Deutsche Bahn and Help With Luggage

Hopefully your "handicap" is only physical, not mental, because you might need to learn a little German for this. German Rail does provide some services (in German) for the "behindert".

Many of the large, more modern stations, but not all, provide elevators between the platforms and the level below, where the connecting tunnel is. If you email me with the specific stations you plan to use, I may have plans for those stations (I have my own library of station plans). In addition, many of the express trains (ICE/IC/EC) now board at platform level, as do some of the newer regional trains on well traveled lines. As for getting to your seat and putting your luggage on the overhead rack, I don't know. However, almost all the time in Germany, the train has not been so full that I couldn't put my bag on the seat beside me.

Thanks for your reply, Lee. I DO speak fluent German, but my main concern IS getting my bags in the overhead rack, unfortunately.

Going from Fankfurt Airport to Rothenburg o d Tauber this December and I DID check into bus service, but the sites I visited either don't take just one passenger or they stop running late October.

I usually just rent a car, but this time thought I'd try the train again.

Thanks
Bill

I took another look at the Bahn page to which I sent you a link, and it doesn't really seem to apply to your case. I did find a page for call-ahead "Gepäckträger-Service", but they only showed 8 main stations where you could do that. Frankfurt Flughafen was not one of them. I certainly wouldn't expect it at Steinach.

I would expect getting on the train with luggage to be a bigger challenge in some cases then what to do with the luggage on the train. Of course, most of the express train (ICE/IC/EC have platform level loading, and some of the regional trains now are double-decker cars with platform level loading, but I don't think you can count on that. The old style couches, where you have to go up several steep steeps to enter the car are still around. (However, the last time I was on the Steinach-Rothenburg route, the were using single-decker couches with platform level loading.)

And, as I said in my previous posting, I have rarely been on a train so crowded that I couldn't put my ETBD convertible carryon bag on the seat next to me. At 64 I guess I'm fortunate not to have a problem stowing the bag in the overhead rack, but realistically, I've almost never needed to. If a train is really crowded, I think you will find someone nice enough to help you with it.

During our 8 weeks of travel in Western Europe and Czech Republic....we were always able to keep out 22" Roll Aboard with us or in the luggage rack at the end of the car secured with a wire cable.

Thanks to both of you for your assistance, and thanks also for all the great knowledge I have gleaned here.

Here's what I have decided, and please let me know your thoughts on this if you would:

1. My check-luggage is 28" expandable and weighs 12 pounds empty.

2. I plan to pack VERY light this trip (light presents for Christmas, wash more clothes while I am there, etc.)

3. Then I plan to practice lifting that suitace over my head, counting on my past bench-pressing days to get me back in shape. :) I hope to keep the weight between 35-40 pounds and THAT is a big change from previous trips.

I think it will also be important for me to keep the weight low because I will need to lift the suitcase as I go down the aisle to my compartment, because I do not believe it will roll through the aisle....

Thanks again!

Bill

I just returned from Europe and traveled exclusively by train. From what I saw and experienced, if you cannot lift your luggage to the luggage rack or even on to the train, you can always get some other traveler to assist you. There were several times, I helped other people. Most people are more than happy to assist you and don't mind doing it.

Bonjour Bill,
Would you consider 2 smaller bags rather than the one large 28"? I realize I am not "in your shoes" but 28" seems large and awkward to me. How long will you be on this trip? Any possibility that just one 22" could work? Just a suggestion.

Bill, You might also consider a "spinner" type suitcase with four wheels on the bottom. You could maneuver one of those down a train isle without having to lift.

I don't have any particular health problems, but I am only 5' tall, so a 28" suitcase would be completely unmanageable for me. If you can possibly do it, I'd go with a much smaller suitcase.

The 22" er had occurred to me as well, but that is going to call for some very creative packing, as I never go home that time of year w/o presents for friends and family.

My length of stay? 1 week (I don't go as a tourist).

Thanks for all the advice and I'll be sure to report back to this thread with how it all went.

B

Bill,

I know that situation. No matter how short my stay I've never been able to go to Germany with just one small suitcase.

However, I prefer using two smaller suitcases rather than one large one. The largest suitcases I own are 24/25". Those are also easier to wheel through those narrow train aisles: I push one small suitcase in front of me with one hand and pull the second one behind with the other hand. Two smaller suitcases are also easier to carry up stairs if the train station doesn't have elevators.

And still, when my suitcase is loaded with books I either ask for help from a fellow traveller to move it up or place it on the rack at the end of the wagon.

Will you have about equal amounts of gifts to carry on your way back? If not, consider taking a small suitcase + a foldable bag (duffle bag or thelike) and on your return put the then empty bag into the smaller suitcase.

As to the suitcases with 4 swivel wheels mentioned here, I would stay away from them. They don't work well on uneven surfaces (e.g. cobblestone) and break easier than the larger wheels on a 2-wheeled suitcase.

Hey Beatrix!

I did the duffle bag thing last year when I used the rental car, and so it wasn't a problem, but this year just my SO is getting gifts so here won't be a problem with weight.

I'm going to try to make it with a 21" suitcase and my small Bauer gym-size duffle and some creative packing.

With just a week's stay, I oughta be able to make that work, dontcha think?

Thanks

B~