Travel by Train

(Pictured above: Mom posing with a train conductor that we ran into for TWO of our train treks. Nice man, very interested in American Cinema.)

As I sit here on the train to Stockholm listening to ABBA on my ipod and viewing the vast landscape zipping by, I find myself reflecting upon the numerous and humorous train rides my mother and I took during our trip. You can hardly imagine how many people you meet by taking the train, and I am sad that this type of travel isn’t as common in the U.S. as it is here in Europe. At first, the train system may seem scary and impossible to understand to some Americans, but by now I feel like some sort of master. It really doesn’t take too long to learn the lingo of the railroads. Mamma Mia! Friendly people always helped us with our bags, either they smile and laugh because they genuinely are nice or perhaps they are scoffing on the inside about the fact that we had too many bags, nevertheless we always had people helping us get our butts where they needed to be, and we always had someone help us get our bags off the train. Su-pa-pa Troupa- pa

Some of the more comical memories made on the train:

-The first train we took out Frankfurt was horrible. We didn’t realize that 1^st Class was labeled on the outside of the vessel so we stupidly got on second class with first class tickets. It was crowded, we obviously had too much luggage, and we were in EVERYONE’S way, no matter which way we went. Mom ended up falling down into seats and holding her legs up in the air, completely helpless and embarrassed. We scooted our way into an open area by a door and laughed so hard we cried. We were pathetic.

-Chocolate makes people high and giggly. Always bring chocolate while traveling, it relieves the mood and stress, and always brings a good time. Enough said.

-One panic attack happened in Germany. I seriously thought we were missing our stop, and I said that. Mom jumped up out of her seat and ran to the train door. She frantically pressed the button and yelled “It’s not opening! It won’t open! Help!” The train started to roll. Then we realized she was not only acting like a fool because that wasn’t our real stop, but she was also trying to open the door on the wrong side of the train. Her walk of shame back to our seats was hysterical. We both laughed so hard we almost peed our pants!

-Never be afraid to talk to someone. Sure they may latch onto you and start to become annoying, but at least you know that you're going to be on the right platform!