I had decided to economize by taking an overnight train from Berlin to Paris, rather than adding another night in a hotel and then spending much of the day traveling. So I had a ticket and a reservation for a seat in a second class compartment. As the time approached for the trip, I found myself wondering if I had made a wise decision. Should I have paid more for a private compartment with a sleeping berth?
There seemed to be a lot of college-age students among the people who would be in my car. Eventually the train arrived, and we boarded. I had the rear-facing seat nearest the corridor. The window seat was occupied by a middle-aged German who had brought along beer and snacks (and it occurred to me that I should have brought some provisions too). In the seat facing me and the one next to it were two college-aged girls, dressed for the weather in very short shorts and tube tops or something of the sort. Eventually I noticed that they were also wearing identical St. Christopher medals. The other window seat and the one next to me were empty at first.
We pulled out of the station, and before long we were in open country — farmland with crops similar to those I had seen in Bavaria with occasional cows or sheep. I noticed that some people were in the corridor, with windows open (from the top). When the conductor took tickets, I asked if there was food and beverage service. There was, in the car behind ours. So I paid a visit and bought a beer to keep hydrated in the heat and get a few calories. One of the girls said they had been told that beer was good with Coke*, and I said Coke was also for sale, so they could try it. Eventually they did and found it okay.
*I suspect the idea of beer with Coke may have been with reference to Berlin-style weissbier, which is so sour that I find it virtually impossible to drink. Ass I understand it, the local custom is to have it with a shot of some kind of syrup to sweeten it a bit.
Anyway, after I finished my beer, I decided to go into the corridor to try to cool off a bit. Standing by the open window was really pleasant, both for the cooling wind and for the view of the scenery. As on earlier evenings, I also enjoyed the long twilight which made things visible until around 10:00p.m. I began to see the clouds illuminated by lightning inside them, and in a while it started to rain, so it was necessary to close the windows most of the way to keep the rain out, but I stayed there until we reached Hannover. We sat in the station there for some time, then pulled out and went back, but switched to a different track. At that time passengers were allowed to board, and the other window seat in our compartment was taken by a man who was wearing what looked to me like a Franciscan tau cross.
After we left the station, I again went to the corridor to stand at a window. But now it was quite dark. Artificial lights were visible, of course, and it was possible to make out hillsides and treelines against the sky. Occasionally a train passed in the opposite direction, with an explosion of air and loud noise. Often I could realize they were approaching in time to shut the window. I really continued to enjoy it. Finally , shortly before midnight, I went back (although it was now forward as we had reversed directions in Hannover) and got a Coke and a water.
When we stopped in Gottingen, a young man boarded and took the seat next to me. Finally, I decided to try to sleep and I did doze for shorter or longer periods. Everybody was trying to sleep. Occasionally the young man's left side would press on my right arm, which was pleasant, but before long he'd shift.
At Mannheim, we made a long stop. If only I had known in advance, I could have invited Lunario to come to the station (at about 2 or 3 a.m.) and we could have met. Finally we reached Saarbrücken and then crossed into France. Daylight caught up with us. I got coffee and orange juice. The man with the tau cross took out a prayer book — a German Liturgy of Hours (Kleines Stundenbuch) which priests have to pray — which I instantly recognized because I have exactly the same book. I had noticed it in a bookstore on one of my trips many years ago and had bought it, even though I'm not a priest.
As we approached Paris the young man struck up a conversation. He was French and was going to his home in southwestern France. I told him about my trip and my plans. He asked what hotel I'd be staying at in Paris. I looked through my folder for Berlin-Paris, and my folder for Paris, and couldn't find the sheet from my travel agent which gave the name and address with confirmation of the reservation. All I knew was that it was a Best Western with the word "Tour" (Tower) somewhere in the name. At that point I was pretty nearly in panic mode, but he reassured me that it should not be too much of a problem, and he could help When we got to the station (Gare de l'Est) he brought me to the information desk and had the clerk look up Best Westerns. She couldn't find one with Tour in the name. So he had her find one near Gare Montparnasse, where he had to go to get his next train. He then showed me how to buy tickets for the subway and when we reached Montparnasse, he directed me to the hotel. At the hotel, the clerk was able to find the name of Best Western Tour Notre Dame and print out directions to get there by bus. So I got to the hotel, where they had my reservation in their computer, and all was again well. But I did comment to the clerk, "Old men should not be permitted to travel alone."
I don't know exactly what would have happened if that young man had not been there to guide me. I'd have been at Gare de l'Est with only the vaguest idea of where my hotel was and no way of figuring out how to get there, in a city which, like Boston, has streets which make it easy to become disoriented. IOW, I really believe that it was divine providence which led to our being seated next to each other. Not only did he enable me to find my hotel, but in the process, I got a tutorial in how to use the Metro. (BTW, I eventually concluded that when I got to the hotel in Berlin, I inadvertently gave them my paper for Paris as well as the one for Berlin, and they didn't notice or didn't realize that I needed the Paris paper back.)
But apart from that, my misgivings about traveling second class in a shared compartment were entirely unwarranted. Once I discovered the possibility of standing at the window, it was delightful. It's not ideal for sleeping, of course, but you can always catch up on lost sleep — eventually.
Tanglewood — 2026/08/01-02
1 day ago
