Hanging trains and hip taco joints: Why you should take the European Sleeper to Dresden this winter

DJs play thumping units inside tiny taco joints because the fruity scent of shisha drifts previous Turkish barbers and classy crowds collect outdoors arthouse cinemas. 

Throughout the Elbe river, Dresden’s New City has a very totally different ambiance to its historic core. 

Due to a brand new night time prepare connection, this Bohemian east German enclave has by no means been extra accessible. 

Launched earlier this yr, the Good Evening Prepare by Belgian-Dutch start-up European Sleeper takes you from Brussels to Dresden in round eight hours.

I examined out the route on my return journey again to England. Right here’s the way it in comparison with flying – and why it is best to e-book a seat to discover this underrated metropolis.

Why it is best to journey to Dresden on the European Sleeper

There’s no denying that the Good Evening Prepare is a no-frills expertise – but it surely’s a sensible choice for tolerant sorts who don’t thoughts forgoing some creature comforts.

The social facet is among the many issues I get pleasure from concerning the Sleeper. 

As I get to know my fellow passengers, Laura – a pleasant Belgian who is among the girls in my feminine three-bed cabin – tells me how she loves sleeper trains and even finds their rattling motion soothing.

It’s not for everybody: because the carriages clang and judder their means alongside the tracks, even my trusty earplugs and eye masks can’t tempt sleep. 

And climbing down the ladder from my center bunk within the darkness to go to the bathroom isn’t ultimate both. However the bogs themselves are acceptable – nothing just like the horrors I’ve encountered on in a single day providers in India.

This cabin is a extra ‘deluxe’ possibility, costing round €108 in comparison with couchettes from €69 or seats from €49. 

I recognize the considerate touches, resembling consuming water in plant-based containers, a useful shelf by the mattress, and a complimentary pack of playing cards – I noticed three women taking part in a spirited sport.

How does the European Sleeper evaluate with flying?

In comparison with my flight to Gdańsk, the Polish metropolis the place I’d began my journey, catching the Sleeper has simple benefits.

There’s no faffing with liquids, no lengthy airport queues or sitting round in busy terminals. As an alternative I’d begun my journey at a quiet station, after a brief night stroll from my resort.

Better of all? Trains are rather more sustainable. And whereas flying is faster, there’s one thing extra genuine about travelling by way of nations somewhat than skipping over them. 

As I tuck into my gentle breakfast – included within the sleeper compartment fare – I get pleasure from watching the hazy late-summer sunshine collect over Belgian fields.

Saxony: A wonderland of twee cities, palaces and castles

Dresden is the capital of Saxony in east Germany, the place lavish palaces and castles abound. 

You’ll be able to go to twee cities like Meissen, famend for porcelain-making, and delve into the magical woodcarving heritage of the Ore Mountains – particularly magical across the festive season.

These native crafts make their means into Dresden’s Striezelmarkt, which dedicates every of the Introduction weekends to one of many traditions of the realm.

Maybe the area’s best-known attraction, although, is otherworldly Saxon Switzerland, the place the Bastei Bridge cuts by way of towering sandstone pinnacles. 

I think about this area is delightfully atmospheric within the run-up to Christmas.

Uncover Dresden’s arty facet

Exploring Dresden’s New City, I particularly love the realm’s Artwork Courtyard Passage: somewhat nexus of muralled buildings, courtyard galleries and buzzy eating places strung with fairy lights.

The world additionally boasts Pfunds, dubbed the ‘world’s most lovely dairy store’. This Nineteenth-century jewel is roofed in ornate, hand-painted majolica tiles. 

Pfunds is only one of twenty-two stops on Stadtrundfahrt Dresden, a hop-on-hop-off sightseeing bus.

My favorite cease? Loschwitz, a riverside enclave of red-brick turrets and timber-framed cottages, with cosy taverns and bakeries like Kaffee Wippler. 

Loschwitz hosts two funiculars, together with the weird Dresden Suspension Railway: a ‘hanging prepare’ that has been operating since 1901, the identical yr as its better-known twin in Wuppertal. 

As you ascend the mountains, you’ll uncover panoramic views of pink roofs peeking from tree-clad slopes and the town past.

You’ll additionally spy the ‘Blue Marvel’, a Nineteenth-century cantilever truss bridge that continues to be an engineering marvel.

In the event you fancy a extra stress-free tour, board Dresden’s legendary ‘White Fleet’ of Nineteenth-century steamships, which provide quite a lot of river cruises and day journeys.

No matter you select, whether or not you persist with the town or enterprise past, a go to to Dresden aboard the European Sleeper gained’t disappoint.