Berlin to Amsterdam via trai

I do not know if it is valid for your selected train connection but some long (double) ICE trains are seperated in Hamm - one part is heading on to Ruhr area, the other one to Cologne. So if you drive ICE and you have a seat reservation ensure that you sit minimum in the right waggon (train part). The staff in the train will help you to double check - they know the topic from daily business.

Depending on date of travel from Berlin the trains can be well filled up (IFA fair, Marathon). Book early.

The Berlin to Amsterdam train is a direct, conventional IC train, so no need to worry about splitting the train etc...

However it sometimes happens that it is changed to leave from a different station in Berlin because of works. Passengers are then bombarded with confusing emails from Deutsche Bahn.

So a day or so before your travel do again a search on "bahn.de" and look up "BERLIN to Amsterdam Centraal". Writing the city name in all capitals is how you tell the system to consider all stations.

There is no bar or snack car on the train, so be sure to buy what you want to eat or drink ahead of time and bring it on the train. It is a 6 hour journey.

I suggest you might want to read about some of our experiences related in a thread last year: https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/germany/what-the-heck-happened-to-german-trains

I discovered a little too late that other people had encountered the same issues before and after our May 2023 travels.

Thanks for the thoughtful replies. Silas you scared me a little but other comments brought me back to balance. We will leave Berlin a little earlier than planned and we had planned to spend the night in Amsterdam before our departure the next morning. Hope that allows for the unforeseen circumstances that might arise.

jamiedirt - I wasn't trying to scare you but you asked about potential pitfalls. It's best to be aware of people's real experiences. We traveled that route in reverse (Amsterdam to Berlin). There are others in that thread who describe similar experiences - the common denominator appeared to be the long trips. Hopefully your experience will be better. My partner will never allow us to do that again.

Based on my experiences with the train system in Germany, specifically with ICE routes, I now factor in the tardiness factor., be prepared for late trains.

If I were doing Berlin -Amsterdam, I would do this route by night train, or if by day, then tailor my route. True, that takes more time. To preclude the possibility of canceled or late trains, this summer's long distance routes , when possible...just depends....I'm doing by night train with OeBB Night Jet.

Bottom line: there are "potential pitfalls."

The list of pitfalls in any mode of transport would be a very long one, cancelled flights, massive traffic jams, wildcat strikes. The key is to go with the flow and overcome all obstacles with determination. You won't get there if you give up.

Silas, your points are well taken, thanks. I will add in some flexibility and be ready for the unexpected. Seems like the fewer connections the better ?

Indeed, just like flying, every connection is a chance for something to go wrong.