Rail card for Germany which is good for 4 days of travel. How should I use it and can I make reservations?

Question

I purchased a rail card for my trip in August. I will be traveling from Frankfurt to cologne, cologne to Niebull/Dagebull, Dagebull to Hamburg and Hamburg to Frankfurt. I would like to know how to use the card most efficiently and specifically what I have to do when we get to the train station.

Answer 1

RC gave you a very good advice. Anyway some additional information:

Using www.bahn.de klick on "internat. guests" for the english version.

You can make reservations paying a small amount of money (2.50 EUR?), but I'm not sure if you can do this online - especially after you've already purchased a ticket (I don't know anything about such rail cards because it's only for tourists). Ask at a counter of Deutsche Bahn (e.g. in Frankfurt main station or already at Frankfurt-Airport station), they will give you further advice/information and certainly you can make a (or already all of your desired) reservation(s) there.

In most cases you don't need to make reservations - it's only advisable travelling with much luggage or in frequently used trains. I personly prefer the "hopp on - hopp off" method  ;-)  just taking the next suitable train. Usually they connect bigger cities on an hourly schedule from early morning to late evening.

Going from Frankfurt to Cologne I'd recommend NOT to take the ICE (Inter City Express = high speed train) because it's mainly passing through tunnels running up to 300 km/h. An Inter City (IC) train via Mainz and Koblenz would lead you along the beautiful Mittelrhein (middle section of river Rhine) which recently became a World Heritage Site - passing a lot of castles and the famous Loreley.

Any further questions? Feel free to contact me.

Answer 2

I would definitely use the rail card to travel via rail/train in Germany, and for transportation, and also for getting from one city to another.

Answer 3

Check out the website I've attached. It's a direct link to the German rail system, which runs like clockwork. You can enter your starting destination (von) and your ending destination (nach) and the date you wish to go. The site will show you dates, times, track numbers, and even directions to each station! Use your pass on the longest days, because paying for short city-to-city jumps is more cost-effective than shelling out the price of a long journey. Most train stations have do-it-yourself vending machines where you can buy tickets with cash,coins, or credit cards located in the entry way.

Usually when you get on a train in Germany your ticket is not checked until part-way into your journey. So you don't need to worry about using it at a train station or showing it to anyone when you board the train. At some point during the trip, the conductor will walk down the aisle of the train and call out "Reisepasse, bitteschon!" (travel passes, please!) or something like that. Simply show him your ticket/card and he'll either stamp (stempel) it or wave you on.

  As always, there is an information kiosk or desk in any Bahnhof (train station), and they're always helpful and usually bi- or tri-lingual! Don't be afraid to ask questions; they work in transportation and are used to tourists!!