NIGHT TRAIN FROM DRESDEN
Dresden to Zurich on the City Night Line Sleeper Train
I had a short time to explore a bit more of Germany following some wanderings
in Switzerland with a thought to see what was new inBerlin and Dresden.
I would have to catch my flight back to L.A. from Zurich. The first thought
was to take a morning Air Berlin flight from Schoenefeld to Zurich to
hook up with the Swiss International flight, but that would mean losing
a few hours in Dresden, or missing it altogether, with a Berlin hotel
overnight a the whole airport hassle. Solution, since I had a couple
of unplanned days open on a Eurail Select Pass (see How Rail Passes Work),
take the City Night Line train from the Baroque city on the Elbe. The
train departing from Dresden Hauptbahnhof would get into Zurich, via
Basel at about 8:30 am, with a couple of hours to spare before a 1 pm
flight.
I
had done the whole super-budget second-class Night Train experience,
sitting up in the reclining coach seats, and slotted into a 6-berth couchette
with clothes on an sleeping on valuables (see City Night Line -
Sleeper Train).
This trip I was in the mood for a bit more comfort. First Class offered
two options, a single sleeping cabin for €100 or a double for €60.
The 60 euros is a little less than an IBIS or ETAP hotel in Berlin if
I were taking a plane the following day, so an even swap on the travel
budget. (A direct ticket for this journey without a pass would be just
under $300 US).
Exploring Dresden, even for a short afternoon, was a surprise, both fascinating
and a bit sad, to imagine the destruction wrought by war and the neglect
of the socialist era, with the beautiful sprouting rebirth
and recovery (see Frauenkirche Reborn). The Dresden train station has
recovered as
well, though one notices where the arched ceiling over the track would
have once been glass, it is now a sort of translucent tent on the metal
frame. The marble concourse is quite crisp and beautiful. The luggage
lockers for storing a couple of bags while exploring the city for an
afternoon were just off the main concourse in sight the tram stop. The
old town of Dresden is a five minute tram ride, from the very modern
mall at Wiener Platz with shops and restaurants across from the station.
The
City Night Line trains are overnight trains operated as a sort of rolling
hotel on varying routes across Europe. They have different departure
times depending on the city, but generally between major cities at least
6 hours apart. The trains will usually stop somewhere along the routing
to so they arrive at the appropriate time in the morning. There are other
standard trains that operate overnight, but don’t have sleeping
arrangements. The City Night Line train from Dresden to Zurich, actually
operated by a crew from the Czech Republic was to depart at 9:30 pm.
I settled into the compartment, quite surprised at the crispness. The
cabin with upper and lower pull down beds had its own bathroom, complete
with sink and shower, managed through a bit of engineering to get it
all into the space available. I waited for the second passenger, but
as departure time drew near and no-one arrived, it looked like I might
have a single after all. The porter stopped by with a half bottle of
a Czech Sekt (Champagne).
If
I’d been traveling with someone on
a couples’ journey, the two berth cabin would have been cozy
and romantic. By myself, I could stretch out on the bed and look out
the
window as the moods of dusk turn to night, better than watching TV
in some cramped budget hostel. Though, my luck at having the cabin
to
myself didn’t
last. At a stop in the night, somewhere between Dresden and Weimar,
the porter
knocked on the door and my new travel companion clambered in with a
couple of
bags of luggage. He climbed to the upper berth with a few mumbled apologies.
He was going to Basel and apparently used to the journey.
In the morning, as Basel approached, many of the passengers prepared
to depart, to make connections for other parts of Switzerland. With
my own berth share mate gone, breakfast was served by the porter in
one
of the now vacant compartments with the beds turned up, a good bit
more practical than managing a tray on the pulled down beds. For those
traveling
with a German pass, the station at Basel- is on the German side, going
to Basel Main station and beyond requires having Switzerland on the
pass, or a small supplement. If buying a point to point ticket for
this route,
all would be included. The one sour note on this particular trip was
the train arrived in Basel about 20 minutes late. How this occurred
was a mystery and fairly unusual, but it can happen. Not a problem
for me,
arriving in Zurich with plenty of time to get to Zurich Airport. © Bargain
Travel Europe
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See Also:
SOPHIENKELLER - DRESDEN'S BAROQUE RESTAURANT
DRESDEN CITY & SOCCER STADIUM GUIDE
