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We are about to embark on our first trip across Europe using rail rather than flying and am struggling a bit with this notion of seat reservations vs a booking. One specific question I would like guidance on from the community is this. I have a Eurail pass and have booked two first class tickets from Munich to Prague on November 23rd on RE357 aka ALX357. Trying to get a seat reservation has been frustrating. I have checked the CD Bahn.DE and Eurail sites and get various forms of “the train is temporarily unavailable for reservations”. Without a seat reservation am I guaranteed a seat but not a specific assignment or could we show up and not be able to board because it is fully booked. It never states fully booked so I’m trying to decide do I show up and hope I get a seat or do I give up and book another train. This is a direct train so it is far more convenient and the other options have 1 or more quite tight connections <10 minutes. Being new to this and having luggage for two of us I'm uncomfortable with very short connections. I would welcome any recommendations here? Show up and try my luck or give up and look for alternate routing?

 

Thanks in advance.

I tried to make a reservation at Bahn.com and I get the same error message. Maybe @seewulf has any idea what the problem might be.

Is even possible to reserve seats on this train? Because in Germany it runs as local train. 

In any case, reservations are not compulsory. 

In the main your worries are unfounded, but first time round the relationship between your pass (your ticket) and reservations can be daunting.

Firstly:

Trains with a RE or ALX code are not usually reservable, although the IR planner says they are optional, so others may know whether these are an exception, but if D bahn is saying not available I would suspect it is an error in the planner. 
Unless the train is deemed “unsafely full” (Extremely unlikely) passengers are allowed to board and, if necessary stand. If the train is unreservable then simply turn up and find a seat.


Secondly:


I am confused whether your “booking” is simply you have added to your trip in the app ( all you need to do with a Global pass) or you have paid for a ticket?

There are many guides on the Eurail web site and in the community to help you understand the use of your pass but here is a starter.

Apologies if this is patronising.

in its simplest form the Global pass is an open ticket to travel on almost all trains in 33 countries and all that is needed is you add the train you wish to travel on into your pass, and that entitles you to travel on that train. This can be added or deleted at will and there is no obligation to travel on the train if you change your mind - just add the one you do want to travel on.

However some trains have reservable seats, normally express and long distance  trains and these are not included in your pass and have to be sourced separately, often at a small cost.

These reservations may be optional or mandatory and this is indicated in the Eurail planner, so your train is shown in green, indicating reservations are not mandatory for that train. In red it means reservations are required.

Although Eurail/Interrail have a reservation service it is far from the best or only service you can use and again there are some good overviews in the community.

 

I don’t know about the specific train from Prague to Munich, but regional trains do not allow for reservation in Germany, nor are they necessary. Trains are never that full that you are denied boarding, sometimes you need to stand, but the vast majority of cases you’ll find a seat. You are traveling on a Wednesday in low tourist season, I am sure half the train will be empty anyway.

Reservations for trains between Prague and Munich can normally be made 1 month in advance but for some reason it doesn't work now. I can't even book this train next week so that looks like a technical problem somewhere.

Since 23 November is on a normal Wednesday in low tourist season, you shouldn't worry about it though.

Everyone thank you for your comments and feedback. I am now somewhat reassured that I won’t be denied boarding if I don’t have a reservation which was my biggest fear. 
 

This is a great community if genuinely helpful experienced travelers. Thanks so much 

In the main your worries are unfounded, but first time round the relationship between your pass (your ticket) and reservations can be daunting.

Firstly:

Trains with a RE or ALX code are not usually reservable, although the IR planner says they are optional, so others may know whether these are an exception, but if D bahn is saying not available I would suspect it is an error in the planner. 
Unless the train is deemed “unsafely full” (Extremely unlikely) passengers are allowed to board and, if necessary stand. If the train is unreservable then simply turn up and find a seat.


Secondly:


I am confused whether your “booking” is simply you have added to your trip in the app ( all you need to do with a Global pass) or you have paid for a ticket?

There are many guides on the Eurail web site and in the community to help you understand the use of your pass but here is a starter.

Apologies if this is patronising.

in its simplest form the Global pass is an open ticket to travel on almost all trains in 33 countries and all that is needed is you add the train you wish to travel on into your pass, and that entitles you to travel on that train. This can be added or deleted at will and there is no obligation to travel on the train if you change your mind - just add the one you do want to travel on.

However some trains have reservable seats, normally express and long distance  trains and these are not included in your pass and have to be sourced separately, often at a small cost.

These reservations may be optional or mandatory and this is indicated in the Eurail planner, so your train is shown in green, indicating reservations are not mandatory for that train. In red it means reservations are required.

Although Eurail/Interrail have a reservation service it is far from the best or only service you can use and again there are some good overviews in the community.

 

Yes I have added the trip in

my app and it shows reservations are unnecessary but I was trying to be certain a got a seat so tried to reserve them. My biggest fear was showing up and being denied boarding or having to stand for 5+hours. The other comments have served to reassure me we should be able to get a seat 🙏🙏🙏

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