hi-speed wifi

I always thought that the German ICE is the top of the food chain when it comes to bullet train technology. Dubbed as 'Maybach on rails' by Deutsche Bahn, I was convinced that hi-speed train traveling couldn't get any better. Comfortable, great design, and laptop power outlets at every seat.

Well, thats nothing. It's nothing compared to the latest french TGV lyra that I had the pleasure to ride last weekend. 4 hours and 20 minutes from Zurich Central to Paris Est (at a steep 200 EUR return). The train was well designed, nice colors but it didn't feel quite as luxurious and solid in comparison with the ICE. Until I booted my laptop, detected a Wifi and found this:
The train apparently has its own web server that displays the above site. In the center is a flash-based live map that displays the current location of the train. The box on the top left displays the current speed (up to 340 km/h) and the completed percentage of the journey. The best thing however is the third menu-item on the left: Internet! During approximately 2 hrs of the journey (and within France), that link fires up a free internet connection (realized by orange mobile). I checked my emails and surfed the web at decent speeds. For free.

Fuck you Deutsche Bahn, the holy grail of coolness now resides with the french, and an overpriced WLAN-Service on one lousy connection that is only available to first-class passangers can't stick up with that.

Hi-Speed trains rock: You travel from center to center, no airport annoyances (check-in, security, weight limitations, waiting at gates, endless journeys to shitty airports and god-knows-what), its much better for the environment, and there's power for laptops. If you ask me, it's the best way to travel - at least in Europe.

Paris was fantastic by the way.

The Rule of Least Annoyance

On all of my recent journeys, I encountered situations in which I was annoyed by other travelers. Travelers who try to jump the queue at the check-in. Passengers who block the aisle during boarding by undressing and stowing in super slow-mo while 100 others are stuck behind them; most of them still outside of the plane. People who smuggle two pieces of hand luggage past the check-in only to have one piece taken away from them by gate staff while others wait behind them. These people annoy me to death. They exhibit zero interest for the annoyance they create for the people around them.

When standing in line at the security check, I take off my jacket and belt, empty my pockets and take out my macbook before I reach the x-ray scan. When I board the plane and reach my row, I take a step into it before stowing my hand luggage.

There is a very simple rule in traveling: Create the least possible annoyance for the people around you. I advocate death penalty for those who break this rule. And I suggest a service similar to youparklikeanasshole.com, e.g. youbehavelikeanasshole.com.