I've always wanted to blog about this, but I just couldn't find this amazing image.

In german Inter-City Express trains, there are special wagons where it is forbidden to make noise. You are not allowed to speak, you have to mute your mobile phone and be as quiet as possible. Due to the perfect isolation from the outside, these wagons are really quiet although the trains reaches speeds of over 300 km/h.
These special wagons allow you to work like magic.
My friend Kevin actually used to say that he worked better on train than in the office, during his remote visits. I agree, they are really nice :)

Phone operator - epsiode 2

After the amazing phone-chat with the Romanian operator at Electrica Romania, today I bumped accidentally into an example of German overpaid-services:
I found an offer to buy combined tickets to a theme-park in southern Germany, but no info on where to buy this tickets. So, I go to the train station to ask.

A nice man said "Hallo" to me when entering the train station, and asked me what I wanted. I told him, and he sent me to a info-stand. After waiting 15 minutes, I finally got to talk with a person there. This time I spoke german with her, but she didn't know about the offer, so she sent me to the Travel-center. After waiting there 5 minutes, the lady there told me there was no such ticket.

OK, maybe they are not well informed: I decide to call the trains-info hot-line. For your information, it's more expensive than the erotic-hot line. So I call, I wait on the line, and then a nice lady answers:
- Hallo, mein name ist... (first operator). Wie kann ich ihnen helfen?
- Hi, do you speak English?
- No, one moment.
Nice music on the line...
At this point she presses a button, and I'm informed that the call costs xxx cents and that it is recorded.
- Hallo, mein name ist... (second operator). Wie kann ich ihnen helfen?
- Hello, do you speak English?
- No, just a moment.
Nice music on the line...
- Hallo, mein name ist... (first operator again :| ).
- Hello, do you speak English?
- Oh, hello! I'm very sorry! Just a second!!!
Now surprise: they hang off the phone!!! :|

I'm sure it was just a stupid mistake, so I call again:
- Hallo, mein name ist... (third operator). Wie kann ich ihnen helfen?
- Hi, do you speak English?
- No, one moment.
Nice music on the line...
At this point she presses the magic button again, and I'm informed that the call costs xxx cents and that it is recorded again.
- Hallo, mein name ist... (second operator). Wie kann ich ihnen helfen?
- Hello, do you speak English?
- No, just a moment.
Nice music on the line for about two minutes.
Now I decided that it's wasting my time and money, and I should hang off.

I called one hour later, and the same thing happened. But this time, they hang up on me again.

I wonder how I'm gonna buy that tickets though. I think it's time to speak german with them. Anyway, thumbs up for the hot-line of the Deutsche Bahn :))

Next morning: I call again and speak german with them. They redirect me again to another person, and that person hangs out on me after I ask the question! Now, am I crazy or what? What do I have to do so they take me seriously???