Bahn - (49) 1805 141514 - English info folks have said was very helpful

Thank you Palenque. I wish I'd seen this sooner. I just tried the number listed on the bahn site, & the languauge was quite a barrier. I'll call again.

Well, I tried to call...Unfortunately, both times the line to the English speaker were busy & I didn't want to hold. My German is so bad. I am embarrassed...

Does anyone know how to pronounce jemand? I was able to get this off of the babel fish website. My college German served me ok w/ every word but jemand.

Chapter 10.8 Reflexive verbs (1) - Paul Joyce Beginners' German
The word jemand is the German word for somebody. In the accusative case (as here), it adds "-en". To use the verb, simply replace jemanden with the ...
userweb.port.ac.uk/~joyce1/abinitio/chap10-8.html

Ok, but phonetically, how would one "say" the word?

Elaine, when is your trip? Is there a reason you don't want to purchase the rail pass on-line?

elaine - sorry i over read the pronunciation part. Scratch it.

plenty of folks here have purchased tickets from bahn.de without any real problem it seems

I bought a pronunciation book today! Jemand is pronounced yeh-mahnt!

Dutch, there really is no reason not to purchase online. I'm just being a bit paranoid about something happening right before we leave. We had an unexpected death a few years ago before our trip to Scandinavia & it was SO expensive getting everything rebooked. For this trip, our airline & hotels can be rescheduled. The train tickets would be the only cost not refundable.

Railpasses are refundable for up to a year after they are issued for 15-20% cancellation fee. Not sure about ones bought online - this is the case for ones issued in U.S. but i'd be surprised if it were not the same online - once activated they are not refundable at all - but if you don't use it they are. Getting a refund thru bahn.de may be tougher than thru a U.S. agent perhaps - you must return the pass by post to the seller and then your credit card is reimbursed later. Passes can also be reissued for up to a year for a $10 or so re-issue fee - again these are conditions for passes sold in the U.S. - not sure of bahn.de policies

Thanks for that info Palenque.

I'd call the bahn.de English number - (49) 1805 141514 to ask about refunds for passes bought online - the refund conditions i laid out are for passes issued in the U.S. and these may not necessarily comport with conditions of online passes and ask how you get the refund - here you must return the pass to the issuing agent first and then you refund appears as a credit on your credit card later. Assume the same is true and i guess i'd register the pass return or you have no tracking that it got to the office in case someone there messes up.