rail travel with large bags from Munich to Berlin

There are luggage racks in every carriage.

Maybe what they meant is that there is no one to help you with your bags, i.e., no porters like they had in the old movies. You have to wrangle you bags on and off the train yourself. And there is no dedicated reserved space for your bags at your seat. You share the storage space usually at the ends of the car.

I thank everyone for trying to help. You should know that i am 70 years old now so this luggage issue is difficult for me. It,s not about overhead racks, it,s about 3 pieces of checked luggage on the plane from Toronto..one piece rather large
it,s prob also about porters but, more than that, can the DB take my suitcases or should i abandon the e whole rail plan and do something else? or...do i have to pay for extra seats? Or, should i pay for 1st class...i already have a ticket for 2nd class paid for in Toronto? I am on a pension. Much appreciated are all your responses. Any suggestions are truly appteciated.

First class does not give you much more space than 2nd. Depending on the train, the only difference is likely to be 3 seats across vs. 4 or a compartment.

Here is a link to the slower InterCity (IC) trains. These slower trains have both newer and old style 1st class compartments. Your ticket could be for a refurbished or an unrefurbished train.

You may be misunderstanding what people are telling you. As you look at the InterCity train pictures, notice the luggage racks. That's where you put the big bags. You put the small ones on the racks over the seats. No bags are allowed to be in the aisles.

If you decide to bump up to a 1st class compartment thinking there'd be more space for your luggage, keep in mind that you may not be the only one in it. Especially on an InterCity train, people could get on and off at every stop.

It is true that there are no porters and there's no luggage car. You must manage your luggage on your own. If you are flying home from a different city than Munich, you'll either need to take all that luggage to that city or ship some of it home from Munich so you don't have to struggle with it. If you're returning to Munich to fly home, you can probably find a place to leave some of it until you return.

I'm 73 and I'm long past the age of being able to manage multiple and large bags. I take a small 2-wheeled roller bag and a much smaller cross-body bag.

If you are going to be on the same train the whole trip, without any train changes, secure your bags to the racks as best you can and watch the German world go by.

If you have to change trains, get your bags to the exit before the train stops so that you can get off quickly and get to your next train in time to board. Realize that there's typically not much time to do that and that you may have to go up and down many stairs to get to your next train.

Now, it is true that you are supposed to be able to manage your luggage on your own. However, I've learned that the grayer my hair gets, the more likely it is that someone will offer to help me.

I find the time I need the help most is going up and down the steep steps getting on and off trains. I like to think people are being nice to the old lady, but they probably just want to get me out of the way so they can get on or off. I really don't care which it is, these days I'll usually take the help.

My wife investigated this DB Courier service for our skis and bikes when we lived in Europe, but we never got around to trying it out.

https://www.bahn.de/hilfe/view/pk/en/gepaeck.shtml

In case the link doesn't come up for you it says:

"You can buy courier tickets at bahn.de

Your can order the Hermes courier service up to 12:00 hours on the working day before the luggage is collected. It normally takes 2 working days for the luggage to be delivered. The delivery time is extended by a working day for the island and airport service.

Simply enter the date your luggage is to be delivered in the booking form. The collection date is then calculated automatically. If the order is made more than 5 days before the collection, you will be notified by Hermes in writing of a collection time between 8:00 and 18:00 hours (Monday to Saturday) which is accurate to four hours. And if it needs to be a little later, you can arrange for your luggage to be collected or delivered from Monday to Friday between 17:00 and 21:00 hours with the evening service for an additional charge.

If there are less than 5 days between the order being made and collection, Hermes will gladly inform you of the exact time of collection. You can contact Hermes directly one working day after the order has been made. The appropriate telephone number can be found on the courier luggage ticket. If you should unexpectedly have more luggage items than announced, the Hermes driver will simply issue you with the additional tickets which you need.

Your luggage will be delivered in the agreed time. If you are not in when the Hermes driver calls, he will leave notification. This tells you when he will come by again or whether he has left your luggage with one of your neighbours.
You can order the Hermes courier service up to 12:00 hours on the working day before the luggage is collected. It normally takes 2 working days for the luggage to be delivered. The delivery time is extended by a working day for the island and airport service.
Simply enter the date your luggage is to be delivered in the booking form. The collection date is then calculated automatically. If the order is made more than 5 days before the collection, you will be notified by Hermes in writing of a collection time between 8:00 and 18:00 hours (Monday to Saturday) which is accurate to four hours.

If there are less than 5 days between the order being made and collection, Hermes will gladly inform you of the exact time of collection. The appropriate telephone number can be found on the courier ticket.
When the luggage is collected you will receive a band label with the following data for each piece of luggage:
- Sender and receiver address
- Order number
- Amount in euros
- Collection and delivery data
- Number of luggage items

The form is only available in German at present. Deliveries can be made to any address within Germany, including the islands, and to some neighbouring European countries. To transport luggage outside of Germany please contact the DB Travel Centres or DB Agencies or the Service Hotline 0180 6 99 66 33 (20 ct./call. using a landline in Germany, 60 ct/call for mobile phones).

Important: your order has to be been received by 12:00 hours at the latest on the working day before the luggage needs to be collected."

The form should be at:

https://www.bahn.de/p/view/service/gepaeck/hermes-paketshop-service.shtml

Take this information to your hotel concierge and arrange a hotel to hotel transfer, with only your smallest bag holding what you need for the days you will be without your big luggage.

Good Luck. Have fun!

If you choose 1st class, more space is available for your luggage. That's one of the advantage of going 1st class on the ICE.

That's true Fred, but NM (our OP) said she isn't using the ICEs.

NM, I wonder how you get the three pieces of luggage (one extra large) from the plane to your hotel in Munich?

Surely you have already found a way to manoeuvre these three pieces through Pearson airport, and through Munich airport to however you got to your hotel.... how did you do it?

Do the pieces all stack?

How big are these?

Is one a backpack that you can wear?

I've just thought... are you travelling with somebody else? Or are you on your own?

If you will be on your own and will be in Berlin for long enough perhaps the Hermes service makes the most sense...

Where will you be travelling after Berlin?

Nigel, i used porters, a taxi and a taxi man. Other times, say in Greece, the men are gentlemanly enough to help me, esp to get the bags off the conveyor belt at the airport. This is the 1st time i,ve tried to travel by rail since 1972. And no, my bags aren,t stackable and a backpack is for students. This amount of luggage may seem big to you now but i,ve travelled with 3 lsrge pieces before
and via plane it was no problem nor were there weight restrictions.

There must be people moving their belongings via train now....still?

This is an answer to that other person who criticised my luggage. Apparently you do not how formal the Greeks are at Easter and how many presents must be given. In addition there was a name day birthday with a big party iin an elegant house not to mention a Christening. Clearly you do not appreciate cultural ecpectations. This was not a hitch hike, sun and fun tourist holiday and...i wasmthere for more than a month plus the 2 times in Berlin and once in Munich. I hope thst clarifies.

Thank you everyone for trying to help. I shall keep yhat shipping info handy esp if i plan to move to greece.

As people have said, you can take luggage on a train in second class. The front and back of each car has a luggage area. You just have to get it on the train by yourself.

There us a company called “send my bag”. You can arrange for pickup in Munich and delivery to Berlin of your suitcase (s). I checked from Italy to U.K. and it was $35 per bag. Doesn’t have to be reboxed or anything.

Your's is a typical case for the Christian Railway Mission ("Bahnhofsmission" in German), which is active both in Munich and Berlin. One of its tasks is to help elderly or disabled people get on and off the train. Contact them at +49 89 – 59 45 76 (Munich), and tell the taxi driver to bring your luggage to their office opposite track #11 (only a few steps from the southern entrance); for Berlin call +49 30 22605805 or ask your hotel to do so for you.

Thank you, Sia! Finally a solution which looks simple. I spoke to the hotel here and they,d never heard of it but they urged me to ask them tomorrow to call the tel number you suggested. I am inMunich. I hope that tel number will work here.
xxx

Just point the hotel desk people to the respective web sites:

Munich: https://www.bahnhofsmission-muenchen.de/
Berlin: https://www.bahnhofsmission.de/index.php?id=99&woher=3&bm=111

I have to assume you are taking an ICE train. Those are the only direct trains between Munich and Berlin. I guess you must not be taking the limited stop service that does it in 4 1/2 hours.

There are no longer porters (Gepäckträger) in Germany.

There used to be luggage carts similar to those available in airports in the big German train stations, such as in Munich, Frankfurt, Leipzip, Hamburg, etc called "Kofferkuli" I've not seen one in ages, ie, they most likely do not exist anymore.

SIA.....danke sehr sehr viel ... can one say it like that, i wonder. I spoke to a lady at Reception this time and she called the number you provided and arranged everything, even the taxi! I truly appreciate this. My arms are still recovering from bruises from wrestling that luggage. But now i feel relaxed and refreshed knowing i can meet the long trip with confidence. Kisses and smiles...have a lovely day

Happy you found a solution. I hope we are still traveling Europe at 70.

SIA.....danke sehr sehr viel ... can one say it like that, i wonder.

At least i can understand it perfectly! ;) Thank you so much. Have a nice trip!

It is so extremely heartwarming to see a problem solved like this on the forum. A traveler had a real need and there was someone with the correct information to meet that need. I love this about the Rick Steves Travel Forum and all the wonderful people here.

This is wonderful. This gives me hope of traveling forever...!