Johannes Lohmann

Sure, we could have driven. It would have been faster (which isn’t always the case in Europe) and more direct. But it would have also been a lot less fun and more dangerous. It would have involved grumpy screaming kids. I would definitely do it again by train, and I hope to have the pleasure, soon.

No single train was even a minute late. The transfers were doable.

Best of all, it was a lot of fun. The kids played for hours in train cars outfitted just for kids, with slides and all. We got to see lots of beautiful views of the alps.

Miniature train station in Le Trétien, Switzerland. The station is just a small wooden house with some flowers next to it, and is perched on a platform in the middle of the Alps.

Switzerland is great for slow but fully enjoyable train travel.

On a single trip, we changed trains 5 times, with 7 minutes or less for 4 of those 5 transfers. With 2 kids and a lot of luggage.

It all went off without a hitch.

#traintrip

Drowning Doesn’t Look Like Drowning Drowning is not the violent, splashing call for help that most people expect.

Thanks for the reminder @janemunday.bsky.social. Every summer, I repost this article DROWNING DOES NOT LOOK LIKE DROWNING. To date, I know of FOUR kids who were saved after someone who'd clicked on the link learnt how to spot actual drowning. Take time to read and pass on.

slate.com/technology/2...

Do you mind sharing the photo credit for this one?

YouTube video by Science Moms ByTheTime

If you catch just one Super Bowl ad, we hope it's this one that we learned about from @katharinehayhoe.com and our friend @cathmckenna.bsky.social. "Our window to act is like watching them grow up: Blink and we miss it." www.youtube.com/watch?v=GYwP...

Germany: Police and doctors urge national fireworks ban – DW – 12/31/2024 German police and medical associations have repeated calls for a nationwide ban on the private use of fireworks, citing their reckless and dangerous use around New Year celebrations.

When I was a teenager, I used to love fireworks. As an adult, and especially a parent, I now find it crazy that we still do this...

www.dw.com/en/germany-p...

Seeing the London Array, the largest offshore wind farm in the world, from the air always gives me a warm feeling.

...it also makes me feel marginally better about flying

Why did the chicken cross the road? In San Francisco, it's to catch motorists breaking the law.

It's depressing how many drivers don't stop for pedestrians in the crosswalk.

www.sfgate.com/bayarea/arti...

More than 1,000 dead during Hajj as heatwaves spread across the world Ten countries have reported deaths of their citizens during the annual pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia.

This is devastating

news.sky.com/story/more-t...

BREAKING: EU countries rubberstamp Nature Restoration Law after months of deadlock A majority of EU member states gave the final green light to the Nature Restoration Law on Monday (17 June) during a Council meeting in Luxembourg, marking the last step for one of the Green Deal's mo...

Huge news!!!
What a cliffhanger...

www.euractiv.com/section/agri...

"it’s interesting that the concept of stranded assets has become part of the vocabulary, and people are beginning to realise how much power they actually have, in terms of the way we make our investments"

UK installs record number of public electric vehicle chargers About 6,000 have been installed this year, a quarter of them rapid chargers that can power up a car in under an hour

"The number of public chargers of all speeds in the UK has doubled since the start of 2022"

www.theguardian.com/environment/...

It does feel like the insurance sector is trying to move quickly on climate change, but to me it feels more like a belated and rather hasty course correction rather than the result of careful planning, which is problematic and would explain some of the coordination failures described in the article.

Germany on track to reaching national 2030 climate target but set to fail EU goal – env agency

Germany is now on track to meet its goals of reducing emissions by 65% by 2030, which is a pretty big deal.

Not fantastic that it's partially due to the current economic downturn, of course, but it's still an important development that should give us hope.

www.cleanenergywire.org/news/germany....