With a nine-euro ticket from the district of Waldshut to Berlin – district of Waldshut
On his journey from Weilheim to Berlin and back, Joachim Sondermann saw, experienced and enjoyed a lot. And all this with the nine-euro ticket. He wrote about his experiences here.
An article on long-distance travel with the nine-euro ticket inspired him to take this exciting train journey, says Joachim Sondermann from Weilheim in the Waldshut district. Spontaneously he decided to travel to the federal capital, primarily to visit his old school friend Jürgen Rausch. He is the owner of the chocolate house of the same name on Gendarmenmarkt in Berlin. The world’s largest, as his family business writes on its website. The two had not seen each other for 33 years.
But that was not all. Sondermann: “I also wanted to find out what you experience when you take a long-distance journey on regional trains.” The nine-euro ticket was a welcome opportunity for him. With a smile he reports: “Buying the ticket from the ticket machine was very easy.” Sondermann used everything that is possible with the ticket: train and bus, S-Bahn and U-Bahn and a ferry.
The start was bumpy: the bus has to be cancelled
But one after anonther. The bus ride from Weilheim to Tiengen is cancelled. “There is no bus from Weilheim to Tiengen during the school holidays,” explains Sondermann. So he had himself taken to Tiengen by car, and the train journey to Berlin-Lichterfelde East started at 6:34 sharp. “Everything went according to plan and on time,” he says. The rail replacement service to Rottweil because of the bridge construction site in Engen did not spoil his mood. Arrived at Berlin Lichterfelde Ostbahnhof at 8:28 p.m.: The long journey of almost 14 hours with eight changes did not bother him as an enthusiastic train traveler.
Day two: With the bus lines 100 and 200 he drove to many well-known sights of the federal capital. He had his picture taken at the Brandenburg Gate. “I took the S-Bahn around the largest city in Germany, I took the U-Bahn to the city center to see my old school friend again after 33 years at the Rausch chocolate shop on Gendarmenmarkt.” He enjoyed a cup of plantation drinking chocolate there.
Best currywurst at Wannsee
That evening he drove out to Wannsee. He boarded the Berliner Verkehrsgesellschaft ferry to Kladow. With a wink, he continues: “To enjoy a Berlin currywurst and a refreshing Berliner Weisse in one of the cozy garden bars.” A glorious sunset accompanied him back to Wannsee.
At 6.20 a.m. on the third day he started his return journey at the train station in Lichterfelde West. At 7.08 a.m. we leave Berlin Alexanderplatz station for Roßlau an der Elbe. But the return trip was not so smooth. There were delays in Leipzig and Nuremberg. Reason: overcrowded trains. He did not reach the connection to Donauwörth. This meant he no longer had a chance to reach the High Rhine with regional trains on the same day. “So I was stuck in Nuremberg with my nine-euro ticket.” Swam over it, Sondermann reacted flexibly and made the best of it: He booked a cheap room in the Intercity Hotel, enjoyed the summer evening in the romantic old town of Nuremberg with grilled sausages with sauerkraut and a large Franconian spritzer. It is now also on the drinks menu at the local inn in Weilheim.
Romantic route through the Black Forest
So the man from Weilheim made his way home a day later than finally planned – via Stuttgart to Rottweil. “Because of the Southside Festival in Tuttlingen and the rail replacement service to Singen, I chose the romantic route via Villingen, Titisee to Seebrugg.” Where his wife picks him up by car around 1:30 p.m.
His conclusion: Anyone planning a long-distance trip with the nine-euro ticket should be in good physical condition, not claustrophobic, have little luggage and plenty of time. Sondermann: “The nine-euro ticket is also intended for regional routes.” For him the greatest evil: the overcrowded trains. They were the main reason for the delays. In order for the cheap and environmentally friendly train journey to be fun in the future, the nine-euro ticket should generally only be used in the immediate vicinity. It is advisable to only select destinations that can be reached with the highest double transfer. “For further long-distance journeys by train, I recommend booking the IC and ICE connections first, so that you can arrive more relaxed at more distant destinations,” he concludes.