Decided to go for a day's birdwatching, so I trundle down to the train station and the ticket machine is out of order. Not so much of a problem, really. I go to the other ticket machine (the station office is closed at this point), go through the multitude of ticket options and put in the debit card. After some seconds, nothing appears to be happening, so I press 'cancel'. The machine doesn't respond. It fails to respond as my train departs the station. I see signs of life in the ticket office now that it's past nine and explain hat happened in a mixture of broken German and English. The answer:
"Give me your name and address and go away. I don't have time to look now, but I will look later to see if it is still there later."
Later?
Sod this, I thought, so I went back to the machine. As I approached it, some twelve minutes after I put the card in, it spat it back out. So if I'd have left it with the woman in the ticket office, just about anyone could have had the thing.
Not overly impressed, a) because it's the only method of getting cash out and paying for things that we have and b) we have to pay to get a new card.
And, as the ticket machines weren't working, I ended up going into town to get the train instead and found myself being squshed up against a window seat by someone who must have missed potty training 101.
Oh, yay.

Did you know you can buy your train tickets online before you leave home - and print them off on your home computer ?

Also, we've pre-bought our day passes and things and the SBB will send them out within a day or two...

I agree, ticket machines with cards are not my preferred way of buying tickets...

I don't have a printer or any way of paying online.
Debit cards are pretty crap here.

Yeah, I agree on the debit cards..

I thought it was possible to pay on the train, if there are no ticket machines available ?

Also - which birds can be seen at this freezing time of year ?

Some rather nice ones - Hen Harrier and Great Grey Shrike were the big ones for me, and at the Zihlkanal was a flock of maybe a few thousand ducks, mostly Red-crested Pochard, Common Pochard and Tufted Duck. Lots of other bits still about and still a few drips and drabs on migration.
I even got to use my book today - in French and German while talking to other bird watchers.

Sorry but how sad...

It is, but you have to pay a supplement !

Not on BLS (and S-Bahn) trains - it's an 80 Chuff on-the-spot fine if you don't have a (valid) ticket...

And 100 francs if you can't pay straight away. If you don't pay that you get a letter from the courts!
I've had similar problems with the ticket machines, it seems the ones at the Bahnhof in Bern and in Ausserholligen are last off the production lines on a Friday issues.

Oh, I see what you're saying - I was just talking the other day to (*puts idiot on 'ignore'*)

Anyhoo, I thought it not so great an idea to try and travel sans ticket as I've seen the BLS inspectors at work. I'm just glad they aren't armed...

I wish I knew more about birds! I can just about tell a pigeon from a crow. Trade plant knowledge for bird knowledge?

Yeah, when the day could be spent shopping/watching TV/waiting for the bar to open...

I'm amazed some birds haven't migrated yet - food must be getting quite scarce. not to mention the freezing temp.

Uh, well at least you didn't groan at me....my 'Sorry, but how sad...' comment was aimed at the fact that considering the kind of language you were using I found it strange you were going Birdwatching (not my cup of tea but each to their own) which I would imagine is a very relaxing pastime but you were getting really uptight about buying a train ticket on the way there. I thought that was quite sad.

In what way? Not doubting you; just curious.

The Maestro card I got from the bank in CH is no different from the one I got from the bank in UK.

Cheers,
Nick

Read a little closer - I was getting uptight about the fact that I nearly lost my card because the woman at the desk didn't want to go and retrieve it from the machine and her advice that I should go home and wait for her to contact me if she found it to be still there later.
If I'd have followed her advice, then I couldn't have gone anywhere and would have had to pay for a new card and wait for it to turn up.

Oh, and I thought tit-for-tat groaning was a ban hammer offence now...