Travel by rail Copenhagen to Berlin, then Amsterdam.

Question??? We generally go with schedule convenience and price and always second class unless there is a sale for first class.

The question in some ways is whether you want to go direct from Copenhagen to Berlin (one change at Hamburg), or do you have more time to explore more of Northern Germany, taking several days over the trip. Potential side calls include (but are not at all limited to) Kiel, Lubeck, Wismar, Rostock/Warnemunde and Stralsund.

And that is leaving Hamburg out of it- very worthy of a day or two of your time.

As but one example of a side trip between Wismar and Rostock there is Bad Doberan Minster, and then a trip on the narrow gauge steam Molli railway.

In short this can be a functional one way as fast as possible journey, or a multi day trip of it's own.

Journey planner of Deutsche Bahn: https://int.bahn.de/en/

Information page about first class offering from German ICE and IC trains:
https://int.bahn.de/en/trains/first-class

Not many route options. You can plan a short stop-over in Hamburg to visit Miniatur Wunderland, reservation is recommended.

For both connections also night trains are available.

Use the Deutsche Bahn website for schedules and to purchase tickets. More than likely they will operate the train but even if they don't, they will tell you who does. The site will also tell you the expected demand for that particular train. (I'd suggest getting seat reservations anyway.)

The easiest trip from Copenhagen to Berlin is with a change in Hamburg. It's a long day with a minimum of eight hours of travel. (I'll mention that there are discount flights between Copenhagen and Berlin that take about an hour. Cost isn't much more than the train with the discount airlines.)

That's a lot of time on a train with a layover at the Hamburg station. I like Mark's idea of splitting it with a night in Hamburg and visiting Miniatur Wunderland.

The trip from Berlin to Amsterdam is no change and under six hours. Fairly easy.

Whether you choose first or second class is personal choice. Since I travel solo, I like first because I can get a single seat and have a peaceful (hopefully) trip. But for two, there are both airline style seats and table seat (for four) in both classes. No food service or anything special on DB trains except larger seats. But, you can order food on their app and it will be brought to your seat.

Be aware that when you cross into Germany from Denmark, the police will board to check passports. It doesn't hold up the train as they do it between stops. The last time I went through this was in November. I was in first and the police walked through the car without even stopping to talk to anyone. I guess they thought anyone trying to enter illegaly is not going to shell out for a first class ticket.

Two more thoughts:

Hamburg has great little coffee roasters and shops. So a good chance to enjoy one with a Franzbrötchen, a typical sweet pastry of Hamburg.

Some travelers report on the need for food collection before getting on a train journey Berlin - Amsterdam. At Berlin Central station (Hbf) you will find good places such as Kamps for bread and sandwiches or Einstein Kaffee for coffee. Also a little Rewe supermarket incl. fresh food is in this station. Details on station page of Berlin Central (Hbf). The track plan PDF will help you with orientation because two levels with 8 tracks / 4 platforms each.

Hi Todd, I would go with second class, although I would STRONGLY suggest buying seat reservations for the route from Copenhagen to Hamburg as the train can be quite crowded. They are not that expensive and definitely worth it. I saw many people sitting on the floor because there were not enough seats for them the last time I traveled that route. It probably won't be as bad in March (and I have heard that they have added additional trains, so it might not be as bad now), but I wouldn't chance it.

And the last time I was there, there was a passport check heading to Copenhagen from Hamburg, and then again on the way back. As Frank mentioned, it was quick, and there was no specific stop for it. They just walked through the aisles and asked to see passports. Just make sure you have it in a convenient location when you board.

If you are considering devoting some time in North Germany as suggested above, then omitting Hamburg, I would also heartily suggest two more lovely places, one city and an adjacent small town: Schwerin and neighboring Ludwigslust .

The Schloesser (chateaux) are the primary sites to be visited, hopefully that scaffolding work around Schloss Schwerin I saw last summer is complete. A different view of Germany and a feel as well, lovely sights.

Thank you for all your suggestions

So we purchased tickets on ICE train from Copenhagen to Berlin. Purchased 2 tickets for second class with seat reservations for 1200 Danish Kroner about 186$. We purchased in the Copenhagen train station when we arrived about 1 week before the train ride.

So we get on train with no issue, had seats and place for luggage.

But the train gets to Germany and stops and says they are waiting for German employees to drive the rest of the way. But no German employees show up, after waiting awhile they said we had to get off and take a bus. There was one bus going to a town and then Hamburg and then a second bus going directly to Hamburg. The second bus filled up so they got a third bus going to Hamburg which we got on.

We got to Hamburg a couple hours late, and then had to go to the ticket office and get a new ticket , no extra cost, for the trip from Hamburg to Berlin. Spent an hour in Hamburg waiting.

Then the platform for the ICE train to Berlin changed 2 times. Each time the swarm of people waiting went up the escalator and descended on a different platform. Confusing and a pain in the ass to drag luggage up and around, twice.

and then finally got on the ICE train to Berlin. got into Berlin about 3 hours late.

Thought a train was predictable but seems you cannot rely on German trains.

We got to Hamburg a couple hours late, and then had to go to the
ticket office and get a new ticket , no extra cost, for the trip from
Hamburg to Berlin. Spent an hour in Hamburg waiting.

In Germany it is not needed to get a new ticket if a delay or cancellation leads to you missing a connection. You just take the next available service with your tickets. In stead of spending an hour waiting I would have just looked for the next train, and gotten on.