Wife and I did Dorf Romantik on a recent long train ride and we had a great time. It’s very cozy/calm which helps when you want to stay low energy and not bother your neighbors. And I fully agree with the battery pack idea - it gives me a ton of peace of mind when I’m traveling.

Three of the six currently operating maglevs are in communist china

DW news (dw.com) is pretty good and not too sensational. They’re like German PBS with a whole English side of the site.