Schöna(Gr) stands for Schöna Grenze = border. There is also a stop Schöna, but only regional trains stop there.
This is only a tariff point in the computer, not a real village. No stop there either.

Assuming you have a railpass which covers Germany, you could buy a ticket in Berlin from the border to Prague only. However you cannot do this online or at ticket machines – this option is only available in the computer systems at the railway station counters.

A ticket for 3 persons 2nd class from Berlin to Prague is EUR 106,50.
To Bad Schandau (last stop before the border) is EUR 70,00.
From Decin (first stop after the border) to Prague it is CZK 222,00 pp (~ 3 x EUR 7,00 = 21,00).
70,00 + 21,00 = EUR 91,00
Now you have to take into account:
– the price for the gap between these two stations (i.e. to/from the border not included in the above prices
– the fee for buying the tickets from the Czech conductor (3 times, unlike with DB 3 persons cannot travel on the same ticket)
– the fee for getting some Czech Koronas in Berlin (compared to withdraw them in the Czech Republic from an ATM)
For these three topics you have ~ EUR 5 left per person. It could be well that you won’t save anything.

As an alternative you could buy a ticket to Decin (EUR 79,50) and from there with slower trains or bus and a domestic Czech ticket to Prague.
But also this will saves you just a few bucks, certainly not cutting your ticket price in half.

In my opinion none of these efforts is worth the money you’ll save.

If you plan to travel on a Saturday or Sunday, you could travel with the HappyWeekendTicket (EUR 28,-) from Berlin on local trains into the Czech border region (even beyond Decin e.g. to Litomence) and from there on domestic tickets the rest.
map: http://www.bahn.de/p…
The HappyWeekendTicket is valid for up to 5 people travelling together. The local trains on the first part will increase your travel time by 1,5 to 2 hours. But with this method you could keep your travel costs under 15 EUR per person – thus really cutting them into half.

Thanks for all of the information.

We do not have passes – this may be our only train travel. We also will be traveling on a Monday, so no happy weekend action.

Based on your reply, I need a ticket from Bad Schandau to Decin. If I buy this on the train, it will possibly be from a German conductor, with German prices and including the international and on-board fees.

I hear what you are saying about not really saving much. I still think the on-board Czech fees would be $1 each at the most. I think I will still look into buying the German portion to B. Schandau at 29 Euros, buy another ticket from B. Schandau to Decin, and then possibly buy the Decin to Praha on the train. Maybe there is enough time to stop in Decin to buy a ticket.

> Based on your reply, I need a ticket from Bad Schandau to Decin. If I buy this on the train, it will possibly be from a German conductor, with German prices and including the international and on-board fees.

You could by such a ticket in advance in Berlin, thus saving the on-board fee. Price at the railway station will be EUR 23,50 for a ticket for 3 persons (not EUR 79,50 – EUR 70,00 as one may assume from my first post!).

> I hear what you are saying about not really saving much. I still think the on-board Czech fees would be $1 each at the most. I think I will still look into buying the German portion to B. Schandau at 29 Euros, buy another ticket from B. Schandau to Decin, and then possibly buy the Decin to Praha on the train.

Now I slowly understand what you plan. Using the DB Summer Special for EUR 29,- from Berlin to Bad Schandau. Makes no sense with 3 people.
Berlin – Bad Schandau: 3 x EUR 29,- = EUR 87,00
Bad Schandau – Decin = EUR 23,50
… this would be rather stupid. EUR 110,50 to reach Decin when a normal (flexible) ticket to Prague is only EUR 106,50.

> Maybe there is enough time to stop in Decin to buy a ticket.
Definitly not if you want to proceed with the same train.

And buying from the conductor won’t pay.
Berlin – Decin: EUR 79,50
Decin – Prague: ~ EUR 21,-
= EUR 6,- left for covering the fee for buying on board and for the fee to buy Czech Koronas in Berlin. I don’t think that the savings left will be worth the effort. In the worst case you may even loose money.