Goodmorning from the foggy Danish countryside 🇩🇰
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Wuppertal is kinda surprising in how interesting it is. Admittedly I knew only one thing about it before coming here and not even checked Wikipedia while in the train.
Besides the excellent rollercoaster, ICE connection and fancy bus-station the town is a typical car-first German town. Non-car-first places here are "dedicated specials" (see photos).
Also as a Dutch person living in Denmark I had -again- forgotten that cities can have vertical distance as well..
@Pepijn I made a special detour to Wuppertal once - I was traveling from Scotland to Berlin with some friends via the Newcastle ferry and Amsterdam, and while they went straight on to Berlin, I went to Wuppertal, had a lovely time on the Schwebebahn, stayed one night and then met them in Berlin the next day. Totally worth it.
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@Pepijn wow! Great footage. I really enjoyed that - could be the opening shot of some yet unmade feature film
@Pepijn It’s called a Dolly shot, isn’t it?
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Dortmund Hbf has this sweet jump with tracks ending just before a cliff.
Maybe the #bahnbubble can help out my curiosity: did any train ever went over the edge here?
@Pepijn don't know if any trains went off the end there but the lack of sculptural cetacean tails is triggering.
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One thing that clearly makes a positive difference in how successful the #Schwebebahn integrates in the city is how accessible and friendly the stations are.
None of them are exactly the same but they all have in common that there's a low-stress pedestrian feel to both the platforms and the immediate surroundings.
It reminds me a bit of many of the platforms within the #Chicago "L" elevated train system. That one has more of an aggressive police & rat presence though.
@Pepijn It looks very quaint! The wood deck panels remind me a lot of CTA indeed.
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Near the end of the line in Vohwinkel. Here the trains fly over a city street. With the evening lights it gives an awesome effect as if you're hovering over #MiniaturWunderland
Once there you get a nice view into the maintenance yard as well.
Good morning! Soon after departing Kolding DB informed me a connection could not be made and I can take "any train".
So I'm trying my best before leaving for Munchen.
I chatted with some -at first reluctant, then engaged- locals. One bonus mentioned about this over busses is how it's separated from other traffic, bright
️ above the world. Guy bringing his kid to daycare said in winter it replaces one cup of morning coffee
️ No short distance bus or metro can do that.
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Near the end of the line in Vohwinkel. Here the trains fly over a city street. With the evening lights it gives an awesome effect as if you're hovering over #MiniaturWunderland
Once there you get a nice view into the maintenance yard as well.
@Pepijn At some point, I guess I should take my kids fly into Düsseldorf, visit Dortmund university and take a trip to Wuppertal.
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@Pepijn Very nice!
Those massive stilts look a bit awkward but at least they leave the street below almost entirely free.
@ronaldb66 @Pepijn Cities in the late 1800s were drowning in horse manure, so they needed some form of horseless mass transport to get the workers to the factories. Wuppertal sits on very hard granite and excavating for an underground system would have been prohibitively expensive. So, they decided to use the space over the river instead and then later expanded over the street into Vohwinkel.
There's a small museum about this: https://schwebebahn.de/en/schwebodrom
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Good morning! Soon after departing Kolding DB informed me a connection could not be made and I can take "any train".
So I'm trying my best before leaving for Munchen.
I chatted with some -at first reluctant, then engaged- locals. One bonus mentioned about this over busses is how it's separated from other traffic, bright
️ above the world. Guy bringing his kid to daycare said in winter it replaces one cup of morning coffee
️ No short distance bus or metro can do that.
Ooops & well, that worked out great
I got a bit distracted time-wise during an impromptu tour* of one of the workshops / train storage areas at the end of the line
*super nice btw, guy had no reason to do so.
If it had not been for #DB delaying my already delayed train a bit more I would've missed it.
Wuppertal was fun. And the rollercoaster really showed me how local transport can be truly good. Will go there again one day with @juliette & hobbit. Now on to Munich
#CrossBorderDorkiday -
Ooops & well, that worked out great
I got a bit distracted time-wise during an impromptu tour* of one of the workshops / train storage areas at the end of the line
*super nice btw, guy had no reason to do so.
If it had not been for #DB delaying my already delayed train a bit more I would've missed it.
Wuppertal was fun. And the rollercoaster really showed me how local transport can be truly good. Will go there again one day with @juliette & hobbit. Now on to Munich
#CrossBorderDorkidayQuestion about train etiquette:
I'm in an ICE. Basic zone (not silent zone / mobile phone).
There's ten people. Mostly individuals. Some have conversations.
The man of a middle aged couple was using his phone to loudly play modern Greek folk music
.After 10 min I went & asked "Excuse me, can you please use headphones?". He waved as in "I don't get it" but turned it off as his wife smacked him.
Two people gave a thumbs up but no-one else had said a thing. Was I the rude one?
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Question about train etiquette:
I'm in an ICE. Basic zone (not silent zone / mobile phone).
There's ten people. Mostly individuals. Some have conversations.
The man of a middle aged couple was using his phone to loudly play modern Greek folk music
.After 10 min I went & asked "Excuse me, can you please use headphones?". He waved as in "I don't get it" but turned it off as his wife smacked him.
Two people gave a thumbs up but no-one else had said a thing. Was I the rude one?
@Pepijn no. we about to implode in an annoyed puddle salute you 🫡
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@Pepijn no. we about to implode in an annoyed puddle salute you 🫡
@JosteinSN I hope those about to implode in an annoyed puddle* will also step up themselves next time
*I'm going to borrow that one
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Question about train etiquette:
I'm in an ICE. Basic zone (not silent zone / mobile phone).
There's ten people. Mostly individuals. Some have conversations.
The man of a middle aged couple was using his phone to loudly play modern Greek folk music
.After 10 min I went & asked "Excuse me, can you please use headphones?". He waved as in "I don't get it" but turned it off as his wife smacked him.
Two people gave a thumbs up but no-one else had said a thing. Was I the rude one?
@Pepijn given the way you asked (waiting at first, suggesting an alternative way of continuing what they were doing instead of "you cannot do X here") and the responses (the wife did not smack you, no thumbs down), I'd say you did very well.
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Question about train etiquette:
I'm in an ICE. Basic zone (not silent zone / mobile phone).
There's ten people. Mostly individuals. Some have conversations.
The man of a middle aged couple was using his phone to loudly play modern Greek folk music
.After 10 min I went & asked "Excuse me, can you please use headphones?". He waved as in "I don't get it" but turned it off as his wife smacked him.
Two people gave a thumbs up but no-one else had said a thing. Was I the rude one?
@Pepijn Nah, basic German awkwardness, I'd say.
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Question about train etiquette:
I'm in an ICE. Basic zone (not silent zone / mobile phone).
There's ten people. Mostly individuals. Some have conversations.
The man of a middle aged couple was using his phone to loudly play modern Greek folk music
.After 10 min I went & asked "Excuse me, can you please use headphones?". He waved as in "I don't get it" but turned it off as his wife smacked him.
Two people gave a thumbs up but no-one else had said a thing. Was I the rude one?
@Pepijn playing music out loud (or watching TV, or other entertainment) is rude in enclosed spaces not dedicated to having that experience together. It's borderline in open spaces where you can leave if you choose, but it's unacceptable when you can't leave.
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Question about train etiquette:
I'm in an ICE. Basic zone (not silent zone / mobile phone).
There's ten people. Mostly individuals. Some have conversations.
The man of a middle aged couple was using his phone to loudly play modern Greek folk music
.After 10 min I went & asked "Excuse me, can you please use headphones?". He waved as in "I don't get it" but turned it off as his wife smacked him.
Two people gave a thumbs up but no-one else had said a thing. Was I the rude one?
Fun update on the man playing modern Greek folk music. First of all: it was modern Turkish Cypriot folk music. Same thing?
Since his wife smacked him 50min ago the man has been silently sitting there, arms crossed, looking at the ceiling in grumpy contemplation.
He only got up for a bathroom break, during which his wife turned around and in perfect English apologised for his behaviour. She mentioned they're going on a family visit in Turkey & Cyprus.
I really hope they spend some time apart.
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Question about train etiquette:
I'm in an ICE. Basic zone (not silent zone / mobile phone).
There's ten people. Mostly individuals. Some have conversations.
The man of a middle aged couple was using his phone to loudly play modern Greek folk music
.After 10 min I went & asked "Excuse me, can you please use headphones?". He waved as in "I don't get it" but turned it off as his wife smacked him.
Two people gave a thumbs up but no-one else had said a thing. Was I the rude one?
@Pepijn nicely done. Definitely not the arsehole.
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Question about train etiquette:
I'm in an ICE. Basic zone (not silent zone / mobile phone).
There's ten people. Mostly individuals. Some have conversations.
The man of a middle aged couple was using his phone to loudly play modern Greek folk music
.After 10 min I went & asked "Excuse me, can you please use headphones?". He waved as in "I don't get it" but turned it off as his wife smacked him.
Two people gave a thumbs up but no-one else had said a thing. Was I the rude one?
@Pepijn you weren't rude. The wife was rude but right. He was just rude.
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Question about train etiquette:
I'm in an ICE. Basic zone (not silent zone / mobile phone).
There's ten people. Mostly individuals. Some have conversations.
The man of a middle aged couple was using his phone to loudly play modern Greek folk music
.After 10 min I went & asked "Excuse me, can you please use headphones?". He waved as in "I don't get it" but turned it off as his wife smacked him.
Two people gave a thumbs up but no-one else had said a thing. Was I the rude one?
@Pepijn
The first one to act in a mildly - minimally - decisive way. -
Fun update on the man playing modern Greek folk music. First of all: it was modern Turkish Cypriot folk music. Same thing?
Since his wife smacked him 50min ago the man has been silently sitting there, arms crossed, looking at the ceiling in grumpy contemplation.
He only got up for a bathroom break, during which his wife turned around and in perfect English apologised for his behaviour. She mentioned they're going on a family visit in Turkey & Cyprus.
I really hope they spend some time apart.
Just to say: I know the dude was rude. What I often struggle with is that no-one else speaks up yet do look annoyed and afterwards give me a thumbs-up
In Denmark smoking on platforms is a no-no, people don't like it. Yet some see the person speaking up as committing a no-no as well..
I'm not naturally confrontational & despite (or in part because of that) going out of my way to talk with strangers this leaves me with a feeling of "should I have?".
Maybe I just want ya'll to speak up
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Just to say: I know the dude was rude. What I often struggle with is that no-one else speaks up yet do look annoyed and afterwards give me a thumbs-up
In Denmark smoking on platforms is a no-no, people don't like it. Yet some see the person speaking up as committing a no-no as well..
I'm not naturally confrontational & despite (or in part because of that) going out of my way to talk with strangers this leaves me with a feeling of "should I have?".
Maybe I just want ya'll to speak up
@Pepijn have you heard the phrase "active bystander"?
Here, employers are putting lots of effort in training people to be more active bystanders, because so many people will walk past the worst things because they don't feel like they can intervene.
I got the sense in the Netherlands that this wasn't as much of a problem...
