Neil Williams wrote:
David of Broadway wrote:

It accepted coins only. ATM's don't dispense coins.

Try .nl. Small stations have only ticket machines, that don't accept
notes. Nor do they accept credit cards, only Maestro debit cards (and
I don't know about UK Switch-Maestro cards as they are an odd system
that used to be UK only). There is a fine for boarding without a
ticket, and no exceptions unless the ticket machine was actually not
working (and you have to appeal that after the event).

Hardly a small station, but I ran into problems buying a train ticket at
Schiphol. Either I hadn't obtained cash yet or the machine didn't
accept bills/notes or I simply wanted to preserve my cash, but I
couldn't convince the machine to accept either my credit card or my ATM
card. (Could it be because we don't have chip-and-PIN here? I also had
trouble this year at the large Oyster machines in London, although the
small ones seemed to accept my card.)

So I waited in a long line at the ticket window and bought my ticket
there. I later realized that I was overcharged by €0.50, and I'm still
not sure why -- perhaps that was a surcharge for buying a ticket from a
human? As if I had a choice!

This, notably, is not on local transport (where you can get a
Strippenkaart from lots of places, and you can pay the bus driver if
you prefer, though you'll pay extra for doing so, and he will take
notes if he has enough change). This is on the national rail system.

When I got into Amsterdam, I asked at an information booth how to buy a
tram ticket, since I didn't see any ticket machines. He told me to just
buy one from the driver. He did /not/ mention the Strippenkaart option.
Granted, I should have done my own research in advance, but it would
been nice if the person at the information booth had given me some more
information.

In what way, OOI? (Tesco stores abroad tend to be other chains
purchased by Tesco, so that might be why).

I hope I offend anyone with my observations, but I've never seen such a
crowded supermarket. Customers were frantically stocking up, as though
they had a half hour to buy all the groceries they'd need for the next
three months. I was going to buy a souvenir (perhaps the Kroger-brand
instant oatmeal that dominated the American food section), but I changed
my mind when I saw the immensely long lines to pay.

I later read somewhere -- and I have no idea if this is accurate or not
-- that this Tesco was the only supermarket in Prague. So perhaps
people really do stock up for long periods, so they can avoid having to
make frequent trips to what is surely an inconvenient location for many
of them.

Oh, and there was a clothing store upstairs. Also Tesco.
--
David of Broadway
New York, NY, USA