I like the level of good contact with other passengers while traveling with a small child.
For one: your average basic-bitch-grumpy-arsehole is more likely to just stfu / stay away. More importantly, it appears nice people (=most) are more likely to feel confident to be actually nice in public. It honestly seems as if every interaction with others is just.. nice 🙂
Toddler just made a toddler friend. His mom shared blueberries. Fyi ten is the threshold for weird poop. 🫐 💩
Quick 19hr layover in Bremen. The #DB app is not the best with that and puts on the same level of stress one does with a four minute transfer..
STRESS!!!
Anyway. Now let's find a playground :-)
13 hours and 15 min to go!
A very different level of stress. Most operators of toddlers will know the fear when a delicate object is spotted as "interesting".
Here I'm in the hotel trying to photograph the little model train coach (a Dutch NS ICRmh) we bought for, uhm, toddler and me.
Suddenly Hand.
The stress! 28 minutes before departure! That leaves just 20 minutes for Toddler to wave at pigeons & the flock of Jehova Witnesses (they usually don't wave back, and if they do it's only the women).
Pffff. WE'RE there. And so is an Austrian night train.
Our DB train to Hamburg is not though.
-1 minutes before departure!
Oh. There it is.
Still. 19 hour transfer window and we're still late 🙂
Aaaall aboard the small child zone!
We're happily in the small child zone of the IC carriage. It's less awesome than those on the ICE but still really spacious.
Toddler compensated the lack of a "wall based play board" by demolishing an armrest. Good times.
It's fairly quiet in Hamburg central station. The little Hobbit (btw. Today is International Hobbit Day) is enjoying the moving trains and people.
We just waved at a deceased #pigeon that wasn't there some days ago. One that we did spot is now gone. Which makes me wonder if DB employs "dead pigeon catchers" in this station. Any #DB / #Bahn staff on Mastodon that can give insight?
In an hour we'll take our last train of the trip. The Eurocity back to Denmark.
Btw. No photo of the deceased rotting pigeon. @juliette told me to stop randomly posting dead animals on social media. Apparently it's not supposed to be a thing.
edit: I DIDN'T KNOW!
edit 2: I did of course take the photo. Just not sharing it here. Uncensored available via DM.
Lol at fellow passenger "no fucks Martha".
We're in a six person cabin with three reserved chairs (little hobbit and myself, and Martha).
On boarding the train quickly filled. Our cabin was full. Then an older lady arrived. She mentioned a reservation and pointed to the chair with the guy with the laptop with AFD & MAGA stickers.
He asked to see her ticket. She said she doesn't talk with fascists. He left.
Martha later informed us her reservation is for another seat.
Martha also charmed the hell out of toddler. "Aren't you a nice little mouse [little pats on the nose]. Meep meep!" and fed toddler all the bits of clementine I prepared.
Seriously. DB should offer "travel with Martha" as an extra service.
Very different but WTF travel information DB.
It's currently 13:56 and we're still (just) in Germany and haven't even done the Schengen violation at the border. Kolding is at least 20 minutes away. DB clearly knows we left late.
Yet according to DB we have arrived there already.
Is this some weird #CrossBorderRail hiccup where DSB and DB hand over control of the train?
Wtf. The entire EuroCity train is at Padborg, the border between Denmark and Germany.
This is where a staff change from DB to DSB takes place. But to great confusion, and clear annoyance, of the DB staff there's no Danes..
Apparently they will arrive at 15:00 earliest.
Never had this before. Any idea if this is a common thing?! Have you heard of this @jon
So arriving just a bit over two hours late. That's a 50% refund of the ticket.
More importantly: it's fricking annoying (although the little hobbit enjoyed Padborg station playground: lots of bored people to wave at) and the DSB train staff made a point, both in person and over the intercom, of loudly blaming DB for this. Yet they took their sweet time leaving after they arrived.. Not a good image.
Home again. It was good fun travelling as a solo parent. We were probably somewhat lucky when it came to delays and fellow passengers but even though I'd do the same trip again.
Toddler is super happy to be reunited with their mom, and with the toy trains. Utter happiness :-)
Pepijn
rhempel