huntley

If I buy a train ticket from Berlin to Prague, does it allow me to stop over for free at any station en route, say Dresden?
I assume that if I have a reserved seat, I would be giving it up at Dresden, but Dresden to Prague isn't that far for traveling w/out a reservation.
And a question on Dresden. We dont' have the time to do Dresden justice, but would an hour or two between trains be totally inadequate, even if the intent is to get a quick feel for Dresden? And that brings up the question of luggage. Do most stations in Europe have a left-luggage counter or lockers?
I must say thus far on this forum, all my posts are asking for inforamtion. I hope to be able to take the other side one of these days.

Again, thanks to all of you for your informative postings.
Huntley

altamiro

>If I buy a train ticket from Berlin to Prague, does it allow me to stop over for free at any station en route, say Dresden?
I assume that if I have a reserved seat, I would be giving it up at Dresden, but Dresden to Prague isn't that far for traveling w/out a reservation.

It depends on the kind of ticket you have bought. If it is a discounted "Special", then you are bound to a certain train. If you leave the train the remaining part of the ticket is lost.
If you buy a full-price "normal" ticket then it is valid for 2 months (international) or 1 month (national) and you can make as many stopovers as you like. But this tickets are of course more expensive.

kerouac

Back when there was only one kind of fare (whether it be 100% full fare or a 25% or 50% discount depending on eligibility), any stopover was possible in France as long as you asked for it ahead of time. SNCF fares were based strictly on the number of kilometers traveled, so it made no difference at all to them. Now that train fares have become like airline fares and almost nobody pays full fare, such stopovers have become exceedingly rare.

altamiro

>Back when there was only one kind of fare (whether it be 100% full fare or a 25% or 50% discount depending on eligibility), any stopover was possible in France as long as you asked for it ahead of time. SNCF fares were based strictly on the number of kilometers traveled, so it made no difference at all to them. Now that train fares have become like airline fares and almost nobody pays full fare, such stopovers have become exceedingly rare.

Fortunately, in Germany the system remains as you described it. Most people pay a full fare, most frequent travellers have a discount card entitling to 25 or 50% discount on full price tickets with full flexibility. A few years ago DB tried to introduce a system similar to the French one, but the result was a huge customers' outrage and DB backpedaled - but not without a massive price increase wherever they could get it.

DAX

YES! When you purchase the ticket, request for a 48 hr stopover in Dresden for example. As long as your train ticket starts from a major trin station to another, not including the S/U bahn, then the price is around 30 euros for Berlin to Prague with a stop in Dresden. Seat reservation is extra not part of the train ticket price. So you can add two seat reservations separately. I've done this route twice and didn't bother reserving seats as the trains are relatively empty. Trains get very crowded (wall to wall people)in the former West Germany areas (like Cologne- Dusseldorf)on weekends, that's where seat reservation is a must.

DAX

I should clarify that I was indeed talking about the special deals that DB has for travelling to nearby cities in neighboring countries. I don't thgink you need a seat reservation for Berlin Prague, but because it's a special you need to determine which train you will take from Dresden to Prague. It's a huge difference in cost if you buy regular tickets, as much as 3 times more if I remember correctly.

altamiro

In any case, Huntley,
there are no "European trains" - there are German, French, Belgian, Czech ones... each railway has its own system of ticket validity and fares.

ira

Hi H,

A ticket from Berlin to Dresden and another ticket from Dresden to Prague is almost the identical price as a Berlin Prague ticket, unless you get the 29E special.

If you buy 2 tickets, you can stay for as long or as little as you like.

You can also buy a Berlin?prague with layover in Dresden for 29E.

See www.bahn.de.

altamiro

>If you buy 2 tickets, you can stay for as long or as little as you like

Ira,

there is no need to buy 2 tickets. ONE full-price ticket allows any number of stopovers within 2 months.

ira

Hi A,

Huntley can, if his timing is right, buy two discount tickets for less than the cost of a full fare.

He can also buy a discount ticket for 29E, if his timing is right, with a layover in Dresden.

ben_haines_london

An hour or two in Dresden between trains would not be totally inadequate, and you would have a quick feel for Dresden. Most stations in Europe have a left-luggage counter or lockers

Restaurant car trains leave Berlin main station at 0742 and reach Dresden main station at 0953, then run each two hours. The same trains leave Dresden main station at 0955 and reach Prague at 1227, then run each two hours. So if your Prague hotel is booked you could leave Berlin at 0742, spend 0953 to 1955 in Dresden, and reach Prague at 2227 or Prague main station at 2241.

Prague is full of tourist traps, easily avoided, and the main station has pickpockets in gangs of three, so you do better to leave the train 15 minutes early at Prague Holesovice and carry on to your hotel by metro.

Ben Haines, London
[email protected]

huntley

Thanks, Ben haines.
You say, "Prague is full of tourist traps, easily avoided, and the main station has pickpockets in gangs of three, so you do better to leave the train 15 minutes early at Prague Holesovice and carry on to your hotel by metro.".
What do you mean by, "leave the train 15 minutes early"? Please clarify.
I need to get to Hotel Ungelt in Old Town. What would be the best way to get there?

Thanks

huntley

DAX and Ira,

On the matter of the Dresden stop-over at no addl cost on a Berlin-Prague ticket, can this be done on the E29 special one-way fare? If I buy this on bahn.de now, I have to pick a specific train.
Will I then be able to take that train, get off at Dresden (luggage lockers there?), and then catch the next Prague-bound train?

altamiro

>On the matter of the Dresden stop-over at no addl cost on a Berlin-Prague ticket, can this be done on the E29 special one-way fare?

No - that's exactly the problem with the special offers. You can't.
For that you have to buy a full price ticket.
You can also try an experiment with the website: enter Dresden as a "via" station and specify the time you want to stay there. Enter this itinerary and see whetehr you stil can get a 29 Euro ticket. if yes, you can buy it but you have to stick to this itinerary then.

>Will I then be able to take that train, get off at Dresden (luggage lockers there?), and then catch the next Prague-bound train?

If you buy a 29 E ticket without specified stopover in Dresden your ticket is worthless as soon as you leave the train. You would have to buy a new ticket Dresden to Prague.

DAX

Actually I've done the special ticket with a 48 hour layover twice for the same 29 EUR. Once Berlin to Amsterdam and the other one, Berlin to Prague. There is no extra charge whatsoever. When you enter the place of origin & destination, press the "via" box, then enter Dresden for 43 hour stopover for example. The 29 EUR deal is only valid on EC trains. If you choose the ICE train to from Dresden to Prague, the price will be much higher. Check what time the Dresden-Prague EC trains departs(only a few EC trains per day), then pick that stopover time/departure time that match with another EC train to keep the price at 29 EUR. Let me know if you need help, I just did it last April.

DAX

There are two stations in Dresden, Neustadt is smaller & unrenovated(old/simple) and Hauptbahnhof. Both are equidistant from the Zwinger/Frauenkirche area. Both have lugage lockers. I would spend at least a night in Dresden if you can afford the time, there's a lot to see. There's a ton of hotel rooms. Right across the street from the Hauptbahnhof there is a Mercure that's recently renovated, small rooms but has an avant garde feel to it for 80 EUR. There is also a Novotel & another cheaper Accor hotel nearby. Further north there are better 4-5 star hotels. BTW you can have two free stopover as long as it doesn't change the route and continuing with the EC train. Dresden makes a comfortable stop. I've been there 3 times, there is a lot to see in the surrounding areas as well.

Prague can be extremely crowded, there are times when walking through old town feels like you're just coming out of a large basebal stadium (Wall to wall sea of people). Try to stroll the Charles bridge close to midnight when it's more sedate without the vendors & beggars. Many parts of the city has what people call a hauntingly beautiful feel when you stroll at night. During the hectic day, much of it is masked/distracted by the crowd and commerce. Have a great time !

ira

Dear Huntley and Altamiro,

Att www.bahn.de I entered Berlin/Prague via Dresden with a 6 hr layover in Dresden.

I chose the 29E fare.

The computer gave me the 09:42 EC to Dresden arriving at 11:53 and the 19:55 EC to Prague, arr 22:27.

You can do the same thing with a 24 hr layover, etc.

You don't gotta buy a full price ticket.

huntley

Ira,

Thanks for the info on the Dresden stop-over.

Please see my post on "Need help with printing bahn.de ticket". I actually tried the via Dresden option, but couldn't quite figure out how to specify the stop-over time. Anyway, the deed is done.

We have a reservation on the 15:32 out of Berlin. My wife was concerned about arriving too late at Prague's Holesovice station (across the river, I gather).

Huntley

denis

If you are going to Hotel Ungelt in Old Town, your best bet would be to go to the main train station. If you get off at the Holesovice train station and use the metro, you would need to get off at Muzeum stop (which is near main train station) and change to the green line which goes to old town. Your hotel is within walking distance of the main train station. You are likely to get lost if you go to the Staromestka metro stop in old town. If you decide to go to the main train station (hlavni nadrazi) I can give you directions on how to get to your hotel.

Christina

I think you asked this on another thread, but if you did take metro, you wouldn't go to Muzeum stop or Staromestska stop, you'd transfer to the orange line at Florenc and go one stop to Namesti Republicky. The Ungelt is only a couple blocks from there. That hotel is within possible walking distance of the main train station, but it's not that close to it that I would ever recommend that to anyone with baggage. It's probably about 1 km from the main station. Perhaps Denis is thinking of a different hotel or that it's in a different location. It's right off Celetna not far from the Powder Gate.