Tags
Berlin, Dresden, Germany, Photography, Railways, The Grand Tour, Travel
I was sad to check out of my villa this morning. The place was such a peaceful retreat from the madness of Innotrans, and so peaceful. Apparently, I wasn’t the only one who thought that. Last night I met a German couple who were staying there for the same reason as they were attending Innotrans too! He was a test train driver for Alstom, so we ended up having a good chat.
The weather’s reverted to type this morning with blanket sunshine and rising temperatures making it a great day to travel. Having left Werder (Havel) I made my way to Charlottenburg in style as I’m back using my 1st Class Interrail pass. Nipping across central Berlin on the S-Bahn to Ostkreuz I caught IC2175, a loco-hauled train bound for Dresden. It’s a quiet service in my coach, anyway. I’m sat upstairs in a double-deck vehicle with just a handful of other people for the 2 hour journey. We hardly belt along as there’s engineering work along the way. 125kph seems to be tops. But then I’m in no hurry…

12:45.
Here we are – and what a station!

UPDATE;
Sorry this blog ended so abruptly with my arrival in Dresden. That was because I ended up being incredibly busy and made the most of the weather. Having spent a couple of hours basking and taking photographs at the sunny Hauptbahnhof I caught a train back across the river Elbe to Neustadt, the nearest station to my hotel, where I finally managed to dump my suitcase and change into shorts and vest top which was far more appropriate for the weather. I’d no idea which of the seven differently themed rooms I was going to get where I was staying, so the space theme and circular bed were a surprise!

Heading back to Neustadt I followed up on the recommendation from a friend by catching a train to Radebeul Ost where there’s a delightful steam hauled narrow-gauge railway. I was too late to travel on the line as the service is sparse, but I was lucky to catch this loco in action.

I’d have liked to have explored more come the evening, but it had been a long day and a video catch-up with my wife Dawn was more important.
My first impressions of Dresden were very positive. I only wish I was staying longer, but I already know that I’ll be back. This flying visit was unscripted but it’s given me a useful taster of what’s on offer.
I’ve a small favour to ask…
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Cheers,
Paul
































































