Riding the Wuppertal Schwebebahn
Wuppertal is connected to the other cities in the Rhine area, but also has its own transportation system the Wuppertaler Schwebebahn. The Schwebebahn is a suspension railway, the trains arrive and leave at elevated stations. The tracks follows the Wupper river most of the time.
The Schwebebahn is the oldest elevated railway in the world yet looks modern. Visitors who expect classic trains will be disappointed. Although Wuppertal has museums and a zoo the train is considered by many to be the main attraction.
There are other suspension railways in Germany but are used as either a replacement for a cable car (Dresden Schwebebahn) or only serve few stations (H-Bahn in Düsseldorf).
This year I decided not to stay at the Mac trade show for hours, but to travel afterwards. My choice was Wuppertal given its proximity to Cologne (30 to 45 minutes by regional train). The train didn’t feel like a piece of history to me but I always wanted to ride this very special train. For the locals it’s just a regular train.
