Trains in Europe?

Okay, experienced European travelers, especially those who have traveled by train, how do they handle luggage? We are flying into Munich on August 25 and were planning on taking the train on the 31st to Amsterdam for our cruise. Just started thinking about luggage. We plan on one large spinner 29" each and a spinner carry-on 19". Do they check luggage? I was reading on one of the sites that you put your luggage above your head-fine for the carry-on but not possible for a 49 lb suitcase. Do they have storage for big bags? We could get a flight but we were sort of looking forward to the train.

Thanks for any help.

Okay, experienced European travelers, especially those who have traveled by train, how do they handle luggage? We are flying into Munich on August 25 and were planning on taking the train on the 31st to Amsterdam for our cruise. Just started thinking about luggage. We plan on one large spinner 29" each and a spinner carry-on 19". Do they check luggage? I was reading on one of the sites that you put your luggage above your head-fine for the carry-on but not possible for a 49 lb suitcase. Do they have storage for big bags? We could get a flight but we were sort of looking forward to the train.

Thanks for any help.

'They' don't handle luggage - YOU handle your own luggage getting on and off trains, which is why it's always important to only bring what you can handle yourself. Usually there are luggage racks at the end of each car for larger luggage, and overhead racks for smaller bags, although some of those racks can hold pretty large suitcases - my mom's stuffed-to-the-gills (and expanded) 24" spinner fit in the overhead rack on our train from Southampton to London 2 weeks ago. Mom vowed to pack less on her next trip, BTW. :D

To be honest, it sounds like a lot of bags for any trip, much less the train - at the very least I would lose the spinner carry-on.

We will be in Europe for three +weeks with a cruise. Formal clothing, clothes for cool weather, hot weather- and limited access to laundry. If there isn't enough room on the train I could get a flight there is no way I could do this with a smaller bag. The only time we'll have to deal with the luggage is when using the train, otherwise we'll get a taxi to and from hotel.

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We will be in Europe for three +weeks with a cruise. Formal clothing, clothes for cool weather, hot weather- and limited access to laundry. If there isn't enough room on the train I could get a flight there is no way I could do this with a smaller bag. The only time we'll have to deal with the luggage is when using the train, otherwise we'll get a taxi to and from hotel.

 

 

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Well, I did 3 1/2 weeks in Europe last summer with a backpack and large purse :D. And I really indulged myself on our QM2 crossing earlier this month - a rolling duffel bag (maybe 21 inches?) AND a small carry-on - and in that I had no less than 3 completely different formal outfits. Granted, the QM2 has self-service laundry, so I was able to wash everything before we disembarked, a real luxury.

But really the key is if you can handle things. Eliminate the 19" spinner carry-on, and bring 2 smaller carry-ons that can ride on top of the 29" spinners, and it will be a lot easier to handle. The only real challenge will be getting the bags up onto the train, but if you're female and can look helpless enough, there's usually a strapping young man to help you...:D;)

Most European intercity trains have luggage racks somewhere in each carriage. On Eurostars for instance, they are at each end of each carriage. I think it was mentioned before that you might be on one of the German ICE trains. If so, have a look at this video

Simon

Thanks for the replies. The video was great. Yes we will be on ICE trains.

sometimes there is 'space' between two sets of seats that are back to back where you can slide a suitcase in.

Okay, experienced European travelers, especially those who have traveled by train, how do they handle luggage? We are flying into Munich on August 25 and were planning on taking the train on the 31st to Amsterdam for our cruise. Just started thinking about luggage. We plan on one large spinner 29" each and a spinner carry-on 19". Do they check luggage? I was reading on one of the sites that you put your luggage above your head-fine for the carry-on but not possible for a 49 lb suitcase. Do they have storage for big bags? We could get a flight but we were sort of looking forward to the train.

Thanks for any help.

Just curious, how long is the train ride from Munich to Amsterdam? What is the approximate cost? I may consider this for our cruise next year.

When DH and I go on a train with luggage, we use teamwork to get it aboard. If there is a step or two, I stand on the train and grab the suitcases as DH hands them up. Then when we disembark, I stand on the platform and catch the bags as DH hands them down. Poor DH gets to do most of the hard work, but it's an efficient system.

Just curious, how long is the train ride from Munich to Amsterdam? What is the approximate cost? I may consider this for our cruise next year.

roughly 8 hours - roughly 400 Euros for 2 adults.

roughly 8 hours - roughly 400 Euros for 2 adults.

I see a fare of 300 Euro. Might be different time/date though. it also shows up as 10 hours overnight.

http://uk.voyages-sncf.com/choose-your-outbound-journey

There are some cheaper fares if you book a few months in advance.

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I see a fare of 300 Euro. Might be different time/date though. it also shows up as 10 hours overnight.

 

http://uk.voyages-sncf.com/choose-your-outbound-journey

Rail Europe gave an 8.00am train for around 350-400 Euros for 2 adults. It was a very quick Google on a random date in April (1 change at Frankfurt IIRC).( I'm not going to do crusingnut's research for them BTW - they can hit Google as well as I can)

Rail Europe gave an 8.00am train for around 350-400 Euros for 2 adults. It was a very quick Google on a random date in April (1 change at Frankfurt IIRC).( I'm not going to do crusingnut's research for them BTW - they can hit Google as well as I can)

Found a rate of 99 Euros/person on a random date in March on Bahn.com.

Okay, experienced European travelers, especially those who have traveled by train, how do they handle luggage? We are flying into Munich on August 25 and were planning on taking the train on the 31st to Amsterdam for our cruise. Just started thinking about luggage. We plan on one large spinner 29" each and a spinner carry-on 19". Do they check luggage? I was reading on one of the sites that you put your luggage above your head-fine for the carry-on but not possible for a 49 lb suitcase. Do they have storage for big bags? We could get a flight but we were sort of looking forward to the train.

Thanks for any help.

We just did a 3 week London/Paris/cruise vacation with 2x 29" spinners and a sports/duffle carry-on. We brought a lot of "dry-fit" casuals that we could handwash and hang dry overnight.

Most/all of the trains have luggage racks at each end of the cars. I brought a bicycle combination cable lock to attach the luggage together to the rack.

I guess we are contrarians because we have never been overawed by the European train system. As has been mentioned, one has to prepared to do all the luggage handling, provide their own luggage security (we carry a cable lock to connect bags and possibly connect them to a structure), etc. And while trains are fine for getting from City A to City B, they are not a very good way to see Europe outside cities. For that, one needs a car. And over the years we have found ourselves doing more long driving vacations and fewer train trips. With the car we have a place to put our luggage (although leaving unattended luggage in cars has its own risks), we can go where we please on our own schedule, and have the car to explore just about any region. We have also found that longer term rental cars (or leases) are actually less costly then using a combination of trains, buses, taxis, etc.

Just an example of what a car can mean in Europe. On a recent few week driving trip in Eastern France we stopped in Strasbourg for a few days. We woke on a gorgeous Sunday morning and downstairs for breakfast. Looking through the internet I suddenly had the desire to go to Baden Baden (Germany) for lunch. So we jumped in the car and in less then an hour we were in Baden Baden where we had a great lunch and enjoyed the city. Then back to Strasbourg (got the car over 160 Kph on the Autobahn) for cocktails, some relaxation, and later we drove to a wonderful French restaurant (which would have cost us about 30 Euros round trip if we had used taxis).

Hank

Rail Europe gave an 8.00am train for around 350-400 Euros for 2 adults. It was a very quick Google on a random date in April (1 change at Frankfurt IIRC).( I'm not going to do crusingnut's research for them BTW - they can hit Google as well as I can)

Thanks for the info. However, the operative words in my post were "may consider" and yes when I start to really research I do know how to hit google.

We've done a lot of European traveling by train and the best advice I can give is to pack light. I can't imagine taking two 29 inch spinners on the trains--just loading and unloading them will be a hassle and often there is no space in the luggage areas at the rear of each car, which will be the only possible place to put your suitcases. On one train trip from Edinburgh to Glasgow I had to stand in the area between cars with our two 24 inch suitcases because there was no available space for the luggage--fortunately it was a very short trip. You might want to consider booking first class tickets as there is more room in those cars. Eruopeans think Americans are crazy with all our heavy luggage.

I see a fare of 300 Euro. Might be different time/date though. it also shows up as 10 hours overnight.

The one you are talking about is the CNL City Night Line. Not really a good way to see anything.

Europeans think Americans are crazy with all our heavy luggage.

Yep. When working in the airport, we always recognised Americans from far away, by looking at the heavy luggage. After more than 20 years in the hotel- and travel business, I still have no clue what you guys pack what Europeans don't.

Okay, experienced European travelers, especially those who have traveled by train, how do they handle luggage? We are flying into Munich on August 25 and were planning on taking the train on the 31st to Amsterdam for our cruise. Just started thinking about luggage. We plan on one large spinner 29" each and a spinner carry-on 19". Do they check luggage? I was reading on one of the sites that you put your luggage above your head-fine for the carry-on but not possible for a 49 lb suitcase. Do they have storage for big bags? We could get a flight but we were sort of looking forward to the train.

Thanks for any help.

I'd like to think that your 29" dimension for your large spinner is a typo. A suitcase that large will hold much more than 49 lbs and will be seriously awkward to get on/off the train or store en route.

What I'm about to share is based on travel in England, France, and Italy, but I'm guessing it also applies to the routes between Munich and Amsterdam. (There's a Eurostar trip between Paris and Amsterdam and Brussels, but that's so far in the past I don't recall the luggage details.) There are several types of routes in Europe: Eurostar, Intercity, and Regional. The first two are better suited to storing more and larger luggage. For example, on the Eurostar between Paris and London, there is a metal rack for luggage immediately upon climbing the steps into each car. With no sightline, you might be reluctant to leave your suitcase here, but do so since there's very limited space for bringing your larger pieces into the seating car. If there's no one in a wheelchair in your rail car, that wheelchair space gets filled with suitcases. You certainly can't count on putting your big suitcases on a nearby seat. The trains in Europe tend to travel full. The overhead racks will a hold a European-sized roll aboard -- smaller than its US counterpart -- but definitely not a larger suitcase. To the best of my recollection, there is no space between rows of seats large enough to accommodate a 24" -- much less a 29" -- suitcase.

My husband and I travel frequently to Europe packing a 24" spinner each and a carry-on that is about the size of a large laptop carry case. These relatively compact sizes are essential since we always add independent travel in Europe before and/or after a cruise.

Our 24" spinner is capable of holding up to 45 lbs, but we try to pack no more than 41 lbs . (When we're traveling to places with consistently mild temps, we can pack an adequate and varied wardrobe that weighs in at 38 or 39 lbs.)

I should add that we own lightweight luggage. For a number of years, we traveled with polycarbonate luggage. That's a specially designed lightweight hard-sided luggage; you'll see most train travelers using this throughout Europe. Polycarbonate works for European train travelers since they're carrying smaller suitcases that fit on the overhead racks and, above all, they're handling their luggage with care.

We've given up on polycarbonate; we went through two different brands and three sets of 24" spinners, all victims of rough handling by airline luggage handlers. (Rimowa is the top of the line for polycarbonate, but we've never owned that pricey brand. We owned another German brand and a Samsonite polycarbonate. Polycarbonate will withstand lots of pressure applied evenly on the side, but the failure mode for ours was always on the corner as the result of luggage handlers just flinging the cases onto conveyer belts, etc. Maybe if we were willing to spring for the cost of a Rimowa case, we'd go back to polycarbonate. We really liked its light weight. Rimiowa's 29" Salsa Deluxe model iweighs only 9 lbs. It's 27" Salsa Air weighs only 6.4 lbs)

Here's a link to an article about polycarbonate luggage:

http://petergreenberg.com/2013/05/28/the-evolution-of-hard-shell-luggage/

Now, we travel with a Briggs & Riley ballistic nylon suitcase with a fiberglass frame. In our experience, this is the lightest suitcase that seems to stand up to airline and cruise luggage abuse.

Up to now, we've been able to buy luggage which does not expand. A fully packed 24" spinner is the maximum we can lift up and down train steps or steps at smaller stations with no elevators/escalators. If we think we're going to buy things (e.g. clothes in Paris for an about-to-be-born granddaughter) we'll under-pack our suitcases to anticipate our purchases. So far, we've not needed expansion capabilities, and we've been happy to save the weight that the extra material and zipper would add with the expansion feature. However, the current Briggs and Riley web site does not show the no-expansion option. Still, the weight on the medium expandable spinner is only 9.3 lbs.

Here are some facts about suitcases from other companies:

The Samsonite web site is showing a 25" Silhouette Sphere spinner weighing 10.5 lbs. The Silhouette Sphere in a 30" version only comes in hardside and weighs 12.9 pounds.

Travelpro makes a 29" Maxlight Spinner weighing 9 lbs. With dimensions of 29" X 20" X 12" I guarantee you it will hold more than 49 lbs.

The same Maxlight suitcase in its 24" version weighs 8 lbs. Its dimensions are 25" X 18" X 11.

I'd like to think that your 29" dimension for your large spinner is a typo. A suitcase that large will hold much more than 49 lbs and will be seriously awkward to get on/off the train or store en route.

 

What I'm about to share is based on travel in England, France, and Italy, but I'm guessing it also applies to the routes between Munich and Amsterdam. (There's a Eurostar trip between Paris and Amsterdam and Brussels, but that's so far in the past I don't recall the luggage details.) There are several types of routes in Europe: Eurostar, Intercity, and Regional. The first two are better suited to storing more and larger luggage. For example, on the Eurostar between Paris and London, there is a metal rack for luggage immediately upon climbing the steps into each car. With no sightline, you might be reluctant to leave your suitcase here, but do so since there's very limited space for bringing your larger pieces into the seating car. If there's no one in a wheelchair in your rail car, that wheelchair space gets filled with suitcases. You certainly can't count on putting your big suitcases on a nearby seat. The trains in Europe tend to travel full. The overhead racks will a hold a European-sized roll aboard -- smaller than its US counterpart -- but definitely not a larger suitcase. To the best of my recollection, there is no space between rows of seats large enough to accommodate a 24" -- much less a 29" -- suitcase.

 

My husband and I travel frequently to Europe packing a 24" spinner each and a carry-on that is about the size of a large laptop carry case. These relatively compact sizes are essential since we always add independent travel in Europe before and/or after a cruise.

 

Our 24" spinner is capable of holding up to 45 lbs, but we try to pack no more than 41 lbs . (When we're traveling to places with consistently mild temps, we can pack an adequate and varied wardrobe that weighs in at 38 or 39 lbs.)

 

I should add that we own lightweight luggage. For a number of years, we traveled with polycarbonate luggage. That's a specially designed lightweight hard-sided luggage; you'll see most train travelers using this throughout Europe. Polycarbonate works for European train travelers since they're carrying smaller suitcases that fit on the overhead racks and, above all, they're handling their luggage with care.

 

We've given up on polycarbonate; we went through two different brands and three sets of 24" spinners, all victims of rough handling by airline luggage handlers. (Rimowa is the top of the line for polycarbonate, but we've never owned that pricey brand. We owned another German brand and a Samsonite polycarbonate. Polycarbonate will withstand lots of pressure applied evenly on the side, but the failure mode for ours was always on the corner as the result of luggage handlers just flinging the cases onto conveyer belts, etc. Maybe if we were willing to spring for the cost of a Rimowa case, we'd go back to polycarbonate. We really liked its light weight. Rimiowa's 29" Salsa Deluxe model iweighs only 9 lbs. It's 27" Salsa Air weighs only 6.4 lbs)

 

Here's a link to an article about polycarbonate luggage:

http://petergreenberg.com/2013/05/28/the-evolution-of-hard-shell-luggage/

 

Now, we travel with a Briggs & Riley ballistic nylon suitcase with a fiberglass frame. In our experience, this is the lightest suitcase that seems to stand up to airline and cruise luggage abuse.

 

Up to now, we've been able to buy luggage which does not expand. A fully packed 24" spinner is the maximum we can lift up and down train steps or steps at smaller stations with no elevators/escalators. If we think we're going to buy things (e.g. clothes in Paris for an about-to-be-born granddaughter) we'll under-pack our suitcases to anticipate our purchases. So far, we've not needed expansion capabilities, and we've been happy to save the weight that the extra material and zipper would add with the expansion feature. However, the current Briggs and Riley web site does not show the no-expansion option. Still, the weight on the medium expandable spinner is only 9.3 lbs.

 

Here are some facts about suitcases from other companies:

 

The Samsonite web site is showing a 25" Silhouette Sphere spinner weighing 10.5 lbs. The Silhouette Sphere in a 30" version only comes in hardside and weighs 12.9 pounds.

 

Travelpro makes a 29" Maxlight Spinner weighing 9 lbs. With dimensions of 29" X 20" X 12" I guarantee you it will hold more than 49 lbs.

 

The same Maxlight suitcase in its 24" version weighs 8 lbs. Its dimensions are 25" X 18" X 11.

Great advice.

Those large suitcases will be very difficult to move down the narrow hallways.

Back in the 80s, when we traveled on European trains, with the older compartments, the Wife would go in the compartment with kids, lower the window and I would put the suitcases through the window. I don't think you can do that today.

Don't use Rail Europe, go to the website for the country you plan to depart from, prices are cheaper.

Rail travel is now more expensive for long distances than flying.

After more than 20 years in the hotel- and travel business, I still have no clue what you guys pack what Europeans don't.

I would have said this is a conversation you'd find only on a cruise discussion board, but I've seen Americans pack this way when doing independent travel in a rental car. We were in a hotel in Bayeux, Normandy and a young couple was checking out to head to another Normandy town via car. I counted eight pieces of luggage -- excluding her purse. Of the seven pieces, three were 24" spinners, two were 22" spinners, and two were large totes. I can't even begin to imagine what they had packed in those seven pieces of luggage. That amount of luggage would create such a level of stress for me that I can't imagine enjoying the trip.

We'd seen this couple in the dining room at breakfast for a couple of days. Compared to those relaxed mornings, they were visibly more anxious counting their pieces of luggage with the wife waiting by the mound of luggage as the husband shuttled suitcases into the rental car.

I'd always read that travelers should pack for one week's worth of clothes regardless of how many weeks the trip is going to last. There are wonderful products on the market for compact lightweight packing. Anyone who is really interested in streamlining the contents of his/her suitcase can find lots of helpful suggestions on line.

One time when were doing the overnight sleeper from Paris to Venice we witnessed a sight which had us both in fits of giggles.

There was an oriental family who had put all of their luggage into their sleeper compartment and then could not get in to it themselves. They had a MOUNTAIN of luggage (2 big bags each at least). Had to walk away before we embarassed ourselves.

Thanks for the replies that answered my question. I really didn't ask about others' opinions on the size of my luggage, just if there was space for it. I don't make judgements about how little you bring so I don't see the need to comment on my choice. I travel with a luggage scale so I've never been over the 50 lb limit. I prefer not to spend lots of time doing laundry every night. we do only wear most things only once before sending them out to be washed and many things I prefer not to have washed in the hot water used by the ships laundry.

It looks like the train may not be for us although I would have loved to try it. Flying might be a better fit.

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Thanks for the replies that answered my question. I really didn't ask about others' opinions on the size of my luggage, just if there was space for it.

The opening words of your original post asked for advice from "experienced European travelers, especially those who have traveled by train". You specifically asked how [we] handle luggage. And we answered. Sorry you can't see that handling luggage includes deciding how much and what size luggage to take in the first place.