margetia

I am traveling w/a Eurail pass and want to reserve seats for an overnight train from Dresden,Germany to Zakopane, Poland with a train change in Wroclaw. I am running into problems on line and have been trying for 2 days to talk to person on the phone only getting busy signals or redirected to the English person whose line says to call back. I easily reserved seats on the overnight from Koln to Dresden on the DB site but am getting nowhere with the train crossing over into Poland. I have tried some of the other train ticket sites but they won't let me do anything that starts in Germany and ends in Poland. Any suggestions?

Palenque

You should be able to book those seats at any German train station - at least the overnight portion from Dresden to Wroclaw - probably not the portion to Zakopane. Have you tried calling the Bahn.de's English help number (49) 1805 141514 - is that the number you have been trying to call? And if you are not comfy going to Germany without an advance reservation for that night train then you may want to book the sleeper train thru the same agent that you bought your railpass from - would charge a bit more than in Germany i think but worth it for folks wanting everything in order before leaving. some agents however, like rick Steves will not do any reservations however so if not bought your pass see if an agent will do it (saving you a separate mailing fee that would be imposed just for the sleeper reservation alone often). I often recommend byron BETS 800-441-2387 for any reservation - an expert IME and one you can talk - but i would say that it is unlikely that you would have problems booking that train once your arrive in Germany - do it right at Frankfurt Airport train station - assuming you will be in Germany and Koln and Dresden some days before taking that train to Poland.

spaarne

My Thomas Cook Timetable does not show an overnight train for Dresden to Wrokow or on to Zakopane. I second Palenque's suggestion to call B.E.T.S. Byron and Linda are very experienced and helpful.

margetia

thanks for the suggestion! I was calling the 141514# number and when I did get through to ask for English the transfer agents 'were all busy, please call back'. We are still in the states and just trying to tie up loose ends prior to leaving. The total journey will take us over night but yes it is looking like the trip is not a typical overnight w/a change up only at one station. The Germany portion may be too early in the evening to reserve seats and the Polish part...well I'm still working on it thanks for the fresh ideas!

GeoffHamer

As far as I can see, the trains from Dresden to Wroclaw are regional trains so you can't reserve seats.

Palenque

And Geoff, as always, is corrrect - upon checking bahn.de if it says R train it means regional and if it does not say "Please Reserve" in the comments it means you cannot reserve"

And "please reserve" seems to mean you can reserve seats or berths not that it needs to be done - they have a red R for trains that are thought to be in high demand

Sounds like a long ride in an ordinary seat to me - i've done it zillions of times when younger though. Guard your valuables in any regular train car at night IME - the last time i sat in a regular seat on a German overnight train during the middle of the night a suspect looking guy came and sat in my compartment and when the train approached the next station he rapelled out the window (which on that train could be opened) - then an American gal from a nearby compartment started yelling stop him - he's got my money - but he were gone. A couchette or sleeper car has doors that can lock from the inside so are much safer.

Cowboy1968

The leg from Dresden to Wroclaw (which, by the way, may also appear as "Breslau" on the info screens at Dresden station) is not the overnight part. The overnight part will be the train from Wroclaw to Zakopane.
Even though it's just a Regional Express on the first leg, it uses very modern trains with A/C and an open-plan interior (or how would you call the opposite to compartment-style cars?). And the ride is 3 1/2 hrs to Wroclaw, so not that bad IMO.
And no, you cannot get seat reservations for that type of regional trains.

Palenque

OP you do realize that most of that journey is in Poland, which to my knowledge, is not yet a part of the Eurail Pass scheme. The fare your pass would cover to the Polish border from Dresden would be small - you may not want to use a day on your pass for that.

Palenque

Yup just check Rail Europe site and Poland is not included in any Eurailpass - only the Eastern European Pass which covers Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary, Austria and Slovakia - also much cheaper than a Eurailpass - if you are traveling mainly in those countries. Does not cover Germany but again the Dresden to Polish frontier fare is very little i would think.

Palenque

If you do have a Eurailpass and want to use it for the German portion of this train for some reason then take your pass up to the ticket window in Germany and buy the supplemental fare for the Polish segment to Wroclaw before boarding the train so you will have the fare paid for the whole way. If a conductor has to issue a ticket on the train there is often a significant mark up fee for doing so. Or if you make a reservation online or by calling bahn.de then also do this if using your pass for the relatively cheap German portion.