Seat reservations on multi-leg trip from A to B

Assuming that your are on the type of train that requires seat reservations, I believe that you will pay for five seat reservations. You pay the supplemental fee for each train you are on that requires it. Note that in many of the European countries, you can ride their basic Regionale trains for no fee at all. Many of these train types don't permit seat reservations and you can just hop on. Note that these trains are the locals, make every stop and do take longer for the journey.

If you are doing a jounrey that requires multiple changes in one day then you are probably not riding the type of train that requires reservations for passholder. There may some routes on IC (Intercity trains) that require a change, say going from Stuttgart to Berlin if you don't want to wait for the direct train. Then you ride 2 separate ICE trains and I believe each would require a separate reservation. This is why passes don't work all that well, unless you are hopping around on regional trains. for longer journeys on the big trains, you can usually do better with discount tickets bought in advance.

Tom, In my experience, when taking a rail trip from "Point A" to "Point B" with (for example) three changes, reservations are usually only compulsory for some legs of the trip. If you check the rail websites bahn.de, Trenitalia), they specify which segments require reservations. If the rail journey takes place in one country, the ticket office will normally provide reservations for each train that requires them (since you'll have an assigned Car & Seat number in each one). If the overall trip covers more than one country, I can't recall how that's covered. It's been a few years since I last travelled with a Railpass. There are usually several train options for each trip from "Point A" to "Point B", so if you choose a trip with a minimal number of changes, in most cases you'll probably only need one reservation. If you're going to purchase your Railpass from ETBD, I'd suggest asking Rick's rail experts to explain the options. They would absolutely be the best source of information! Happy travels!

For some trains (Thalys. Italian Eurostar, etc) the "pass holder reservation" is more than just a seat reservation, but a supplement for what they think is a better train than the rail pass allows. All seats on that train are reserved, so with the supplement you also get a seat reservation, hence the term "reservation". In Germany, very few trains require a reservation. Sometimes, on popular routes, a reservation is strongly recommended, but not required. Reservations are required on ICE Sprinters, which are somewhat rare. For example, I see two ICE Sprinters/day from Frankfurt to Berlin, one at 6:14, the other at dinner time. These trains are non-stop for that route and take less than 4 hours. The standard fare includes the reservation fee (€11,50 in 2nd cl) and is that much more than a regular ICE w/o reservation. It's the same as a pass holder would pay - also what a holder of an open ICE ticket would pay to take the Sprinter. Also, in German, a seat reservation, at €4 in 2nd cl, is good for up to 2 trains in one direction on a single ticket. So, using Sasha's example, Stuttgart to Berlin uses 2 ICEs with a change in Hannover, but you would get reservations for both trains on a single ticket for €4. I did this in 2008 from Cochem to Hannover with a change in Koeln on a single ticket with one reservation fee. Note: last year a reservation, bought separately. was more, €4,50 than a reservation purchased online with a ticket, but now they charge the same, €4, for both.