I want to travel from Berlin to Warsaw this weekend (leave Berlin HBF on Friday and return on Sunday). I am trying to buy a ticket online on bahn.de. However, when it says that the time limit for online ticket has been exceeded. (Maybe because it's international?) Since I can't do it online, will I be able to buy a ticket at the Berlin HBF?

I've never used the German rail system and was just wondering if it is difficult to international train tickets (Warsaw-Berlin) at the station.

Thanks.

Most international tickets can be bought online but are issued as paper tickets so they have to be mailed.

It should not be a problem at all to buy an international ticket at the station (even at most travel agencies with an extra fee), however, lines can be pretty long. I don't know whether you have a chance to visit either Zoo Station or HBF the day before your departure, I would feel more comfortable by doing so.

The actual transaction will take no more than a minute or two (it's all on their system, so they just type "Warschau" or the appropriate code and out comes a ticket - it's no different from buying an internal ticket). However, as the previous poster said, you should allow plenty of time for queuing. If you want to buy the ticket on the day of departure plan to be there at least an hour before, but if at all possible go a day or so earlier.

Friday and Sunday are busy days for travelling so a seat reservation would be highly advisable

No need to queue, buy the ticket from the conductor in the train (it's a few euros extra)

Just in case you want an 1st class ticket there is a separate and normally queue-free counter for those pax.

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry8700/4.1.0 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/114)

This can be a pain for an international ticket as the relevant conductor might only be in the position to sell you a ticket for "his" portion of the journey