My friend and I have the 2 person Eurail Select Pass. When we are traveling from Freiburg to Interlaken, will we just put in the date as usual and the pass take us the complete journey? Also we will go from Lucerne to Innsbruck 1 day; Innsbruck to Salzburg 1 day; and Vienna to Nurnberg another day. Just want to be sure that each time we are only using 1 day of our pass.

<i>Eurail Select Pass
Posted by: nanaof4 on Aug 8, 13 at 5:25pm
My friend and I have the 2 person Eurail Select Pass. When we are traveling from Freiburg to Interlaken, will we just put in the date as usual and the pass take us the complete journey?</i>

Yes put the date on the pass in the European format. Then get on the train and take any empty seat. Read the detailed instructions that came with your pass. See http://tinyurl.com/eym5b for an illustrated introduction to riding the trains in Europe. Frieburg to Interlaken is about 3 hours with 0, 1, 2, or 3 connections depending on which train you depart on. The Basel station is a big place. I suggest that you get the zero connection train at about 11 AM and avoid changing in Basel.

One more thing. You were sent a rail map and compact train schedule by whoever you bought the pass from. For more detailed train schedules see the Deutsche Bahn site http://tinyurl.com/7r9hnxf. It has most of the trains of Europe.

Thank you, spaarne.

Before you use the pass for the very first time, go to a ticket window to have it validated. You'll need to be there the both of you and you need to show the passports. Read the fine print of what came with the pass.

When you travel with the pass, fill in the date in ink - before you board the train.

In Germany, Switzerland, and Austria, you don't have to reserve seats (you can if you wish, it costs extra, the pass doesn't cover the fee). Some people do reserve, so before you sit down, take a look above the seat to see if there is a reservation marker.

Also note that Interlaken has two train stations, East (Ost) and West. Know where your hotel is closet. Ost is where normally long-distance trains arrive and depart.

Basel is in Switzerland, right on the border with Germany and France. The German section of the station is called Basel Badischer Bahnhof, it's a short walk to where the Swiss trains leave from, called Basel SBB. No big deal, no customs and border police these days. Just follow signs or ask.

But if you take a direct train, like the 08:02 or the 11:01 or 13:01, better still. Although Basel is a really cool city, leaving your bags at the station and taking a couple of hours would be a good idea - that's the beauty of the pass, you can do as you please on a day where you are using it.

Equally inviting is the city of Bern, also on the route from Freiburg to Interlaken - the historic center is right next to the train station, in two hours you've walked from one end to the other and back, checked out the cathedral (Münster), taken some pictures of the river down below and the views - very nice!

Trains run all the time, on time, like clockwork, so just get to the station and hop on the next one.

Some great suggestions, michelhuebeli. We just might stop off in Bern. Maybe we can get a really early start from Freiburg, to allow us to do that and still get into Interlaken at a decent time. I do know where our hotel is, and it is near the West bahnhof. Stayed there before.

Maybe we can get a really early start from Freiburg, to allow us to do that and still get into Interlaken at a decent time>

no problem - put your bags in a station locker and walk around the town center - one of the loveliest cities in Europe really but often overlooked since the Jungfrau Region gets all the attention in this area. Check out the Bear Pits - the bear being the symbol of Bern.

For lots of great info on European trains check out these IMO fine sites - www.seat61.com; http://www.budgeteuropetravel.com/id3.html and www.ricksteves.com.

Also note that Interlaken has two train stations, East (Ost) and West. Know where your hotel is closet. Ost is where normally long-distance trains arrive and depart.>

Well Ost or East is the terminus station but West is the main station in Interlaken and all long-distance trains coming from Spiez/Bern will stop at West first then end at Ost - yes where you just off to head for the hills.

Equally inviting is the city of Bern>

and if you do not do the classic 2-hour stop then keep Bern in mind for the not so rare inclement weather day in the Jungfrau Region where muddy trails and cloudy weather negate many options - but taking the train on a day trip when weather is poor is great - especially since Bern has a lot of covered walkways in its town center.