Public transportation in Germany: Efficient, expensive, and deadly
(Spotted on the bergbahn in Heidelberg)
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September 2nd, 2007 at 11:33 am
Public transportation in Germany?
See also
(That’s where I grew up)
September 2nd, 2007 at 12:34 pm
That’s certainly “Tourist Transportation” imho …
Normally they don’t have quite that many signs, and prices vary a lot between regions. Although in general special stuff like this train are always more expensive .
September 2nd, 2007 at 2:02 pm
follow with a meal and a beer from the terrace at the restaurant at the top (Konigstuhl) while the sun sets. I hope you did! I’m happy to know that the Heidelberg bergbahn is running again.. It was under renovation for a long while.. through last Spring, and always exactly when I wanted to show visitors the nice view of the city and the Neckar. (I don’t live in HD anymore, but I make frequent visits.)
If you are interested in another bergbahn view, from a city that reminds me alot of Heidelberg, see these snapshots from Bern, Switzerland, starting from here.
September 2nd, 2007 at 3:54 pm
Wow, I lived and studied in Heidelberg for 5 years, and not once used the Bergbahn. But then again, I’m terribly afraid of height, so why would I?
September 2nd, 2007 at 5:38 pm
I like the Japanese Wii manual.
September 2nd, 2007 at 7:17 pm
I lived near Kaiserslautern back around 1970, and found the public transportation reliable and safe, and fairly cheap IIRC. I suppose it still is. I think the difference is, the Germans are more open, and reference the dangers more. My suspicion is that there infrastructure is in better shape than ours too, since they lack kooky government-starving political movements of any power (?) Maybe we can get “Bee” from Backreaction to comment on this, I just asked her if she was interested.
September 2nd, 2007 at 9:07 pm
This post is more about the silliness of the overdone warning signs than actual danger
September 2nd, 2007 at 9:56 pm
I hope this is not a sign of the Germans becoming as litigious as we are in America.
September 2nd, 2007 at 10:21 pm
I hope this is not a sign of the Germans becoming as litigious as we are in America.
Usually you would not find that many warning signs in German public transport facitilities.
But of course, Heidelberg is a prime destination in Germany for tourist, especially from Japan and the US, and the Bergbahn is mainly a touristic train. I imagine they do just not want to be sued by tourists for accidents caused by actions that should quite obviously be avoided if you use such a train
September 4th, 2007 at 4:50 am
I think it says dont use this
September 4th, 2007 at 11:24 pm
I think the many warning symbols are typical for germany.
It is not, that they are litigious.
It is, that they want to be absolutely sure and have a defining rule and a law and order for everything possible.
In Germany. for almost everything there exists a corresponding law. Even how a cucumber must be formed exactly before it can be sold in stores is defined by law (a cucumber has to be a fruit of specis cucumis which is approx 30 cm long and has not to deviate more than 3 cm from a straight line, otherwise it cannot be sold in Germany).
This is not because someone could go to court but simply to rule the life.
September 5th, 2007 at 12:17 am
Benni – From my agricultural and farmer friends in Germany and Italy, what you describe is not a German facet instead it is the excesses of EU law. It covers the whole spectrum of services and goods that specify how many peas must be in a pod and how long that pod must be, or else it cannot be sold on the EU market.
September 5th, 2007 at 6:04 pm
Yes, it is EU law. But EU law that was made by Germans. I remember that this law was made because then, more cucumbers fit into one box.
The law allows to separate cucumbers in classes from which you can estimate how many cucumbers will fit into one box. (no, be sure, frensh or italian farmers would not even think on such a problem).
For example: The EU classification system is not enough for the germans. They have additional criteria. so called german “Handelsklassen” which are even more specific.
For example, not included in EU law is a german Handelsklasse with a specification about the size of a potatoe. At page 3 you can read even a definition how to MEASURE exactly the size:
http://www.ble.de/data/0000368C4F07117E94986521C0A8D816.0.pdf
If an oval potatoe it is 29 mm thin, it cannot be sold in germany. If it is exaclty 30mm it can……
September 13th, 2007 at 9:36 pm
Compare that to Swiss public transportation signs:
http://www.zurika.com/2006/02/mariachi-bands-may-or-may-not-be.html
September 14th, 2007 at 12:12 am
Lab Lemming: that’s funny! So then I wonder what is it with the Swiss and mariachi bands…? Here’s two snapshots first and second, taken while I was walking around Bern (CH) six weeks ago.