03 Tuesday Nov 2015
Posted in random
My German fluency is pretty awful … but I imagine from this poster decorated with frowning emoticons some poor guy lost his camera-equipped drone around Burg Stahleck back in July. (The dictionary translates “entflogen” as “escaped”!)
Spotted in Bacharach in September.
02 Monday Nov 2015
Posted in architecture, art, design, Frankfurt, Germany, photography, photowalk, random, Travel, urban
Tags
architecture, art, design, Frankfurt, Gernamy, photography, photowalk, random, Travel, urban
It’s hard to believe this sci-fi-esque piece of architecture belongs to something as banal as a shopping centre! Spotted in Frankfurt on a lazy, rainy Sunday afternoon back in September.
01 Sunday Nov 2015
Tags
Bacharach, Deutschland, Germany, photography, photowalk, random, Rheinland, Rhine, rural, Travel
Germany is a well-connected country on mobile, generally speaking.
That being said, I found myself limited to 2G EDGE Internet or less in many parts of the town of Bacharach in the Rhine River valley.
It was mostly a blessing to be relatively disconnected … but if you really need to get something resembling high(er)-speed mobile Internet on 3G, it is possible in pockets of town, including a lookout tower along the town’s string of wonderful hiking trails (top photo) or in the courtyard/patio of the town’s youth hostel (second photo), reachable by an even windier hiking trail — or by road if you have a car/bike.
Your search for mobile connectivity will give you a great workout from the vertical ascent … and reward you with a fantastic view of Bacharach and the Rhine River (photo below).
31 Saturday Oct 2015
Posted in Budapest, Hungary, photography, Travel
This is a sight you haven’t seen in Budapest-Keleti since September: A Euronight train waiting for passengers to board.
Indeed, my visit there coincided with a brief period when international rail services were running as normal despite the migrant/refugee crisis.
There continue to be some disruptions because of temporary border controls relating to the flow of migrants; do check with your operator — and alternatively, see this list of service disruptions from Eurail — if you had planned to use rail services in this region.
If you are in Budapest and need help, the international ticket office on the ground floor (near the taxi stand entrance) is the better option. The domestic ticket office on the lower floor doesn’t always have staff on duty who are able to speak English.
Although the Eurail link above refers to a business lounge at Budapest-Keleti doubling as an aid office for Eurail ticket/pass-holders, that part of the station was under renovation, with the lounge out of service as of September. Perhaps the situation has changed since then but do be aware of this possibility anyway.
28 Wednesday Oct 2015
27 Tuesday Oct 2015
26 Monday Oct 2015
24 Saturday Oct 2015
Posted in random, technology
Like many users of Apple’s mobile products, I’ve been getting a hands-on experience with iOS 9 for a few weeks now.
I can happily report I am generally pleased with the upgrade. I have (so far, anyway) not seen any of the negative side-effects that have been reported elsewhere on the Internet.
Here, I’d like to share two small things I’ve noticed about iOS 9 on iPad that I found neat.
1) App switcher with external keyboard
I most often use my iPad as it is — that is, naked — but from time to time it turns into a backup computer with a Bluetooth-enable keyboard.
Imagine my surprise when I absent-mindedly hit Command+Tab and saw this:
iOS 9 shows you something very reminiscent of OS X, Apple’s desktop operating system.
It’s a nice little touch!
2) Battery widget in notification screen
I’ve never seen a battery widget in the notification screen until today.
The widget exists in portrait and landscape modes but it disappears once I power off my Bluetooth keyboard. There is also no battery widget currently visible on my iPhone’s notification screen. I can only presume this only becomes visible when iPad is connected with one or more devices capable of displaying remaining battery capacity. Another small, if cosmetic, addition.
I’ll pass along more iOS 9 hidden gems if I encounter any more!
23 Friday Oct 2015
There’s a lot of serious art in modern Europe commemorating very serious events in its history. Once in a while, however, you come across something like this statue along the Danube River in Budapest: It’s just plain whimsical, celebrating the joys of everyday living.
Happy Friday.
21 Wednesday Oct 2015
Ricky Leong 