We are staying in our 6th hotel of this trip right now. And only 50% of these hotels have had air conditioning. This had led to a few restless sleeps where it was simply too hot. In one of our hotels, we had to ask them to bring a fan up to our room. But hey, this is Europe. I'm sure everyone thought we were spoiled North Americans. Interestingly enough, not having AC forces you to be more aware of the environment around you. Very quickly you learn that if you don't shut the blinds or shutters when the afternoon sun is shining in, you are going to end up with a room that is too hot to sleep in. I try to be mindful of this back home in Toronto, where we do have AC, but there really isn't the same imperative to both design and then operate around climate and local conditions. Active mechanical systems do much of this for us.

One of the great promises of autonomous vehicles is that, one day in the future, you'll be able to get into your car, fall asleep, and then wake up refreshed at your destination. This would be a nice luxury, and it would almost certainly reshape the geography of our cities.

But at the same time, it's worth a reminder that "sleeper cars", or bed carriages as they were originally called, are definitely not a new thing. Possibly the first example of a sleeper car was in England in the 1830s. Trains, of course, don't take you exactly where you want to go like a car, but a sleeper train does allow you to travel while you sleep.

And so it is interesting to see that sleeper trains are apparently seeing a resurgence in popularity across Europe. To the point that the trains are full and rail operators can't seem to get their hands on new carriages. I can't recall ever travelling in a sleeper train, but I have to say that this looks like a highly civilized way to move around:

Image: ÖBB (Austria's national rail operator)