I am traveling to Germany in October and this German Rail Pass 25% off promo almost tied up my p2p ticket projected expenses. With the flexibility a pass gives, it might worth to buy.
I have two questions though:
They are charging me at the end of the process in bahn.com about 2-3 euros for shipping expenses, and when making the same process they are charging me almost 16$ for shipping at germanrailpass.com . I guess the first fee may not cover sending them to South America (by the way, I am sorry for my English grammar as it is not my native language), when I reside, so
Question # 1: Do they give options to print the pass at home when purchasing it or you have to receive the pass at your oversea's country?
My first trip is Amsterdam-Köln (fast city walk, cathedral walk) and then Bacharach. That leads to my
Question # 2 : Can I make the reservation for the ICE train (as these are required with the promo) from the Emmerich or Oberhausen (German border city/first German stop for the ICE) to Koln stretch (covered by the pass) and at the same time buy a ticket to the Amsterdam-Emmerich or Oberhausen (not covered by the pass) at the same DB office in Amsterdam Centraal? This is very important because I will not want to leave the train at Arnhem or Emmerich to validate my ticket or wait for another train.
Finally, thank you to all this wonderful traveler's community, I don't write a lot but I read it periodically to provide extra and updated information to supplement RS's Guidebooks.
No, you can never print a rail pass at home; it must be shipped to you or printed at a German train station. Yes, you can buy both tickets seat reservations for either country at Amsterdam Centraal station.
Thanks Laura for your reply, it is very helpful.
Whenever I buy the German Rail Pass, I never had to pay for shipping. Of course, it takes a week or so. If you get off at Emmerich or Oberhausen, you won't be waiting long for the next train to Gemany.