fritzrl

I pride myself on being able to pretty quickly figure out public transport in almost any city I find myself in, but I have to admit that the website for the Dresdner Verkehrsbetriebe AG has me flummoxed.

We're staying 3 nights at the Hotel Klosterhof in the Alteubnitz area (looks like a cool place), and I need to get from the Dresden Hauptbahnhof to that hotel at Alteubnitz 12. The hotel website says I can use busline 75 for the short ride, but -- try as I may -- the DVBAG website keeps driving me to use line 66, which appears to stop some distance away from my ultimate destination.

Am I looking at the right website? Is line 75 a myth? Is there a separate website for the trams that might be more helpful and where I might find a stop closer to the hotel? Anyone ever had the same problem trying to map a route with DVBAG?

Suggestions?

Many thanks in advance.

Fritzrl

Michael

According to the web site, the 66 stops 4 minutes walking distance from the address you give. You could Google map the stop given on the transit information and see if that is correct.

yk

Looking at the map, your hotel is a good 5km outside of the old city center. Is there any reason why you're staying so far out; assuming you're visiting Dresden?

We stayed in town and I found this public transit map very handy: http://www.dvb.de/downloads/de/Linie...11-29_topo.pdf
However, it won't help you as your hotel is located way outside of this map.

fritzrl

Hi, YK. Great transit map, thanks -- I'll tuck a copy into my travel 'toolkit'.

Why Klosterhof? Well, a couple of reasons. First, it looks like a really gemuetlich and gastfreundlich hotel, much more so than most 2- and 3-star accommodations I've seen in central Europe. Second, we'll be visiting several larger cities while we're in Germany and Austria, and the majority of our other hotels/pensions are smack-dab in the center of things. We thought it'd be a nice break to sleep a bit away from the urban hub-bub for a couple nights, before we travel on to spend a week in noisy, busy Berlin.

Michael -- thanks for the estimate on the walking time between the nearest bus 66 stop and Klosterhof. It's sometimes difficult to get a feel for how long a walk is just by looking at a map. 4 minutes is completely acceptable, of course, even with a couple pieces of luggage. It'd be a bonus if it's also an *interesting* walk!

Fritzrl

Ingo

Bus 75 is not a myth. Don't know why the DVB website keeps driving you to #66, though. Could it be you arrive at Dresden Hauptbahnhof at a time (late) when #75 is not running frequently anymore?

I'd suggest taking tram #10 from Hauptbahnhof to Lenneplatz, then #75 to Altleubnitz. Should stop right in front of your hotel. Which is btw. really a nice place and IMO not too far outside the city centre. And Dresden has more to offer than just the centre - the bus route passes the Grand Garden and the beautiful 19th century/Art Nouveau residential area Strehlen (stop Wasaplatz). And Leubnitz has a fantastic ev.-Lutheran church, another *must*.

fritzrl

Thank you, Ingo. I was kinda hoping that if I put "Dresden" in the title of my post, you'd contribute your insight. Much appreciated, as always.

It was good to have my choice of lodging validated, as well. Y'know, it's always a risk booking from the web. Even with lots of photos and descriptive text, one always has some forebodings of what actually awaits when one arrives at the check-in counter.

We are really looking forward to several days in Dresden, and in particular visiting some of the highlights I was forced to pass over due to limited time on my last visit.

By the way, is there some *polite* way to tell the proprietors of Klosterhof that the English-language version of their website is....well, so badly translated that it's actually comical. The German text is actually quite elegant and very informative, but an English-only speaker looking at their website might come away with an unfortunate impression of the place. The Klosterhof folks need to know, but I'd hate to hurt anyone's feelings.

Fritzrl

Woyzeck

Fritzrl,

I don't know about that. I once tried to negotiate a lower rate on a hotel by offering to re-translate their awful website into acceptable English. They ignored my suggestion, so I can't say whether or not they were offended. It seemed like a good idea to me.

Enjoy Dresden, a majestic city. Since you're already a little outside of the city center (and interested in getting away from the urban hubbub), consider adding a visit to Pillniz Palace (Schloss Pillnitz)(ca. 8 km east of where you are staying) and its beautiful gardens on the Elbe. Let's ask Ingo if there is a ferry that crosses the Elbe to get to the Schloss on the other side.

While you're over there, if you're feeling adventurous, you can travel about 6 km northwest along the Elbe to the village of Loschwitz, on the way back towards the city center. There, you can ride an old suspension railway car up to Oberloschwitz From there you can take in some beautiful views of Dresden in the distance.

You could then simply cross the bridge back over to the other side of the Elbe and from Schillerplatz, you're only 5 or 6 km by public transit from the city center and a similar distance from your accommodations.

Woyzeck

Ach, I meant to note that the bridge that takes you from Loschwitz across the Elbe is the famous Blaue Wunder bridge, a masterpiece of 19th century technology.

danon

"getting away from the urban hubbub"

urban hubbub in Dresden???

It is a nice town, but hardly a place of much action.

Woyzeck

I was quoting fritzrl's comment. If you read it in context, it's perfectly understandable what he means.

spaarne

<i>By the way, is there some *polite* way to tell the proprietors of Klosterhof that the English-language version of their website is....well, so badly translated that it's actually comical.</i>

The English version of the emergency instructions in my Munich hotel room years ago was similarly ridiculous and funny. I mentioned it to the manager as I was checking out. He peered at me and said "Oh really? I translated it myself."

Thanks for the map link yk. I stayed at the hostel behind the World Trade Center a few years ago. It is an HI place and excellent. Tram 10 goes there from the Hauptbahnhof. The tram system in Dresden is also excellent, being one of the newest in Europe. The city has changed dramatically since I was first there in 1991.

Lunch tip: Paulaner's im Taschenberg Palais.

Ingo

Fritzrl,

you're welcome. I asked the service staff of the public transportation company (DVB) today and they confirmed it is stop "Altleubnitz". From there it is a one minute walk. Btw, the bus makes a loop around the old village's centre and passes the same stop, just on the other side of the street again. So make sure to watch closely which direction the bus runs displayed on the front. #75 alternates between the final stops "Pirnaischer Platz" and "Messe" going downtown. Both are fine for you.

Btw, the parish church Leubnitz-Neuostra is open only on Saturdays in the afternoon and prior/after services on Sundays and holidays. If possible check it out.

I have no idea how to tell them politely that their English website is crap, sorry. It's probably best to tell them during a nice conversation. Maybe you could mention that you used their German website because the English version is not very helpful. I bet they translated it with google or another internet ressource. (I checked it out and it is *really* bad.)

I hope you have a great time in Dresden. Yes, Pillnitz is a must see and yes, there's a ferry from Kleinzschachwitz to Pillnitz.

Tomorrow they open the reconstructed Baroque "English staircase" in the Royal Palace, the new main access to the collections. The recently opened Turkish chamber is also a must. We're making progress

Ingo

Oh, one thing I forgot to mention. Tram #10 stops at a different platform than bus #75 at Lenneplatz. The bus leaves from that platform on the crossing street to you right. You'll see it right away. No big deal.