Climate change activist Greta Thunberg has become embroiled in a strange online spat with a German train company after tweeting a photograph of herself sitting on the floor of a carriage.
The 16-year-old Swede, who eventually got upgraded to first class, shared a shot of herself sitting on the floor of a busy train travelling through Germany with the caption: "Traveling on overcrowded trains through Germany. And I'm finally on my way home!"
However, this appears to have got underneath the skin of Deutsche Bahn (DB), the company that was operating the service.
They sent back a slightly snarky reply that read: "Dear #Greta, thank you for supporting us railroad workers in the fight against climate change! We were pleased that you were on the ICE 74 with us on Saturday. And with 100 percent green electricity.
"It would have been even nicer if you had also reported how friendly and competent you were looked after by our team at your seat in first class."
Thunberg was quick to explain her position and attempted to diffuse the potential for argument. She responded quickly, adding: "Our train from Basel was taken out of traffic. So we sat on the floor on 2 different trains. After Göttingen I got a seat. This is no problem of course and I never said it was.
"Overcrowded trains is a great sign because it means the demand for train travel is high!"
Then, undeterred by that explanation, DB released a press release in which they confirmed that Thunberg and her travelling companions "were sitting in first class from Frankfurt onwards".
So, that would have meant that, as a first class passenger, she would have had the advantage of extra legroom, free Wi-Fi, newspapers, and complimentary food and drink.
This strange incident occurred just hours after Greta made a controversial speech at a climate protest in Turin during which she suggested that she would "put leaders to the wall" if they kept ignoring their climate responsibilities.
She has since apologised for her turn of phrase and added that she was using a common saying from Swedish that perhaps loses something and alters meaning once translated into English.
Also, can't we just let her off given that she's a 16-year-old giving speeches in a second language? That's fairly impressive to begin with.
She explained: "Yesterday I said we must hold our leaders accountable and unfortunately said "put them against the wall".
"That's Swenglish: 'att ställa någon mot väggen' (to put someone against the wall) means to hold someone accountable. That's what happens when you improvise speeches in a second language.
"But of course I apologise if anyone misunderstood this. I cannot enough express the fact that I - as well as the entire school strike movement - are against any possible form of violence. It goes without saying but I say it anyway."
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