This is the final day my Interrail pass is valid, and so I am making one final trip to the DE-CZ and DE-PL borders…
The day starts on the EuroCity train Berlin to Děčín – the border Bad Schandau-Děčín there has good long distance connections (a train every 2 hours), but there is room for improvement in the local connections (local trains are diesel even though the line is electrified), and timetables do not work well for local connections. From Děčín it’s onto the local train eastwards to Rumburk (CZ), and to then onto the bike to explore two cross border lines where the infrastructure is intact (or close to intact) but no passenger trains run – northwards towards Ebersbach (Sachs) in Germany, and eastwards towards Seifhennersdorf (DE) and onwards to Varnsdorf (CZ).
From Varnsdorf there is a good train connection to Zittau (regional only, no long distance service), and then it is onto a rail replacement bus to Hagenwerder near Görlitz – cable thieves managed to damage a bridge so badly that the line is closed until the autumn. In Görlitz-Zgorzelec I’m once more examining the bridge where the electrification ends in the middle of it.
| Day / Date | Thursday 18 August |
| Departure and End | Berlin |
| End | Děčín-Rumburk-Varnsdorf-Zittau-Zgorzelec |
| Trains | 6 |
| Rail km | 614.5 |
| Rail replacement buses | 1 |
| Bike legs | 2 |
| Bike km | 39.2 (inc. to/from Berlin Hbf) |
| Borders crossed | DE-CZ – Schöna-Decin CZ-DE – Rumburk DE-CZ – Seifhennersdorf CZ-DE – Varnsdorf DE-PL – Görlitz-Zgorzelec PL-DE – Zgorzelec-Görlitz |
| Events | No formal events planned, and two people are already accompanying me en route. If you want to say hello at one of the stops do contact me! |
Data here is indicative. The Google Sheet for the trip is the always-updated definitive version.
The map below is an image of the route for this day. You can alternatively see access whole route with more controls on umap here.
