Berlin
Earth > Europe > Western Europe > Germany > Berlin
Berlin
| |
|---|---|
| Information | |
Country:  |
Germany |
State:  |
Berlin |
| Population: | 3,405,483 (31 Juli 2007) |
| Licence plate: | B |
| Major roads: | A2, A9, A10, A11, A12, A13, A24 |
| Meet fellow hitchhikers on Trustroots | |
Berlin [1] is the capital of Germany.
Hitching Out
South towards Leipzig (A9), West towards Magdeburg, Hannover (A2)
- Rasthof Michendorf—Just 30 minutes by 'Regionalbahn' (train) south west of Berlin. This is the most direct option. You easily get hitches to the south, west as well as to the east (Poland). Take a train (e.g. RE3 to Dessau, check fahrinfo-berlin.de for route information.) from the center (2.60 EUR). Get off at train station Michendorf. Leave the station at the left side (in direction of the train). Turn right into the Potsdamer Straße, at the bus stop, and walk for 20 minutes straight on it. To go west or south (Munich, Hannover, Magdeburg) turn right into the Feldstraße and follow it till you see the service station. Enter it via the green emergency door. If you want to go east towards Poland or Dresden turn right after the tunnel (it's a small sandy road through a wood). Follow the road until you are at the restaurant of the rest stop. This is a long arena so walk around the restaurant area, car parks, and petrol pumps.
- For going South or West you can try the Raststätte Grunewald. Take the S-Bahn train S7 to Potsdam or S1 to Wannsee and get out at Nikolasee. Walk out of the train station, cross the bridge and you'll see the petrol station next to you. Usually you will encounter some other hitchhikers ( "I stood there with 14 other Hitchhikers on a sunny Monday morning, 9 o`clock. Maybe Grunewald is a HH place, that is too well known!" --Bocia), but normally you get a car at the petrol station within a few minutes - at least to Michendorf! Also standing at the traffic lights before the ramp seems to be useful!
- Another option is the Aral petrol station at Kaiserdamm near the central bus station. Take U2 to Kaiserdamm (if you come from direction Zoo) and go out in the driving direction. Leave the station on the left exit. After 50m there's the petrol station. It depends on the day, sometimes it's very easy to get away there, sometimes it's harder.
- Trampstelle Potsdam
<map lat='52.519' lng='13.45' zoom='10' view='0' float='right' width='450' height='450'/>
There is a local campaign for an official hitchhiking spot in Potsdam, they made a petition and won it :) The hitchhiking spot is planned now and will be established soon.
North towards Rostock (Baltic Sea)
- Go to the S-Bahn station Pankow-Heinersdorf - there Prenzlauer Allee is becoming the Autobahn A114 - just walk 200m down the bridge and you've got a traffic-light as well as two petrol stations, both on the right side for the drivers going towards the Autobahn. It may be worth walking to the second petrol station as it's cheaper and more frequented.
At Rasthof Stolper Heide (see Hamburg) you can also get a lift towards Rostock.
- The hitchhiking-spot in Henningsdorf (on the map as well): Rasthof Stolper Heide is the best option to reach Hamburg, Rostock or Scandinavia. You are going to have to go on a 2 km walk in total (part of which involves gorgeous forests...). S-bahn station Heiligensee (S25 towards Henningsdorf, 2.10 € ticket), walk down Ruppiner Chaussee northwards about 200 meters and turn right on an asphalt walking path (There's a sign saying "Berliner Wandweg" or smthng). Cross the bridge over the highway and you will see a short railing on the your left. You can easily jump over and then walk down the little hill to the highway. Walk along the way for about 600/700m. The large petrol station is there. You can easily get a direct ride to Hamburg from here.
- A very closeby spot that saves you the 2 km walk: Get off at the station just before: Schulzendorf (S25 towards Henningsdorf, 2.10€ ticket). Get out from the front of the train, and out of the station, follow Ruppinerstrasse north, and take the first right (Schulzendorferstrasse). And there you are, on the motorway access ramp, 5 min walk from the station.
- Traffic is pretty low.
- Cars are very slow and can get a good view at you
- You can take any ride. If the car doesn't go your way, he can drop you at the petrol station "Rasthof Stolper Heide" a couple of kilometers uproad.
- If you want to hitchhike towards Hamburg or Schwerin on the A24 it is the best to go with the U6 towards Alt-Tegel and get off at Kurt-Schumacher-Platz and then start walking towards the highway. About 2 minutes away from the U-Bahn station there is a Jet petrol station. You can either ask the drivers who stop there or stand at the road right before it.
- At the moment this spot doesn't work, because of a construction site at the "Tegel Tunnel" (Jan 2007)
Update Aug 2008: this spot is still closed.
From the "Rostock" spot S Pankow-Heinersdorf you also have a chance to get a ride to Hamburg.
South towards Dresden (A13)
- Take a train to the S-Bahn station Schöneweide, get out there and walk out of the station, turn right and after 300 meter you'll find two big service stations - although the Autobahn is far away-these are mostly the last possibilities for cars to get petrol - was once crowded with hitchhikers but is normally empty now and works fine! Locals usually stop at the second petrol station because it's cheaper normally. Also, behind this petrol station is a Burger King "Restaurant". If you choose your spot well, you can show a sign both to cars on the street who could stop at the Burger King entrance (but often drive too fast though) and to people leaving the second petrol station or entering Burger King.
However the attendants at the service station will ask you to look for your ride elsewhere and may even call the police. The road leading to the Autobahn is a no stopping zone, so the best solution is to stand near the Burger King, where a driver can pull in. There is no better spot further up the road toward the Autobahn. 2008-08-24: I used this petrol stations quite often and never had problems. What the hell did you do? -Ben
- Alternatively go to S-Bahn station Alt Glienicke. Leave the platform illegally at the east end, then hike over the rails, which will bring you to the B96. The road is also named Am Seegraben. There is a wide emergency lane and a speed limit of 50 kmh. Use a sign to get a lift to Dresden (DD), Braunschweig (BS), Hannover (H), Michendorf or Frankfurt (Oder) (FF) / Poland Poznan. It is not allowed to hitchhike on that spot, though very likely that you will obtain a good lift in short time. Remember: Running over the rails can cost you something around 25 Euro if they catch you.
- Another possibility is to go to Tempelhof S or U Bahnhof (see map), which is easy to reach. Then simply follow the sign towards Dresden (A100). There are two red lights, for people coming from north and south, so they have time to see you. You should ask for A113 or A13, or simply if they are going in the way to Ikea, and get dropped on the petrol station before the big mall (before Waltersdorf, check map also). Bus #263 from S-Bahn station Grünau also goes to/near this petrol station. Please read the discussion page!
- You can also take the S-Bahn to the station Grünbergallee. You'll find a big road and a big hardware-store (called Hornbach). There is a right-going lane at the big road. Just show a sign saying Dresden at the beginning of this lane. Sometimes you can ask drivers at the parking lot of the hardware-store if they can take you to the first petrol station on the Autobahn (this is just a minutes ride). From there you can be lucky, too.
WARNING: If you are going further than Dresden (e.g. Czech Republic), take a look on the Dresden page.
East towards Poland (etc)
- Rasthof Michendorf—Just 30 minutes by 'Regionalbahn' (train) south west of Berlin. You easily get hitches to the east (Poland). Take a train (e.g. RE3 to Dessau, check fahrinfo-berlin.de for route information.) from the center (2.60 EUR). Get off at train station Michendorf. Leave the station at the left side (in direction of the train). Turn right into the Potsdamer Straße, after you pass the bus stop, and walk for 20 minutes. If you want to go east towards Poland turn right after the tunnel (it's a small sandy road through a wood). Follow the road until you are at the restaurant of the service station. This is a long arena so walk around the car parks and petrol pumps to meet potential drivers.
Resources
Drink
At Hauptbahnhof the McDonalds has free refills, pick up a cup and get high on fizzy drinks.
Internet access
Sidewalk express (internet) is located in the food court at Hauptbahnhof, pick up some of the leftover receipts and enter the code, there is usually some time left. This is the internet I'm using now.
Public transport
Blackriding is possible, albeit risky. Controllers are very frequent and wear civil clothes, so they cannot be noticed before the doors are closed. And since they do not receive hourly wage but salary depending on how many people they catch, playing the "dumb tourist" will have no effect on them; they want you in their record. The good news is that even if they ask you to pay the fine on the spot (40 euros), you can say you don't have the money and then you have two weeks to pay it. Or, give them a false address and just never pay it. trash:Berlin wikipedia:Berlin
