The pass is your ticket. You probably mean seat reservations.

Between Brussels and Cologne there are 2 trains :

• Eurostar (ex-Thalys) : 32€ mandatory reservation, passholder quota
• ICE : free optional reservation through OBB (Austrian railways) → add Eurail as a discount and select one-way tickets

The choice is easily made : free with more flexibility. :)

Eurail website is the last place to book reservations : unreliable, more expensive and confusing overview. Have a look at this general guide : https://www.seat61.com/interrail-and-eurail-reservations.htm

Questions welcome.

Yes, I meant reservation; thank you very much for your helpful answer! The train I've been attempting to book is the ICE17 train in mid March. When I go directly to the Bahn.de website for reservations, I am unsure how to respond for the “discounted ticket.” In the dropdown menu there doesn’t appear to be an option for “Eurail Global.” 

I am having similar issues booking from Berlin HBF to Zermatt. I will look at the link you sent me and try to figure it out there!

Best regards,

Bob

On DB it’s the same process whether you’ve got a ticket or a pass, select reservation only. There is a seat map but reservations cost 5.90€ per person (per journey).

Personally I’d use OBB (since it’s free!) : the system will assign seats next to each other, don’t worry. Worst case : you can always move if needed.

Berlin - Zermatt : reservations are only recommended until Basel. Within Switzerland they’re really not a thing so it’d be a waste of money (they’re rarely possible anyway). 1st class is always empty as 2nd class tickets are expensive enough haha.

Hope you have a good trip!