tml

tml, 6 hours ago to random

I saw a man with a towel! Was he celebrating #towelDay, or was he just going to the sauna or whatever?

tml, 9 hours ago to random

Going to Vadstena. Stil no decision where to stay the next night. Assuming a few hours is enough to see Vadstena, maybe Kalmar? Karlskrona? Or perhaps even Copenhagen or Odense. Schienenersatzverkehr between Älmhult and Hässleholm this weekend, I want to avoid that, so in any case taking the coastal route. #Interrail

tml, 1 day ago to pareidolia

#pareidolia #Örebro

tml, 3 days ago to random

The Number 10 cat appears! Wants to get in. Nobody opens the door!?

tml, 3 days ago to random

Nett hier? Offenburg, Baden-Württemberg.

Pleasant small city to overnight in when travelling from Paris towards Hamburg and the Echte Norden. Very quiet in the night, was nice to hear the birds sing when falling asleep. Relatively inexpensive Ibis Styles hotel (although I don’t see what the “styles” refers to in this case) (not in pic).

#Interrail

image/jpeg
image/jpeg

tml, 4 days ago to random

Today has been a very TGV-dominated travel day. Bordeaux–Paris and Paris–Offenburg. Expensive reservations but 300 km/h for hundreds of kilometres. #Interrail

image/jpeg

tml, 5 days ago to random

1435 → 1668 mm. Travelling to Donostia/San Sebastián for overnighting and then tomorrow into France. #Interrail

image/jpeg

tml, 5 days ago to random

TIL that the Madrid Metro uses the gauge 1445 mm. Seriously, huh?

tml, 5 days ago to random

Happiness. I can now reveal that I was stupid and left my iPad in the bus from Toledo to Madrid two weeks ago (on a Saturday). I followed it in Find My and saw that it returned to Toledo and stayed there. I went there the following day, but of course the ticket office wasn’t open on Sundays and even if I saw it was some metres away I couldn’t get it... I eventually got a reply from #Alsa that they do have it there and I can fetch it on a weekday so here I am now and yes I got it back. Whew.

tml, 9 days ago to random

I dislike Elon Musk and I understand the problems caused to astronomy by a large number of low earth orbit satellites. But still, please people, before you share this story about “Starlink precipitation” that is doing the rounds, be a bit critical. I am not at all sure that such a term is actually used in the astronomical community. My guess is that it’s just this one guy that came up with it for lols in a post.

tml, 9 days ago to random

Is it so that if you tap “cash and balance” on an #Euronet ATM they will charge you extra for the balance inquiry? I am very distrusting about that company and always choose “other” and then just “cash withdrawal”.

tml, 9 days ago to porto

The public transport ticket machines in #Lisbon have a better UX than the ones in #Porto.

In Porto they asked whether you have a Portuguese tax number or not, and they used the weird word “title” instead of the simple to understand word “ticket”. Also, here you can with one payment buy several travel cards with the same tickets loaded onto each card.

But sure, ideal is London-style contactless payment system with daily fee capping . Instead of a separate travel card for each city you visit.

tml, 10 days ago to random

I wished Слава Україні! to some people, hope they were Russian.

tml, 10 days ago to random

Lisbon Airbnb confirmed, a bit nerve wracking, why did we leave it to the last minute…

tml, 11 days ago to random Finnish

Mmm, olen liberaali. Hyväksyn näitä laskiaispulliksi. Vaikkei edes ole laskiainen.

tml, 14 days ago to random

There is a train connection from Lisbon to Badajoz (border station in Spain) that arrives at 17:26. Guess when the train to Madrid leaves Badajoz? Four minutes earlier of course. Because reasons. Would be reasonable to expect state owned railway companies in neighbouring countries to coordinate their timetables, right? #CrossBorderRail #Renfe #CP

tml, 14 days ago to random

I love that some of Spain’s main railway stations have been given names honouring Spanish female authors, journalists, philosophers etc. Madrid-Puerta de Atocha-Almudena Gardens, Madrid-Chamartin-Clara Campoamor, Málaga-Maria Zambrano. Are there more? Better than mythical figures (saints).

But still. From a usability POV such complex names are horrible. Parts of the name can be left out or abbreviated. Could easily confuse an unaware traveler, especially a foreigner.

tml, 14 days ago to random

The feeling when you are already completely full in a tapas bar and can’t recall whether you ordered anything more and are afraid they will bring you one more dish.

I am used to Finnish tapas bars where three tapas per person is the norm. Here two is definitely enough.

tml, 15 days ago to random

Fabulous bridge in #Ourense

image/jpeg
image/jpeg
image/jpeg

tml, 15 days ago to random

Might this perhaps be good news? Or it is just marketing BS? #Renfe

Ah now I notice it was May 12 last year…

tml, 16 days ago to random

And without any noise, cursing workers, or sledgehammer application (compare to bogie change Poland/Ukraine etc) this train changed from 1435 to 1668 mm gauge on the fly. First time for me. Now in Galicia. #Interrail

tml, 17 days ago to random

If you buy tickets to the Alcazar in Córdoba on the net, it asks you for names, passport numbers, telephone numbers and other shit, tedious to enter. If you just walk up to the ticket office, you get your ticket, and pay. Because Internet and Security!!!

tml, 18 days ago to random

Out for a few cocktails. Luckily had a look at what Google Maps lists, as there is a classy cocktail bar in the neighbouring block that we had passed multiple times but not noticed. Called 1862 Dry Bar. Don’t know the significance of 1862.

image/jpeg

tml, 18 days ago to random

Passports have had machine-readable text for ages. Still, whoever designed #Renfe’s over-the-counter ticket sales IT system didn’t think of including a suitable reader. (Don’t know about the self-service ticket machines.) Even if Renfe, like all long distance travel companies in Spain, requires the passport or ID card number of each passenger. (Which then is, I assume, extremely rarely checked, but hey, SECURITY!!!)

tml, 19 days ago to Madrid

The free (as in beer) buses in #Madrid, 001 and 002, are really useful. Sad that we learnt of them only on the second day here. Good for trips between Atocha and the area where our Airbnb is, for example.