On 22 May 2006 06:15:55 -0700, John B wrote:
2) BA to Schiphol. An hour late arriving. Surly service, no apology for
delays. I wish through tickets on the E* and Thalys didn't cost
£300...

Eurostar tickets NL-UK start from around 100 euros. I'm sure there must
be something comparable the other way around.

3) Nedrail to Centraal. Ticket machines still rubbish; we tried six
different cards on the machine at the airport that claimed to take
international credit cards before finding one that it would deign to
accept. Train fast, double-deck, clean.

They should accept Visa and Mastercard. I never bother, because Maestro
always works. Didn't you try that?

5) Nedrail back to Schiphol. More "pick a card, any card" fun at the
machines.

I hope you didn't try the old machines (the ones with buttons)? They
only accept coins and Dutch debit cards. They'll be replaced anytime
soon, luckily.

Grimmest gripper ever - even surlier than the BA staff. I'd
hate to imagine how he'd have acted if we'd given up on the infinite
card shuffle and boarded ticketless...

"That'll be 35 euros then please". Alternatively, you could not pay
directly but wait for the invoice from Utrecht...

Regards,

Rian

--
Rian van der Borgt, Leuven, Belgium.
e-mail: www: http://www.evonet.be/~rvdborgt/