Scarf Depicting Rail Delays Sells for $8,650

Claudia Weber spent the last year knitting a scarf—two rows a day with different colors reflecting the severity of delays on her rail trips to and from Munich. "The resulting four-foot 'Bahn-Verspätungsschal,' or 'rail delay scarf,' has become something of a social-media sensation," reports Palko Karasz. It eventually sold on eBay for about $8,650 with the money going to a German charity organization.

The scarf was a way for Weber to express her frustrations with Deutsche Bahn, the national rail operator. “In the spring, everything seemed fine, reflected in rows of gray and pink in the scarf. But then came the summer, represented by a wide band of red as the repairs got underway,” says Karasz.

While Germany has a reputation for efficient and reliable service, critics note that the quality of Deutsche Bahn’s performance has dropped in recent years. The country's infrastructure is also aging and showing the effects of low investments with problems at airports and on road and rail networks.