Hittin' the Road

Day 1 -
I started today exceptionally early so that I could say goodbye to Tomas. After another two hour nap I got up, showered, finished packing and hit the road... or should I say rail? I’m on a train journey to Istanbul, with stops in Brussels, Cologne, Vienna, Budapest and Bucharest. However, I’m trying to get to Istanbul quickly, so I am only going to be stopping in a few days in Vienna, Budapest and Bucharest. Today has gone smoothly so far. I timed out when I needed to leave Cambridge perfectly, so when I got to London I had just enough time to walk to the station, buy tickets, grab some lunch and get to the train. St. Pancras was the first full on train station I’ve been to and it was magnificent! I didn’t realize they ran train stations similar to airports. I guess I should have known better... I had to go through security and customs, but there was something a little more special about the station. They had the same amount of food shops as well as unnecessary goods shops, but it felt cozier at the train station, more sincere than the airport. I almost expected to see a regular mom and pop diner!

About halfway through the first leg of my journey I had a bit of a realization. Wait a minute, I’m paying TWICE as much to sit for LONGER in just as uncomfortable a place... The same slight smell of body odor, the same over-run air conditioner, the same uncomfortable seats... though wider made just as uncomfortable because other people are facing you. When this is the case it makes you a little more self conscious when you can feel the drool peek out of the side of your mouth “Is she asleep yet?! Guys, time to party, and we have an audience!!”

When I got to Cologne (otherwise known to the Germans as Koln... yeah... thanks guys... let’s make a name for a place that looks absolutely NOTHING like the English word... that’ll show everyone... ) I arrived at the ticket booth to be scoffed at in German, and told that there was NO WAY I was going to get a spot on the overnight train to Vienna. I got really frustrated at this, and it’s a bit silly I admit. I am going to try to work hard over the next few days to rethink my view on travel, which at the moment is just sort of a nusance. If anything goes wrong I have an overwhelming feeling that it is the end of the world... hardly so. If I couldn’t get a train I’d just spend the night and go the next day. I wasn’t being that rational at this point... After sensing my obvious stress at the situation the German cooled his jets and explained that as a last resort I could wait for the train and ask the conductor if there was room. Guess what? I am on the overnight to Vienna which has hardly ANYONE on it!! Ug!

There have been a few funny/interesting points in the journey so far.

Annoying Lady Story
There was a young Asian woman fervently talking on her cell phone and subsequently twitching. A twitch which caused her to slap the pages and wrappers she was holding on her leg. No one seemed to pay much mind except the woman a few feet to her left. This woman was much older and dressed in a long, violently black trench coat. She had rings on her finger an a leopard print hat, which I am assuming she paid a large sum for. The hilarity ensued when the prissy woman became irritated at the young girl for slapping the papers on her leg. She would stare at the papers angrily, as if this gaze was enough to break the concentration the woman was pouring into her conversation. Finally the older woman started huffing, and when the young woman stopped slapping the papers (not because she noticed the woman of course, but because it was simply a twitch) the older woman would look slightly smug and satisfied, as if she’d made all right in the world. However, this wouldn’t last long, and when the slapping began again, I thought this woman would literally start shooting daggers out of her eyes.

“Where is the love? (I know... it’s in the Cologne train station...)”
Three women filed out of the train in a uniform style and each greeted their boyfriends (husbands? lovers?) with varying levels of passion. The first woman skipped to her mate, forcing a big smile from his lips and he lifted her into a swirling hug. They talked animatedly for a short time before a few deep kisses and they left. The second couple was much more timid, embracing in a short hug and a few pecks. As they walked on however they held hands and giggled softly. The third couple were severely romantic, as they locked into an immediate kiss. The kiss lasted quite some time and every time I looked over I expected them to have separated. Nope. Eventually I had to board the train myself, and was no longer able to gawk at the German love affairs.

Sigh.