Dick Yeager

I'm getting confused. We fly into Franfurt on Thursday, May 16 around 10:00 a.m. We plan to take the 11:57 train (EC) from the airport to Munich. We have a connection in Mannheim to the ICE.<BR><BR>Should we make seat reservations? It's only E2.60/pp so cost is not a factor. Are reservations necessary/desireable?<BR><BR>IT'S GETTING CLOSE!!!!!!!<BR><BR>Dick

greg

I'll let someone answer if there is a special thing going on on this day at this time favoring reservations.<BR><BR>The number of people travelling together and whether you are travelling 1st or 2nd class affects ease of finding seats.<BR><BR>One thing about these express trains are that they are very long. We travelled on a 1st class pass as a party of 3. We never made a reservation and always "eventually" found a seat. Sometimes when we changed the train we just found a first seat available, even in 2nd class because we did not care to walk around looking for a 1st class seat.

cammy

We lived in Germany for 2 years and always got reservations. Not so much, because we feared not finding a seat, but we preferred non-smoking and wanted to sit together and my husband really preferred an aisle seat.

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yes

Yep, get a reservation. You'll have just gotten off a trans-continental flight, will be tired and jet lagged, and won't particularly want to fuss with wandering the train finding a seat. Typically I do not get reservations on German trains, but my travels are in the off season and I travel solo. So save yourself some hassle and get reserved seats.

brownie

Everytime I buy tickets for ICE in Switzerland, they always end up giving me a seat number when charging me for the supplement. <BR><BR>Some ICE trains can be really full so if the cost isn't a factor, why not just do it? I think I would. Though having said that, it isn't necessary as such.<BR><BR>If you don't mind sitting away from your partner/friend or standing part of the journey .. then I wouldn't worry.

Clare

Definitely reserve the seats. There have been times I have travelled off peak and the trains have been full.

Hans H

If it's easy to reserve a seat, do it. If it doesn't work out or you miss the train and therefore the reservation, don't panick. I would be very surprised if you can't find a seat around noon in both trains.<BR><BR>By the way, it's not uncommon that the restaurant isn't full even in quite full trains. Instead of walking the whole train to find a place, you can spend the whole journey there as long as there aren't a lot of people looking for a place to eat. The waiters don't expect you to leave as soon as you have finished your meal or your drinks. A lot of buisiness travellers never bother to look for a seat but head directly for the restaurant.

john

<BR>A seat reservation is not required on either of those trains but it would be a good idea to have one in your situation.<BR><BR>Items: <BR>The train from Frankfurt starts six hours earlier in Hamburg. There is a good chance that many people will be getting off at the airport. Then this train goes on to Basel so it could be busy, and there will be a rush of people getting on. You will not want to be lugging your luggage around looking for a pair of vacant seats. <BR>The connection at Mannheim is 3 minutes. The train to Munich probably departs from the opposite side of the platform where you arrive. Check with your conductor on this, or when you make your reservation; it should give the platform number. <BR>Also, if you have a reservation on that ICE the conductor on the EC should be able to tell you at which zone on the platform your departing car is waiting. Most German train stations are divided into zones labeled A, B, C, etc. Knowing where your car is parked can save you some anxiety.<BR><BR>For more on train travel see my page at www.enjoy-europe.com/hte/chap17/rail.htm. You'll be an expert in an hour.<BR>

Dick Yeager

Thanks for the help, everyone. I'll go ahead and make the reservations. One less thing to worry about.<BR><BR>Dick

Ben Haines

Dear Mr Yeager, <BR><BR>When you have arrived at Frankfurt you can wheel your luggage trolley to the railway desk or the railway station, and book your journey speaking English and paying by credit card. In cases like yours, with a cross-platform change at Mannheim, the computer gives you a seat in the first train that is straight over the platform from your seat in the second train, so you walk the least possible distance.<BR><BR>I agree with others here: I should do it. As you say, it is cheap, and you never know when a trade fair somewhere like Stuttgart is going to put pressure on the train.<BR><BR>Ben Haines, London<BR>