and from there we go to Stuttgart. It is cheaper for me if I reserve a specific train. What do you think would be realistic in terms of what time I should reserve a train?

The 7:54 would be a bit early (and involve one change), the 8:54 direct should be more than okay. The discounted tickets are only good for the connection you reserve, so it's a trade-off between peace of mind and money.

Hello OTC:

I assume you will be going to the long distance train station at FRA. Perhaps it's me, but we had a difficult time figuring out exactly how to get to that station after clearing customs and collecting our bags. It had to do with the location of the elevators. Once we sorted that out, the walking time to reach the platform was considerable (at least for an old guy).

If you have made this transfer before, no problem. If not, I would allow perhaps another hour, particularly if you opt for seat reservations. After all, these are hours where you are jet lagged and another hour will not make or break. If you have first class train tickets, there is a DB lounge midway down the escalator to the platforms at the LD station. Nice place to hang out. Good luck. Gradyghost

Have you bought your plane ticket already? There are some airlines (I know American Airlines is for sure) that partner with DB and you can actually buy a "flight" to Stuttgart, which involves your flight to FRA and then a rail voucher for the train ride from FRA to Stuttgart.

I did that 2 years ago when I flew to FRA and onward on train to Nuremberg, all on the same "plane ticket". My ticket was the same price regardless my destination was FRA or Nuremberg. The added bonus is that if my flight had been delayed, I would have been "protected" and got on the next train without any penalty. And I also earned additional miles for the train leg.

We already have our (frequent flyer) tickets so the "plane ticket" is not an option. Hanging out in the DB lounge doesn't sound too bad. I would rather do that for a while than have to rush to the train. Plus, who knows if we will land on time.

OTC, we've take that AA flight from DFW to FRA the last 3 times we've gone to Germany. It was on time twice and late once. The time we were late seemed to be more of a hassle getting thru Immigration. Maybe another flight landed around the same time but we didn't get thru untl almost 8:30 AM so take that into consideration.

Thanks.