I Took Europe’s ‘Best’ Train London to Berlin—Here’s Why I Flew Back

Taking the train in Europe is meant to be better, right?
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Thank you so much for watching! Hope you enjoyed it!

If you're new to my channel and videos, hi! I'm Evan Edinger, and I make weekly "comedy" videos every Sunday evening. As an American living in London I love noticing the funny differences between the cultures and one of my most popular video series is my British VS American one. I'm also known for making terrible puns so sorry in advance. Hope to see you around, and I'll see you next Sunday! :)

If you want to know HOW I make my videos including gear, lighting, all the tiddly bits that connect it all together, (with cheaper alternatives and kit I used to use), I've listed each item, what it's great at, and why I use it on the gear section of my website here:

Otherwise: here's a quick list of some of my kit without descriptions from the above link:

Camera: Sony A7siii

Main Lens: Sony 24mm f/1.4 G-Master

Secondary Lens: Sony 16-35mm f/2.8 G-Master

Main Light: Aputure 120d mkii

Shotgun Microphone: Sennheiser MKH-416

Really useful SSD: SanDisk Extreme Portable 2TB

[Chocolate-wbbu]

Deutsche Bahn is so nice. They always give passengers ample time to become familiar with a train station.

[FlaneurSolitaire]

I love that announcement at Amsterdam central station that reads "Train ends at Bad Bentheim due to railway problems ABROAD". The Dutch way of saying, Sorry folks, it's not our fault, the Germans mucked this up... again.

[Szerith]

Put simply "Everything was awesome until the Deutsche Bahn came into play!".
As a German, I feel that. Strongly.

[MrSit]

I´m a train driver in Germany and your video made me laugh.... staff saw these problems coming years ago. Now everyone in the world is making videos about how bad our trains are.

[bertram-raven]

FYI: Even before Brexit, you have ALWAYS needed to go through passport control when entering or leaving the UK.

[thien]

FYI the 58% on time performance of Deutsche Bahn does not take cancelled trains into consideration. Because a cancelled train isn't delayed, right?

[andyhartley]

There is a much faster train route to Berlin. London > Brussels > Cologne > Berlin - takes a little under 9 hours. I've taken it about 4 or 5 times, and I recommend it.

[MarkOfTheHighTower]

As a British person whenever I'm travelling by train in Germany I do appreciate how Deutsche Bahn like to make me feel at home by ensuring that the trains are delayed or cancelled 🙂

[MikeWillSee]

If taking the train to Berlin, the best way to do it is to go from London to Brussels and then pick up an overnight sleeper. This means that you don't feel the sensation of travelling for as long as you're asleep for most of it, you get to save money on accommodation, and there's less chance of the train getting delayed as the lower number of trains running overnight means less can go wrong! If you're making that journey, this would definitely be the way to do it, and is also a lot more competitive with airlines in terms of value!

[MissSimsalot]

As a Dutch living in Germany, past christmas I took the train from Hannover (DE) to Deventer (NL) to visit family, and I was honestly shocked we arrived exactly on time by the minute. Talking about a Christmas miracle.

[GeoffreyEngelbrecht]

Having lived 26 years in Switzerland and the last 3 in the UK I think one of the biggest problems with UK trains is that they are run like budget airlines. The more in advance you buy your ticket the cheaper the ticket. And last minute tickets are often prohibitively expensive. In Switzerland there are occasionally deals but for the most part the price you pay is the same if you buy your ticket a month in advance or just before you board the train. Often in the last three years I thought it is a nice day I’d love to take the train into London only to look at the price and think no way am I paying that much. I suspect the UK trains lose a lot of business because of this pricing model.

[Sollaze]

Hearing you name-drop Deutsche Bahn was all the justification I could have needed for taking a flight back

[scifino]

Pro-tip, if you're stuck in Hengelo and your long distance trains to Germany aren't working because Deutsche Bahn is being Deutsche Bahn, there is an hourly Westfalen Bahn local train that commutes (at local train speeds ofc) between Hengelo, NL and Bielefeld, DE. That train is designated as RB 61.

I'd recommend using an App like Öffi, or DB Navigator to figure out alternative routes when Deutsche Bahn is being 2020s Deutsche Bahn.

[jmshrrsn]

In the past, people travelled at a more leisurely pace, often taking the boat train and simply enjoying the journey. For instance, 100 years ago, in 1925, the trip from London to Berlin by ferry and train typically took 18 to 24 hours, depending on the route and connections. The journey began with a train ride from London to the coast, which took around 1.5 to 2 hours (e.g., to Harwich or Dover). This was followed by a ferry crossing of 3 to 6 hours (to the Hook of Holland or Ostend) and then a train journey of 10 to 15 hours, depending on stops and connections. Without modern conveniences like laptops, passengers often read books or simply appreciated the experience. If we weren’t always rushing, we could take a relaxed trip to Berlin, stopping overnight in places like Amsterdam, visiting a museum, and enriching our lives in the process, rather than hurrying through. Great video!

[candacemalinowski]

Living vicariously through you and others, all of whom I sincerely appreciate from the comfort of my living room. Thanks, Evan.

[cedrikewers]

The rolling stock used in the Amsterdam - Berlin service is one of the oldest in the DB fleet. The seats are meant to recline normally, but are often broken.

[Guy-Zero]

As someone who went via train from around Frankfurt to Edinburgh I can say: I would happily do that again. Not only was is cheaper than a direct flight with way more luggage I could take, I just really liked the experience. I could do whatever I want, read something, watch something or just enjoy the scenery and getting to experience new trains Ive never been on was nice as someone who likes trains. Also getting to see the scenery change to more hilly when entering Scotland and traveling north was just really nice as well as just traveling through countries Ive never been in. All of that I wouldnt have been able to experience on a plane. The first train I took was at around 4am to Frankfurt and I arrived at somewhere around 7 to 8pm at my destination in Edinburgh. Traveling for 16h might not be for everyone considering a direct flight is 2h but I really enjoyed it and consider it an important part of my overall journey/experience.

[heijd]

What's even worse about the 58% Deutsche bahn delay statistic is that they don't count your cancelled train as delayed, since it didn't arrive delayed in Berlin (it just didn't arrive at all)

[metacob]

I'm from Germany and I've been traveling by train for most of my life. I briefly had a car when I was young. Then 18 years later DB had degraded its service so much that I finally gave up and got a car again. I definitely see this as a step back in the grand scheme of things, but... I'm on time almost every time. Google Maps is extremely accurate. When I drive somewhere 2h away, I'll usually be there within 3 minutes of the predicted time, even though I have no control over red lights and traffic. When I used DB I couldn't even rely on a train even appearing at a station at all! Going to the airport meant I had to have AT LEAST one "buffer" train, i.e. go early enough that one train could be canceled and I'd still be there on time.

[FarmerSchinken]

Very thoughtful to give you the authentic Deutsche Bahn experience. Did you know that the whole city of Kassel is just Deutsche Bahn passengers stranded there, founding families and settling down while waiting for their connecting train to arrive?