Hi. I'm planning a bucket list trip to Germany May 15 - Jun 6 with my college roommate. We're both seasoned European travelers adept at and comfortable with traveling around Europe by train. That's what we'll do. We can do our homework ahead of time comparing likely itineraries and point-to-point tickets vs the various kinds of passes we can buy, and we'll do that also.
At the moment, I'd like current up to date experience and advice on how far in advance one should reasonably book seat reservations in first class if we are planning on using some sort of pass rather than a point-to-point ticket. I know how to do that when the time comes. All I'm asking now is: is it practical, on most long distance routes such as between Munchen and Berlin, or Berlin and Koln, to pick a train we want to take "the next day" or even the morning we want to go, and wait till that close, or even as late as when we get to the bahnhof, to see if seats are still available on the train we want?
Or
do seats typically get all booked up more than a day or so ahead of time, and we might need to pick trains and book seats further in advance than the day we want to travel or the day before?
In addition to Germany, we'll do one leisurely day trip from Munchen to Wien, and I'm inclined to think that we'll just do that with point-to-point not with a two-country pass.
Thx in advance for any and all opinions and advice!
Keep on trainin'!