Train fares through Germany

As someone warned me on this web site last month before my trip to Germany, purchasing internet train tickets from Rail Europe cost much more than through Bahn.com. And first class reservations are best done in Germany, much lower cost and no risk of seats not being available, as they almost always are as travellers sometimes do not show up or change their plans. I recently learned this from 5 train trips.

Yes,Rail Europe is one to avoid.

How did you find first class? German trains are so good even in second class...I've never tried first class there......

They were first class, three seats across , reclining seats, with big window, lots of leg room and not crowded..1/3 full at most. However, I also think second class would have also been ok for us. Make sure your seat in not next to a window's vertical post which blocks the view quite a bit. About twice as expensive as second class.

Sometimes Eurostar on the London to Cologne route via Brussels can be cheaper in 1st class than 2nd, so I've used ICE trains in 1st once or twice. It's very comfortable. :)

roberto, good to hear you benefited from the forum's wisdom.
Don't know if he elaborated the best site for booking but in this post a contributor is spending a lot of attention to trains in Germany - and other transport modi - it even starts with 'transport'.
(besides that many other items)

I wonder if posters consult the previous sites, e.g. you appreciate last months's warning for a booking site but this warning/remark is - honestly speaking - as old as the road to Cologne (disclaimer: at least in Nepal labeled as a proverb).
Still not personnally but generally speaking I'm sure posters will be more motivated to answer if knowing their answers will be used in the future.
So far a personnal note before going (on) beyond the off-topic line

Rail Europe isn't always more expensive than Bahn. Sign up to its free e-Newsletter. It has some fantastic bargains that put Bahn in the corner. We got Madrid to Barcelona, one-way through its promotional email, cheaper than on both Bahn and Renfe websites. It had to be booked straight away though and only gave about 4 weeks notice.
However you're right, Rail Europe's open daily website isn't generally full of bargains.

Raileurope v/s Bahn.com. Yes I did fail to read the Thorn Tree site warning " as Old as the road to Cologne "...and I have no doubts there may also be good deals ocassionally by one or the other web sites, but only comparing the dates one will travel is the real test of which is most advantageous to the traveller. Who would cares about deals at any other time, except for conversation purposes......... or if one is flexible with the dates.

We also took the fast AVE Madrid to Barcelona train two years ago after a cruise It took 3hrs and 10 min. It was in first class in a first class mode of transport , travelling in the middle of the day was great so as to admire the beautifull country. The ticket included full course lunch, wine and dessert, all for $ 105 ea. Who knows what this trip may cost at other times but we like to travel when we want and not when the prices are low. (: (: And yes, the plane probably was cheaper but more inconvenient!

https://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/forums/europe-western-europe/topics/how-to-pay-too-much-for-your-train-ticket

The bahn.com ticket for June 22, 2014 from Cologne to Amsterdam was bought months in advance, on the web , for 59 euro ea. plus $ 4.5 e for seat reservation bought at the station, which was wasted as the first class was basically empty. Strange, I could not get the reservation over the web. There were no extra charges for anything. I printed the ticket . The train attendant.looked at the dates and stamped OK.

Yes , it was the fast trin, ICE...it travelled fast but not like AVE in Spain. I moved between 90-190 m/h, but seldom at 190.

I learned that when you're doing international travel to/from Germany by train, it's worth checking the rail sites for both countries. Bought a Paris-Nürnberg ticket on the French site and even though it was on a German ICE, the ticket was way cheaper than the dbahn site.

First class on that route offers lunch with a mid-day departure. I didn't really feel a difference between 1st and 2nd on the Franfurt-Nürnberg route though. Slightly more spacious, but the second class seats on ICE are pretty darn nice anyway IMO.

I agree with the above comments . Because no one has proof for rebuttal we often concur with just about any experience expressed about this topic ; except perhaps for the person accompaning the topic originator.
However, we must consider there are so many variation with the european trains , speed, confort, prices, access conveniences, comparisons of any kind, i.e. ticket vendors, train origins/stations, personal likes...this listing could go on, but perhaps most important could be personal idiosyncrasies.