thanks.

yes, i was having trouble finding specials in english. i am going november 24-26 from CGN to amsterdam central station. if you know german, does it look like any of the specials would work? also, which service do i want: ICE, RE, IC, etc.?

thanks.

It's not very difficult.

Enter you dates, then your age. On the following page you have the regular price and to the right a button for special. Click and see if it's available.

There are several trains so specials availability might not be there in the morning or afternoon when people commute, but it's there, even on short notice.

ICE should be the direct, intercity service.Level is much higher than Amtrak in 2nd class/coach

ICE= Inter City Express
IC= Inter City
IR= Inter Regio

The ICE is the most expensive but best one and most people use it...
IC and IR is used if you want to reach smaller cities on your way between two bigger cities...

So for CGN to AMS the ICE should be your choice...

Most certainly. Once you passed customs and the sliding glass door behind it make a left and walk about 200 meters. Then you are at the entrance of the airport train-station. Your call how long you will need for that distance...;-)!

Greetings - Dirk

Keep in mind that the ICE to AMS does not call at the airport, but at Cologne Central Station. You need to take a local train there first (about 15 minutes by train) to board the ICE International to AMS.

Greetings - Dirk

quick question...are there two train locations in cologne: 1) CGN airport and 2) the city stop?

i booked a ticket from "Köln Hbf." i wonder if that is the city or the airport?

thanks.

i think you just answered my question.

so, to take the fast train one would have to leave CGN and head downtown and then to Amsterdam? or, should one just take the train from CGN?

any idea why my outbound train from Köln Hbf to Amsterdam is 2:34 while the return is 3:34? is it simply traffic differences?

Köln Hbf = Main CITY Center Station (Hbf) stands for HauptBahnhof which means Main Station.

For the Airport you need FLUGHAVEN (Airport)

hbF = Hauptbahnhof = main station...

That's the station in the city... You need to take the "S-Bahn" from Cologne airport into the city... Takes maybe 15-20 minutes...

Maybe the return is not a direct, or is not an ICE.

is there a way for the train site to allow the booking of two adult tickets at the same time? it appears that it will only let me book one at a time. weird....

and, it appears that on the friday, november 24 trains (10 AM), the ICE with zero stops takes 2:34 while the ICE with zero stops on sunday, november 26 (9 AM) takes 3:34. not sure why there is a difference.

The train in the airport is a subway station (Köln/Bonn Flughafen) that takes you to the city center station (Köln Hbf). From there you catch the ICE train. I only know this because I booked the flight, train to Amsterdam and hotel just a few minutes ago.

Wifey is a happy birthday girl.

Maybe it has more intermediate stops. Did you find one of the cheaper fares for sunday morning? I see a 58 euros as the lowest available special fare. Better than the 96 euros regular fare!

both trains i listed show zero stops. the friday 10 AM ICE train with zero stops from cologne to amsterdam shows 2:34 while the sunday return trip at 9 AM (ICE train) with zero stops shows 3:34.

interestingly, there is an 11 am train on sunday (amsterdam to cologne) which shows one stop but it is only six minutes longer.

in terms of fares, i could take the 10 AM cologne to amsterdam with the 9 AM return for 58E roundtrip. but, the 11 AM return trip (same outbound) changes to price to 96E+. so, the train will be over $120 US all-in. :(