By the end of the year, České dráhy (ČD) will remove the dearly beloved Eurocity “Knödelexpress” bistro coach from trains running between Berlin and Prague. ČD is abandoning the old dining cars after their nearly 30-year run. The scenic four-hour long journey along the Elbe through Dresden and Ústí nad Laben makes it one of the most beloved train rides in Europe.
The old bistro coach is replete with retro-charm: lit by frosted glass orbs, and fitted with folding red faux-leather seating and the otherwise standard train tables are lovingly draped with white tablecloths and red doilies.
Once you’ve crossed over into Czechia, travellers also enjoy significantly cheaper prices their knödel (knedlíky in Czech) is cooked in-house and costs just €9.10. Resembling slices of an underbaked baguette, these Bohemian bread dumplings topped with cream sauce and cranberries often accompany roast sirloin as a side dish.
Don’t let their appearance fool you – knödels are juicy and hearty. But leave room for menu’s apple strudel and pancakes. They’d even serve you a freshly-poured glass of Pilsner Urquell on tap for €2.60 – if you could manage to grab a seat between the several passengers dutifully documenting their meal on Instagram.
Sadly, all of this nostalgic kitsch is coming to a close. ČD will slowly replace the cozy, doily-adorned carriages with slimmed-down “ComfortJet” cars, furnished with all the charm of a budget airline’s economy class, offering reheated meals and a more limited menu to match. The new cars will cut the capacity from 30 to 18 seats and while they’ll still serve knödel, it won’t be cooked on-board.
But the “Knödelexpress” isn’t gone yet – ČD will transition to the new bistro carriages over the course of the next few months, meaning that you still have time to savor your last bites of fresh dumplings.
To check if a train still has the old dining car, search for trips between Berlin and Prague on ČD’s website. There, you’ll find a list of different trains and their respective times – clicking on the train’s name will show you its layout. Hover over the bistro coach and if you see “WRmz 815,” your train will have the older model.
Good luck and if you miss your chance, all hope isn’t lost. ČD won’t fully discard the old dining coaches, instead relocating them to routes owned by Hungarian and Polish railways – two countries with solid dumpling traditions of their own.
- EC “Berliner” runs several times a day on the Kiel/Flensburg/Hamburg-Berlin-Prague route, times and tickets are available from Deutsche Bahn and České dráhy.
This article was translated from German.
