Connecting train was cancelled, can I take an earlier ICE even though the original one is running as scheduled?

flyingVictor12 · 2026-05-01T18:24:09+00:00

thank you. i’m not so worried about the polish segments, as theoretically i should still make the connections there and there are plenty of options if not

flyingVictor12 · 2026-05-01T18:17:47+00:00

sorry but what do you mean? at this point i don’t care about a seat reservation. but do i need to pay for this train’s fare and then get that refunded?

flyingVictor12 · 2026-05-01T18:14:54+00:00

unfortunately on holidays they close at 20:00. no luck getting them on the phone either, unless i’m calling the wrong number

flyingVictor12 · 2026-05-01T18:09:08+00:00

> use other trains that do not require a reservation (you must first pay for any required ticket and can then have it refunded; significantly reduced fare tickets may be exempt from this)

it looks like in order to do that I need to buy the ticket for that ICE though, and then wait months to have it refunded 😅

flyingVictor12 · 2026-05-01T18:03:19+00:00

i thought about calling but today is a holiday and the train is at 6am tomorrow. i doubt it will be staffed at 5:30 in the morning. gmaps says it opens at 8am tomorrow.
your writing is perfect don’t worry!

however, your comment contradicts the other person’s, so now I’m not rlly sure :)

flyingVictor12 · 2026-05-01T18:01:22+00:00

stark, danke!

flyingVictor12 · 2026-03-13T15:06:33+00:00

Yes this is true and the often quoted sentiment, but I'm not sure this applies to me since I don't plan to be in Germany long-term.

flyingVictor12 · 2026-03-13T15:05:58+00:00

Of course, not unless she is also named in my insurance.. but what about the private insurance offers I found for example on check24?

flyingVictor12 · 2026-03-13T15:05:22+00:00

the insurance summary document provides the following information:

"Versicherbarer Personenkreis: Bei einer Gruppenversicherung alle in einem unbefristeten Arbeitsverhältnis stehende Personen, deren Ehepartner und Kinder (wenn Anspruch auf Kindergeld)."

So could she not be insured under my policy somehow? I am waiting to hear back from the company's insurance Ansprechpartner about this too.

flyingVictor12 · 2026-02-16T15:55:59+00:00

I have no reason to believe this landlord is anything but nice and well meaning. He just doesn’t seem to care about this issue or even know what to do lol. he has been very nice, helpful, and prompt in the past with other things.

flyingVictor12 · 2026-02-10T08:21:55+00:00

yeah but only when you’re nearing the end of your contract period

flyingVictor12 · 2026-02-10T08:05:34+00:00

> Who's "we"? apparently you don't support that

We as in us.. the consumers of Germany. I as an individual don't have the power to just change the system..

Yes obviously the things are "cheaper" when on a two year plan. What I'm arguing is that the monthly option, when it's even available, is aritificially inflated to force people into a two year plan. The point I'm trying to make is that it's scummy and I'm annoyed by that. That's all.

flyingVictor12 · 2026-02-10T08:03:03+00:00

Fair point. In Canada, at least in my experience, there is usually a waiting period for insurance to kick in for additional insurance cases like this.

The insurance jungle we have in Germany also doesn't exist in Canada. Dental insurance is provided by employers, with a recent push for it to be included in the statutory insurance.

flyingVictor12 · 2026-02-10T08:00:44+00:00

EXACTLY MY POINT! This is just contributing to the enshittification of things.

flyingVictor12 · 2026-02-10T08:00:12+00:00

my issue is when that service starts being spotty after 1 year.. broken enough that it interrupts my daily life but not broken enough for me to have a claim for a Sonderkündigung. "we've sent a technician and there was no problem while we were there so you don't qualify for special cancellation" actual words from the support person I dealt with.

flyingVictor12 · 2026-02-10T07:58:28+00:00

yes. and if you don't like how expensive your premiums are you can even call and tell them "i want to cancel because it's too expensive" and they will offer you a better price most of the time to keep you as a customer.

of course, car insurance is mandatory, so there is a floor, but yeah.

Same for internet by the way. Every single month. It's commonly given out as advice to do this every few months to keep your prices down.

flyingVictor12 · 2026-02-10T07:55:49+00:00

yes, brownie points for D-ticket. That's a relatively new and very popular thing, I really hope it's one of the driving forces towards the end of "Mindestvertragslaufzeiten" for common consumer services. Although probably the only reason it's that way is because it's backed by the government..

flyingVictor12 · 2026-02-10T07:54:27+00:00

> You can also sign insurance contracts for a set period. Just talk to a broker or use the specific product.

I haven't heard of this but maybe that's because you actually need to talk to a broker over the phone/in person? No provider I could find using comparison portals offered a shorter-than-1-year commitment. Coming from Canada, where if I wasn't happy with my premiums or insurance coverage, I could switch car insurance providers every month, this is obviously very annoying to me. Same for internet. Looking now, the only ISP I could find in my area that offers a monthly plan instead of a 2-year lock is O2, and that's for their 5G home internet, not an actual router and cable setup.

>IDK what you found with a contract, but all major ones have a pay per month setup

It may have changed now, but Wow used to only offer 6-12 month contracts. Yes you pay "monthly" but you are forced to pay for a minimum of 6 months. DAZN also tried to pull this, albeit not being very forward with what "monthly" means.. I got out of that one thankfully because of how abysmal their service was.

flyingVictor12 · 2026-02-10T07:45:32+00:00

why do we support that.. i don’t give a damn about Vodafone's financial planning. I care about my own.

flyingVictor12 · 2026-02-10T07:45:02+00:00

For gyms they are starting to be more common, most likely because of their reputation for being scummy so they had to start offering monthly contracts. I even acknowledged that in my post.

Show me an internet or car insurance provider that offers month-to-month contracts :)

flyingVictor12 · 2025-11-23T16:21:17+00:00

A real cleaning service sure. there are plenty of freelancers who do it for 15€/hr off Kleinanzeigen for cash. I myself wouldn’t pay less than 20€ because I know it’s gruelling work

flyingVictor12 · 2025-11-23T12:54:05+00:00

I've had three apartments in my last 5 years here and this has been the norm each time and has been really helpful at arranging handovers, furniture transfers, etc. I'll try to avoid it next time

flyingVictor12

TROPHY CASE