My adventure with the Deutsche Bahn

Yes, I am very happy to announce that the train ticket problem has been completely resolved!

Here's the story:

I was going to visit two friends in Germany, one near Bremen and one in Leipzig. So I bought a bus ticket to Bremen (which I thought at the time was a flight, but enough of that), then hunted around the Deutsche Bahn (German national train) site for a ride between Bremen and Leipzig. What do you know, there was a discount that saved me 30 euros! So I took it, naturally.

It was supposed to come in the mail... which it didn't for a week, a week before I was to leave. This was probably because I simply gave my name for the mailing address and not c/o Jane Smith, which was pretty stupid of me. At my host mom's advice, I sent an email: to leave evidence of my problem, and to ask them to either send another ticket or cancel the first. Then several days before was finally able to get through on the phone (it was Easter weekend, what do you know) to someone in the right place, after trying several different offices. He spoke English decently well and explained to me that if the ticket didn't come, I could buy another one at the Bremen station, then after the trip send this second ticket back for reimbursement.

That sounded good to me. The ticket never came and I bought another, as I was advised to do.

I got back to receive the next day an email from the Deutsche Bahn informing me they had cancelled the first ticket. Oh no. That was perfect timing on their part - right before I had a chance to send back the second ticket! I wasn't sure they would refund the second if they had cancelled the first. But I sent my ticket anyway with an explanation, and copies of everything carefully filed away.

And waited...

...Finally, about a week ago, I was informed by email that the 30 euros had been refunded...

...And finally today it showed up in my account. Yippee! Of course I sent them a thank-you email.

What a victory! What a great way to end the week. :)

Oh, and one more piece of good news: for the flight to Buenos Aires in July, departure from Des Moines is as cheap as Chicago. Not hard to make that decision!