Feeding Time

[kevin_standlee]

This morning, I heard a distinctive bird call from outside of a quail announcing his presence. I tried to ease the front door open without disturbing him, but he spotted it and hopped off the fence from where he had been calling.



There are at least two quail at ground level foraging around the base of the bird feeder. I haven't cleared the brush that grew while I was away, but they may prefer it that way as it gives them more cover.

Besides these two quail, a few days ago I saw a whole family of quail taking advantage of spilled birdseed, but they cleared out before I could get a picture of them.

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Meanwhile, yesterday's travel for Lisa and Chris from Munich to Copenhagen via Hamburg hit a speed bump. The NightJet sleeper from Munich to Hamburg is a two-part fare: the Eurail pass covers the rail transportation, but there is a separate sleeper reservation. When they got to the train station, Chris couldn't find his Eurail pass. He told Lisa to go on without him while he took a taxi to where he'd been staying to try and track it down. By the time he found the Eurail Pass and got back to Munich HBF, not only had the NightJet left, but so had the late-night ICE train that also went to Hamburg. He had to spend another night in Munich, while Lisa continued to Hamburg, then transferred to a train to Copenhagen. Around the time that Lisa arrived in Copenhagen and checked in to the hotel (conveniently located right across from the train station), Chris was on the train from Munich. He did catch up to Lisa and they're now both traveling together again and will move on to the next stop tomorrow.

Comments

[msconduct]

Are the sleepers still crazy expensive? With my second class Eurail Pass as a student, I couldn't travel on the TGV or any high speed train, let alone a sleeper, but I know the sleepers were horrendously expensive. I paid for a couchette a couple of times, but I wouldn't recommend them and I'd never do it now. Since Germany lowered train prices when they raised short-range flight tax, I wondered if the sleepers were now more affordable.

NightJet Sleeper Tickets

[kevin_standlee]

German railways aren't running the sleepers. They got out of the sleeper business. However, OBB (Austrian Railways) decided to go big on sleepers, especially because they can operate across national boundaries within much of the EU. They bought up a bunch of sleepers that other railways were flogging off, and also bought new ones. So NightJet is the brand name for the OBB-run service. This particular sleeper originated in Innsbruck, running to Hamburg with a stop in Munich. This also was neither a couchette or one of the individual pods that they've been selling, but a two-person compartment with an en suite toilet/shower, so it's more expensive.

The Eurail passes that they had covered the rail transportation, so we only had to pay extra for the sleeping compartment. For two people in one compartment, the cost was €174.80.

Re: NightJet Sleeper Tickets

[msconduct]

All very interesting - many thanks! Ouch, still not exactly a bargain.

Re: NightJet Sleeper Tickets

[kevin_standlee]

True, but comparable to a lot of better hotel nights. And not nearly as expensive as what I've paid for Amtrak roomettes, let alone bedrooms. There are cheaper sleepers, including some that are fully private but do not have en suite toilets. The older I get, the more I find myself needing that.