As any of you who have read some of my previous posts know, I suffer greatly from train ticket trauma. Just cannot "get" how the myriad array of train passes work, especially for non locals like me. Well, we will be spending several days in Munich in December and the plan is to go to several surrounding cities to see their Christmas markets, so I have got to conquer my fear and make the Bavaria pass work for us. So here's what I would like to get your help with--so please check my work and tell me if I've got anything wrong and need to alter my plan.

I am a US Citizen not a German Citizen but I can still buy a Bavaria pass--right?

Passes are good for one day so I will need to get one for each day I travel, i.e. I do not buy one pass to cover multiple days-- right?

I can buy passes from machines at the train station and some subway stations, etc using my credit card--right? Do the machines automatically stamp the date on the ticket so that I have to buy them on the day I travel or can I purchase several on one day to cover all my expected needs without them getting dated by the machine until I go to another machine on the day I intend to use them and then stamp the only one I'm using that day? (Did I say that train travel traumatizes me?)

" I am a US Citizen not a German Citizen but I can still buy a Bavaria pass--right? "

That's right, Anyone can buy and use a Bayern-Ticket.

" Passes are good for one day so I will need to get one for each day I travel, i.e. I do not buy one pass to cover multiple days-- right? "

Right.

" I can buy passes from machines at the train station and some subway stations, etc using my credit card--right? "

Train stations sure. If your credit card works in Germany you can use it.

" Did I say that train travel traumatizes me?"

Well, you can't say that train travel is traumatizing you as you have not even travelled by train yet. It's travel planning and getting the information which is traumatising you, but that's really not necessary to stress about. Would you simply go to the ticket office in Munich and tell your travel details they'll let you know your options and sell the best/cheapest ticket for your needs.

Passes are good for one day so I will need to get one for each day I travel, i.e. I do not buy one pass to cover multiple days-- right?

The Bayern Ticket is valid as follows.

• From Monday to Friday from 09:00 until 03:00 on the following day
• On weekends and on public holidays the ticket is valid from midnight

I can buy passes from machines at the train station and some subway stations, etc using my credit card--right?

Right. it's so easy you'll wonder why you were so worried. I believe you can also book using the DB app on your phone if you set up an account (I've not tried this myself yet).

Don't worry - it's a piece of cake.

Hi JulieVikmanis,

Yes, when you buy the ticket, it defaults to "today," so before you purchase, make sure you are buying for the correct day. I usually buy the Bavaria Ticket on my smartphone using the DB app. I had a funny thing happen last week -- I had been researching a train trip in the future, and the app was set for that future day. A few days later, I bought a Bavaria Ticket for, I thought, that day. But because the app was set for the future day, I actually bought the BT for that future day. So just check that you have the right day, whether on the machine, the DB website, or the DB app. And note that Germans use the day.month. year format, so for instance, tomorrow will be 9.8.2019.

Also, if you print out the Bavaria Ticket, you must write in all the names of the travellers. This is what helps against fraud. If the names aren't on it, the BT isn't valid. If you buy the BT on your smart phone, you don't need to do that.

Have fun as you plan!

s

Swandav, Hope you were able to use your mistakenly dated ticket. That's the kind of thing I worry about whenever I do train ticketing.

Thanks to all of you for your help and confidence building.

Thanks Julie, but no. I wasn't travelling that future day so had to eat it. But it's not a huge amount -- thank goodness!

s