Tips wanted for German trains!

Hi,

Watch what the others do with their luggage, just do likewise. Spend a day or two visiting Göttingen, I was there only once in 1987 visiting the city, am sure it has changed since then. That image of "moving all the worldly goods" is inaccurate. True that the train esp the ICE can be super crowded but not because of one group having a ton of luggage, monopolising all the space. You take enough ICE trains, still you don't run into that.

Most tickets that you purchase from Bahn ticket machines come with the date and time printed on them and don't have to be validated (in fact, they are usually too wide to go in the cancelling machines). There will probably be a conductor on the train to stamp the ticket.

Depending on where you buy them, some tickets in metro districts (Verkehrverbünde) are open, undated tickets. (People often buy several of them to keep in their pocket for when they want to travel.) These tickets must be validated before use. They will have something like "Hier entwerten", with "arrows" printed on the end of the ticket that goes, face up, into the machine. Some times there are just arrows (triangles) pointing to the end. A good rule of thumb, "if it fits, stamp it".

All-day passes, like Bayern-Tickets, will have a line on them, with the word "Blockschrift". One person, who will always be with the group, has to print his/her name on the line to prevent the ticket from being passed on to another group after use.

If you have purchased train specific tickest in advance, online, all you will need is the printout of the pdf file AND, as ID, the credit card you used to purchase the ticket. The Bahn card might be sufficient ID, but to be safe, have the credit card with you.

As for luggage, most trains have open racks over the seats. That's where I usually put my less-than-fully-packed, 12#, non-wheeled carryon bag. I don't know if the racks are wide enough for an external frame backpack or rigid roll-on bag. Most trains, even ICEs, that I have been on have had empty seats where I put my bag. When nothing else is available, I can hold mine in my lap (an advantage to light packing). There is sometimes spaces between the backs of seats and/or at the end of the coach.

We were able to put our bags on the racks above the seats. The trains each have their own configuration, but we never had any difficulty putting our luggage up on the rack nearby. One train had a large luggage area at the end of the car that people with monster sized bags used.

Here is a short video clip fom RS' Travel Skills series; this one concerns train travel. You'll see what the luggage situation looks like.

Unless your backpack is tiny, I imagine it will be too large to carry onboard your airplane. You may need to take precautions before checking it, too. You should probably do a quick search on how to prepare your external frame backpack for checking it with your airline. Some people put them in duffle bags to protect them, but at the very least you'll need to secure all straps, etc., so they don't snag on anything. If possible, remove the frame and carry it on...whether you need to check your bag or not. It's probably aluminum, and aluminum frames can get bent :-(

Have a great trip!

We've always been able to place our small suitcases above our heads in the train. I would pack whichever one is the lightest to handle & carry, but I think it would be fun for sentimental reasons to take the backpack.

If your train ticket has a seat assignment printed on it, you'll know that it doesn't need to be validated because it's only good for that specific train & time.

For local transportation, it will vary with the validation. Some cities you need to do this like in Heidelberg, Berlin, Munich, and others you don't, like in Frankfurt or Mainz. I don't think you have to do this in Würzburg either. If there is a little machine on the tram or train, watch other people and see what they do. When all else fails ask. Works rather well to keep from making a mistake. They just raised the fine in much of Germany to 60 € as of 1 August, for not having a valid ticket.

There are luggage racks at the end of each train car, some seats have spaces behind them, but usually you can put your bag in the overhead rack.

Thanks for the suggestions, folks, the trip went mostly well. I took the old external frame and, although it was a little unwieldy, it for on the luggage tracks above the train seats without issue. I never had to validate a ticket, either I had a PDF printout of a ticket that I purchased ahead of time or I bought one from the machines. Both worked fine.

My initial flight with Delta was delayed and then canceled. They rerouted me through London, but sent my bag through Atlanta. It arrived the day after me. If I had taken the carry on roller bag this would not have happened, but it wasn't a big issue and I was glad to "share" the trip with the bag that my Dad gave me so long ago.

Hi, for trains in Germany try Goeuro.com and or fromatob.com the second does direct booking for DB... last if you can get a group go to the db.de website as group tickets are a fraction of the price and you can only get them with db.

PS this summer they have an special of 29.99 to go from and to anywhere inside Germany.