Train Troubles
 

Here is my situation. I thought that I could handle train travel alone however now that I have my tickets I am really not sure what I am doing! I have a reserved seat on an ICE train from Frankfurt to Dresden but I don't know which seat I am suppose to be in(says somewhere on the ticket I'm sure but I can't tell which numbers mean what) and I don't know which car I am in. Anyone that can help me decipher this would be greatly appreciated.

In my limited experience, simply be sure to get on the right train. From there someone can point you to the correct car and seat. You can walk from car to car after the train has left the station.

If an 'ICE train' is different, will other posters please chime in and correct me?

You should be able to ask a conductor at the station which car your ticket is for. There will also be a map of the train on the platform that it leaves from.

I had the same problem when I bought tickets from Swiss Rail. I emailed them about my concern and they kindly replied immediately and informed me where to look on the ticket to find the reserved seat number. It turns out that on my smaller journey (different tickets) there were no reserved seats and they explained that as well.

Can you email someone from where you purchased your tickets for help? Otherwise, as the others have mentioned, you will most likely be able to ask someone at the train station for help.

Describe the words with the numbers and letters on the ticket and we should be able to help you.

Polite suggestion: Use a German-English dictionary to translate terms. At station find information board, it will note destination, time and platform. Train should have cars marked 1 or 2, for class. Cars should have number identifications. Your ticket information will match. Note, be sure you are at correct station!

I tried to find a ticket from my last trip to help you, without luck, but the following site should help you figure out your ticket:

http://f.about.com/z/js/spr08sm.htm