The five most unusual modes of transport in Germany

If you haven’t lived under a rock in the last month, you’ll know that Germany is launching a mega cheap transport ticket this summer. From the beginning of June, people will be able to travel on unlimited local and regional transport for only 9 euros a month – and the ticket will be valid anywhere in the country.

As everyone is looking forward to the release and this summer, we thought we would look at some unusual ways to get from point A to point B.

Aside from the daily buses and underground trains, you can find some really impressive and whimsical modes of transport in Germany. Here is a summary of some of the most eccentric parts of Germany’s transport networks, from futuristic cable cars to charming steam trains.

READ ALSO: 9 euros for 90: everything you need to know about cheap travel to Germany

Wuppertal Schwebeban

Near Ruhrgebiet in the undemanding city of Wuppertal you will find an inverted train line that will not look particularly out of place in the movie “Blade Runner”.

The Schwebebahn, or suspended monorail, was originally opened in 1901 and runs about 13 kilometers of trail that winds along the Wupper River. For about 10 km the passengers take off on a suspension track just 12 feet above the water, and the last 3 km Schwebeban passes over the streets of Wuppertal and even crosses the A46 motorway.

The amazing view of Schwebeban and the winding river route are not the only things that gave it a cult status. Back in 1950, the circus came up with a bizarre (and very strange) marketing ploy: they decided to take their elephant Tufi to ride the famous train. Schwebeban’s noise and movement were too loud for the frightened elephant, which crashed into the car and jumped straight into the river.

Luckily, Tufi survived the fall, and an incredible moment was captured on camera to make sure the incredible event really took place. She even has her own statue ( Tufstein) sitting in the river, reminding people of her heroic efforts as well as a memorial statue in the city.

Nowadays, Wuppertal’s identity is so closely linked to Schwebebahn that it’s hard to imagine anywhere else. This is ironic, because the developer of the cable car Eugene Langen actually offered it to Berlin, Munich and Breslau to Wuppertal – and the other three cities refused.

Despite its sci-fi appearance, Schwebeban is used every day as part of the regular transport network of about 80,000 Wuppertal residents. If you want to travel to the city of North Rhine-Westphalia in the summer, you can take a ride on the Schwebebahn with a ticket of 9 euros.

READ ALSO: How to explore Germany on a train with a 9 euro ticket

Cable cars

Anyone who has been to a mountain resort in Germany has traveled by cable car – perhaps to get to the slopes while skiing. However, in recent years, researchers are increasingly considering this mode of air transport as a realistic way to fill gaps in public transport networks.

As a symbolic sign of support for this principle, the Berlin government plans to integrate the famous cable car to Marzan. Garden of the world into the city’s public transportation network by the end of 2022. This means that people with the usual monthly ticket of Berlin’s main transport operator, BVG, will be able to hover over the gardens and enjoy breathtaking views of the exotic garden and the former East Berlin for free. (But now the combined ticket to the Garten der Welt and the cable car costs 9.90 euros for adults, 5.50 euros for benefits and free for children under five.)

Similar discussions took place in Cologne, where Fr. Cable car 930 meters long transports passengers across the Rhine from the zoo to the Rhinepark. However, the Cologne cable car is still a tourist attraction and not a regular part of the transport network, and it is unclear whether it will become part of the city’s transport network in the near future. The connection between the two parks is good for tourists, so if you want to ride on it, the return for adults will cost you 8 euros, and the return for children costs 4 euros.

Meanwhile in Bonn, a completely new cable car route is planned which will be fully integrated into the urban public transport system. The 4.3-kilometer route will carry air passengers from the Bewel district on the right bank of the Rhine and across the river to Venusberg. According to current plans, the cable car will stop at five stations: Schießbergweg in Boel-Ramersdorf, Post Tower, UN Campus, Loki-Schmidt-Platz and Bonn University Hospital.

Not to be outdone, the Bavarian capital is Munich formulating your own air transportation plans. The idea is for the cable car to run along an 11-kilometer stretch of the Frankfurt Ring Road from the Fasanerie high-speed train station in the west to Unterföring in the east, crossing the English Garten and the Isar River along the way. However, the plans have faced some hurdles as researchers doubt whether the cable car will really have value for money.

However, supporters of the new line are quick to note that more than half (122) of Germany’s 206 cable cars are located in Bavaria for mountain climbing. “So in which metropolis would a city cable card be more appropriate than in Munich?” They ask.

READ ALSO: How cable cars can improve public transport in Germany

Rosender Roland

Stepping away from southern Germany to the far north, you will find an old-fashioned guy with a great character who can transport you through the island of Rügen.

Rasender Roland – translated as “Racing Roland” or “Racing Roland”) – is a magical narrow gauge locomotive connecting cities in the southeast of the island for over a century. Getting to the southeastern city of Putbus, you will need about an hour to drive to the picturesque Baltic resorts of Binz, Zellin, Baabe and Goeren further along the coast.

Passengers staying all the way can reward themselves with a crunchy fish roll at the legendary fish smokehouse near Göhren station – best enjoyed on one of the windy sandy beaches.

You may be wondering what speed will be considered a “race” for a steam train, and the answer is 18 miles per hour, which is roughly equal to a cyclist’s speed. However, a holiday on an island like Rügen – just like a trip to Racing Roland – is slow and enjoy the trip.

To make it even better, Racing Roland is part of the island’s regional train network, so you can enjoy this unique experience at no extra cost with a 9 euro ticket.

READ ALSO: What tourists who visit Germany need to know about a public transport ticket is 9 euros

Amphibious bus

In the northern port city of Hamburg, the sea has always played an important role. From the time of the Hanseatic League in the Middle Ages to the present day, waterways have brought trade and prosperity to the region, and many ferry routes have been integrated into the transport network to transport people across the water.

However, if you’re looking for something else, look no further than your own amphibious bus in Hamburg, which will take you on a tour of the city’s streets and noisy harbors in one fell swoop.

The HafenCity river bus takes people to the historic warehouse district of Speicherstadt, near the Elbe Philharmonic, and transports people on solid ground to the Entenwerder Peninsula in Rothenburgsort, one of Hamburg’s oldest districts. At this point, passengers will be able to experience its magnificent transformation from a bus to a boat.

Entering the Elbe in the form of a ship, the Riverbus continues its journey upstream, transporting passengers through Tifstak and Bilverder Bay and along the freshwater silt of Holzhafen, where it turns back to Entenwerder.

A trip on the RiverBus is essentially a tour, so it is definitely more expensive than your regular public transport. Adults will pay about 32 euros, and children aged 5-14 – 21 euros.

If it’s too cool, you can still travel by water using one of the many ferries in Hamburg’s public transport network – and they’re included in the ticket price of 9 euros.

Hand machines or “Trolleys”

Back in 1817, an inventor named Baron Carl Dreisin invented what many believe is the early forerunner of our modern bicycle. His Running machine (running car), which became known as Draisine, was a two-wheeled and driven vehicle with human movement that offered an alternative to horseback riding.

Later, the term Draisine became associated with similar devices on the railway tracks, which could be driven by pressing levers or spacing. Apparently, in Germany there are still about 38 of these routes, with the longest in the Palatinate Mountains, a 40 km run between Altenglan and Staudernheim. Luckily, this one is run by pedals – and you can even get one motorized version of the electronic bike – so you don’t have to worry about getting your hands hurt on the way.

Outside the Pflas region you can find hand machines (known as Draisinenbahnen) in every land of Germany – except Bavaria. In Brandenburg, for example, there are many places to travel on the Draisinenbahn: one in Mittenwaldeone in between Tsosen and Melenseeand another to northwest of Berlin in Tyffen.

Although Draisins originally performed an important function in the repair and maintenance of railways, today they are usually private tourist sites, which means they will not be included in a ticket for 9 euros.

However, in some rural parts of Germany they are still the funniest and most energetic way to get from point A to point B, so be sure to look for the nearest one when you are in the countryside.

READ ALSO: 9 best one-day trips from Berlin with a ticket of 9 euros

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