There wasn’t a whole lot that happened today. A lot of train travel as I made the trek north from Stuttgart to Hamburg.
Probably the only interesting thing that happened during the train ride was needing to leg it between transfers. I later found out that I didn’t need to transfer but Deutsche Bahn decided to do it because transferring to the second train was faster by around 50 minutes. Anyway the problem with the transfer was that I was in carriage 2 of the second train and when I reached the top of the stairs at Mannheim station I was at the “bordrestaurant” (Onboard Restaurant) carriage. That was carriage 10 of a 14 carriage train. At a guess off the top of my head I would say each carriage is around 20-25 metres long.
And I could see the conductor was ready to blow the whistle and raise the flag indicating it was time to depart. So I had to leg it, 20kg suitcase in tow. She was hitting the whistle when I was at carriage 3. So that was eventful.
The rest of the trip was rather uneventful though. The only interesting thing was the walk (yes a walk this time) back to the bistro car to get a drink and travelling at 250kph between Hannover and Hamburg. That gave me shades of China but we hit 300kph there. On a side note, have a look at the difference here between a glass 500mL Coke Zero I got on the train and a plastic 500mL Coke Zero from one of the cafe’s here. That’s one hell of a size difference for the same amount of liquid content.
The train arrived in Hamburg just after 1:30pm. We actually arrived in Hamburg Main Station 5 minutes early which is something I was not given the impression would happen with long distance Deutsche Bahn trains. By the time I got to the hotel, checked in, dropped the suitcase and made my way back to the station to get some lunch, the original train I would have been on rocked up.
After lunch it was time for a self-guided tour of Hamburg. Since the tour buses had stopped running for the day. I ended up doing a loop around the lower “lake”, Binnenalster. Overhead a few Americans talking about the origins of Colombians and Mexicans (both Spanish origin FYI). Did a bit more walking around and then, by some miracle of the passage of time, it was dinner time. It didn’t really feel like much time had passed but there I was walking around and came across a clock that read 8pm. I visited the station once again, as that’s where all the food joints are. And found a place that was still open that wasn’t the Macca’s, KFC or Hungry Jack’s Burger King. Had a doner kebab and a drink. Made my way back to the hotel and called it a night on 24,536 or something steps.
A strong case of things I would do differently next time. A shorter one today as events meant it was a bit of a nothing day in the end.
I remember when I was planning this trip that I had a choice between stopping in Stuttgart or Frankfurt on my way to Hamburg. As the journey directly from Zurich (or really, Luzern) to Hamburg would have been over 10 hours. Given Stuttgart’s proximity to Switzerland I opted for that over Frankfurt as it would have been another couple of hours with a transfer through Stuttgart anyway. So everything added up to stopping in Stuttgart. As much as I would have like Frankfurt as a city on the main north-south line.
Yes there are a range of museums and exhibitions but the amount of construction work happening at the moment affecting the centre of the city is just a bit too much to deal with. I’m sure it will be a great city once the station and all the work around the city centre is complete, but there’s just too much construction going on right now that is limiting what you can see and do.
Ultimately I feel like Stuttgart will be a great place to come to in 10-15 years time when all the construction work is done. Whether it’s somewhere to stay or just pass-through/visit? Right now it’s a visit but that may change after the works are complete.
I’m off to find somewhere for dinner, the hotel has sweet fuck all around it but there’s a place that does Currywurst a bit of a hike away so I might give that a go based on Lara recommending it before I came over. If not I’ll find a place for it in Hamburg or Dusseldorf.
I need to be up early tomorrow, my train to Hamburg is at 7:50 AM as it was the only train I could get a seat reservation on.
Minor Update: The Currywurst was great. Cheers for the recommendation Lara!
Right off the bat I can be honest and tell you the difference between Switzerland and Germany is already showing.
The ankle was feeling much better today so I headed out after breakfast to get started on my sightseeing tour of Stuttgart. Decided today I’d walk to the S-bahn stop to see how I’d go getting there with the suitcase. Pretty fair to say I think I’ll be getting the U-bahn back to Stuttgart Main Station to head to Hamburg on Sunday. The path is quite narrow, somewhat overgrown and uneven at points. Also the access to Stuttgart-Nord, the local S-bahn station is only via stairs and I ain’t carrying that case up that many stairs (it’s about three flights height up to the platform). There’s no lift and no escalator.
This was the first notable difference and things continue to show from there. On the S-bahn throughout today there were no ticket inspectors. Which I was actually hoping there would be one at some point so I could get clarity on the S-bahn German Rail Pass access eligibility. Caught four trains today and only saw a ticket inspector on a platform for a train going in the opposite direction.
First one was to get me into Stuttgart so I could visit the city’s information centre. Getting off the train and heading upstairs I was approached by two people asking for coin, and I’m pretty sure one of them lifted the empty bottle from yesterday from the side of my bag (there’s a container deposit scheme here that can be profitable if you turn in more than you purchase). So, I mean that’s cool but perhaps ask before you just lift it from my bag? The second of the two just did not leave me alone. After repeatedly saying “Es tut mir leid, mein Deutsch ist nicht gut” (I’m sorry, my German is not good) they continued speaking and making money related gestures hoping their game of charades would achieve their goal. Eventually I just had to apologise and walk away quickly with a crowd.
The information centre was busy, I didn’t get a chance to buy anything there today except the tour bus ticket, but I think I’ll head there earlier tomorrow and try my luck again. Not nearly the same level of souvenir shopping here as there was in Switzerland where you could throw a snowball in any direction and hit a gift shop.
The city tour was pretty average to be honest, frustrating that so many photo spots spoken of during the tour were blocked by trees or restricted due to construction. The only exception was the closure of the zoo bus stop due to a running race that is being held in town on the weekend. The rest of it was pretty underwhelming to get only fleeting glances where you could barely see, let alone get time for the camera to see it too.
After the tour I decided to walk up the main shopping strip, the Koningstrase. I witnessed a bin get set on fire (though unclear if the person accidentally threw their cigarette butt into the wrong part of the bin or purposefully did so) and got approached by two Mormons wanting to spread the good word. Eventually got to the Schlossplatz garden, where I was approached by a third Mormon. The pillar with the statue of Concordia to celebrate King Wilhelm’s reign was wrapped with scaffolding so that was a bit of a bust. Lunch was a crispy chicken burger from one of the cafes. It was nice, tasted like it had some zing to it but not a lot. Unless I was still recovering from the amount of chili I put on my pho last night.
After lunch I jumped back on the S-bahn to make my way to the Porsche Museum. This was the main reason I stopped in Stuttgart over Frankfurt as I needed somewhere between Zurich and Hamburg to avoid a 10 hour train ride. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good train ride but even I have my limits.
The Museum was awesome though, a real treat for anyone with a hint of interest in car and motorsport history. I suppose if you also combined it with the Mercedes Benz museum across town you’d get a good dose of motoring history. I won’t bore you with all the details because there is a lot of history but Ferdinand Porsche Snr was the lead engineer behind Hitler’s ambition to create a “people’s car” that was affordable and reliable. “People’s car” in German translates too… any guesses? Volkswagen (pronunciation: “Folks va gen” as the V’s sound like F’s and the W’s sound like V’s… you get used to it). The original Volkswagen went on to become the Volkswagen Beetle and after World War II Ferdinand Porsche Jnr picked up the mantle and formed Porsche AG. After the success of their first model, the 956, Porsche went on to create the first version of the Porsche 911. And the rest, as they say, is history. But if you were ever wondering why the 911 and Beetle look so similar? It’s because they were both designed by Porsche!
I got the chance to stand next to the Le Mans winning 919. Mark Webber drove the early version of the 919. This one still had grit, grime, and battle scars from the 24 hour race. Forever immortalised. It was a shame not to see the 919 Evo (they basically took all the category specific restrictions off the 919 and went wild with the unrestricted model beating lap records) but that’s probably somewhere getting ready for the 75th anniversary event that is coming up. For 10 Euro entry it was really good. The building is a design masterpiece on its own both externally and internally. The price of entry made it not feel so bad pay $55 for a baseball cap. But that’s pretty standard for motorsport merch (I remember a Red Bull jacket costing me $150 and I only wore it three or four times before Daniel Ricciardo left Red Bull).
Left the museum and made my way back towards the hotel. Found a burger joint on the way and had a hamburger and chips.
Let’s see what tomorrow brings. More Mormons? More beggars? More photos? One of those is guaranteed. Perhaps we can avoid the bin fires tomorrow though.
And just like that, Switzerland is over and done. It’s almost a shame to be heading out already but I’ve really enjoyed the time here.
As I mentioned in my observations post yesterday, yeah it’s a little more expensive than home but things have been kinda going up there anyway so it wasn’t an overly noticeable difference.
Today it was all about getting from Luzern to Stuttgart. I had a train ticket booked for just after 11 that would take me back to Zurich before boarding a Deutsche Bahn (DB) train to Stuttgart. DB are the national carrier for Germany, where Switzerland is a combination of separate operators Germany has one national carrier.
The train from Luzern back to Zurich was, as has become obvious with time spent in Switzerland, on time departing and getting to Zurich. It feels almost fitting to end my Switzerland journey in the place it started. I certainly looked upon the Zurich Central Station fondly when the train arrived there. The DB train was around 40 minutes after my arrival so I grabbed a bite to eat(what else but a large pretzel) and sat near the platform to watch the world go by until the train turned up.
The train arrived on time, a quick photo before I jumped on board to claim a space for my suitcase in the luggage rack (they tend to get full quickly) and found my seat. We set off on time and powered our way towards the border. We got held up just before the border waiting for a train to come in the opposite direction.
Around 10 minutes later we finally got moving again and crossed the border. My time in Switzerland officially came to an end.
I spoke a fair bit about my observations on Switzerland, but honestly it was a little sad to be leaving as I felt like I had only been there a few days despite being there almost two weeks.
But it’s time for Germany now, and from the border to Stuttgart there were rolling hills, rivers, forests and castles. Much of which was on the wrong side of the train from my allocated seat, which was a little frustrating but it is what it is. We arrived in Stuttgart just after 3:30pm, around 20 minutes behind schedule. The first thing I was met with was a construction site.
Stuttgart are investing billions of Euros to redevelop the Stuttgart Hauptbahnhof (Stuttgart Main Station) to realign the lines 90 degrees. The terminus station at the moment is a limiting throughput station for the European East/West Line. Currently the terminus station faces north with four or six lines that limit the number of trains that can enter and leave the station complex. The new plan is to turn the lines 90 degress, put them underground, and remove the north facing lines. Apparently it’s going to take about 10 years to complete though I think they started the process a few years ago.
There are two suburban transport methods in Germany. The S-bahn and U-bahn (pronounced ooo-bahn). The S-Bahn are like standard suburban trains and the U-Bahn are like light rail. The S-bahn is operated by the DB while the U-bahn is operated by the local city. So the S-bahn is covered by my German Rail Pass but I have to pay for U-bahn and city bus services. So I’ll be endeavouring to get by with the S-bahn where I can, not that the U-bahn is expensive by any means.
I did purchase a U-bahn ticket as the stop appeared to be closer to the hotel and relatively downhill unlike the nearest S-bahn stop. It was still a hike but manageable. The hotel is okay for what it is.
Tomorrow I’m probably going to do the city bus tour and already earmarked going to the Porsche Museum so if the ankle feels as good tomorrow as it does today I reckon we’ll be getting close to being back to regular service. Hopefully, I feel like I missed a good chunk of Luzern so I don’t want to miss what Stuttgart has to offer too.
As the Switzerland leg of the adventure comes to a close this post is just a few more photos that I’ve taken along the way and some general observations from my time here.
The transport system is amazing. Without a doubt one of the best aspects of Switzerland is that you can get just about everywhere in the country using the public transit system. And it is incredibly supportive of riding the rails with bikes if you are so inclined to bring a bike along with you to get to those extra little places the trains and buses don’t go. Even some buses allow you to take bikes and the shared pathways and bike lanes on roads are expansive meaning you can get to a lot places without needing cars or taxis. Connections seem really good as well. While I haven’t used many buses the ones I have used have lined up with trains at stations really well. In both Zurich and Luzern buses have run every 10 minutes and in Zurich trams were every 6-8 minutes.
The train system itself has been incredible. Punctual, clean, safe and the only issues I’ve had have been self inflicted. While I had some expensive trips to make it worthwhile, the half-fare travel card is a fantastic option to bring the price of public transit fares down. I haven’t worked out yet exactly how much everything has cost me, and won’t be calculating that until I get home, but I’m sure the half-fare card has saved me a substantial amount on transport costs for the initial outlay.
The system is also very supportive for elderly and disabled. The Swiss take the care for their elderly very seriously as they have one of the highest life expectancies in the world. The only thing I found wasn’t very friendly were the older trams in Zurich, but even then they only run every second tram. Buses and trains have (what I assume are) pneumatic ramps that provide boarding and alighting assistance. The areas for wheelchairs also double as extra space for prams if required.
The staff have been incredibly helpful and very present throughout each trip. With train conductors doubling as ticket inspectors and the SBB system allowing for paper based tickets as well as digital tickets and SwissPass cards, it is an impressively robust system that highlights a lot of the flaws with a system like Myki and Melbourne’s ticket inspectors. They seem to have a system that works so why go to great lengths (and expense) overhauling it? I think in the entire time I’ve been here with only one train trip left I have had four trips where inspectors have not been checking tickets. Two of those don’t really count though as to the museum and back was only one stop so I wasn’t really on the train long enough to get inspected.
There’s certainly a lot you can see and do without going to great expense. Old towns like Zurich, Chur and Luzern have plenty of things to walk around and see and guided city tours are available for a reasonable price. Of course, self-guided walking tours where you discover things for yourself are free!
There is a lot of discussion around the cost of things here. Yes it has been more expensive than home but in the grand scheme of things I haven’t found it that much more expensive. While I didn’t purchase it, a steak dinner at a restaurant here was 35CHF which works out to around 45-47AUD. Pretty standard fare for a steak dinner these days back home. The Big Mac standard puts the price of a Big Mac meal at around AUD $19. Though it is unclear if that is for the same size meal as one would get back home as their medium size is the largest you can get here but appears similar in portion to a large.
Most Swiss speak German, some will speak in Swiss German that shares its origins with High German but will understand normal German just fine as the languages are fairly similar. In the west they will also speak French, and in the south, Italian. There is a small sect in the east that speak Romansch. Being able to speak some basic German will help but for the majority of the country the tourist hotspots have plenty of English speakers to get you by.
Another thing that a lot of people say is that once you have seen one part of Switzerland you’ve basically seen it all. If you’re just here to see snow-capped mountains and cows then yes, stop in Luzern and go up Mount Rigi. Stop in Chur and visit Arosa. Stop in Zermatt and try and see the Matterhorn. Pick any one place, see the mountains and cows and move on. But if you look past that there’s plenty of variety to see, and plenty of things to do. For such a small country I feel like it would be quite easy to fill many weeks based on the places I haven’t even made it to (such as Bern), and spending a bit more time in the places I have been.
They put a lot of emphasis on non-vehicular mobility here. Electric bikes and scooters are everywhere. The stations have massive amounts of bike racks to allow people to ride to the stations and catch the trains. Public charging networks are vast. And for those that are using cars, a lot of the vehicles I am seeing are electric or small internal combustion. It was surprising to see a Ford Ranger parked in a side street because it was just so… big. You would think being from Australia I wouldn’t think anything of it because you could throw a stone and hit a dual cab ute with it almost anywhere in the country.
Most providers won’t support mobile roaming here. I’ve been able to receive text messages but that’s about it. For phone calls and data I need to purchase a Swisscom SIM card. With the access to WiFi at hotels and major train stations I’ve been able to get by (sans the ticket inspector experience while in Zurich). As long as you make sure to download ir screenshot any digital tickets before you leave a wifi connection you’ll be fine. It’s worth noting that you should check in advance whether your provider supports roaming here. This won’t be problem for the remainder of the trip as Germany, Belgium and the UK are all included countries for roaming with my provider.
One thing that continues to surprise me, no matter where I go but it’s been evident the last few days, is the people spending time trying to capture the perfect shot of them in a place. I watched a couple at Zermatt, she took the best part of 20 photos of him in various poses as he constantly shifted between positions and had her take another shot. He tried to capture several of her but she seemed like she was in the mindframe of “just take a nice picture it doesn’t need to be perfect”. Meanwhile I take four at most, one portrait, one landscape, with and without glasses. Done. I have offered to take several photos of other people and groups and they all seem happy with the results. I guess it’s still just the instagram and tiktok effect needing everything to look perfect.
I should probably also mention an update on distance covered. Overall in Switzerland I have covered a massive 176,000 steps and a distance of around 140km walked. I saw eight Burger Kings, five McDonald’s, two Subway’s, and a single KFC. Probably ate about 20 giant pretzels and drank a lot of Powerade Mountain Blast (because it’s the only flavour they have here so you’d better enjoy it).
Would I do Switzerland again? In short, yea I probably would. The issue is that I would like to revisit a lot of the places I’ve already been (especially Luzern as I feel I haven’t seen the best of it with my ankle) and spend more time here. So with that in mind I think it would be hard to justify coming back to retread the same territory. Unless its in like, 20 years then it’d be interesting to see what’s changed (a lot based on the amount cranes building shit here).
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