Bahnhof Altona

I love everything about trains. I love waiting for the train, I love taking the train, I love the sound trains make when they go by, pull in and out of the station and the whiz of a breeze going through an empty train tunnel.


This said, you'll understand how much I hate Altona Bahnhof. It is smelly. It is dirty. It is disorienting. It has dangerous-looking beggar-punks hanging out at exits. When here, I am constantly conscious about the possibility of getting mugged.


The main level has about 10 different exits, some of which lead in different directions, some of which lead to the same place. Signs leading to trains are confusing. Finding the toilet requires a treasure map.


This is really quite a shame since Altona is a really nice part of the city and the specific area in which this station is situated is a lovely shopping district. They should really shape up this station and give it a makeover to fit the rest of the area

Now that I live in Altona, I no longer get confused by the underground maze that is Altona bahnhof. However, I distinctly remember the confusion of my first trips to here. I think the confusion comes from the vast underground sprawl. It basically extends a long way in every direction but with no real corridors or form, just lots of stalls and columns.
At one end of the station is a McDonalds and Lidl, which while convenient, are generally blighted by a bunch of semi-menacing looking bums and punks.
The mainline Deutsche Bahn station upstairs is much cleaner and easier to navigate. Apparently they want to tear it down though because the tracks don't go through the station, so all trains have to pull in and then back out, doubling back on themselves.