cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/49253586
When I was a truck driver, audiobooks were the reason I absolutely didn't mind traffic jams.
this post was submitted on 10 Jul 2026
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Coming back from my small island devoid of mass transit, I took a Paris->Marseille train and legitimately rediscovered the luxury of cutting through the entire country in 3hrs time without so much as a bump or a honk. No wine was involved though
I took cross country train trips in both the United States and Italy this year, and the difference was striking. Going over 200MPH from Naples to Florence with my pick of several high speed departures per hour compared to riding the Lake Shore Limited and spending over an hour in Buffalo as it couples the Boston and New York legs together because running 2 trains a day is a bit too much for Amtrak.
I will say that the old Amfleets had far comfier seats though!
This reads as if all Europeans ride trains in Alps multiple times a day. Guys... Nice view might be somewhere in Italy, France or Switzerland. Your typical speed train from Berlin to Frankfurt would have only fields and woods, and occasional city pass-through.
This also applies only to countries where rail network is developed. Take some Baltic countries or some far east Europe countries and your commute from city A to city B in a train would be a mild annoyance at best and a nightmare at worst. You'd also be lucky if train goes more than 3 times a day or if trains go more than just capital to 2nd biggest city. Driving car in these countries is bareable. Also, population density makes it not feasible to connect two cities with a population around or lower than 20k with each other.
Source: Latvian who moved to Germany.
Riding into Frankfurt for example can be quite nice tho. You see the skyscrapers in the distance while riding at 250-300 km/h through gently rolling hills dotted with small villages while drinking your free bahnbonus beer...
True: riding trains is not all alpine landscapes dreamrides, but it's often through a nice landscape nonetheless, just not as spectacular. Being in a 1h delayed train still beats being in a 1h car traffic jam imo
Riding a train through the alps also can mean sitting in a dark tunnel seeing nothing but your fellow riders.
Beats sitting in a car in a dark tunnel below the alps though.
Get beaten by standing on top of them, watching the stunning nature.
Despite common issues with Deutsche Bahn, I generally had quite a good experience with them and delays happened rarely. The only one I can remember is over 1h delay because one wagon laot power and pasaangwrs had to be reseated which meant less space to seat (still found a seat).
I once took flixtrain and will take it no more. Slower, fucking loud as fuck especially near exit area, and quite uncomfortable seats. Cheap but fuck it, I'd rather overpay.
I do own a car and few times a year I drive to NRW to visit my parents. Time wise it is the same. And price wise if I go with my wife - it is slightly cheaper. I do use Waze which helps avoid major traffic jams. It still sometimes leads us in one but never more than 20min.
I commute the city by bycicle and Deutschlandticket. Local transportation companies work good 95% of the time. 4% of the time they don't but they usually have a good reason. 1% of the time tram/bus/train comes 3 minutes early and annoys the hell out of me.
I can't go by train back to Latvia. Either plane, bus or by car. Cheapest is by bus but once I drove 15h in a bus and I have promised to myself to never go by bus more than 8h. Next best thing is by car. Over 1000km is about 15h with all the stops but it is still cheaper than flying. Flying is fine, short and fast. But then I end up in Rīga and have to take train 6hay goes like 3 times a day. Or I have to rent a car and only rent for a week will be more expensiver than driving my own car to and back to home. Plane tickets are expensiver than fuel too. So plane and renting a car is extremely expensive.
I rarely use car. It usually stays parked for days or weeks. But i won't get rid of it. It is a useful tool to me and accomplishes things that planes, trains and trams can't. It is also fucking nuts how expensive it is just to own one but it brings too much worth on my life.
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far east Europe countries
Does Slovakia count?
The shorter routes can be fairly slow. "Finally, we are going fast! The train has reached the top speed of 40km/h!"
Also, some older units can be awful. No air-conditioning is one thing. But I also encountered a different issue. I don't have a noise level meter, but if you're taking something like the old railbus between Zvolen and Horná Štubňa, bring hearing protection. I at least had earphones, but god damn, that shit is loud.
Congrats, you took a train ride through a rural area. Side effects may include: heatstroke, muffled hearing, tinnitus.
I've taken a train through ~~Baltic~~ Balkan countries. Granted it was Croatia to Slovenia, but holy shit the ride toward Ljubljana along the Sava felt idyllic. However even a more mundane urban train commute in Europe would be eye-opening to most Americans. The tweet is being intentionally hyperbolic.
i think you mean balkan
Yes lol thank you.
estonian here, it's lowk chill here.
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Ironically the Acela in the northeast corridor of the USA does have a bar car where you can buy and drink wine / beer. It is the commute for lots of people, it was Biden's commute when he was a senator.
I love Acela but damn if I don't buy tickets a month in advance it so expensive. We need more light rail infrastructure to drive their price down.
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Love the acela! Just got an automatic full refund due to a 2hr delay, imagine that happening on any other form of transport.
I posted this exact screenshot on the fuckcars sub on Reddit. I was hoping there would be people here who understood the spirit and point of the post instead of squabbling over traffic and trains and how often people are in traffic and whether people take trains through the Alps or not.
I'm sorely disappointed.
I posted to reddit
I'm sore disappointed
Well you did this to yourself
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Funny cause its true
The "cars mean freedom" meme of the past few generations needs to die so bad. Cars are conformity.
Cars are consumerist. Cars are alienating. Cars kill cities. Cars fucking suck. Electric cars fucking suck too.
I'm not denying some people need one, but when I'm driving a car it's only because I'm out of all the better options.
PS I'm sorry if you reading this like cars, I also like some bad things. But that doesn't make them not bad.
I don't understand why it's an either/or thing. I'd listen to audiobooks whether I'm in the car, or on a train. Even on a train, I've got hours to kill.
Yesterday I heard someone criticize a book as something to be listened to "while folding laundry," as if that's some crack against the book. What's wrong with listening to an audiobook while doing chores? It makes the chores go by quickly.
It could just be you're a better auditory processor than me, but I don't get much out of a book if in multitasking.
I do like reading legit novels on the train though, if the tracks are smooth enough
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First off fuck you my honda accord is my friend and we have carnal relations every other friday.
And there's nothing stopping me from cracking open a cold one when I'm stuck in traffic so I don't see the difference.
based
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