Warnemunde Train to Berlin

[roothy123]

Here is info from my notes:

 

http://www.rostock-port.de/hafen-rostock/hafenplan.html shows dock/RR. (See travelanniwebs.com for Warn info or email touristinfo@rostock.de)

 

Car rental: See p-o. Ask what gas is OK. Michelin estimates 30-35E one way to drive. See driving info below. TI says Werftallee route is OK, but can also take “city highway.” Per parkinfo.com it’s 1/2euro per hour parking in park & ride lot in Hennigsdorf; parkopedia.de says 0.24mi. to station. Per TI “Around S-Bahn in Henningsdorf there are around 5 different parking spots. It is correct that there is a parking spot directly to the west of the S-Bahn station at bus parking spot in Rathenaustraße. There are around 100 parking spots available. I guess you will need to walk about 5 minutes to S-Bahn.” City information: Stadtinformation, Rathausplatz 1, Fon: (03302) 877320

 

Driving: Always use right lane unless passing & remember that at 120 mph, cars look tiny. Get back to right lane immediately. No right turn on red; driver on right goes first. If there is traffic light, you’ll get green arrow on black when you can turn. No 4-way stops. Watch for bicycles when turning. Autobahn has areas where speed limit is listed (mostly in cities.) “Fernverkehr” means long distance traffic; “Durchgangsverkehr” mean local. “Alle Zeile” or “Alle Richtungen” means all destinations. Use zipper rule for merging. When you see signs that indicate lanes will merge STAY IN YOUR lane. Wait until they merge & then merge. Under normal circumstances there is little need to slow down & flow of traffic continues at good pace. In an emergency, call 112 from a German cell phone. Diesel is normally cheaper than Super/Benzin. Just fill up, go in & pay. If needed,

write down pump number or use your fingers. See below for gas stations & returning car.

 

Buy 2-7E tageskartes for ABC regions at box office/ticket machine with cc’s or cash. It’s 20-30 mins. on S-25 to Nordbf. Eat in Hennigsdorf if necessary, or on highway there. If get there at reasonable time, take S25 to Nordbhf for Gedenkstatte. If not, go to Tor or Checkpoint Charlie (Checkpoint is 50 mins. from Hennigsdorf using Sbahn & M29).

 

MUST leave Hennigsdorf by 5:30 to get back to Warnemunde, gas up, return car by 8:30 (have 30 mins. grace period). ARAL station is just at entry to Warnemunde & last occasion to fill up. Also per TI “There is one at city high way, next to McDs. Stations “generally” stay open until 11PM; accept credit cards.” Blue sign with Passagierkai marks way to terminal (see pic); also ferry signs. Can also look for Hohe Dune (Hotel & Yacht Club opposite cruise terminal). Note: I copied pix, but may no longer be valid, as Europcar is in terminal.

[Travelanni]

Important information for anyone who is considering taking the train independently from Warnemünde to Berlin.

 

Currently there is no direct service between Rostock and Berlin. All trains are routed via Schwerin due to the work on the high-speed line and the latest news from DeutscheBahn is that this will continue until late 2013.

 

In simple terms it means that the travel time from Warnemünde to Berlin is increased to over 4 hours with changes in Rostock and Schwerin. The excursion trains operated by the cruise lines must also take this route so their travel time will have increased too.

 

Given this increased travel time a better option would be either hiring a car (see the previous posts) or using a tour company which offers travel by bus to and from Berlin with the day free for independent sightseeing.

 

Happy cruising :)

Anni

www.travelanni.webs.com

[Reggiefan]

Roothy, if I may ask?

 

What time in Warnemuende did you pick up your car and what time did you return it? What was the earliest you could have picked up the car and the latest you could have dropped it off?

 

I have read elsewhere that actually picking up a rental car in Warnuemunde rather than Rostock is a challenge with limited hours as to when a car can be picked up and dropped off.

 

And I am curious as to your favorite and least favorites ports on your Baltic cruise and what you were able to see in four hours in Berlin. Thanks in advance for any information you can provide.

[roothy123]

I'll try to answer as best I can, although I've forgotten a bit (sigh) even though our cruise was only last August. We didn't find the hours for Europcar limited at all. I think I booked the car for a half hour after we were supposed to arrive (maybe 8:00 docking, so 8:30?? we were on Oceania Marina). We put the return time as an hour as maybe 8 PM, since we had to be back by (I think) no later than 10:30PM and figured we'd be back even before then. That was not a problem. I think I did, however, contact another company (maybe Hertz?) that either charged more for a return around 8, or wouldn't do it, or something - can't remember for sure. In any case, it was no problem with Europcar to get what we wanted. They don't have a real office in Warn. but they send an agent to the port terminal and that's where you do the paperwork. The car is parked in a parking lot across the street. When you return the car, you park it and take the keys in to the terminal to the agent. We came back early but he was there - no problem. Yes, he speaks English, and yes, it was an easy experience. I don't believe we purchased insurance, but I forget. We have used Europcar before in Europe and it has always worked out well.

 

We took Oceania Cruise line for the Baltic. They do some kind of unusual ports - Ronne, Denmark on the island of Bornholm (loved, loved loved it) and Visby, Sweden, on the island of Gotland - loved, loved that one two. These are not all that common stops for cruise ships, however, so you might not be going there - but just thought I'd mention them since I loved them so much. I guess my favorite port was St. Petersburg (how can you not love it??) but all places were great. I guess Riga was my least favorite, but if you're a photographer and/or art nouveau art lover, it's for you - see my photo site (which does NOT require you to sign up or anything) and you'll see pics from there. We took the Hop On Hop Off bus in Riga, which was affordable, but not totally necessary if you're willing to walk a bit, and have a good map. In general, things are centered in two different areas - about 10 minutes from where most ships dock, and then in a totally different but also close area. Many people love Tallinn, and I did as well, although perhaps not as much as many other cruisers. Copenhagen has a lot to do and see, and I loved it, too. (Guess I just love everything!!) Some people think Helsinki is the least interesting port on a Baltic cruise, but it certainly has some worthwhile things to do and see, and it's easy to do things on your own. The cruise ended in Stockholm, which I hear is wonderful, but we had to go straight to the airport, so I didn't see much of it!

 

Berlin was probably not one of my favorites, but in general, I'm not crazy about the cities, and prefer the smaller ports, so that's understandable. If you're into history, however, it's certainly worthwhile to make the effort to get there. We first visited a part of the Wall up north that is less known than the one in the SE part of the city (the one with the art work). Then we took the subway to the Reichstag area, got a small bite to eat, and walked up the dome. On the way there we saw the Brandenburg Gate. We were planning to do a little more (probably Checkpoint Charlie, although I hear it's basically just a touristy checkpoint thing) but my husband was getting tired (he has diabetes and bad feet) and we decided we had had enough. You can get around on the U-bahn (subway) or sometimes S-bahn (suburban rail, which partly runs through the city) pretty easily and quickly. I think you can also buy a day pass to do that, which also includes the ride in from Hennigsdorf if you do what we did. If you want to take U-bahn around, it helps to have a good map in advance, and plan your routes a bit. Of course, I'm sure you can find cabs in most of the more popular spots. We are just DIYrs so we don't like cabs much - and in most European ports, it's easy to use public transportation if you do the research in advance

 

I don't know if I still have the stuff I printed out with good map sites, URL for Warnemuende tourism web site I contacted to ask about gas stations, etc. I'm going to go off the computer for most of the day, but if you want me to see if I kept stuff, give me a yell and I'll look tomorrow. I can also send you my notes for all the ports we visited if you send me your email address. Just email me at howardruthalliejoey@gmail.com. All the notes are all based on independent travel, however, so if you're not into that (and many people aren't) you may want to pass on asking for them!

 

http://www.pbase.com/roothy123 shows my pictures from the whole cruise - although to see all from Berlin, you'll need to go to both "galleries."

[roothy123]

Oh, I just realized I forgot Gdansk. Gdansk should not be overlooked, at least not if you like history and/or beautiful architecture. Much of old town is restored and it's quite pretty. It's a little complicated getting to Gdansk from Gydnia (spelling?) on your own, so if the ship offers a shore excursion or transportation there, you might want to consider it. I did it on my own, though, (and totally on my own - husband had a little problem that day and opted to stay on the ship) and managed fine, but others might be a little afraid to DIY. There isn't much of interest in the port town there, but Gdansk was wonderful. However, be aware that it is one place where you'll likely need to have local currency (Polish zloty), and also one place where many people do not speak ANY English, so independent travel isn't as easy as in some other places we visited.

 

There are shuttles in many of these ports, which is helpful in getting at least part of the way to where you want to go. The time changes will drive you crazy, as well as keeping track of what the local currency if you're inquisitive like me - zloty, Danish krone, Swedish krone, euros, roubles (although tour companies generally take credit cards - we never got roubles) and lats! Credit cards that require PINS and chips - whew! Actually, the machine in Hennigsdorf wouldn't take our credit card because it didn't have a chip!

[Travelanni]

This thread, "Warnemünde train to Berlin" seems to have got off the subject somewhat but if you are considering TRAINS TO BERLIN there is important information on my previous post (24th February 7.41am) which has got a bit lost in amongst the long posts about CARS TO BERLIN.

[irvingwml]

Important information for anyone who is considering taking the train independently from Warnemünde to Berlin.

 

Currently there is no direct service between Rostock and Berlin. All trains are routed via Schwerin due to the work on the high-speed line and the latest news from DeutscheBahn is that this will continue until late 2013.

 

In simple terms it means that the travel time from Warnemünde to Berlin is increased to over 4 hours with changes in Rostock and Schwerin. The excursion trains operated by the cruise lines must also take this route so their travel time will have increased too.

 

Given this increased travel time a better option would be either hiring a car (see the previous posts) or using a tour company which offers travel by bus to and from Berlin with the day free for independent sightseeing.

 

Happy cruising :)

Anni

www.travelanni.webs.com

Does this increased travel time pertain to buses or private vans that are leaving from Warnemunde?

[dogs4fun]

Does this increased travel time pertain to buses or private vans that are leaving from Warnemunde?

 

No ... the increased travel time pertains only to trains. :)

[shipsealand]

How is the train ride to Berlin from Warnemunde? DW & I will be on a cruiseline tour that has a 3 hour (now I hear could be 4) ride to Berlin, then tour of the city, and 3 hour (4) return trip. We are going in July and the train is not air conditioned but the high temperature is 72 F.

 

Concern that do the windows stay closed due to the long ride and our allergies. Is it a smooth ride? DW does not want to get motion sickness.

[Sauer-kraut]

A train is a train, does she get motion sickness on regular trains? Then I would imagine it would be the same on a German train.

 

Are you married to the idea of going to Berlin? There is so much to see in the area around Warnemunde/Rostock that you might like doing that than wasting half your port time getting to and from the big city.