Berlin Connections

Berlin Connections

It is a mark of Berlin’s close connections with Russia that the German capital has long been the natural way station for travelers heading to Russia from North America and Western Europe. Berlin’s two airports benefit from up to a dozen direct flights a day to Russia. Private Russian operators run buses direct from Berlin to Moscow and several Russian provincial cities, with many of these services making stops in areas of Berlin with large Russian populations.

But the train remains the classic link between Berlin and Russia. There are several daily eastbound departures from Berlin’s two main stations: Hauptbahnhof (pictured) and Ostbahnhof. The mid-afternoon train for Moscow carries what are surely among the most luxurious sleeping cars in the world – with private compartments furnished with a bar, double bed, a full bathroom and a DVD player with a large screen (€400 one way). At the other end of the same trains are cars with more modest accommodation — the mainstay for poorer Berlin Russians making their regular trips back home. In these cars, every passenger gets a sleeping berth, but space is tight, with three berths squeezed into each compartment (€160 one way or €260 return).* Journeys on such services are of course a fine introduction to Russia — a chance to swap food and life stories with total strangers. Regular direct trains connect Berlin with over 70 cities in Russia, and truly dedicated rail travelers can even hop on the weekly seasonal service from Berlin to Irkutsk — a journey of 4500 miles that takes six days.