Get me back on track re: German Trains

How long do you plan to stay in Dresden? To build in a stopover with the Dauer-Spezial you have to use the via, but I think your travel has to be completed by 10 AM the following day, so you would have to get up awfully early.

However, I did find a €116 Dauer-Spezial for four people from Berlin (8:35) to Dresden (10:52) on Dec 11. About the fastest way from Dresden to Nuernberg are direct RE (Regional Express) or IRE (Inter-Regio Express), 4hr24min from Dresden to Nuernberg. These leave Dresden every hour at 5 min to (14:55, 15:55, 16:55, etc). Since these are regional trains, all you need are a €28 Sachsen-Ticket and a €28 Bayern- Ticket. Total cost of the trip for four adults (over 14) is €172 ($258 at today's ex rate).

If you are willing to leave at 6:35 EC from Berlin tief, you can still find €29 Dauer-Spezial fares for 4, €116 ($174) total, for 3-5 hours in Dresden.

I've found lots of Europa-Special Niederlande fares at €196 for four from Amsterdam to Berlin. Considering that those fares include Amsterdam to the border, which would be about €125 (for 4) extra with a German Rail pass, they might be a real bargain. You could also get a purchase ahead, Europa-Spezial Niederlande ticket from Amsterdam to just inside Germany for €76, but then, if you are booking ahead online for a specific train, you might as well make it €120 more for all the way to Berlin.

You probably can (well actually Amsterdam to the German border would not be covered. You'd have to pay extra for that), but it will probably cost you more money. There are a lot of discount tickets in Germany. You might be a little late now to take full advantage of them, but Amsterdam to Berlin could be as low as €39 pP with Europa-Spezial Niederlande tickets, and Berlin to Nuernberg could be as low as €29 pP with Dauer-Special tickets, and you could build in a stop, even overnight. Nuernberg to Munich could be done with a Regional Express (RE) almost as fast as with an ICE and would only require a €28 Bayern-Ticket for both of you.

I won't even tell you how many hours I put on the bahn website. What I am finding in from Berlin to Nurenberg (on December 11) for four (no youth discount?) is $403 alone and I can buy the German Rail pass for all four for $624.. When I build in a stop in Dresden, the option only gave me one hour until the train left for Nurenberg. Is there a secret to building in the stop? The Bayern tix will be much cheaper, however, it is only in German on the Bahn website.

I believe this is English. You'll notice that every German state (Land, Pl. Laender) has such a ticket. Click on Bavaria for the Bayern-Ticket. You don't have to buy the tickets online (in fact, there is really no benefit to doing so). The tickets are unlimited in quantity. You can always buy one at the station just before travel. Use an automat. It's €2 at the counter for personal service.

Another question, how long do you plan on spending for you "quick detour" to Elmshorn. I found a connections leaving Amsterdam at 7 AM and getting into Berlin at 7 PM, with a 3 hr stopover in Elmshorn, for €156. You could also leave around 9 AM, get to Berlin at 9 PM, with a similar stopover, for €196.

With respect to the Europa Speziel, I too thought it was a great deal at 196 euro (getting the couchette), but when I clicked to purchase, it went up to 356 euro , but that was on the NS Hispeed site. I see a train leaving Amsterdam at 14:58 arriving in Berlin at 21:15. How do you see the routeline, i.e., stopover as you mentioned for Elmshorn? We are arriving into Amsterdam early on the 9th and was thinking about spending most of the day there and taking the night train to Berlin. I see a train leaving Berlin at 8:35 arriving Dresden at 10:52 for 116 euro and then a train leaving Dresden at 18:20 arriving Nurenberg at 23:34 for 156 euro. I"m wondering if it is more convenient to rent a car prior to leaving Berlin and driving to Dresden and later to Nurenberg?

At 17:55, only 25 minutes earlier than 18:20, there is an RE leaving Dresden. It gets to Nuernberg at 22:19. Since it is a regional train, you can use a €28 Sachsen-Ticket for the four of you to Bavaria and a €28 Bayern-Ticket from there to Nuernberg.

To get the day train via Elmshorn, I put in Amsterdam and Berlin as to and from, put in an early time, 6 AM since it is a long trip, then put in Elmshorn as "Via(1)" with a 03:00 stopover. The best fare I find now is €156 for the 6:58 out off A'dam, a little over 3 hrs in Elmshorn, getting into Berlin at 18:44.

A night train to Berlin won't stop in Elmshorn. What about an evening train to Hamburg, overnight in Hamburg, stop in Elmsworth the next day on the way to Berlin. I found a €156 fare for four from A'dam (16:58) to Hamburg (22:12).

The direct Amsterdam-Berlin night train leaves Amsterdam at 19:01 and arrives in Berlin at 04:21. For 9 December I found a Europa-Spezial Niederlande fare of €69 for a bunk in a four-person couchette.

Another option would be to spend one night in Amsterdam and then travel Amsterdam-Elmshorn-Berlin during the day on the 10th. You can get the Europa-Spezial Niederlande fare of €39 for that route.

For 11 December I found €29 Dauer-Spezial fares for this route: Leave Berlin at 06:35 and arrive in Dresden at 08:52. Leave Dresden at 16:55 and arrive in Nuernberg at 21:20. This gives you eight hours in Dresden (if you want that much time).

"You can get the Europa-Spezial Niederlande fare of €39 for that route."

That is the €156 fare I mentioned above. There are four of them.

"You can get the Europa-Spezial Niederlande fare of €39 for that route."
That is the €156 fare I mentioned above. There are four of them.

Tim - Lee - you guys amaze me, how on earth did you find that? Would you be willing to send me the links to my email at momlawr@sbcglobal.net? Thank you.

The point is, the savings fares are there. You just have to know how to look for them. You can do better than with a rail pass.

Lee - I knew there were four people, but I chose to list the cost of one ticket for both the night train and day trains so the difference between the fare for a night train couchette bunk and a day train seat would be clear.

tina - When you go to www.bahn.de, enter Amsterdam as your departure point and Berlin as your arrival point. Enter date, preferred departure time, and choose the number of passengers from the drop-down menu. Click on "further options." (Do not click on "Search.") On the new page a "Via(1)" field will be shown below the departure and arrival fields. Enter Elmshorn in that field. To the right you'll see a stopover time field. Enter the number of hours you wish to spend in Elmshorn. Then scroll down and click on "Search." On the new page a list of departure times will be shown. Click on the arrow to the left of any departure time to see the connecting points. On the page you'll see a Savings fares column and a Standard fare column. Either click on "Check availability" for the departure time of your choice or click on "Check all." Enter the ages of the passengers and click on "Refresh." Click on "Purchase" for the departure time of your choice and proceed with booking.