Our FIRST ICE Long-Distance Train Trip in Germany 🇩🇪 It Didn't Go As Planned! 😳😫
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- Опубліковано 30 вер 2024
- After living in Germany as Americans for two years, we have yet to take the train for a long-distance trip. We’ve only used the regional trains for shorter trips around our region. So in this video, we are taking you along with us as we ride our first long-distance train trip from the southern Alpine border of Germany all the way to Köln (Cologne) for the 200th anniversary of Karneval. We ride the ICE (Inner City Express) and the IC (Inner City) Train. And as you’ll see, it didn’t exactly go as planned. We hit a few problems along the way and want to ask you for your advice for our next trip.
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Here's our blog post that goes with this video. It summarises the help you guys have given us in the comments - I knew we could count on you! Love you guys!
First rule of train travel in Germany: Bring your own food. Especially if travelling with kids. I find the food on german trains overpriced and underseasoned. Like expensive cardboard. Also desinfecting wipes for everything. But heyho. Now you know :) Thanks for sharing.
oh cmon
Underseasoned thst also could meN u overseason ur food usualy and u are used to this taste
Always subjecrive to judge taste of food lol.
But i never ordered in the ice becouse of the price im off cheeper with buying sonething before even if it is just a banana and a pack of corny bars xD
Yeah we did bring our own food but the kids ate it all and then they were hungry for dinner. 😜 And we would’ve have to bring even more stuff with us if we brought dinner. It’s just harder with young kids, especially with 4 of them.
@@MyMerryMessyGermanLife As long as they get fries...they will be O.K. ;-)
You looked - understandably- a tad bit tired on the way back. If you plan to travel more-get a Bahncard first class for three months, and book long in advance, then the best price might be as low as second class ticket. And in the summertime it might be well worth the money.
You can have a short time card for three months.
I was traveling by train to and from Berlin on a six hour journey for work. So I did travel quite a bit then by deutsche Bahn. I do not know if this is still that way ;-) I tried to get a stopover changing trains if it was longer than four hours, I needed to get out of the train and do a short walk.
In first class you can order meals and be served at your place.
And the seats are a bit more comfy-and a lot of interesting people are traveling there;-)
Had some very interesting talks and got some live advice there ;-)
When traveling, there shouldn't be "rules" at all. Just have fun and enjoy yourself.
Great video! About booking seats and for 6 and more people: My best tip is to go to a train station where they have a Reisezentrum and book it in person at the counter (also as early as possible). It costs the same but the people there have more flexibility in terms of seating etc. I did it when traveling with my 89 year old grandma (special needs) and my parents also do it when they are traveling with there bicycles.
I already saw comments by people saying Deutsche Bahn is bad. I must say, I had a fair share of problems traveling by train (I don’t have a car and do it regularly), I still think it’s the most comfortable way of travel. I believe that a lot of Germans complain about deutsche Bahn, just because everybody does. Tbh most people I know that complain hardly ever take the train. (Esp. Considering traffic accidents etc when driving it doesn’t really make a difference if your train is delayed or you hit traffic).
So I am glad you had an overall good experience.
Food: I agree with what other people said. Idk if it’s because Germans are cheap, but apart from coffee I don’t know anyone who actually buys food on the train. Try bringing „Proviant“ it could be fun if each kid can choose and prepare (and carry) their own lunches. As a kid I was allowed special treats that normally I wouldn’t get.
Another idea would be (if you wanna travel by train frequently) to get big backpacks instead of suit cases because having your hands free when changing trains is so much easier.
Yes! Backpacks are so good for traveling by train. The only time i would use a suitcase is one my way to the airport. Otherwise its just not handy at all.
11:00 lol you‘re not really German until you‘ve had a bad experience on Deutsche Bahn😂
😂😂 okay then! We graduated!
Don't rely on the paper Wagenstandsanzeiger at the track only. The digital panels are more accurate and the DB app is even more detailed and will tell you the right partition of the track to wait at. They would also reflect changes.
Btw... the ricer Rhine is not near Trier. 😉 But, sure, the Mittelrhein area is very beautiful with all the castles next to the Rhine.
The most accurate is the Bahnhof App.
Hi 🙋♂McFalls. I think, each German has somewhere made along his life his own (bad ?) experience(s) with the 🚆Deutsche Bahn 🚂.
So, please rate your trip as a typical German "adventure". The more you will travel by DB, the more "German" you will get 😄.
And in a late review, the more you will laugh about these inconveniences.
That’s good to know. There are always mistakes made the first time a person tries anything new. And nice to see comments from you, Klaus! 😊
That’s good to know. There are always mistakes made the first time a person tries anything new. And nice to see comments from you, Klaus!
bis jetzt hatte ich immer Glück🤗
I agree, that riding on the train here in Germany is much less stressful than having to drive a car (at least for long distances), however what I personally hate about it, is having to get on the train. The worst thing that can happen - and has happened to me a couple of times - is when the train stops at another platform and you have to run from one side of the station to the complete opposite.
The last time it happened, I was waiting on platform 16 and they announced that the train was actually waiting at platform 4.
Yeah that’s frustrating. I guess it’s hard to calculate?
@@MyMerryMessyGermanLife Unfortunately there is no way to know in advance, as it happens on a really short notice. I'm very glad it did not happen to you guys, during your journey :)
I did not realize you could only reserve seats for up to 5 people. I guess the best thing to do then is book each adult with 2 kids separately, and then you can choose seats next to each other.
Train travel is good as long as you don't have to pay for the kids (up to 14). Once they count as adults, it is probably cheaper to go by car, when you don't need to pay extra for each person.
When your kids start to be independent teenagers, do get them a Bahncard for up to 18 year olds. It costs 12 Euros, it is valid for 4 years or up to their 19th birthday and they get a discount of 25% (for example when they travel without you but with their friends).
From 6 upwards, it's a Gruppenkarte.
The booking site stated reservation of the seats was already included in the ticket, a default and that´s why it was greyed out. Only with fewer travelers, it´s an option and, usually, you pay an extra fee for a reservation. At the train station, you´ll find a board showing the trains´ wagon numbers and their location on the track. The Bistro and the Restaurant are quite expensive, especially for a family of 6, you´ll better take food with you. Kartoffelsalat, Frikadellen, and a nice Tomatensalat are nice as a cold dish. And traveling with the Deutsche Bahn is the exception where you can have your beer in cans without being looked at.
Yes, it was greyed out...the seat reservation was already included in the ticket price.
So nice to have you back with your videos! :-)
Thank you so much! We’ve missed you guys!
You are SO good at this! You are all so natural in your video's and no 'acting'... just the McFalls on an outing on the train. ...and FINALLY: Kevin get his beer on the train! However, you are not travelling alone on those trains. You are travelling with 1000's of us UA-camrs, and we all love you. Feeeel the loooove McFalls!!!
Thank you so much! You brought a smile to our faces. ❤️❤️❤️
But the idea of booking one adult with two children each twice seems more practical, because up to three children up to the age of 14 travel for free if they're with a parent or grandparent (and if you tell the conductor or ticket inspector, they'll have a little welcome pack with games for the children). You might also consider a BahnCard25 for the adults because they usually already pay off after one long-distance return trip.
Ihr seid zurück ! Endlich. Wir haben uns schon große Sorgen gemacht. Ist etwas Schlimmes passiert? Kinder krank? Katze ermordet? Haus abgebrannt, oder den Grundsteuerbescheid vom Finanzamt bekommen? Egal, ihr seid wieder da und nur das zählt. Bleibt gesund und munter . . .
" oder den Grundsteuerbescheid vom Finanzamt bekommen?" 😂 worst possibility 😂
@@Edda-Online (Yes, that could only been topped by a super volcano eruption or an impact of a global killer asteroid . . . ) 😊
@@kgspollux6998 Die sind einfach mit der DB gefahren- bekanntlich kann das dauern....😄
@@heikoh.schulz9429 Upps - ja. Habe ich selbst erlebt . . . 😎
I love travelling with ICE. With my toddler children, always booked the waggon with playground and Mamazone. Years ago, but the best option travell with little kids.
There’s a wagon with a playground?! Wow that’s awesome!
Welocme to Germany.
You have now passed the importan stage of acclimatizatiion to Germany.
Complaining about the Deutsche Bahn is something all Germans can agree upon.
😂😂 love it
I booked a trip from Hamburg to Westerland (Sylt) recently for my class with 23 pupils and 3 adults! I had to make a phone call to the Deutsche Bahn. The woman at the phone reserved a whole waggon for us and I got the tickets in the mail. It was not possible to book the trip online.
Okay great! I think this is what we will have to do next time.
Okay...Bahnfahren in Deutschland ist tatsächlich ein großes Abenteuer. Meistens ist der Zug zu spät, die Wagenreihung stimmt grundsätzlich nicht und man verpasst auch ständig seinen Anschlusszug. Trotzdem macht Bahnfahren Spaß, v.a. im ICE und bei längeren Fahrten ist Bahnfahren eine sehr gute Alternative zum E-Auto (unser Auto hat nur eine Reichweite von ca. 190 km). Wenn irgendwas nicht planmässig verläuft oder der Zug wesentlich zu spät ist, kann man online eine Erstattung beantragen. Meistens bekommt man dann auch innerhalb von 3-4 Wochen einen Teil seines Geldes zurück! Also: nicht verzagen, weiterhin mit der Deutschen Bahn fahren! Übrigens kleiner Tipp: mit dem französischem TGV kommt man wunderbar an die Côte d’Azur in Frankreich!
18:53 I travel a lot for business and in my experience if you can not do it using the app it is usually worth it to just visit a hauptbahnhof nearby that has a customer service center and let it book through them. They have additional options and a completely different app. This is especially true for international travel and other special requirements.
Following you guys nearly from the start, I am proud of you how you take on new things and master all you encounter.👍 ☺
Soon, when are you ready for an even longer Train Trip, or flight, to Hamburg, take the kids to see the Miniature Wunderland?
Watching you guys try stuff here is fun. It reminds me of when I first moved here.
Now that you've tried the ICE, the next train goal is the Nachtzug. Go to sleep on the train and wake up at your vacation destination. It's definately an experience.
Yes!! We definitely want to do a overnight train trip at some point.
@@MyMerryMessyGermanLife ... but you´ll likely need deep pockets as those tickets have pretty steep prices.
(unless you decide to travel in a "Liegewagen" which is the most basic way - very much like in a bunk bed but without linen etc.)
@@MyMerryMessyGermanLife That was the family tradition for eight years: take the night train to Italy and spend several weeks at the beach in Riccione. Sadly, the night train Munich-Ancona was abolished many years ago. - "Liegewagen" is not exactly a luxury, but it is all right for one night.
In my experience family long distance trips by train in Germany with train changing layovers are always that kind of adventure you don't want to have necessarily. We did that several times and then decided to travel by car again. More flexible, less stress. However our kids had no issues with car sickness and my wife and I like driving.
Hahaha we got lucky then!
Changing layovers are usually an adventure with DB even without kids. Usually the previous train is late and I miss the connection. I always try to book direct trains
The reservation button is greyed-out, but checked! This just means, you cannot uncheck it. When you want to travel with that many people, you are required to make a seat reservation, and cannot go without. So simly proceed to the next step!
Right but I wanted to choose our seats so we could get a family cabin, and that was not an option in the next step.
Welcome back, good to see you guys again! I never traveled with a group of six but my advice is to book your tickets directly at the train station with a reisezentrum. They are more flexible than the app or website.
I dont like the food on the "speisewagen". Its overpriced and not tasting good, usually we just bring our own snacks and drinks.
Worst things that happend to me: 1. The train had 2 different destinations, which means, it got splitted up into 2 trains at one point and i was in the wrong part of the train and travelled to the wrong destination.
2. A fright train infront of my train caught fire in the middle of nowwhere and my train couldnt go forward or backwards.. 3 Hours delay *sigh*
3. The train stopped working at a small station somewhere in bavaria.. Every passenger had to get off and wait for a replacement train.
Now my tipps as a mother of 3 boys who travelled Hamburg to Füssen via München for many many years: you can send all your suitcases/lugguage to your destination in advance via DHL at a very low price. So we handled the trips like this: choose a route with no transfer inbetween, or if necessary, with one hour space in case your own or the next connection train is too late. Germans love Pünktlichkeit, but regarding Deutsche Bahn there are many exceptions to the rules 😉 (construction works, train repairs..). So in any case you still would have time enough to wait for the next train or to find a new substitute. And if everything works well, you can go and get some burgers, fries or icecream with your kids in the mean time at the local train station, which also saves money and makes everybody move a bit. ( you also might profit using the washing roomes there). Our sons only took a little rucksack with them, filled with some drinks, somethings to draw, read, play.. and the elder they got, the more time they spent on gameboys anyway. There are still up-today special multi-level, multi-functional, kids-friendly compartments for kids from age 0-5, at least one of your kids must be in this age range in order to book it. There the kids also could sit, crawl or lay on the floors. They also offer special "kids-tickets" for fund with a suprise from the Bistro, or even special kids-entertainment. My own rucksack was packed with sandwiches, my own drinks, some chips and Gummibärchen as treats for the kids, cleaning tissues for these ugly and stinky toilet rooms 🤢, or sticky fingers, and diapers when they were still very little. Yet we always enjoyed the trips, kids could move around in the cabins, or we took a walk to the bistros or restaurants like you did. (Bumping into people on the train is normal!😊) Best advice from back then: Gulasch-Suppe, its not heavy and not too expensive. The air conditioners on IC oder ICE are not always running well (too cold, too warm, too little) or at all , that alone can cause travel sickness, since the seats sometimes do smell strange and the windows cannot be opened. From München we took the Regional-Bahn, it takes longer (and we had no other choice), but at least you can open the windows for fresh air which is very evident and nice in summer time. Plus it always was a special highlight for our sons being able to look over the train driver's shoulder since there is only a plexiglas separation between him and the first compartment in the front. Now to your question regarding seat reservation >5 people, hope youtube will allow these links.
www.bahn.de/service/individuelle-reise/kinder/familienreservierung.
Here more about the special kids compartment:
www.bahn.de/service/individuelle-reise/kinder/kleinkindabteil
All in all it is always less stressfull and better for everybodys health when using a train. (unless you need your own car at your destination - as you said)
Wow! Wirklich nützliche Tips!
I think the DB work nowadays together with Hermes for sending the luggage
Uehehehe, last year i was traveling with the german ICE/french INOUI over 1.024 km (East Germany to Western/Central France), luckily i had no delay with the trains. Did bring my own nonsmelly food too, because, i know from experience, you have to pay high prices inside the trains for food/drinks, but it was most of the time yummy, when i had to pay for the food.
Had to change the trains fourtimes (ICE, another ICE, Inoui and another Inoui) and was in sum otw 13 hours, boy, that was a fun ride, could sleep a little and watch the landscape and read my books, btw. with a Plane i would have needed the same amount of time and had to pay slightly more. Boy, the area around Paris is flat like a table for like 100 km and talked to my neighbours, had a woman, which could speak 4 or 5 language, impressive.
And the best part is, if the tits go up, i dont die alone.
Glad you're back, hope you are fine! Thanks for the new Video!
Thank you! 😄
Thank you for posting this video!. I'm so happy to see you again. I also love travelling by train.
1. 230€ for 6 people and a 5 hours ICE with seats! You guys are very lucky!
2. "They give you the 'german stare'c I will put that one in on my dictionary! 😆 Originally from South America, I've been living in Northern Germany for 10 years now. I have learned NOT TO LOOK into people's faces here. That can be very intimidating.
Hahahah then yes, you understand the German stare well. Maybe I will also not look into their faces at some point!
1. Clarification: The phenomenon of observing others, or more generally the "other" in the environment, which is incorrectly referred to as "staring", is a behavior of "participation in what is perceived". It is an expression of one's emotional position, belonging and integration in the outside world. It is an integrating behavior. Whereas the opposite "looking away" signals a "non-interest" in my surroundings. The consequence of this is the isolation of the individual. You can also say: "I only care about myself and not about the other - out there in the world".
I stay in my world - isolated in my "cheese bell".
In this respect, it is also a cultural behavior.
2. Clarification: The "stare" is a (not only human) reaction to sudden astonishment or startle.
To the point of seeing cruelty, which in turn can lead to "not being able to look at it" - to "having to look away" (because it is unbearable).
Being watched when you feel insecure or strange about yourself can be uncomfortable. But that's up to you.
I find it a bit expensive since three children per parent up to the age of 14 usually travel for free if you book it the correct way.
@@walterjoshuapannbacker1571 yeah the example I showed was crazy expensive. But do you mean what we paid for ourselves was still expensive? I think the kids did ride free.
@@MyMerryMessyGermanLife Well, I usually book so far in advance for long-distance trips (if possible) AND have a BahnCard25 - used to have BC50 -, so I'm used to really low fares. Just over 100 EUR return per adult does seem okay, but with a BahnCard25, it would have been about 75 EUR p. p., with a BahnCard50 only 50 EUR p. p.
With some relations, the BC25 will pay itself off in in one return trip already, so it's usually worth the expense if you travel twice or more per year (and also gives you a 25 % cut on local and regional trains and even many regional busses within your "Verkehrsverbund").
Oh no, this trip went as smoothly as they go, you did well. With ICEs, as soon as there is *any* kind of weather, you'll likely run into complications (the ac doesn't work or there's snow on the tracks making you miss connections). I'll still always choose train over car - but travel days are chaotic. Pack tons of games and snacks always. And get coffee when you can - the bistro isn't always open. Congratulations on your first long distance trip! You picked hands down the most beautiful route. Did you see the Loreley?
Deutsche Bahn has exactly four problems: Spring, summer, fall and winter.
😂😂
you forgot people
Since a ticket for 6 people or more counts as a group ticket, the reservation doesn't cost money anymore and is included in the ticket price. Afaik there is one car in each train which is primarily used for group reservations so the systems mostly wants to give you seats in that car. But I'm not 100% sure on this. Online you cannot change the reservations for more than 5 people, unfortunately. It's possible in the ticket office, but it takes a bit of time since we behind the counter have to change the settings quite a bit. And a downside is that group tickets from the ticket office cannot be sent via email and put on the DB app yet.
Ah okay, thanks for explaining that. And from someone who works at DB! Helpful.
You inadvertently discovered the most fun part about traveling by train in Germany: “Wagenreihung heute zufällig” 😅 mostly because of “Störungen im Betriebsablauf” 🙄
Next time you visit Cologne, hit me up. My family and I have been living in Cologne since 2018 (originally from Los Angeles), we could have shown you guys around.
We would’ve loved for you to have shown us around! It’s hard to plan that with our kids but we want to do it.
For food and drinks it's more recommended to get something on the layover. Especially in larger cities like Frankfurt or Hamburg and probably Darmstadt too. You can get food there. I went from the north sea to Karlsruhe so I got something in Hamburg.
Deutsche Bahn pulled the "geänderte Wagenreihung" card on you. They seem to do this quite often and then you end up in the wrong car...
Yes, an all-time classic.
That part was quite annoying!
0:12 Heeeyy a fellow Speedcuber! :) It reminds me of the times when I used to carry my Rubik's Cube around EVERYWHERE
Yes! Our kids love them.
If you like carneval you should also visit the "Alemannische Fastnacht". This is very different from the one in Köln. You can find it in the Schwarzwald and Switzerland, Basel. The people wear wooden mask and the costumes are very funny.
Yeah I’ve seen the pictures of that! Looks very interesting.
Good food and Deutsche Bahn are famously completely different things. In fact, they are so different, they don't belong to the same planet, not even the same universe. Therefor, Deutsche Bahn proofs the existence of the multiverse …😀
😂😂😂 nice. Yeah I had hopes and they were totally dashed.
Greetings from Cologne 👋
I watch your videos since you start recording your adventure in the US, moving from the US to Germany.
Your videos are very natural and fun to watch👍
It's a pity that I didn't see you guys in cologne, since I live in cologne and of course I celebrated the whole carnival🤡
Love and Greetz
Stefan
I don't understand the title and the profile picture for this video. It seems everything went well. Even the change of the seats on the first train had the advantage of being able to stream.
The food was okay regarding to Kevin. Okay, I admit a nasty bathroom is not nice. But except for that I couldn't see something negative on your journey. I travel a lot with the DB and have had much worse experiences. But good ones as well to be fair 🙂
Well, we weren't able to choose our seats when ordering the tickets. Then, we got on at the wrong train car and it was stressful to walk through 5 cars to get to our Abteil. Then we were all disappointed that we had to leave our Abteil and be in the regular seats. Carrying our luggage around was difficult, which was to be expected, but it adds to the stress with 4 small children. Yes we got internet, but we all wanted to be in the Abteil. Kevin liked the food but the rest of us didn't. So, it didn't go as we had planned. But you're right, it could've been a lot worse!
Hey I heard Darmstadt! Greetings from near Burg Frankenstein!
18:48 my work around would be to try booking 4 and 2 tickets seperatly. Then you go into the reservation and pick the same train cars and seats next to each other.
Oh and I think you can also probably call them or buy the tickets at your train station (if it is a big train station)
I think it's a Wonder that you got a nice seat in the old IC Wagon from the early 1970's.
Which part was that - the Abteil?
It says it's included in the price, that's why it's greyed out, it's not an option you have to pay extra, also you see it's already checked even if it's greyed out.
Ah the joys of deutsche Bahn. Seems like you lucked out and the trip worked out without huge delays - from my experience, this is unfortunately the exception rather than the rule. I had an LDR between Vienna and cologne for over 2 years and took the train most of the time. Despite the problems and occasional frustratikn, I still enjoyed it significantly more than flying. I always made sure to bring my own snacks though, I don’t trust the food 😂 definitely make sure to book as far in advance as possible, especially when going around special events, it can save you a ton of money (although it seems you already saved quite a bit considering it was 6 of you). Glad you enjoyed the experience! :)
Gerade für weite Distanzen nutze ich sehr gern und wann immer es mir möglich ist die Bahn. Es ist einfach viel entspannender als Autofahren. Zu sechst mag es wohl etwas aufregender sein; schön, dass ihr es dennoch tut.
Auch habe ich mich sehr gefreut, wieder ein neues Video von euch sehen zu können. Vielen Dank dafür!
I liked the railway system more when it wasn't privatised yet. Back then trains were really punctual. Nowadays they are that unreliable that I rather take a rental car to the airport as otherwise I might risk missing my flight.
You don't have the option to book a seat reservation with your ticket because it is automatically included when you buy a trip for 6!
Look at the DB website shown at 17:58. It says "Sitzplatz inklusive". Also where you select the trains down in the fineprint it says "Der angezeigte Preis ist inklusive Sitzplatzreservierung." (The price shown includes seat reservations.) AND there is this little man-in-a-seat symbol next to the price. When you mouse over it says the same.
Things become complicated when you want to book for a family of 6 but have one child under 6 - which can travel for free without a ticket. You cannot reserve seats for 6 with only 5 tickets online, so here the website asks you to put in a request and the DB service will get back to you.
You probably misunterstood: what does it helps to have a reservation included, if you can't pick your spot. I guess that was the step that was missing: offering to choose where you want to sit.
@@xwormwood Ah,‚okay. But on many trains you don’t have the option to book particular seats anyway. The system will allocate what’s available. I agree that it would be helpful if groups, too, could at least choose between open salon and compartment. But you will be grouped as close together as possible for sure - the whole purpose of a reservation.
2070 soll‘s besser werden mit der Bahn.
Where are you? Are you still in Germany? I miss you.
Nice to see you guys again :)
Next time you head north you should consider to give Wuppertal a visit, it's around 40 minutes train ride from Cologne, we have a very unique public transportation here which I am sure you will like.
And the Zoo is also great!!
Nice you're back. 🙂
Regarding the seat reservation, it's greyed out because it was automatically included in your ticket, it's already checked, and you simply can't uncheck it. You only can reserve seats as such, not specific seats. Maybe that's the misunderstanding.
But you showed great courage, you booked four DB trains in a row? And didn't miss a single one due to a late train? You should definitely buy a lottery ticket. ;-)
But I'm perplexed at 13:12, the ICE took the tour through my native Mainz and the Middle Rhine Valley? Are you sure that this was the right train? ;-) Usually, only the IC takes the way through the valley. Hope you enjoyed it, it's one of the most scenic train tours in all of Europe, albeit it's nicer in sunny weather.
By the way, on what days did you travel? I would have expected the train to be much fuller.
Take care!
$260 Euro???ROundtrip, fur sechs Personen????😶🤔That's a steal!!!😃
Is it? Okay great! We got the group price but couldn’t choose our seats.
Ah, the distant past, when trains in Germany ran like "a train in Germany".
😰😰 I hope that can get fixed!
I believe deutsche Bahn considers 6 people are a group and I had good experiences going to the Bahnhof if they have a „Reisezentrum“ or a Ticketschalter there they can for sure book the seats for you there. Have fun on your next trip greetings from Frankfurt
5:35 A compartment on IC trains used to look like this. you had a bench on each side instead of individual seats.
The blue seats have only been installed for a few years and are old seats from old ICE trains.
Ok interesting!
Always look on the outside of the carriage, you should see the number corresponding to your ticket.
Ella, love your earphones, you must like cats a lot.
She always gets comments on her earphones! Thank you.
Yes, this is normal. All bookings with more than 5 people are counted as a group trip and you are placed in the booking system by Deutsche Bahn.
This can be annoying, but the savings to a normal booking are huge in my experience.
It is also not guaranteed that you get contiguous seats if you book, for example, an adult with 2 children twice. But that could be also tested out.
But the price savings of a group booking is also huge in the short term compared to the standard booking up to 5 people.
Okay good to know, thank you!
well, at least the train arrived! No fairlures in the "Betriebsablauf". With DB you can't expect more.
I can wholeheartedly agree to Kevin's assessment.If you do not need car at your destination traveling by train is to be preferred.
You can just sit and relax,get your beer if you like;) and have no hassle with traffic jams. Unfortunately the DB struggles with connection times and punctuality.
Best way to travel is a point to point trip with no connections if possible
Six or more.... in this case, it says: Reservation already included. That´s why you could nor make a reservation individually. By the way - great footage.
You can send your luggage per Hermes for 14,90 EUR per suitcase (25 kg limit) (one way). So it might make sense to send a suitcase ahead and carry everything else in backpacks.
Folks, you survived long distance train rides with Bundesbahn! Thats amazing, ;)
I commuted 13 years Sunday/ Friday from Frankfurt to surroundings of Munich and back.
Constructions, deviations, delays, cancelled trains....i have seen all of it....and got some interesting views on the detours :))
But I travelled alown....as a familiy with agil kids? It must have been an adventure!
Your are awesome....
Viele Grüße, Peter
The German railway is an adventure in itself, it used to be really good, but unfortunately the automobile lobby in Germany is so strong (like the NRA in the US) that they have influenced the responsible political parties to literally destruct the railway with weird decisions to disadvantage for all of us and the railway would be privatized for this and to the stock exchange, which has led to even more problems and now we are facing great challenges, routes that have been discontinued completely unnecessarily must now have to be rebuilt in order to reactivate them, single-track routes and route sections urgently need a second track, there where it is structurally possible and the routes have to be further electrified to get away from diesel.
Now at these days, we all have our own stories with DB, for expats and visitors it's like another welcome to Germany, have you survived that, you're about to become germanized, because we are in that together. But I'm still a passionate train user, as much as possible i like to travel by train. It's an adventure.
Maybe you can split the booking, three and next three to choose the seats, try it to look at the price if there is something different?
Or write an email to the DB and ask them for a solution, what bigger groups of people should do? It would be interesting the hear there response.
I think you and your family are very brave moving from USA to Germany. I have really enjoyed watching your videos to see what life in Germany is like. You are right European trains are Amazing I have a close relative in Netherlands (im Australian) they dont have a car.
For the Booking. Up to 5 Persons you can choose the place in the train. beginning at 6 you book as a group, which gets you some benefits in the price, for example the reservation for the place is free as far as i know, but you can no longer choose where you sit. If you want to choose you could book two 3 person tickets and choose places next to each other, or book at a trainstation with the personal, they can choose spots, but also give you the better price
I travelled a lot by train every week from Cologne to Salzburg, Vienna, Flensburg, Mainz, Bremen, Berlin and more cities for to work. I had allways additional to the smartphone, a printout of my ticket - help only 2 or 3 times, but it was wearth it.
Maybe it would've been better to fly... Connections between Munich and cologne are frequent
Travelling DB is like “All Inclusive” holiday including “specials” you never thought of, but they do! And you do not have to pay any extra 🙂 for your adventure trip. All extras like unplanned stop-overs, turning around the hole train and swapping the reservation system, you're running half a mile to the other end of the train: totally free! No charge for the exercise ;-)
Staff that does not accept your ticket, whatever reason: like a ghost train, free thrills.
😂😂 an all inclusive holiday with free thrills!
My experience with the train? Since I don't have a train station here and it's in a place that's not far from the Ruhr area, I first drove a long way. That was at the corner of Hamm Westfalen and Bad Aibling. What were 3 or 4 x change with ICE in between and had taken no less than 12 hours. next time I was smarter and went by car. It was 7.5 hours there and 6 hours back. Today it would certainly take longer by car because there are many more cars on the road and construction sites, but I would never take the train again-The costs were not comparable back then either. Train tickets were much more expensive back then. But it may be different today, since it's been 20 years. Gasoline is much more expensive these days. But you remain much more flexible with the car. Also on site
There is a common practice to promote traindrivers according to their energy efficency, which means that some drivers have in the past cut power to the A/C so that they use less power and get promoted earlier.
This is less common, since new trains would record this intervenmtion by the driver, and report it. And it was mostly on regional trains and less on the express trains
Thank you for traveling with Deutsche Bahn! 🚝
I had the same problem booking for 6, 4 adults and 2 kids. I bought 2 tickets
,2 adults and 2 kids and second ticket 2 adults. For the second ticket I had to use the option buying for someone else. This way I got the seats I wanted and we could sit together in one compartment. Elisabeth
adults.
Better go to the ticket counter. The app is not working well for families of 6, (we are just as you 2 adults 3 boys and a little girl)
Also booking tickets online for children travelling alone is not working. We nearly never made reservation for seats, but we are experienced train travelers and know when to go and don't mind splitting up or sitting on the steps.
My sample size isn't super huge, but I never found a smelly or dirty train bathroom in German or Austria.
Always travel first class if you can afford it. More comfortable but not not so much more expensive when you are booking in advance. Normally in the toilet there are sanitizers which you can spray on the toilet paper to clean the seat. With a family card all your children can travel for free. You don't have to buy tickets for them as long as they are under 14. You only have to make seat reservations.
Okay thank you! We thought the family card was only good for trips in our region…or maybe that’s something else. Now I’m confused…😜😄
I would allways prefer to book such „larger“ travel s at a Reisezentrum with a real person.
Amazing, you make taking the train sound like some kind of daring adventure. For Germans, and basically for anybody who's been in Germany/Europe for longer than 10 minutes, taking the train - long distance or not - is about as adventurous as drinking a glass of water. My first long distance train ride in Germany was about 5 hours after having landed here, many, many years ago. The question "would we do it again?" is something that would never occur to any German. Btw, in the first shot you showed of the website (at 18':06'') after having booked 6 people (2 adults/4 children), it shows "im Ticketpreis enthalten", meaning your seat reservation doesn't cost extra. And you don't "choose" the seats like you can these days on an airplane, they're assigned. Yes, that's normal.
Not correct. These days, it is normal that you can pick the seats in a seat map. So it seems to be a special case for more than 5 people that the seats are assigned automatically.
Yes this is correct. You can choose your seats if you buy it for 5 or fewer people.
@@MyMerryMessyGermanLife As I answered above, I stand corrected. This seems to be a newer function. My first train ride in Europe was in 1976 and sometimes I think the only thing that has stayed the same is that the train moves forward on two rails made of steel. But even back then it wasn't exactly an adventure, unless, as I remember, you accept the fact that on that ride the only seats I could find were in a smoking Abteil.Not pleasant for a non-smoker.
@@loislane5092 I am so glad smoking is no longer allowed! That must’ve been awful back in those days.
@@MyMerryMessyGermanLife The worst thing was that many smokers would take seats in non-smoking cars, then step out into the passageway just outside the Abteil to smoke. Of course, they would demand that the door to the Abteil remain open so they could watch their oh so precious belongings, as if we were going to rummage through their bags while they committed suicide outside, one cigarette at a time. The result was that all the smoke would blow into the Abteil. The smokers would become quite belligerent when confronted with this and the conductors usually couldn't care less when complaints were made. (Not just by me.) Nevertheless, this all remained a normal part of daily life and not an adventure.
Nice video! Thanks to the author of the channel for this fascinating video! It is interesting to see how people live in other countries! It is very important to know foreign languages on such trips. I would like to recommend to all travelers a practical guide to learning foreign languages by Yuriy Ivantsiv "Polyglot Notes. Practical tips for learning foreign languages". This book contains a lot of useful tips on how to learn a foreign language for tourists, students, entrepreneurs and anyone who needs a foreign language in life. There are a lot of good tips on how to solve problems with the language from beginner to advanced level of language learning. It turns out that the traveler only needs to know a few dialogues and you can easily travel around the world! You don't have to spend a lot of time to fully learn a foreign language, you just need to learn what you can use when you travel. I wish everyone exciting travels!
hi everybody! thx so much 4 sharing your trip report ;-)
I've never made a seat reservation for more than 5 travellers - but as I have seen in your video - there is a note on the right hand side saying " im Preis enthalten" ! so this might mean that a seat reservation is already included?! This could be the reason way u were not able 2 click on it?!
Kevin's German has become really good!!! I would love to hear you talk German more often 😊I love the American accent 😍!
I'm sorry the food wasn't as great as you had hoped. We usually bring our food with us when we travel by train. Most of the tines, we stop by a bakery beforehand and buy some good stuff! 😊🤗 OH... I miss our German bakeries 😍!
PS: Welcome to my hometown 😍😍😍! Can't wait for part 2! I hope you had a great time 😊☺️!
Hi!! Köln is your hometown? Have you been to Karneval before? We are speaking a lot better German now. I mean, it's still not great, but we're much better! Yeah we did bring a ton of food, as much as we could carry and the kids ate all of it. But now we know that the food on the trains is not great and to buy in the stations, where the food is good. Although, we didn't have long layovers so we didn't have time to do that.
@@MyMerryMessyGermanLife YES ☺! I wasn't born in Cologne, but we lived there for many years before moving to the US. Cologne became our new home. Carnival is my favorite season. It's called "the fifth season" ☺And I was so homesick when all my friends shared their carnival pictures with me. I definitely look forward to that when I come back. I'm curious how you and the kids liked it and where you ended up going! Can't wait for your next video!!!
I am a littel late but it is good to brim some snaks and food with you on train. Somtimes something in the Restaurant are broken or the stuff didnt reach thair tain because of delate, so its closed. And at The IC the care of the Restaurant/Bistro is missing because thair are old and no parts to repair it are left.
And yes for germans the food ond Trains are not good or realy expensive. And if you lof some food there you haf to look out if its there on the next trip. Some The dishes are getting exchanged every 3 month.
Am I the only one bothered by how the guy at 8:48 puts down the cups with the rim on the countertop? I would have asked for new ones.
You are so lucky to get All your Anschlusszüge and to dont have gigantic delays for about 2 or 3h (my most delays was about 8h)
Sorry, if I did some thing wrong (gramaticly or with the english langugage in general )
Good to know! Makes us afraid to take the train again for long trips if we might have 2 hour delays. We can handle that but it won’t be good with 4 kids.
Like Hogwarts!!!😂 Your awesome son is so right! 😊
When I saw your new video, I had to watch it right away! I loved it and it's so good to see you again. I usually love travelling by train (my dad used to work for the Deutsche Bahn) but sadly it has become very unreliable which can make it so stressful. The last time I visited my family, I especially booked a train to get to the airport and I made sure, I would have enough time. However, on the train an announcement was made that the train will stop at the next station and wouldn't continue its ride. It was in the middle of nowhere and I had to catch a flight. It was a tragedy and so stressful. My sister and her husband saved me in the end and picked me up to get me to the airport last minute. I didn't want to put pressure on others to always get me to the airport and it ended up being that. Terrible! I'm glad your experience was okay because it's not easy with 4 kids. Sending much love.xxo
Hi my dear friend!
@@MyMerryMessyGermanLife Yes if that happens with children it would be absolutely awful. Plus at that time Lufthansa flights were insanely expensive, one way was 2000 dollars.😫 Imagine I had to buy a new ticket.
Wagenstandsanzeiger - that shows you where to enter your train to get to your seat
Kevin said the Wagenstandsanzeiger was sadly off. Maybe they had umgekehrte Wagenreihung.
Try and book 1st class, it does not cost a whole lot more and its much more spacey and quiet there
Well that was a nice trip. On your journey to Cologne you definitely had the nicer route along the Rhine river but back home you did obviously use the fast route via Frankfurt. There is a part of the route where the ICE gets up to 300 kph top speed on that part of the route.
I am excited to see that you visited Cologne where i live now since 1990. Definitely looking forward to the next video. Carnival really is something special here. As an introvert i avoid it but for kids it really is exciting to collect the sweets and dress up in a custome. I also liked it a lot in the first years i spent in Cologne (i was 10 in 1990).
I can understand why you wouldn’t go to Karneval as an introvert - it is a lot of noise and activity! But yeah, it was amazing and I’m so glad we went.
best choice for booking group tickets is the good old counter at the train station.
18:40 oder so - you should call them for help, which works very well
ICE=Inter City Express
IC=Inter City
Ist Ihnen aufgefallen, dass die Werbeeinblendungen für Autos oder Flüge sind? "Dass mir ja niemand mit der Bahn fährt! Wer schützt uns vor dem Umweltschutz?"
If only the trains in the UK where were as empty as that .
I am Austrian, so maybe its different. But when I make a long distance train ride, with a lot of luggage, I send my luggage a few days in advance and pick it up at the train station at the end of the journey. With kids I think it would be a better choice, but I dont know if it is possible to do it this way in Germany! Also with some train rides it's better to book it in an actual train station, even if it means a 20 minute drive to that station, at least in Austria. Because some train apps are not really user friendly.
I am Austrian, I hat no idea this was an option!
German train trips never go, as they planned. :D
11:10 Who cares if the air conditioning doesn't work on the train in February, i.e. during carnival? So I think you must have misunderstood something.
I know! We thought the same thing. But they told us in German and English and we understood both - it was for sure the air conditioning.
Wow. 400€. A lot more than i expected.
Anyways, i never personally traveled in a big group by train, but went on a longer train alone once. For that case i think the "Bordrestaurant" was amazing. Not because of the food - that is mediocre at best. But you can sit there as long as you have ordered something i think, so i just bought 2 or 3 drinks and sat there the entire trip. You have at least as much space as in 1st class, you have your own seat / table, it was surprisingly empty, it's more silent, the wi-fi was better and i mean even if it's not the greatest just eating and drinking does make the ride less boring + no need for extra luggage in the form of food. Surely a different story with 6 people but at least in that case it made my trip so much more enjoyable :D
6:42 They paid 230 €.
I love dining in the Bordrestaurant. However I am hoping you are not blocking a table if there are people wanting to eat.
That is a great idea to sit and hang out at the restaurant! It works without small kids.
And yeah, I’m glad our tickets didn’t cost 400€ or we probably wouldn’t have bought them! Our’s cost about 218€.
@@maxbarko8717 oh my bad, i was looking at 17:58 but i guess that's the advantage of booking earlier then.
Of course you shouldn't block seats for others. But just like you can see in this video it was completely empty for me too. Even though my train was pretty full. Really not sure why but i'm definitely not complaining. The same was also the case when i was on a school trip by train once. It feels like no one really goes there.
12:20 LOL she‘s right😂😂😂😂
Oh , I missed you on UA-cam. I‘m happy that you are back again 😍😍😍😍
Thank you so much 😊