#iceagechallenge — Public Fediverse posts

Würzburg is a bit of a strange town for us. We first stayed overnight after our first season of #JetLagTheGame. We stayed literally opposite the station, and it was a bit pricey and a bit meh.

The second time we stayed overnight during the #ICEAgeChallenge. We discovered that there were actual trams in the town. We also stayed about a 5 minute walk from the station, in another hotel that was… also a bit pricey and a bit meh.

This third time, we came because I wanted to do some sightseeing, as I’d discovered there was a UNESCO World Heritage site there - the Würzburg Residence. This time our hotel was a 13 minute walk from the station, and followed the general theme of priceyness and mehness that seems endemic to this town.

@darkphoenix doesn't want to return again.

However, I note that the town has at least a castle and a cathedral that I have yet to visit…

On the rails… no, hang on. Zug fällt aus! #CrossBorderRail

We start this morning with the news that our 10:52 EuroCity Express 396 to Copenhagen is not running. Quite apart from the general annoyance of a cancelled train, this is particularly gutting as I wanted to tick off riding this version of the Talgo 230 back in December 2025, after the #ICEAgeChallenge, and it got cancelled with less than 2 hours’ notice whilst I was in Copenhagen.

There are plans later today to end up in the Hanseatic city of Lübeck via a couple of the pretty regional lines in Schleswig-Holstein. Our current plan is to grab the 12:52 ECE 1174 to Schleswig, which probably won’t be a Talgo 230, and continue our route from there. If that doesn’t run, we have backup plans.

Our (updated) itinerary for today: https://s.moof.space/trip20260204

On the upside… it’s snowing! I haven’t seen actual snow in years. Possibly not since before the pandemic.

On the downside… It’s snowing… let’s see what that does to the trains…

There is a lot of lore and superstition on the choice of numbers. For some people, they have to end or contain a certain number, or they play the same number each year. Tickets start to go on sale in July, and people have the tradition of buying a ticket in whatever location they travel to during the holidays, as the numbers are not equally distributed in the country.

This year, I picked 01020 in honour of the train number of the :ice_1: ICE 1 I took at the start of the #ICEAgeChallenge, and 01055 in honour of ICE L - the last train. Today’s maximum prize went to 79432, so I haven’t won my money back on either of them, but there are a lot of minor prizes I won’t know about til later, and I’ll check against the official list, or rather, the app I bought them on will tell me.

And tonight, I am flop. I have a lot more yet to write as an epilogue. But, for now, all I have to say is: #ICEAgeChallenge Completed

However, tomorrow I head off again, in search of more context. Whilst the challenge itself is over, I still have plenty to say on the ICE itself. Some anecdotes, some history, and some philosophy of the service. I also want to complete my write up on the ICE L.

There’s still plenty to go - slightly over half of the journey is over, but I still have another 12 stops and 4,500km to cover.

See you tomorrow, Fedi! Goodnight!

On the rails again… #ICEL #ICEAgeChallenge #Interrail

We are now on the first ever commercial service of the ICE L from Köln to Berlin.

I am joined by @darkphoenix, and Wendy the DBJUNGLESKOG is sitting in for @MagicLike who’s operating the camera here.

First impressions are great…

(CW: eye contact)

And today, we welcome you back for the dramatic conclusion of the #ICEAgeChallenge - @[email protected] and I having suffered behind the scenes as we spent part of the weekend in Duisburg and Wuppertal, but obviously couldn't take any ICEs between the 3neo and the L. But all of it has been for a worthy cause, as ​:tomscott_is_at:​ I am here at platform 3 of Köln Hbf, with Moof and friend of the show @[email protected], awaiting the arrival of ICE 1055 for its first run to Berlin, after having arrived from there a few hours ago. Having seen pictures of it being pulled by a ČD Vectron this morning, I'm quite curious if it still will be for its return leg, too, so let's see...

Good afternoon, and welcome to the fourth and final day of the #ICEAgeChallenge!

Today is the reason that we started this whole crazy trip, the (almost) maiden voyage of the new ICE L!

Today is the first day of the new railway timetable, and traditionally the day that new railway services are launched into commercial service. This ICE L started off from Berlin Ostbahnhof this morning, with a slight delay, at 07:03. It arrived at Köln Hbf at 12:11, two minutes late, and has gone off to the depot to be turned around. In about 20 minutes, it’ll arrive here at platform 3 in Köln Hbf, ready to go back to Berlin.

I’ll be on it, as will @darkphoenix and @MagicLike. We may be joined by others on the trip, too.

I’m excited to see what this train has to offer, and whether it lives up to the promise of the trains that came before it.

(CW: selfie, eye contact, basilica)

@lewd Enjoy the trip! I’m riding on the return leg with some fedi friends this afternoon as the last train on the #ICEAgeChallenge

@darkphoenix Congratulations! Now we can complete the #ICEAgeChallenge together on Sunday. See you in a bit!

Good morning! Today I was originally hoping to cross off the last Danglebahn from my list - the Dortmund H-Bahn. With that I would have visited all four this year: 🚟 Wuppertal Schwebebah, 🚟 Dresden Schwebebahn, 🚟 Düsseldorf SkyTrain and the 🚟 Dortmund H-bahn.

Sadly, it’s closed for maintenance today. So whilst @darkphoenix copes with the vagaries of the DB system in NRW to try and continue the #ICEAgeChallenge, I’m doing a much less glamorous but no less important part of travelling the world… Laundry.

You’re better off reading her thread… it’s going to be much more interesting… https://not.an.evilcyberhacker.net/notes/ag7sks5ws2ao0003

@darkphoenix On the rails again… #ICEAgeChallenge #Interrail

And on this penultimate train, I am joined once more by Wendy the DBJUNGLESKOG, this time on an :ice_3: ICE 3neo.

This is the penultimate train of the night, but also the penultimate train of the challenge. This will leave me in Köln Messe/Deutz station, which is the second high speed station in Köln. The last train of the challenge will be the brand new ICE L on Sunday afternoon, leaving from Köln Hbf

For now, time for supper

On the rails again… #ICEAgeChallenge #Interrail

This time with only Wendy the DBJUNGLESKOG to keep me company on this 23 minute jaunt to Mannheim Hbf on an :ice_4: ICE 4

so, I realise I haven't posted anything about the #ICEAgeChallenge today - but short version, I've taken the ICE 9590 with Moof, and advised him on his various infodumps - see quoted thread - but have now abandoned him at Frankfurt Süd, in a connection that has at times seemed tenuous. I expected to sequence break here and take a 3neo to Köln, thereby violating the rules - and was going to catch a 4 tomorrow, basically swapping the two, as I do actually have somewhere to be tonight. However, due to the magic of a well timed delay, an option has just appeared for me to basically just barely make a 4 at Frankfurt Flughafen (where I'm currently headed by regional), and so of course I have to try...

RE: https://cupoftea.social/users/moof/statuses/115707210448593096

On the rails again… #ICEAgeChallenge #Interrail

This morning Wendy the DBJUNGLESKOG, @darkphoenix and I are on an :ice_3: ICE 3 (407) that is doing the Berlin-Paris route.

This was one of the pivotal trains in the itinerary, :ice_3: ICE 3 (407)s only really run to France, and to get a sensible amount of time in one we either have to get one from Berlin or Munich, as it’s mostly non-stop to Frankfurt am Main, Süd in this case.

There are several ways out of Berlin Hbf. This train is taking the route on the viaduct, which is the same route that the S-bahn takes out of the station, with plenty of great views of the city as we leave it via Spandau.

@darkphoenix and I made it to Berlin. And we arrived 6 minutes early! Not every journey with DB is late. In fact, it’s been an on schedule day, trip wise. Compared to the past couple of days, it’s been ideal.

I don’t expect this to last. We’re heading back to North-Rhine Westphalia tomorrow, and traditionally the network there is much more prone to delays and cancellations, especially in the massive junction that is Köln

If everything goes as planned, we’ll be finishing the main part of the #ICEAgeChallenge tomorrow, with just the ICE-L trip to go on Sunday. If things go terribly wrong, well, I left a buffer day in there for a reason

There’s a whole bunch of stuff I wanted to talk about today that I haven’t posted. I was not feeling inspired, it seems. Let’s see if I can manage something a little more entertaining tomorrow

I’m off now to do some errands before places close here in Berlin. Tune in tomorrow for day 3 of the #ICEAgeChallenge!

(CW: eye contact)

On the rails again… #Interrail #ICEAgeChallenge

And now @darkphoenix and I are aboard a packed :ice_3: ICE 3 (403) sprinter en route to Berlin Hauptbahnhof.

(CW: eye contact)

My travel companion @darkphoenix also has a thread going for today, you can read her take on the #ICEAgeChallenge whilst sipping :ice_t: ICE T here…

https://not.an.evilcyberhacker.net/notes/ag4rwy12yqh500d6

Hello and goooooood morning from the ​:ice_t:​ ICE T rolling through foggy landscapes on today's leg of the #ICEAgeChallenge! We're off to a much better start, and will soon be in Nürnberg, where we'll have a layover of a few hours before catching an ​:ice_3:​ ICE 3 sprinter service to Berlin Hbf later in the afternoon. As originally intended yesterday (had it not been for a very limited menu), my companion @[email protected] has ordered a French breakfast, while I've sent for a ham and cheese baguette. Also like yesterday, you can follow his telling of our travels, with interspersed infodumps about the trains in question, in his thread:

RE: https://cupoftea.social/users/moof/statuses/115699691360103136

On the rails again… #ICEAgeChallenge #Interrail

We actually had a choice of trains today, an :ice_4: ICE 4 that pulled into platform 4, and this :ice_t: ICE T that pulled into platform 5 just as the 4 was leaving.

I have of course ordered a Hot Tea to have on this :ice_t: ICE T.

I’m going to focus on my breakfast, so I’ll be posting later from Nürnberg

Good Morning, and welcome to Day 2 of the #ICEAgeChallenge!

Yesterday was a day of getting heavily Bahned, and having to deal with alternative transport options using a severely limited selection of trains. We also had some history, and Gin and Tonics.

You can see my thread up on https://cupoftea.social/@moof/115694652545124245 and @darkphoenix’s thread up on https://not.an.evilcyberhacker.net/notes/ag3enarr8af00097

Today @darkphoenix, Wendy the DBJUNGLESKOG and I start at Würzburg Hbf, and have a much more leisurely journey, with plenty of alternative options, and trains that generally perform better. We have an 09:33 :ice_t: ICE T to Nürnberg Hbf, and then a 2 and a half hour wait in Nürnberg before heading to Berlin on a :ice_3: ICE 3 (403) Sprinter service with only two stops to Berlin Hbf.

Hopefully we should be done today by 16:44. What could possibly go wrong?

As always, you can follow our journey at: https://trainlog.me/public/tag/e94de609-9108-49cd-9c3c-5421472de1ae

See you aboard the train…

Last July, @darkphoenix, @quixoticgeek and I played #JetLagTheGame for the first time in Germany. After three long, intense, and exhausting days we ended up spending the night in Würzburg once the game was over, before taking an :ice_1: ICE 1 up the Rhine Valley Railway, through Koblenz.

Today, @darkphoenix and I have done the inverse trip… the long way round. Although not as long as we would have liked, sadly. By about 250km.

We got bahned, more than we were expecting. But it’s part of the DB experience.

We took three trains, of two types, and learned a little about the origins of ICE along the way.

All in all, despite the negatives, an auspicious start to the #ICEAgeChallenge.

Day two starts with an early :ice_t: ICE T at 09:29 tomorrow

And so, from Würzburg, we bid you good night.

On the rails again…

And we’re back on the #ICEAgeChallenge, now on our second type of train, an :ice_2: ICE 2 to Würzburg, where we will be spending the night.

(CW: eye contact)

On the rails again… #ICEAgeChallenge #Interrail

Today we start off on a thoroughly delayed and half-cancelled :ice_1: ICE 1.

I am ably joined by @darkphoenix and Wendy the DBJUNGLESKOG, and we are busy enjoying the first class cabin of this refurbished :ice_1: ICE 1.

You can follow our progress on the #ICEAgeChallenge map that is available here: https://trainlog.me/public/tag/e94de609-9108-49cd-9c3c-5421472de1ae

I will be updating that map with the real trains I take as and when plans change.

For added meh, the bordbistro is running on minimum rations today. I managed to blag a cup of tea and a croissant off them, but it’s a far cry from the full French Breakfast that is now the tradition when we take the Rhine Valley line in the morning.

CW: eye contact

(i've now actually posted, this was me being vague about the #ICEAgeChallenge)

So, the #ICEAgeChallenge is off to a fitting start... I was kind of afraid of something going wrong, but not like this. The connection we had planned initially had 30 minutes in Altona, but I had intentionally planned to potentially change earlier if we got bahned - these trains run along each other for two stops, giving us the option to change at Hbf - for another 30min of buffer, 15 each way - or at Harburg, for roughly 20 more on top. At best we would have had 93 minutes of buffer, by my calculation, which seemed more than generous.
Alas, instead of getting delayed at Köln because of issues there, or having a general NRW experience, our train got over an hour of delay due to fire brigade activity on the line (ironically, the same cause that substantially broke my journey here last night) before even getting to Koblenz, and DB decided to cut it short at Köln and run a "replacement service" at its originally scheduled departure, which we of course cannot make. So despite all that preplanning, we are now going to need to replan from Köln - and to add insult to injury, right as we were looking at alternatives from Koblenz, we realised we'd just missed the last train before, which was itself delayed just enough we could have made it. Oh well - instead, we'll end up having to take this fucked train to Köln, hopefully making a connecting ​:ice_1:​ to Hannover from there, where we will hopefully catch our originally planned ​:ice_2:​ to Würzburg.

RE: https://cupoftea.social/users/moof/statuses/115694652545124245

Good Morning! Today is Day 1 of the #ICEAgeChallenge and boy is it starting off with a Bahng!

In case you’re not up to speed, the #ICEAgeChallenge was set to me by @quixoticgeek a month or so ago. @darkphoenix decided to join in, as the challenge progressed, and has been a great help in setting the route.

The aim of the challenge is to ride all the 7 active types of ICE train in order of entry into service - :ice_1: ICE 1, :ice_2: ICE 2, :ice_t: ICE T, :ice_3: ICE 3 (403), :ice_3: ICE 3 (407), :ice_4: ICE 4, :ice_3: ICE 3neo as a run-up to going on the first ICE L that is leaving Köln to Berlin this Sunday.

We are starting at Koblenz Hbf, and our original aim was to get to Würzburg Hbf tonight, changing at Hamburg-Altona. But Deutsche Bahn has other ideas, and has decided to cancel the Köln-Hamburg portion of our train. Even if the replacement service were to be an :ice_1: ICE 1, we wouldn't make any of our buffer options. I'll let @darkphoenix talk a little bit more about that.

@darkphoenix I finally made it to Koblenz. Sadly with barely half an hour of sunlight left, so I definitely won’t get to see the cable car (Seilbahn) over the Rhine to Ehrenbreitstein Fortress during the day. It was always going to be a little unlikely, given how early sunset is in this part of the year.

I might still go up on it, there’s apparently a Christmas Garden happening there this week.

I suppose I’ll have to come back in the summer months, when the DB train museum is open again, and enjoy both of them together.

Also, a shout out to the lovely American couple who were travelling across the aisle from me all the way to Luxembourg with their kids, and who kindly listened to me go on about the Rhine Valley Railway. Go Packers, I guess?

Tune in tomorrow for more train shenanigans, where I wax historical and philosophical about trains and take on day one of the #ICEAgeChallenge

(CW: selfie, eye contact)

On the rails again… #InterRail

Today it’s a quick hop to Koblenz, where I’ll be starting the #ICEAgeChallenge tomorrow.

This particular ICE 1 is full enough that there are a few people standing in the hallways in first class, and I had to gently ask someone to please relocate from my reserved seat.

In lieu of the usual seat photo, I am providing a view out of the window opposite the compartment I’m sitting in, so as not to publish images of the other passengers…

Today’s itinerary: https://trainlog.me/public/trip/557690,557692

On the rails again… #Interrail

This morning I am heading up to Hannover to meet up with an entity and see some of the city.

The eagle-eyed amongst you will quickly see that this is not an ICE seat being modelled by Wendy the DBJUNGLESKOG, but a greener, no-frills alternative: a Flixtrain

I blame @darkphoenix for enabling me, as we’d been meaning to try one for a while, and we felt it would be a good comparison for the upcoming #ICEAgeChallenge. Part of my narrative this week is trying to define what makes ICE different, and, as the saying goes, in order to know what ICE is, you need to know what ICE is not.

But fear not! Wendy will be back on her beloved ICE later today, as this FlixTrain heads towards Berlin, and I want Hannover and @darkphoenix is going to Hamburg and beyond . So we are actually changing at Kassel-Wilhelsmshöhe onto the train we would have taken had we not decided get up earlier due to a lack of greens in our diet.

Today’s itinerary: https://trainlog.me/public/trip/561784,561786