when travelling from Berlin to Hamburg by train..is there only 1 main train ..is it near the old town of Hamburg..we would like a place to stay where we could walk from the train station to our hotel and then out the door to explore the old town...
and
from Hamburg to Dresden..the same is there basically 1 train we would take from Hamburg to Dresden and again within walking distance to a hotel and out the door to explore..
any reasonable hotels in Hamburg and Dresden would be appreciated
Which station depends on where your hotel is!
The main station in Hamburg is Hamburg Hbf. There is also "Hamburg Altona"
Hbf = Hauptbahnhof = Main station, and in all cities in Germany where there is more than one station, the main one is called "Hauptbahnhof".
Coming from Berlin Hbf, your train will probably stop at both Hamburg Hbf AND Hamburg Altona. Even if your hotel is not within walking distance of either, there are buses, U-Bahn (underground/metro) and S-Bahn (suburban trains) to get you to your destination. You will be using these to get around Hamburg.
The main station in Dresden is called unsurprisingly Dresden Hbf.
Hamburg and Dresden are opposite directions from Berlin. You will probably have to change trains in Berlin Hbf.
You'll need to do some homework to find the few surviving structures pre-WW2, see Operation Gomorrah.
"is there only 1 main train"
"is there basically 1 train we would take from Hamburg to Dresden"
did you mean train or train station?
As Chris said, Hamburg has the large Hauptbahnhof and the slightly smaller Altona (actually almost as busy but many of the suburban trains are out of sight underground). It also has Dammtor in between. The mainline is an inverted U with Dammtor on the bend at the north, Altona at a dead end at the west and Hbf a through station at the east, the river runs west east about half a mile south of Altona and Hbf. Most of what you'd want to see is within this curve and the river, it is walkable but if raining the underground railway has frequent stations - and some of it is actually elevated with views of the river!
You need to be careful where you stay because the rivers and old harbour basins break the city up and what a mapping system says is close by could be a long walk to get around the water. I stayed in a nice place south of the river in Wilhelmsburg but I wouldn't recommend it because you couldn't walk into the centre, to the tourist area it was 2 miles straight line and about 4.5 on foot! When I stayed in March I went to the Ibis Budget in St Pauli which is almost new and pretty much all you need, it's about the same distance from all 3 mainline stations, ie slightly too far to carry luggage! But close to St Pauli U-Bahn station. I got a good deal by booking several weeks early via https://www.hrs.com/
Fast trains from Berlin run at least hourly, most call at Berlin Hauptbahnhof (low level) and Berlin Südkreuz. All call at Hamburg Hauptbahnhof, some at Dammtor and Altona. Journey is about 2 hours.
Hamburg to Dresden usually requires a change in Berlin but there are some direct trains, notably 08:51 (only from Hbf) and 12:51 from Hbf and slightly earlier from Altona, these take 4 hours to Dresden.
All fares are much cheaper booked in advance (penalties for later changes). https://www.bahn.com/en if you book here you can take the ticket as a PDF and print at home. Payment by the usual cards or Paypal!
Hi,
For your purpose you need only to go to Berlin Hbf to Hamburg Hbf. One train...you mean direct? Yes it is, no need to transfer. You take the ICE direct from Berlin Hbf to Hamburg. Hbf. Hamburg has several train stations: Harburg, Altona, Dammtor, You need only Hamburg Hbf.
On hotels in Hamburg near Hbf, there are several opposite of the Hbf on Kirchenallee, two of which I've stayed at, Hotel Fürst Bismarck (3 star) and Europäischer Hof (4 star) at 45 Kirchenallee. Both are very nice, Fürst Bismarck is not as pricey. In June was my last stay with them. It is one of the hotels I've stayed at in Germany which gives you a free Combi-Ticket , valid for the bus, U-Bahn and S-Bahn, ie no need to fuss with a city pass, or buying tickets. Just present it if asked for.
On going to Dresden Hbf from Hamburg Hbf there are direct trains, take that departure and it is only one train direct, no need to transfer, otherwise you transfer in Berlin. Trains going to north Germany usually going through Hamburg as a junction point, likewise with Berlin going to Dresden. There are direct EC trains Berlin to Dresden, otherwise on the ICE you go through Leipzig Hbf.
Hamburg was devastated by massive Anglo-American bombing in July 1943 before that was done on Dresden in Feb 1945. Where the War Academy was in Dresden -Neustadt was left untouched in Feb 1945.
