train from Vienna to Berlin with stopover in Prague

I noticed lots of correspondence about trains recently. My question: can one buy a ticket from Vienna to Berlin and have a stopover in Prague for 48 hours? Prosit!

Yes, you can.

But anybody with half a brain cell and some knowledge about how the fare system for this route works will not do it.

It is a lot cheaper to go to Bratislava and buy a Slovakian international ticket to Decin, then continue with local trains to Dresden and go from Dresden to Berlin with a German ticket.

The reason behind this is that Austria and Germany have high prices for their rail system, while Czech R. and Slovakia have very low prices for their national and Eastern Europe state international tickets. If you buy a ticket from Vienna to Berlin in Vienna you pay the high German-Austrian international fare, even for the kilometers you travel in Czech R. and Slovakia.

On the above route (Vienna-Berlin) you should always try to pay the national fare and take advantage of any special offers Austria and Germany might have. Germany for example has the Happy-Weekend-Ticket, which is especially good value if you travel in a group and don't mind going slow. Austria has a similar offer.

Get your hands on a map that shows railway tracks and stations and playaround with www.jizdenka.cz, oebb.at and www.bahn.de to get a feel for the prices.

Under ideal conditions (travelling in a group of 5 people and with Happy-Weekend-Ticket from the Czech-German border to Berlin) the savings can be up to 50 % compared to the regular price that you get quoted at the ticket booth in Vienna or from www.bahn.de.

[ Edit: Edited on Oct 28, 2008, at 1:30 PM by t_maia ]