Patty

I was wondering if there's an option to check your luggage thru to your destination city when traveling by rail within Germany. Or do you have to carry your own luggage on/off each train? I couldn't find this info on the DB site. If you have to carry on board, is there room to store a full size suitcase? Does it make much of a difference if you're traveling first vs. second class? I'm afraid taking only a carry-on size bag is not an option on this trip. Thanks in advance for any help.

RufusTFirefly

You carry your own and there is usually plenty of room. My wife and I travelled on both 1st and 2nd class trains and had no trouble with two full size suitcases. They can go overhead, or between seats that are configured back-to-back on some trains.

Patty

Thanks Rufus.

richardsonsnm

patty, you will not be happy carrying large suitcases on trains. it can be a real hassle, a large suitcase will NOT fit down the aisle, too heavy to lift overhead, and if the storage areas are full, your in a bad way. after hefting large bags on our first trip, we decided to go with two smaller bags each the next time, STILL A HASSLE!!. most europeans travel light. large bags are fine when renting a car, not on trains.

KathyNZ

Last poster, you are so right, there is very little room and most wheelie bags do not fit between the back to back seats as someone else suggested. The ICE train in Germany has a very narrow aisle, don't ask me why they differ but they do from one country to another.

bob_brown

If you cannot hoist any of your luggage overhead and put it on the luggage rack without endangering life and limb of other passengers, get a smaller piece of luggage. I suggest you try putting it on a top shelf in a closet fully loaded two or three times before you decide.<BR>If you don't have to stretch to get it up there, I don't think it is a reasonable test.<BR><BR>There is luggage space on the trains, but it usually is well overhead, higher than the luggage bins on an airplane!!<BR><BR>I can usually get the luggage up there for both of us, but I need to do a little weight training to handle it easily!!<BR><BR>And don't forget you have to hoist that stuff around the train stations, and sometimes on city streets, too.<BR>My Samsonite has rollers, and a leash to pull it with. That style is lighter than these rolling trunks I see. They are fine until you have to pick them up and hoist them. Then the 10 pounds or so of rolling mechanism is so much dead weight.<BR><BR>I also suggest you take your load and try walking about 300 yards with it and taking it up a flight of stairs.<BR>That is not unreasonable. I have gone at least that far in rail and subway stations with mine. And not all of the rail stations have escalators to assist you, particularly in France.<BR>

greg

Although I have never used it, the DB site does mention house to house &quot;Koffertransport&quot; service and porter service at 20 cities.<BR><BR>http://www.bahn.de/pv/angebote/gepaeck/pv2_kuriergepaeck.shtml<BR><BR>Regarding 1st vs 2nd; 1st &quot;tends&quot; to have more spaces simply because at least on non business routes, less people use the 1st class. However, it can be a drawback if you have to to use it on a long train. Major trains have car composition map on the platform so you know which SEKTOR you are supposed to wait. Also when you change a train, they try to align the classes across the platform for popular connections, but if your connection is not a common connection, you need to drag your luggage to a different platform and find the 1st class car. Since there are less 1st class cars, it can be 14 cars away!<BR><BR>Also on carrying the luggage on and off; the newer trains have car floors even with the platforms. But on rural routes, they still use old trains with narrow entrances and steps to climb into the car. I have seen many unsuspecting American tourists struggling to get their huge luggages up and down these steps.

RufusTFirefly

Why is it more of a struggle for American tourists to get large suitcases into the train than it is for tourists with large suitcases from other countries?

RufusTFirefly

again with the blank message screen

Winnepeg

Patty,<BR><BR>Do yourself a huge favor....Avoid travelling the rail with the big suitcases. Forget about what RufusT writes. Listen to all of the others that seem to disagree with the Firefly.<BR><BR>Not sure if this is your first time in Germany using trains, but it is very difficult to be catching these trains and dealing with full size suitcases.<BR><BR>Not sure how old you are but I'll give you a few thoughts on the subject.<BR><BR>I've been using the trains during my 30 trips to Germany. I am always glad that I pack lightly and avoid those big suitcases<BR><BR>1. Alot of the trains are 30 cars long, or even longer. It can be that you getinto the train on the beginning of the train and your second class car, or your reserved seat is in the other end of the train. Carrying the luggage, or dealing with trying to pull using the wheels never seems to work. Suitcases seem to fall over. Hit other travellers. They get pissed off and you get embarrassed.<BR><BR>2. If you are travelling into the big cities, the trains will be crowded and you will be trying to get around dozens of people standing in the aisles dealing with the same problem you will be having.<BR><BR>3. The place to store your luggage will usually be above your head. As someone said, try lifting a suitcase weighing 40 lbs over your head as the train is lurching forward. You will then need to get the same 40 lbs down. Good luck with your backaches.<BR><BR>4. I have seen on 2 occasions, thieves in Rome and Paris knock over tourists that were struggling with the suitcases. These thieves literally pushed the woman and the husband over there suitcase and took off with her camera bag. Try to travel light, preferably a backpack type of bag. <BR><BR>5. It really doesn't matter where you sit. It is as difficult in 1st class as it is in 2nd class.<BR><BR>6. Keep in mind that many times you will have a minute or so to get onto the train. Rushing around and trying to lift a 40 lb piece of luggage while getting on board these trains has caused many of persons back to go out. Again, not sure how young you are or how nimble you may be, but having a backache while on vacation is no fun whatsoever.<BR><BR>7. Making your connections from train to train is usually quite tight, timewise. Trains are scheduled very efficiently. Alot of times you will need to go down stairs from one platform and up another set of stairs to get to the Platform that your next train is leaving from. Carrying 40 lbs of suitcase along with camera bags and pocketbooks can get very difficult.<BR><BR>8. Why isn't a carry on bag a possibility? There are plenty of veteran travelers on these posts that will offer their opinions about travelling light. the lighter the better. Anything is always possible. Travelling light should be one of them.<BR><BR>Happy Travelling!!<BR><BR>

janis

I can't add much - the others (except Rufus) have said it all. Large cases are a REAL problem on trains anywhere in Europe.<BR><BR>You say a carry-on sized bag is not an option. maybe if you give us a hint why that is we might be able to suggest some options.<BR><BR>Otherwise - pack your bags, walk around the block, Lift them up to the highest shelf in your closet, take them back down and then walk around the block again. that willl give you a taste of what you will have to do in every train station on your trip.

Hans

While I agree that suitcases can be nerving when using public transport and that a suitcase you can’t carry up a stair is too heavy, I would also like to point out that a lot of people use German trains carrying one or more suitcases and they seem to survive. My advices:<BR><BR>If you can’t lift your suitcase overhead, many people will volunteer to help you. If nobody reacts, ask a young man. It would be an unusually boorish person not to help. If there’s nobody to help you, put it on the floor until someone passes by who does. If someone gets upset, ignore him.<BR> <BR>Theft of luggage in trains is uncommon in Germany. I’m not the most trusting person on earth but I leave suitcases without supervision in trains. I wouldn’t leave a laptop lying around but otherwise I think that it’s fairly save. Often there are luggage compartments at the entry of cars and I wouldn’t hesitate to put a suitcase there.<BR><BR>Avoid full trains. Don’t use a train at Friday, 6 PM when people go into the weekend but go at 11 AM and it’s probably empty. As long as you avoid rush hours, many trains are empty enough to simply sit down in the first car you enter. If you buy tickets a few days before you use the train, you can ask the clerk whether the train you want tot take will be full.<BR><BR>Don’t rush. Trains run fairly frequently. If you don’t use too tight a schedule and if you don’t have to get a reserved seat on another train, the worst thing that can happen is that you wait between 20 minutes and an hour. <BR><BR>All in all, taking a big suitcase is more of a hassle than taking a carry-on but riding a train isn’t an expedition to the Mount Everest where every ounce of weight counts.<BR> <BR>

RufusTFirefly

Neither my wife nor I are weightlifters, but we had no trouble getting our normal size (not huge) suitcases on and off trains or between back-to-back seats, or up into luggage bins. The suitcases do have wheels so they were easy to roll in the train stations. The only thing I can think of that would cause a problem would be if the suitcases were overstuffed with heavy items like bowling balls. To get the suitcases on and off a train once every 3 or 4 days was really no big deal.

screen_name

I have 2 viewpoints on this. <BR><BR>If you are taking the train from say, the airport to a hotel where you will be staying for your entire visit, you can cope with the big luggage. it will be a one time ordeal. <BR><BR>However, if you travel German rail like I do, covering a lot of ground, changing cities every few days, jumping of the train at lunchtime to explore some small city and find a bratwurst, the only way to travel is with a light bag that can be converted to a backpack otherwise you will be miserable. <BR><BR>We all have tricks for light travel. I often buy old T-shirts at the salvation army (four for a $1) and leave them behind after I have worn them. So all I really need to carry home is a cardigan and jacket, one light skirt and convertable travel pants.

Gothampc

My experience was that large suitcases did not fit on the overhead rack very well. My suitcase hung too far over the rack. I was riding in first class and so I wedged my suitcase between myself and my travel partner and we used my suitcase like an arm rest.<BR><BR>If you are concerned about thieves, you may want to buy a bike lock and take it with you. Usually you can intertwine it between suitcase handles or lock your suitcase to a luggage rack.

Winnepeg

Just another quick bit of info for you.<BR><BR>I am reading that thievery isn't all that common. That may be true, but it does happen. <BR><BR>My parents were travelling on the trains last January when they left their 1st class compartment to go to the dining car.<BR><BR>I had lent my dad my full length leather coat. Beautiful coat, costed nearly $600 at Wilson Leather. He left it in the compartment while they went to grab a bite to eat.<BR><BR>They finished eating, went back to their seats and the first thing my mom noticed was that the coat had been stolen. While it doesn't happen all that often, it does on occasion.<BR><BR>I like the idea of taking a bike chain along with you. Lock your suitcase directly to the overhead luggage rack.<BR><BR>I was there in September and I used a 6 foot piece of chain and a padlock that I had bought at Lowe's for $4.00. Worked as well as a bike chain. Pretty cheap to do it that way.<BR><BR>Things have changed. The trains ain't what they used to be.<BR><BR>Happy Travelling!!<BR><BR><BR><BR>

Patrick

Two of us and sometimes four of us have traveled all over Europe by train, nearly always in First Class. We generally each have one large rolling suitcase (like a rolling duffle) and have never worried or had problems getting them on and off the train. Almost always they fit onto a rack at one end or another of the car. Sometimes (but rarely) the car won't have the rack, but then there is either a large enough area to stack them, or on rare occassions the two of us have liftedthem up onto the overhead racks -- which is what we also do when in a compartment. Not a big deal since there are at least two of us to lift them up or down. And I have never seen an aisle that the suitcase wouldn't fit to be rolled down. It is not a big problem!!!<BR><BR>Sure I'd prefer to travel lighter, but going for up to five months at a time and including clothes for the Alps and the Greek Isles, hiking, and the opera, as well as everything in between just doesn't allow us to get away with anything less than a large suitcase and a small carryon or daypack each.

Patty

Thanks for the numerous replys!<BR><BR>Can anyone translate the link that greg provided?<BR><BR>Seems the concensus is that luggage is a hassle. If I can find reasonable air fares, we're planning to fly between some of the cities. Otherwise we'll use the train as a back up. In any case, it'll only be 1 or 2 trips where we'll have all of our luggage with us. The rest of the time, we'll be making day or overnight trips with just one small bag. I've traveled on German trains before but never with more than a carry-on so I didn't pay any attention to luggage storage space or whether it was possible to check bags. Part of our trip will be on a river cruise where we'll need a few nicer outfits, we also plan to do some skiing, and I just can't see how to fit clothes for such different purposes in a carry-on bag. <BR><BR>Hans,<BR>Thanks for the tip about avoiding peak travel times. And I plan to avoid booking too quick of a connection.

cl4ud14v

My lugagge was stolen 3 weeks ago in the Regio between Frankfurt Süd and Würzburg. I went to the police, DB desk, online claim, phone calls and... nothing. No answer. In these double decker vagons there is no place at the top for big lugagges (20 kg). I was standing near it but of course it was dangerous and no insurance company would pay if I have an accident ( I am lawyer). I found a seat and when I arrived at Würzburg station what a surprise... my lugagge dissapeared. I accept I lost all my personal objects, but at least I want to warn other passenger, that like me trust that their lugagge is safe in DB.

nytraveler

I don't think a 10 year old post is the place to put this complaint. And you homeowners or renters insurance should cover the cost of the items stolen as long as you have a police report.

And NEVER leave you luggage along near a train door when there are multiple stops. If you need to, buy a first class seat and keep it under the seat.