booking train from brussels to cologne
 

Is it possible to book a train ticket from Thalys online or is it best to do at the station?
Traveling from Brussels to Cologne and back, is Thalys the only train to take?
Never did this before and worry about getting ticket in time, etc... Thank you.

For loads of info on buying train tickets for Europe (and the rest of the world), see: http://www.seat61.com/index.html

For schedules: http://www.bahn.de/i/view/GBR/en/index.shtml

No, you do not have to take Thalys, there are ICE trains on that route. Yes, you can (and should, for cheaper fares) buy your tickets ahead of time.

Bruxelles has several train stations, aside from the airport there are Nord (North), Central, and Midi (south)

Thalys leaves from Bruxelles Midi (=South), ICE leaves from Bruxelles Nord (=North). Closest to the city center is the third station, called Central. They are all linked and only minutes apart.

ICE trains go from Nord to Köln, just about as fast as the Thalys from Midi. You can get Thalys tickets for as little as 29 Euros, that's less than I see for equivalent dates on www.bahn.de on the ICE

But search your specific dates

For international train travel originating in Belgium, you should use b-rail.com
It's the official website of Belgian Rail, and it covers all types of trains between - in your case - Brussels and Cologne, so both ICE and Thalys connections.
Unless you want fully flexible tickets you should always book in advance to get discounted fares.

b-rail is Belgian domestic, the website to use for Brussels-Cologne is the Belgian Railways' international site http://www.b-europe.com because this can sell BOTH the 4 daily German ICE trains AND the more frequent Thalys trains, with the full price range for each, and print-at-home tickets.

Booked in advance, the cheap advance-purchase fares start at €19, bought on the day, you're looking at a €51 fully-flexible fare.

Ok, thanks! How about this, i want to take train from Brussels to Cologne, Cologne to Ghent. When I search online, b-europe.com, I do not see an option for a multi-destination
round trip-do I just book round trip from Brussels-Cologne-Brussels, then one-way from Brussels to Ghent. Please forgive my naivete.

You either change trains in Liège-Guillemins or Bruxelles-Midi (Brussels South) to get from Köln to Gent-St-Pieters. I don't think there are any trains that go directly as they all pass through Bruxelles. Round trip plus an add-on is the go. Brussels to Ghent is only a really short hop anyway. A standard single ticket costs EUR 8.70, while the current web special is EUR 5.

Lavandula