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Travel: Flixtrain to restart service in Germany and add new routes

As parts of Germany reopen for travel throughout the month of May, Germany’s Flixtrain is also getting back on track with new routes, or restarting services put on hold amid the pandemic.

Published: 11 May 2021 11:54 CEST
Travel: Flixtrain to restart service in Germany and add new routes
A Flixtrain in Aachen in July 2020. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Marius Becker

Flixtrain has not operated in Germany since the start of November, when the Bundesrepublik first introduced a lockdown.

It is now relaunching and widening its service ahead of the summer months, and in hopes of offering travellers another option to the federally-owned Deutsche Bahn. 

“We want to build a Germany-wide alternative offer. All metropolitan areas are now connected,” said André Schwämmlein, CEO of parent company Flixmobility.

READ ALSO: When will tourism in Germany open up again?

The company’s Hamburg-Cologne and Berlin-Cologne routes are slated to restart operations on Thursday May 20th – just ahead of national public holiday Whit Monday (Pfingsten) on May 24th – with a service up to eight times a day. 

In June, its Berlin-Stuttgart connection will relaunch. Furthermore, connections to and from Munich will also be featured in the train schedule for the first time. 

From June 17th, a night connection between the Bavarian capital, Berlin, Hamburg will be on offer, although no sleeping or couchette cars are planned. 

A daytime connection between Munich and Frankfurt via Augsburg and Aschaffenburg will start one day later.

Flixtrain’s service announcement comes as more states reopen their for travellers. Bavaria will be reopening hotels and tourist infrastructure on May 21st in regions with low coronavirus numbers.

Other states, such as Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Schleswig-Holstein, have also opened for tourism with restrictions.

Originally, operations with the train service were not scheduled to resume until June 24th, but were brought forward amid an improving travel outlook in Germany, said the company. 

Building an alternative offer

Flixtrain is the rail brand of Flixmobility, which is best known for its long-distance bus brand Flixbus. 

Compared with Deutsche Bahn, however, its offering is still small: With nine token bright green trains, the private company competes against more than 300 high-speed (ICE) trains.

Since winter, ICE trains have been running every half hour, on average, during the day between Berlin and Hamburg – a goal Schwämmlein says Flixtrain is trying to achieve. 

READ ALSO: Trains to travel between major German cities every half hour

But it is not only in Germany that Flixtrain wants to expand its offering: a few days ago, the company announced that it would also be launching in Sweden in the future.

Around three years after launching its long-distance trains in Germany, the company is tackling its first foreign market, with the Stockholm-Gothenburg route slated to be its first outside of the Bundesrepublik.

READ ALSO: Flixbus to take on Deutsche Bahn with low-cost trains from Berlin, Hamburg

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TRAVEL

Explore Austria: Mauer, a charming wine-hiking spot on Vienna’s outskirts

Catch the very tail-end of the wine season and autumn foliage in one of the lesser-explored corners of the Austrian capital: Mauer.

Published: 12 November 2021 17:03 CET
Updated: 24 September 2023 08:20 CEST
Explore Austria: Mauer, a charming wine-hiking spot on Vienna’s outskirts
Beautiful views and cosy taverns await you on the edge of Vienna. Photo: Catherine Edwards

Wine-hiking is an autumn must-do in Austria. There’s the official Wine Hiking Day (Weinwandertag) that usually draws in big crowds, but it’s also possible to follow the routes through beautiful scenery and wine taverns on your own.

Mauer in the southwest of Vienna is one of the routes that is mostly frequented by locals.


The footpath takes you through scenic vineyards. Photo: Catherine Edwards

You can reach this part of the 23rd district using Vienna’s public transport, and you have a few options. From the Hietzing station on the U4 line, you can take the tramline 60 or bus 56A. The former will take you either to Mauer’s central square or you can get off earlier at Franz-Asenbauer-Gasse to start the hike. If it’s too early in the day for wine just yet, you could start your day at the small and charming Designo cafe (Geßlgasse 6).

Otherwise, the residential area itself doesn’t have much to see, but keep an eye out as you wander between the taverns later — there are some beautiful buildings.

To start the hike, head west along Franz-Asenbauer Gasse, which will take you up into the vineyards, growing some red wine and Vienna’s specialty Gemischter Satz or ‘field blend’, which as the name suggests is a mixture of different types of grapes.

Photo: Catherine Edwards

The paved road takes a left turn, but the hiking route follows a smaller path further upwards. Here you’ll have magnificent views over the whole of Vienna.

If you stick to the official hiking route (see a map from Weinwandern here) you can keep the whole route under 5 kilometres. But more adventurous types don’t need to feel limited.

You can also follow the Stadtwanderweg 6 route (see a map here) either in full, which will add on a hefty 13 kilometres, or just in part, and venture further into the Mauerwald. If you do this, one spot to aim for is the Schießstätte, a former hunting lodge offering hearty Austrian meals.

EXPLORE AUSTRIA

In any case, you should definitely take a small detour to see the Wotrubakirche, an example of brutalist architecture from the mid-1970s built on a site that was used as a barracks during the Second World War.

Not far from the church is the Pappelteich, a small pond that is not only an important habitat for local flora and fauna, but a popular picnic spot for hikers. Its only water supply is from the rain, and due to climate change the pond has almost dried out in recent years, prompting the city to take action to boost its water supply by adding a permanent pipe.


The church is made up of over 150 concrete blocks. Photo: Catherine Edwards

What you really come to Mauer for, though, are the Heuriger or Viennese wine taverns. 

The most well-known is Edlmoser (Maurer Lange Gasse 123) which has previously been named as the best in Vienna. Note that it’s not open all year so check the website, but in 2021 it should be open between November 5th and 21st, and is also serving the goose that is a popular feature on Viennese menus this time of year.

Tip for translating Heuriger opening times: look for the word ausg’steckt, which is used by those taverns which aren’t open year round. They will also often show that they’re open by attaching a bunch of green twigs to the sign or front door.


Buschenschank Grausenburger. Photo: Catherine Edwards

Also worth visiting are cosy Buschenschank Grausenburger (Maurer Lange Gasse 101a), Heuriger Wiltschko (Wittgensteinstrasse 143 — located near the start of the hiking route, this is a good place to begin your tour) and Heuriger Fuchs-Steinklammer (Jesuitensteig 28).

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