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What I learned about the Prague-Berlin train
I just got back to Prague from Russia and went straight to Berlin. How is that for a grand tour of War War II history? Completely unintentional, mind you.
I took the train from Prague to Berlin yesterday. It's a great way to travel between the two cities. The train follows the river Labe (Elbe] for much of the route and takes you through what Czechs call the "Czech Switzerland" area, a picturesque gorge area.
One thing to keep in mind if you want to take this train is that you should buy tickets at least three days in advance. I didn't and it cost me twice as much. I paid roughly $150 for a roundtrip Prague-Berlin ticket. If you book in advance, you pay as little as $70, even less if you are a student or purchase a Czech rail pass. Schedules are here.
The train ride takes 4 and 1/2 hours and is clean and comfortable. They even have a few tables where you can plug in your laptop. It is a good idea to purchase an assigned seat for an extra $5 each way. I didn't and was kicked out of my seat no less than three times. The train isn't crowded on the Czech side of the trip, but once we crossed the border with Germany, literally the entire East German population over 60 years got on my train for some peculiar reason.
Arriving at the new Berlin Hauptbahnhof is pretty amazing, too. Finally, a train station that looks cool and smells good. Which, certainly, cannot be said about Prague's main train station. What a dump that place is. They are, however, renovating it. Keep your fingers crossed.
More from Berlin later.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Travelin'Man Jun 8th 2008 3:19AM
Oh you really should take the Budapest to Prague train......Keleti Station in Budapest was being renovated when I was there in 1993....and guess what, in 2006 IT STILL WAS!
Compared to Keleti, Prague's is a palace!
LOVE YOUR BLOG! As a former National flight attendent (yes we were the 'Hi, I'm Tammy, FLY ME' people) I can totally relate!
Sam Jul 26th 2008 3:19AM
hey,
i am travelling to berlin from prague as well. however, the website on czech's rail services are in czech language! how did you manage to book it?
Jeff Jul 26th 2008 7:49AM
Hi Sam,
Iva probably managed it because she speaks Czech.:-)
However, if you click through her link you'll come to this site: http://jizdnirady.idnes.cz/vlakyautobusy/spojeni/
Underneath the flashing picture on the left hand side you'll see options to change the site's language to English or German.
You can also buy your ticket at Prague's main train station or at Holesovice train station (where a lot of the Prague-->Berlin trains depart from). At the main station, the international ticket windows are to the right. The agents, while not always that friendly, usually speak English. But, as Iva points out, you'll pay more unless you book three days before your travels.
Alternatively, you can purchase your Prague-->Berlin ticket on the Web site of Deutsche Bahn: www.bahn.de
The site is in German, but you can switch the language in a pulldown menu at the top right of the page. Booking three days or more out *should* net you a ticket for EUR29 one way.
Last bit of advice: If you can't get satisfaction taking a day train to Berlin, in terms of price, check out the night train from Prague to Cologne! Not many people know about this. http://www.nachtzugreise.com/nachtzugreise/view/index.shtml
I used to take this train a lot from Prague--->Cologne and usually snagged a EUR29 ticket for the entire way. It arrives in Berlin's main station around midnight before moving west.
Thanks for reading Gadling!
Jeff White
Gadling
Sam Jul 26th 2008 11:29AM
Hey Jeff
thanks for your speedy reply!
i tried the german website you gave me but the prices are like 50+EUR for the prague-berlin train 2nd class. why the big difference in price as u quoted?
and for the czech website, i managed to add the trip to my connections but cant seem to see how much the trip will cost. im currently on this page:
http://jizdnirady.idnes.cz/vlakyautobusy/spojeni/
any idea how to check out the price for this trip?
thanks so much!
sam