Hamburg and Copenhagen: A trip on rail, road, sea and air

Hamburg and Copenhagen: A trip on rail, road, sea and air

by Chandra Sekar Venkataramani Comment Closed
Covering 600+ kilometers in Germany in a spacious, comfortable private railway cabin at just 30 Euros and arriving perfectly on time at the destination requires luck. Favorable turn of events made this experience a reality when I took the NightJet NJ40470 train operated by the Austrian Railways (ÖBB - Österreichische Bundesbahnen) from Karlsruhe to Hamburg (https://rail.cc/en/night-train/zurich-hamburg-nj-40470/500). The 6-seater cabin I was allotted had hardly any occupants and I could stretch my legs on the recliner seats for a comfortable nap in the climate-controlled cabin. A sleeper cabin (incl. breakfast) in these NightJet trains readily costs around 100 Euros, even if booked 3-4 months in advance.   Starting the trip with the usual free walking tour (https://www.neweuropetours.eu/), I got to know that Hamburg (supposedly deriving its name from  'Hammaburg' roughly meaning 'Castle on the rivers', as the Elbe and Alster rivers flow here) has a long history of tax-free sea trade, culminating in its today's status of being a gateway to Germany. More Vegan/Vegetarian options at Restaurants and cheaper public transport options are noteworthy. The city...
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From Deutschland to the capital of the Dutch Land

From Deutschland to the capital of the Dutch Land

by Chandra Sekar Venkataramani Comment Closed
One of the many benefits of a public holiday falling on a Wednesday is that the week ends as soon as it begins. The German Reunification Day on October 3rd this year was one such instance allowing a 5-day weekend (of course only after taking 2 days off at work). Planning one's own vacation Taking cue from past experiences of friends, my friend and I did our travel and stay bookings 3-4 months in advance. A bit conservative, but was worth the efforts for an economical yet relaxing vacation. At under 70 Euros/person, the room was cozy with the amenities adequate for the short stay (https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/20822949). The super organized host made the stay that much more pleasant. The Flixbus round trip too was a reasonable 70-80 Euros, with direct connections & travel duration of 8-9 hours in each direction with minimal or no delays (One should always thank one's lucky stars if the Flixbus connections are punctual !) First Impressions Shortly after crossing the borders, 6/8/10-lane highway roads with green fields on either side welcomed us...
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The best of my trip to Berlin

The best of my trip to Berlin

by Chandra Sekar Venkataramani Comment Closed
After reunification of East and West, Berlin is surely one among the best. Located approximately 650 kms to the northeast of Esslingen, it surely is a long journey in European standards. But in comparison to the Indian sub-continent, the journey can appear quite small as it only covers as much distance as in a Chennai-Kochi or a Chennai-Hyderabad drive. After a 3-day vacation at Ingolstadt and Munich, February’s last weekend was a trip planned to Germany’s capital city Berlin. (To read about my first vacation trip to Munich and Ingolstadt, follow the link http://thelanguedge.com/2017/02/21/my-first-vacatio…en-to-ingolstadt/) Since direct trains from Stuttgart to Berlin were expensive for a student budget and anything cheaper required changing trains more than once, FlixBus was chosen for the trip (FlixBus is a private Omnibus services and among the cheapest options, especially preferred by students). Economical one-way tickets cost 20 €/person Exploring Berlin by foot or bike The beauty of Berlin is in the fact that so much history lies buried at the heart...
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