Posts by moof@cupoftea.social
 (DIR) Post #B17HkRzRZCK8kRnRk8 by moof@cupoftea.social
       2025-12-10T13:49:50Z
       
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       After that brief dip into the inauguration, it's time for our next train, from Köln Hbf to Hannover Hbf. This is again on an :ice_1: ICE 1, in keeping with our rules. We've found ourselves a spot in the first class section that has a nice wide table, which means I'll be able to grab lunch properly. This is thanks to the fact that @darkphoenix has gold status, one of the perks of them having a BahnCard 100, which allows for unlimited travel on the entire DB network as well as regional and local railways. You can see her post about it here: https://not.an.evilcyberhacker.net/notes/ag3mf0f3ebio009o
       
 (DIR) Post #B17HkSdVAGMmkgXRBI by moof@cupoftea.social
       2025-12-10T14:55:13Z
       
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       And this really is not our day. We've been Bahned yet again, though only in a way that affects this challenge.I've now received a notification for DB that due to a technical fault, my train to Würzburg has been replaced with a different model, and so my seat reservation has been moved. This is normally a good thing, as it means I don't lose my place on the train, except what was an :ice_2: ICE 2 is now an :ice_1: ICE 1.Whilst we could take an :ice_1: ICE 1 to Würzburg under the rules, I couldn't find a sensible routing that would allow us to take an :ice_2: ICE 2, an :ice_2: ICE T and an :ice_3: ICE 3 (403) tomorrow. There is an :ice_2: ICE 2 that arrives in Würzburg 2 hours later, which hopefully will not be replaced. If not, then, within our rules, we have the option of something like a NightJet, either to Würzburg, or to Passau.As it is... it's going to be a long evening…
       
 (DIR) Post #B17HkTTG3plbLCklqy by moof@cupoftea.social
       2025-12-10T15:28:20Z
       
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       Back to 1991. There was an intermediate period between the official inauguration on the 29th May through to the first commercial service. Gerd Böhmer, a long time rail fan, took one of the demonstration trains on the 31st of May and his (short) account and photos are up on https://www.gerdboehmer-berlinereisenbahnarchiv.de/Bildergalerien/19910531-db/19910531.html
       
 (DIR) Post #B17HkU81cGNPNdpKOe by moof@cupoftea.social
       2025-12-10T15:42:46Z
       
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       The first commercial service was ICE 593 departing at 05:53 from Hamburg-Altona, via Kassel-Wilhelmshöhe, and arriving in München Hbf at 13:20, on the service known as the Münchner Kindl. This was a savings of an hour of journey time compared to the ICs it replaced.That train was Trainset 156, now known as Heppenheim/Bergstraße. It's still in operation today. There's a fascinating home video documentary available on Youtube where you can see the original livery, and the original multicoloured interior, as well as what was basically a slice of life view of that first train, taken from Hannover to Kassel-Wilhelmshöhe. https://youtu.be/jEYMsUYSmDc
       
 (DIR) Post #B17HkUr2usOBdGtHZQ by moof@cupoftea.social
       2025-12-10T15:55:41Z
       
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       So, what was so revolutionary about the ICE? At that point, the headline feature was the speed. It could do 250km/h on the high speed lines, which basically equalled the speed of the iconic orange TGVs that had been running for over a decade in France. There's a fascinating clip of a poster in the video above showing the new journey times and time savings from Kassel-Wilhelmshöhe on the ICE.Signalling was different, too. Signalmen and drivers needed to be taught how to operate this new LZB signalling. But as far as the rest, it was a sleek, modern (for 1990s) aerodynamic design. It had mod cons, such as automated announcements, TV screens in first class, a cellular payphone, a computerised timetable that the public could type into a keyboard to use, and, of course, every business traveller's best friend: a Fax Machine!Truly a marvel of the 1990s, worthy of the last decade of the millennium
       
 (DIR) Post #B17HkVg5r5DqBam38a by moof@cupoftea.social
       2025-12-10T16:04:16Z
       
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       Pulling into #Bielefeld, a bustling metropolis that is the centre of German life, possibly more important than Frankfurt. It’s my first time here, and I now understand why people keep going on about it. As you can see from this photo, the skyline is impressive…
       
 (DIR) Post #B17HkWXce42YrbonZY by moof@cupoftea.social
       2025-12-10T20:06:35Z
       
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       Germany in Advent and Christmas is quite a different place. It feels like the Germans got tired of the early evenings and the arrival of the long winter nights, and so needed to fight back with lots of cosiness and warm light before the full arrival of winter. And they do this with the Christmas Markets. If you haven’t been to a German Christmas market, then you really are missing out. Other countries just don’t seem to manage the combination of Kitsch, warmth in the face of cold, and alcoholic indulgence without taking it to excess. And of course, they pop up in the most unlikely of places. I was surprised to discover there is a Christmas Market in a central square landside in Munich airport, complete with ice rink, for example.…and train stations are not left out. Here’s a photo of the square in front of Hannover Train Station, with a Glühwein (mulled wine) stand made out of an old tram, and the station itself nicely outlined in Christmas Lights. It’s adorable, and wonderful.
       
 (DIR) Post #B17HkXCOCUeMu2tM7E by moof@cupoftea.social
       2025-12-10T20:23:05Z
       
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       And given the intensity of the day, we decided to celebrate the evening with the new Winter Gin & Tonic that is a special on the DB Bordrestaurant menu for November and December. You see it here as modelled by Wendy the DBJUNGLESKOG. In true DB style, whilst the drinks are cold, there is no ice on this ICE.We have also been toasting to the times we have spent together, and to crowning off the year and this travel season for me with a suitably crazy journey. The sappy stuff has happened on @darkphoenix's thread over here: https://not.an.evilcyberhacker.net/notes/ag402034hltv00c7
       
 (DIR) Post #B17HkgDmeg74syc62S by moof@cupoftea.social
       2025-12-10T20:09:50Z
       
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       On the rails again…And we’re back on the #ICEAgeChallenge, now on our second type of train, an :ice_2: ICE 2 to Würzburg, where we will be spending the night.(CW: eye contact)
       
 (DIR) Post #B1bKe3jLFMp4qLSgWe by moof@cupoftea.social
       2025-12-25T08:16:54Z
       
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       Good Morning all, and Merry Christmas!
       
 (DIR) Post #B1m2PKLJXT2JaObjyi by moof@cupoftea.social
       2025-12-30T09:51:29Z
       
       3 likes, 3 repeats
       
       I’ve just gotten culture shock.Those of you keeping track will know that I did a Christmas market tour early December last year. I ended up downloading the Karlsruhe transit authority’s (KVV) app and buying a day ticket or two off them.These days I’m more familiar with German transit ticketing, so I haven’t used the KVV app since then. And today I have received this SMS, telling me they’re going to delete my account soon.…⁃ A company that is systematically deleting accounts after a year?⁃ That takes their data protection responsibilities seriously?⁃ That proactively informs their data subjects with plenty of time to cope?⁃ That doesn’t do so using dark marketing patterns that try to guilt me into staying?⁃ Or upsell me?⁃ Or trick me into clicking somewhere as the only way to exercise my rights?I am agog. My flabber is truly ghasted.Genuinely, this sort of attitude needs to be praised. It’s been 10 years since GDPR, and this sort of thing is still that rare.
       
 (DIR) Post #B1m2PRsXWKlyxTCsEq by moof@cupoftea.social
       2025-12-30T10:24:00Z
       
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       Sorry, a little more gushing on this message:⁃ It was sent by SMS to my Spanish number. They don’t care that the number is not German. Their systems will allow this.⁃ It was sent by SMS, not WhatsApp, which is annoyingly increasingly becoming the default messaging platform for this sort of thing, thus making an American company the mediator of all your messages.⁃ It was sent in English, my language of choice on their website and app, their processes are capable of checking my language preferences⁃ No link was included. Nor instructions. If you care about this, it’s obvious what to do. No need to send something that can be turned into a Phishing vector⁃ My name wasn’t mentioned, no need to attempt to gender me by giving me a titleNone of these things are standard yet, and they should be. If you work for a consumer-facing company, can you say that your customer data will be treated this way?Almost makes me want to keep my account with them, just for the respect they’ve shown
       
 (DIR) Post #B2qX0g0lsNlUfWUZ6G by moof@cupoftea.social
       2026-01-31T14:06:39Z
       
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       I have seen a number of people at #FOSDEM with their laptops out. A small number of them have little covers on their cameras as a sort way of protecting privacy.None so far have privacy shields on their laptop screens, and anyone sitting beside or behind them had pretty good views of what may have been happening on those screens.Generic privacy shields are available for about 40€. If your laptop screen has magnets in it (eg MacBooks) then they will attach with those. If not, it’s fairly easy to apply, and they can be taken off at will.If you travel, or regularly go to conferences or work in public, then please invest in one.
       
 (DIR) Post #B2qX0nJohy9vKcSNG4 by moof@cupoftea.social
       2026-01-31T14:09:22Z
       
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       This is particularly important in this sort of setting as several different types of neurodivergence have a lot o
       
 (DIR) Post #B3Bsmm6chNxEpLAE8u by moof@cupoftea.social
       2026-02-10T09:36:27Z
       
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       On the rails again…Today I am going from Frankfurt to… FrankfurtIf you look at any railway timetable, or signage, you’ll see that Germany’s 2nd busiest railway station is referred to as Frankfurt(Main) Hbf. The brackets imply there are in fact two, the Main one and… the other oneThe Main Frankfurt has over 750,000 people living it. The other one has a comfy 58,000The Main Frankfurt has a huge train station, with 31 platforms serving the needs of 493,000 daily passengers. The other one has a more modest station with 6 platforms.The Main Frankfurt is a financial hub, and hosts the headquarters of European Central Bank. The other Frankfurt hosts the headquarters of a Sparkasse.The Main Frankfurt was where Holy Roman Emperors were crowned. The other Frankfurt was a bustling hub of the Hanseatic leagueThe Main Frankfurt is where I am starting today, the other one is where I will finish… Frankfurt(Oder)Today’s itinerary: https://moof.space/trip/frankfurt-to-frankfurt
       
 (DIR) Post #B3BsmndyyqEVb5mNmK by moof@cupoftea.social
       2026-02-10T10:09:02Z
       
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       And how did they decide which was the Main Frankfurt and which was the Other one?It has nothing to do with preference or importance, it has everything to do with the river they're on. Frankfurt am Main is on the river Main, which is the longest tributary of the Rhine.On the Oder hand, Frankfurt an der Oder is on the river Oder, also known as the Odra. It rises in Czechia and flows down through Germany and Poland to the Baltic sea. Where Frankfurt is, it actually defines the post-WWII border with Poland. In fact, on the eastern side of the rive is the polish city of Słubice, which used to be a part of Frankfurt until 1945.
       
 (DIR) Post #B3BsmoWvgYBYLVUGQK by moof@cupoftea.social
       2026-02-10T11:04:48Z
       
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       It’s cold outside, there’s a snow kind of atmosphere.
       
 (DIR) Post #B3BsmpYjrJE7XPLDsm by moof@cupoftea.social
       2026-02-10T11:16:48Z
       
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       “Your Tickets Please”scans barcode“But this is your Bahncard… Oh, Gold! Ja OK”#GoTeamDE
       
 (DIR) Post #B3BsmqMMsmvS1KYrEu by moof@cupoftea.social
       2026-02-10T13:31:43Z
       
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       Berlin Südkreuz seems designed to maximise confusion with weird signage that only makes sense when you realise you’re crossing the ringbahn platforms in order to get down to the other platforms
       
 (DIR) Post #B3Bsmr668lVOJ9xNWC by moof@cupoftea.social
       2026-02-10T15:48:33Z
       
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       And I made it to Frankfurt!All in all, a 6.5 hour journey, though I did take a break in order to dump my bags at my lodging.(CW: selfie, eye contact)