Maybe Man in Seat 61's commercial site www.seat61.com has an answer to that or email him and several of his site's staffers and ask.

now read that it is best to make a reservation when booking first class..<

curious as to where you read that - not saying not right but would like to know the context whether they are talking specifically about that particular train or trains in general.

And trains these days are becoming more crowded in both classes as rail companies try to stop ferrying empty seats around, especially in 1st class which for years and years pretty much anywhere half full many times. By discounting expected empty seats there are fewer empty seats.

PalenQ this is where I read it :

https://www.seat61.com/trains-and-ro...ljet-train.htm

Tip 4: Seat reservation is optional for a small extra charge, around €3 per seat. If you choose not to add a seat reservation to your booking you simply sit in any unreserved empty seat, but reserving a seat is a good idea in summer or on Friday & Sunday afternoons or at any time in 1st class or if you are a group of several people.

well that is golden from that source - thanks. Always has current and accurate info. thanks!

weird though 2nd class by implication has more empty seats than 1st?

Please report back!

Thanks

The only reason I want to reserve is to try and get a seat of 4 with a table..and when was looking at the plans it seems that there is only 2 carts for first class, so I assume without booking, no chance of getting seats with a table.

Yes, so I was able to access seat reservation today, and first class seats are almost full, there's only 2 carts and the seats remaining are not to my liking. There seems to be plenty of space on second class with almost no reservations on most carts, children cinema cart is interesting.
I guess first class wasn't a good option for us this time.

You can always sit in 2nd class with a first class ticket - board the train and see what's up in first class - no-shows, etc and just sit in 2nd class if nothing in first class. Or reserve now in 2nd class to get block of seats.

curious as to what is a "cart" - table?

Sorry my mistake
Cart=car


>>>You can always sit in 2nd class with a first class ticket - board the train and see what's up in first class - no-shows, etc and just sit in 2nd class if nothing in first class. <<<
Yes that's what we decided as it didn't make sense to spend more on our ticket.

Thanks alot

Children's cinema car sounds great -wonder if there is an English translation or subtitles?

I have been doing a little research on small towns we can visit... It is very important to add that to our itinerary as big cities are too much.

In Munich I'm thinking of adding an extra day in Munich to be able to take a day trip either to Oberammergau or Mittenwald. That day will be taken from vienna as it seems that vienna only has palaces and how many palaces can u see in 3 days? We might just go to one and explore the city in the remaining time.
Or visit Hallstat from Salzburg, then we obviously have to add a day to Salzburg.

Our target is the cozy atmosphere, but welcoming with some tourists. Places like Bamberg and Rothenberg of service tuber which added alot to our trip last time... Last year we went to Gorlitz which was lovely but we felt like outsiders in dresden and Gorlitz...

Hope you can advice if it's doable with the little one, and which of these towns would be more suitable.

In Munich I'm thinking of adding an extra day in Munich to be able to take a day trip either to Oberammergau or Mittenwald.>

To do what? Hike or visit a town? I'd consider Garmisch-P and take the train up the Zugspitze mountain.

Why not do Neuschwanstein as previously wished for - Fussen is a cute town nestled in at foot of Bavarian Alps - few going to the castle ever set foot in it.

We'll be visiting Vienna and Munich this December as well. I have 4, 7, and 9 year old daughters. I'm thinking of taking them to the Zoom museum, the zoo, possibly Prater, butterfly house, natural history museum, and of course the Christmas markets in Vienna. In Munich, I'm not sure yet what to do with them, but we only have one day so I'm sure we'll fill it will exploring.

I had originally wanted to visit Neuschwanstein, but decided against in since I heard it's snowy and potentially miserable in the slush.

Have the best time! It's getting close to our take-off date!

"That day will be taken from vienna as it seems that vienna only has palaces and how many palaces can u see in 3 days?"

A bit of an exaggeration, perhaps. Yes, it is quite possible to overdose on palaces; Vienna was the capital of the Empire and several notable families plunked their stadtvillas, city palaces, hunting "lodges," and garden palaces here, there, and everywhere. But palaces are not all that Vienna offers.

With your 4-year old, there's always the two Christmas markets that I mentioned earlier for seasonal fun. Would a fiaker ride be interesting? For additional ideas, here is the city's tourism page for Families. https://www.wien.info/en/vienna-for/families

Happy Planning!

Thank you for this information..

I had originally wanted to visit Neuschwanstein, but decided against in since I heard it's snowy and potentially miserable in the slush.>

Relatively unusual I think though but if doing day trip check weather and conditions before going. I went once in winter and was well above freezing. But you never know.

My wife and I visited Neuschwanstein in January 2015, spending the night in Füssen. It was overcast with lots of snow on the ground, and no carriage service up to the castle. But the walk was fine on the well-plowed path, and the setting spectacular with the castle framed by the snow-covered Alps. Also very small crowds, which was an extra bonus. For us it was an unforgettable visit.

Rumseydog - sounds delightful - it is an energetic uphill walk but unless physically challenged great. And the whole area clad in snow must be so so gorgeous.