Denmark to Germany by Rail

The Deutsche Bahn has an English-language website: http://www.deutschebahn.com/en/start-en.html .

And it provide information on international schedules, not just those within Germany.

There is indeed rail service from Copenhagen into Germany.

Get it while you can. The ICE train between Copenhagen and Hamburg still uses a ferry to cross the Fehmarn Belt. There are plans to build a tunnel, but that is looking further and further away.

Thanks, guys. Any idea of the cost of a second class RT ticket in the summer? DB indicates that bicycles are carried on board. I presume the ferry does as well. Any knowledge about that?

Where are you headed in Germany?

Either to Rostock or Lubeck, from whence I start pedaling to Poland.

The previously mentioned website will tell you exactly how much a ticket costs up to 3 months away, either walk up price, or advanced purchase nonrefundable or changeable.
Will you have your bike with you or renting in Germany. If it is your bike, you may have to take a rail route that is bike friendly. DB will tell that as well in the scheduling.

I arbitrarily chose June 10 as the date. Rostock seems to range from 39 euros to 124 euros. The low figure is for a non-refundable fare that might need to be booked well in advance. Lubeck is 29-104 euros.

Thanks for the fare info. I see that it's not available more than three months out!

The link above will get you to the start page of the Bahn website. This is the actual English page for schedules and faresl

If you book in advance on the Bahn site, you can get fares as low as 39€ to Rostock using an Intercity Express (ICE), but that connection does not say "bicycles conveyed". I did see a connection including an Intercity train (IC) that does say "bicycles conveyed" for all legs. There is also the possibility of a 39€ fare for that connection.

Conveyance of a bicycle on the IC is subject to a reservation, which will cost extra. Also, you might want to adjust (increase) transfer times with a bicycle.

It may not matter to you, but there are also some buses--at least in the eastern part of Germany--that take bicycles. They pull a small, I think enclosed, wheeled cart (don't know what to call it, really) behind them. I observed this on a day trip within Thuringia.

There's a 9:37 train to Luebeck and a 7:37. Both 4 hours, no changes. Trains to Rostock have a change in Hamburg. 29 Euros for train-specific ticket or 73.80 for a flexible, walk-up ticket. I looked at June 9 as an example. I don't know anything about bicycles on an ICE train, but the train goes onto the ferry,so if your bike is on the train....☺

What's your planned bike route to Poland? Up along the coast or directly east?

Have a great trip!

Hille, are the times you cited AM or PM? I didn't see any 9:37 departures day or night (or zero changes of trains) from Copenhagen to either Lubeck or Rostock on the DB site.

My route through Poland is TBD. A friend and I poked into the country from Slovakia and spent a night outside Zakopane in 2005 and were captivated by what little of it we saw. I'm largely interested in cycling the back roads, mountainous areas, small towns, historic sites, etc. Have you cycled in Poland? Any recommendations?

As already stated you need a reservation for you bicycle on the Deutsche Bahn trains, but not all of them have room for bicycles. When you search for tickets under the DB website, press 'further search options' and tick the box for bicycle in the bottom, to show only trains where bicycles are allowed.
Unfortunately the direct ICE train from Copenhagen to Hamburg, via the Rødby-Puttgarten ferry and via Lübeck does not allow bicycles onboard. If you wan't to take the train to Germany with your bicycle you have to go via Jutland to Hamburg and it involves a change in Federicia and again in Flensburg.

Those are AMs; PMs would be 13:30, 17:30, etc. European schedules use military time.
It kinda looks like ICE trains don't take bikes, but not positive on that. Another option might be to take a Regional train from Copenhagen to Nykoebing, and then bike to Gedser and take a ferry to Rostock. (Google maps says 25km, mostly flat from Nykoebing to Gedser.) The ferry is Scanlines. There was no bicycle option, but motorcycle was 57 euros for ferry ticket on June 1.

Try again on the DB website: Kobenhaven to Luebeck or Rostock. June 9 or thereabouts.

Sorry, have only done a bit of biking on the island of Ruegen, but looks like the whole coast area would be awesome.

I just looked at the routing suggested by Martin; the changes would be in Fredericia and Flensburg and Kiel, on the way to Luebeck. Definitely doable.

Thanks, Hille. I'm familiar with Europe's 24-hour clock, though I wasn't clear if you were speaking "American time" for both! The train certainly looks doable with multiple departures from which to choose. The ferry from Gedser to Rostock is another option.

If your goal is to get to Poland, then I would second the option of taking the train to Nykøbing Falster and bike to the Gedser-Rostock ferry. Trains from Copenhagen run to Nykøbing every half hour or so and you can bring your bicycle. look at www.rejseplanen.dk for schedules, the advanced search has the bicycle option as well.

Morten,

That looks to be the optimum way to get to Germany. Thanks for the tip - and the English website! What's the mileage (or km) between Copenhagen and Nykobing? Is it possible to bike that route on small back roads or is it all main roadway? And the mileage from Nykobing to Gedser?

There is 123km from Copenhagen to Nykøbing Falster and a further 25 to Gedser. I have no clue how many miles that is, but you better get used to km anyway :-) Google maps will direct you along the old highway, which is the most direct route, but also rather dull. Here you can find a dedicated bike route thats more scenic. http://www.bike-berlin-copenhagen.com/route/denmark-stage

Km to miles, multiply by .62. The 123 km is 76.26 miles, and the 25 km is 15.5 miles.

😎

Thanks, Hille and Morten! I speak "kilometer", having biked around Europe on many occasions. I'll check out the road map, Morten - Danish-only notwithstanding. Those mileages look good - another option for getting to the ferry.

Someone who was in the army in Germany was told that if you are traveling in Germany and you see a sign in km and you want to know how many miles, multiply by five and then divide by eight, then subtract 1. Why subtract 1? Because it took you a mile to multiply by five and divide by eight.

Morten -

Is a printed, paper map available for sale for the bike route between Copenhagen and Gedser? If so, where can I buy it? By the way, since I don't own electronic devices, an electronic version of it will do me no good. Paper maps always!

This shop, Nordisk Korthandel (Nordic map store) has at least one bicycle map for all of Denmark. http://www.scanmaps.dk/0251c83?___store=website_engelsk&___from_store=website_dansk
The store is on Studiestræde 30, in central Copenhagen.

Thanks, Morten. I'll check it out.

What's the best (cheapest, most efficient) way to get myself and my boxed bicycle from the airport to downtown Copenhagen? I see on the airport's website that bus, train and metro options are available, but I saw no price schedule. I don't know yet where in the city I'll be staying, but it'll likely be within 1-3 miles or so of the train station.

Any recommendations on B&Bs, small hotels or guesthouses in the city would be appreciated. I'll need someplace where I can leave my bike box for the return flight home.

Morten, have you heard of any problems with the Scandlines' ferry service's website?

I can see departure and arrival times OK, but when I try to find out the fares for various dates and times, it just does not work. I've tried this several times over the past few weeks and keep getting the same results - nothing.

The best way to get from the airport to the city is either with a regular train to the central station or the metro, depending on where you hotel is located. I can't really help with hotels, since i live here, I have never needed one. It costs 36 kr and It's the same ticket

I think it's just the English version of the Scandlines website that sucks, i can see the fares and times just fine. A one way ticket with a bicycle is 140 DK KR.

Morten,

Many thanks again! I believe you're right about Scandlines' website. In any case, $42 round trip with a bike is a deal.

Morten,

I see that the E20 connects Copenhagen with Sweden. Is there a side bike lane on that road or do cyclists simply ride in the traffic to cross? What about crossing over into Helsingborg by bike?

The E20 and the Øresund Bridge that crosses to Sweden is a motorway and bicycles are not allowed. If you want to go to Sweden you have to take the train. There is also a ferry from Helsingør to Helsingborg.

Morten,

Rats...as we say! Thank you for the confirmation. It helps with trip planning.

Morten -

I'm playing around with my itinerary and considering this possible arrangement, all on Day 1 on the road:

• early morning train from Copenhagen to Nykoebing, then bike to Gedser
• early to mid-afternoon ferry, Gedser to Rostock
• afternoon train, Rostock to Berlin (spend the night there)

From the train and ferry schedules, this seems quite doable (with a few departure options on each), resulting in an early evening arrival in Berlin. However, not knowing the reliability record of the trains and ferry, I don't want to be biking around Berlin looking for my B&B at 10 o'clock at night, for example.

What do you think? Are the trains and ferry dependable enough to allow this travel schedule without risking a night on the streets of Berlin?

There is also another way to calculate miles to km. I do it this way: for miles to km divide by 1.6. Conversely, for miles to km multiply by 1.6.

Dave

Only the largest commercial hotels in Germany usually have 24-hour reception. However, if you are suffering severe travel delays, the proprietors of B&B's will usually be happy to wait up for you or leave keys hidden somewhere if you telephone them.

The trains and ferry are usually quite reliable. In the rare event that your trakn is delayed, so you cant reach your destination, the Deutsche Bahn offers some sort of taxi service or compensation.

Thanks, Morten.