zurich. I was hoping to take the double-deck sleeper coach, but from December 2019 these coaches have been rerouted to Hamburg-Zurich train, and I could not know that when I booked my tickets in September. Well, I will see a bit of Berlin anyway and make some stops along my way. It does not really matter which stations I visit, everything is interesting.

My first trip is a short one, from Kolding to Rødekro

This is an IC Lyn train to Sønderborg

IR4 train is used on this line as it is completely electrified from Copenhagen to Sønderborg

Danish design at the waiting hall

I was hoping to see some freight trains, but it is still Christmas so they seem to not operating today

IC train from Aarhus to Flensburg

Since the start of direct trains to Hamburg on this line instead of the Rødby-Puttgarden line, the amount of passengers changing trains in Flensburg seems to have decreased. There are plenty of empty seats

Starbucks instant coffee in 1st class

Padborg

Rain

Sun

Rainbow

At the Flensburg station, I was stopped by the German police asking my ID and questions about my trip. This is the first time it happens to me here.

Bombardier Twindexx train will take me further to Elmshorn

Rendsburg bridge

Elmshorn

The reason I'm changing trains here is that I want to get directly to Altona station instead of the main station in Hamburg

IC4

The train from Sylt is arriving at Elmshorn

The train has comfortable coaches with both 2nd and 1st class, quite empty compared to when I was taking this train once in the summer

Bombardier Traxx, diesel version Class 245

Altona

My next train be EC train to Wittenberge

Class 193, Vectron is hauling the EC train from Hamburg to Prague

Class 363 shunting locomotive

All coaches are from České dráhy

193 290 "Tedik"

1st class coach

After boarding the train, I'm heading straight to the restaurant coach for lunch. Schnitzel and Czech draft beer, what could be better...

The trip from Altona to Hamburg Hbf is taking almost 20-30 min, so I have time to finish my lunch

From Hamburg, the train is taking the line to Berlin. The train is basically full today, not a single empty seat.

I can find a spot at the end of the train with a great view

Brahlstorf

Pritzier

Hagenow Land

Ludwigslust

Karstädt

Wittenberge

One could get a feeling that I'm in Czechia, but it's Germany

Here I'm changing to ODEG train to Bad Wilsnack

ODEG line operating RE line Wismar/Wittenberge-Cottbus

Stadler Kiss EMU for ODEG

I've been passing by this station before and noticed decorations on the facade

ICE-T

ICE4

ODEG Kiss version has a maximum speed of 160km/h

I'm continuing my journey

Arriving at Neustadt (Dosse)

The station here would need a renovation

Building in Soviet/DDR style

To Berlin

Arriving at Berlin Zoologischer Garten

Famous Christmas market near Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtnis-Kirche

I'm continuing from Zoologischer Garten station to Ostbahnhof where I will take my night train later

Bombardier Talent

Siemens Taurus locomotive hauling a RE train in Berlin

Berlin Ostbahnhof (German for Berlin East railway station) is one of the main line railway stations in Berlin. It was known as Berlin Hauptbahnhof from 1987 to 1998, a name now applied to Berlin's new central station at the former Lehrter station. Alongside Berlin Zoologischer Garten station it was one of the city's two main stations; however, it has declined in significance since the opening of the new Hauptbahnhof on 26 May 2006, and many mainline trains have been re-routed on the North–South mainline through the new Tiergarten tunnel, bypassing Ostbahnhof. (Wikipedia)

IC2 train

ICE train with metropolitan coaches

Before my night train, there is another one departing to Vienna

The night train Berlin-Vienna is now taking a route through Poland, and it is combined with night train cars to Ukraine and Hungary.

ES64U4 from PKP Intercity

Interesting mixture of different coaches. Here are B11mnouz seating compartment cars

WLAB10mnouz to Przemyśl at the border with Ukraine

Bmz from MAV-Start

WLABmee to Budapest

The rest are the Nightjet coaches to Vienna

Nearby there is the East side gallery, which is an open-air gallery in Berlin. It consists of a series of murals painted directly on a 1,316 m long remnant of the Berlin Wall.