Warnemünde to Berlin by Train

I watched the sunrise as we slowly sailed into Warnemünde in the city of Rostock. Passengers on the ferry waved as we passed by. They had been up for some time now. My day was just beginning. And my anticipation of our trip to Berlin by train was growing.

The sun was rising, losing its orange color. Morning shadows slid away. The weather was perfect. A few clouds occasionally punctuated the sky. Mild temps as we docked. We were looking forward to a nice, warm day in the capital of Germany.

We disembarked to find an entire train that Carnival Cruise Line had chartered for our non-stop ride to Berlin. The ship was illuminated in full sunshine, but our train was still in shade. Tour directors organized us into groups according to which of the approximately eight tours passengers previously booked. Once we reached Berlin, each group would head out on their designated outing.

Initially, the scene at the cruise port appeared chaotic, but there was no need to worry. The numbering system Carnival set up for us to follow was well organized and we boarded the train rather quickly.

Our tour is called Berlin Top 10. This particular tour takes you to see remnants of the Berlin Wall, the Holocaust Memorial, and many other sites like Checkpoint Charlie and Humboldt University.

Henning was our chaperone from the ship to the train station in Berlin. He took very good care of our group, giving us all the information we’d need to know about the trip, the train itself, and some history about Germany. He also gave specific instructions on how to find our particular car when we returned to the train station. That was important because when we got back, the train would be facing in the opposite direction from when we disembarked, and all of the cars in the train were identical.

Each car had separate compartments. Each compartment had wooden seats and held around 10 passengers. My guess is these were train cars from the 1930’s or 1940’s.

The train departed from the dock and slowly made its way through the yard. Warnemünde to Berlin is a journey of about 200 km (120 miles). The trip would take a little over three hours due to having to switch train engines before we left Rostock. That is because most of the track we’d be traveling on is electrified, the section near port is not.

The countryside

Warnemünde and city of Rostock are located in the former East Germany.  Warnemünde was its most important port. As we left the port, all I kept thinking about was the German countryside I had seen in movies. All of them depicted war zones: rival infantry encountering each other; epic tank battles; dramatic prison escapes. I thought maybe there would be the occasional rusted out hulk of a car or a tank destroyed in battle. Bombed-out buildings being slowly taken over by vegetation. Craters in the land. Grey skies. Mud and snow on the ground. I saw none of that.

One of the reasons I took this excursion was to toss out the images of Germany I had grown up with and see for myself what this part of the country is like today. So I spent several minutes walking between train cars, often pausing on the platforms between the cars to look out at the beautiful scenery as it flowed past. Lots of greenery. A house here, a cottage there, some seemingly out in the middle of nowhere. Absolutely nothing at all like what I thought I’d see. It all looked very serene.

I took all of this in. The more I saw, the more the previous images I had from the movies got pushed further back into the recesses of my memory. Now when the images of Germany from the movies come to mind, I have more pleasant ones to counter them with.

I would have loved to have stopped and walked about the countryside for a few minutes. Maybe take a few photos of the cottages. Can you imagine this conversation: “Excuse me, Herr Conductor. Can you stop the train? Yes, this train, with a couple hundred other passengers aboard. I’d like to get out and take some pictures.”

Berlin Hauptbahnhof (Central Station)

Our destination was Berlin Hauptbahnhof (Central Station). It opened in 2006 and features above ground (east-west) and underground (north-south) track. It is said that up to 1,800 trains pass through here each day carrying a daily total of about 350,000 passengers, making it the largest through-station in Europe by traffic volume. Train buffs will have a field day here. There is also food and shopping available inside the station.

The Berlin Hauptbahnhof is considered a destination unto itself with visitors and locals coming just to see the steel and glass marvel. I could see spending a couple of hours here exploring the station, people-watching, and eating, but we had an extremely busy day ahead followed by a long journey back to Warnemünde.

After our excursion in Berlin, Henning re-joined us at the train station. He led us to the platform and we found our train. But just as he said, since the train was now facing in the opposite direction, it was a little confusing to find our assigned train car, and especially to find our compartment.

The journey back

On the journey back, we were given snacks to enjoy. Henning also told us a few more facts about Berlin and Germany.

Those wooden seats on the train frankly became a little uncomfortable on the return trip after a whole day of sightseeing. Uncomfortable, but made manageable by occasionally standing and walking around the rest of the car. Periodically, I’d stand on the car platforms and watch the scenery, just as I did on the ride down to Berlin, until darkness began to fall.

Those in our compartment opened up a bit more. Several conversations were going on even though we were all a little tired. As the ride progressed, the conversations became fewer as people began dozing off. Those that were still awake were very considerate, speaking in lowered tones so as not to disturb those who were sleeping. It was nearly 10 p.m. when we arrived back at the dock. All in all, the train ride to and from Berlin was a very nice way to see a small part of the German countryside before and after a very busy day in Berlin.

Note: There are a few other ways to get from Warnemünde to Berlin. My understanding is there are a couple of train options, and a bus or two. You can also rent a car and make the drive yourself, or hire a driver to take you there and back. A quick internet search should return several possibilities from which to choose. We decided to book the entire trip through the cruise line, which included the train, 1) to maximize our short time in the city, and 2), most importantly, to eliminate any risk of not getting back the ship on time.

(Originally published 5 August 2020. Updated 3 August 2025 to update links.)

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