Wunderbarer Hauptbahnhof mit Dach. Die Imbiss und Sandwichshops sind offen. Es ist warm und sehr…read morehell. Review: 5

Central station for the city of Köln (Cologne), it is one of the busiest rail stations in Germany…read more It is quite large and I got to explore it a bit today thanks to a delay by the wonderful folks at Deutsche Bahn. My tip to you is that if you do have an extended layover here, use the luggage storage for your suitcases and step outside. You'll find the tremendous Kölner Dom that is worth photographing and touring. I did not have THAT much time so it was pictures only today. The train station has coffee (including Starbucks, yuck), pastries, lots of restaurants, restrooms, a waiting lounge if your train ticket includes that service, car rentals, ATMs and yes, the Ibis hotel. [Review 21267 overall - 271 in Germany - 232 of 2024.]

Considering that I spent three days in Düsseldorf, it's surprising that I only stopped in the…read morehauptbahnhof the one time when I arrived. It is a large station with 16 rail platforms plus four tram platforms and four Stadtbahn platforms. As such, it is Germany's sixth busiest station. The parts that I encountered were step free but I'm not sure if the entire station is such. I was able to roll my spinner suitcase easily from the train, through the station and out to the tram. Signage looked good and easy to read. Lots of food and some retail shopping opportunities here. And in 2021, masks are required throughout the train system. [Review 16340 overall - 151 in Germany - 1847 of 2021.]

This is the central train station in Dusseldorf, Germany. The station is very clean and modern…read more There is an Information Desk at the entrance. There are a lot of shops and places to get food. Signage is excellent, and all overhead announcements are in English in addition to German.

In 2006, I went to the World Cup for the first time (WM2006) and it was held in Germany. I think…read morethey did the best job of hosting a tournament of any country, ever. It was so efficient, so easy to get around, so perfect and safe for everyone attending. I can't imagine a better host country for something, to be honest. We didn't even realize we were going... I had tickets, but no plane tickets. The night before the game we had tickets for (Brazil v Ghana, Round of 16, Dortmund), we crossed the border (who were very skeptical since we didn't have plane tickets yet) and went to Pearson Airport, and asked for standby plane tickets to Germany with Air Transat. At the last minute we were able to secure some, and we flew over and landed in Frankfurt, less than 3 hours before kick off. We literally flew through customs, dragging my American gf through the "EU Only" line and showing them the match tickets as an excuse. They were very friendly about it. Then we had to catch a train from Frankfurt to Dortmund. We made it to the train with 2 mins to spare. If we'd missed that train, we would have missed most of the game. However, the train efficiently sped us to Dortmund, we jumped off at this Hauptbahnhof and onto the train to the Stadium, and then we ran to the stadium and entered about 10 mins before kick off. And it was a very special day in Dortmund, after a whirlwind trip from Buffalo to Westphalia. I remember the amazing view when we exited the station in Dortmund (both before, and after the game), and they'd set it all up amazingly, decorated in bright yellow, both for Brazil who were playing there that day, and for the local team - Borussia Dortmund. After the game, we were exhausted. We watched Spain get knocked out :( by France in the town square, although it didn't matter because Spain would actually win the next 3 major tournaments in a row... who knew! After all those barren years of nothing. And then we realized we had no money and we had nowhere to go in Deutschland. So we went to the Bahnhof, and wow! Thousands of people were sleeping inside the station! It was an entire station full of World Cup Fans! They had converted the whole building into a temporary free lodging. We were so happy about this. Rather than trying to pinch our pennies, they were being as welcoming and accommodating as possible. So we slept on the floor of the train station like everyone else did, and changed our minds about flying straight back to North America. The next day, we went into the ticket office, and explained that we had very little money, and they sold us "one week passes" to German rail for a discount price! They called it a "World Cup Special" and it was less than half of the prices quoted. We thought this was absolutely wonderful of them. So we were able to use the passes not only as transportation from one German city to the next... but also as a form of hotel. The trains were luxurious, so at night, we'd get on a train to wherever, go to sleep, and wake up in the morning on the train in that new city. Very safe, very fast, very comfortable, and the officials were always so nice to us. It all started with the Dortmund station (a) allowing us to sleep there, and (b) giving us the cut rate one-week passes so we could stay in Germany and sleep on trains. So without any doubts, Dortmund station scores a hands-down 5 out of 5 from me. And I don't want to learn how to play darts, because I find it quite mundane. Darts-mund. Oh dear.

It's convenient. It is a central Hauptbahnhof and is very clear with directions and signs for…read moretrains. I love the different stands that are available because there is a variety of food options. I get a hot dog and a waffle on a stick when I'm there. I also like that there is a store for tourists to pick up anything they might've forgotten before their train leaves. It's very convenient.

I have to say the Münster Hauptbahnhof has greatly improved since they updated it. I'm currently…read moreusing the Hbf everyday to take the train to work, and it is one of the cleanest train stations I have seen (on the inside). It is very clear how to navigate, and even has giant screens inside letting you know when the next trains and busses are coming. Also I am so happy with the food options! They have of course bakeries (never understood why all the bakeries are directly next to each other), KFC, Starbucks, McDonald's, Asian food, and even a Rewe (grocery store). However, all of the weirdos still hang out outside of the Hauptbahnhof, especially at night (and no one seems to prevent people doing drugs right on the street) so that's always a bit annoying to deal with when you have to go everyday.

must be one of the worst stations in Germany! Cold and dirty with expensive and smell toilets! was…read morealso approached by a prostitute!

To be honest with you, I'm not sure what classifies a train station as a 5 star vs 3 star. The…read moreSolingen train station is at the heart of Solingen. I believe parts of it have been renovated recently and upgraded. There's a lovely larger bakery, a book shop, an ATM and a small Turkish fast food joint where you can grab a bite to eat. There's also an information desk out front. There's two entrances to the train station. One entrance takes you directly to the shopping area of Solingen. So you have a pharmacy, flower shop, supermarket and small clothing stores nearby. A train leaves for cologne about every 25-30 minutes so that's perfect for me.