Briefly surfacing from a mass of paperwork, I noticed in passing that it’s Saturday and I haven’t even begun to think of an entry. Then I came across this video which manages to include three things I’m interested in; bicycles, railways, and theatre:
As an additional advantage it’s not completely off topic either: on Tuesday we’ll be catching the bus at some unknown hour and then the train to Frankfurt, Brussels, London and York.
Apparently this is the work of a non-profit working to bring attention to inequalities between north and south. I’m guessing the idea is to remind the northerners that bicycles are a pretty good form of transport. I’m not too sure about driving down steps as a piece of bicycle advocacy- on a couple of occasions pedestrians had to jump out of the way to avoid descending dirt bikes, but overall it’s an interesting and well put together idea. I like the little girl at the end especially. What do you think? Does it work, or is it annoying?
(Hat tip to Richard of Louisiana for the video)
In ‘other news’: We’ve hit a problem with the apprenticeship because the Handwerkskammer (Trade guild) says my boss didn’t pass the test he needs in order to train me. On the other hand he’s planning to apply for a master’s qualification anyway, starting in Autumn 2011. The Guild they said that if he applies for this Master’s Qualification, he can train me as soon as the application comes in, even if that’s in September this year. This makes no sense to us, but we aren’t arguing.
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August 7, 2010 at 11:14 am
Frits B
“I’m guessing the idea is to remind the northerners that bicycles are a pretty good form of transport.”
Not really. 11.11.11 is a bank account for donations to an organisation that provides humanitarian help in Africa. In order to rake in more money they organised bike tours in Vlaanderen, the Dutch-speaking part of Belgium where people are born on bikes. Cost of participation: 11 euro. The action on the Brussels station was in support of these bike tours.
August 8, 2010 at 9:20 pm
Andy in Germany
Thanks for the extra information: there isn’t a lot in the video, and I don’t speak Dutch They sound a most excellent organization.
August 7, 2010 at 12:02 pm
disgruntled
The cyclist part of me says it’s pretty cool … the (ex) commuter says I hope they staged it on a Saturday or some time when people weren’t in a rush to catch their train…
August 8, 2010 at 9:24 pm
Andy in Germany
I feel the same as you. I noticed the stairs were emptied quickly when the bikes were going down them, which made me wonder where the commuters were, and if I was struggling up the steps with luggage I wouldn’t have been impressed at the time.
But it was a great idea and well thought through.
August 10, 2010 at 12:07 pm
annegret
Kind of nice. I would have loved to see it live. I don’t think it’s that disturbing as it didn’t last very long. But probably not everybodies taste either.
August 13, 2010 at 10:23 pm
Andy in Germany
Hello Annegret, thanks for the thoughts. I guess it’s a bit different as they are working in a bicycle culture, so it would be received differently. I was half hoping I’d get to see something like this on the way through Brussels. Didn’t happen though…