Travelling

Introductory Chapter 1.2- Inside the train/ Diary entry

Dear Diary,

It has been a while since I last wrote something exciting to you.Well, I have to tell you I have spent the most wonderful couple of days in this train from Brussels to Nice. I deliberately chose to travel on the slow train that takes almost 3 days to cross the entirety of France and I think it was a good choice.

I have never seen such beautiful scenery as in here. Fields of lavender, birds singing, the sun shining brightly above my head, a beautiful bright blue sky as well as a breathtaking sunset. I hope to explore much more of this in the coming days and I certainly wish to leave you with a very long review of my impressions.

I am also very excited to visit Natalia and I cannot wait to see her husband and two little children. So little time has passed from when we would sit together in class and start planning our future. Time passes quickly, doesn't it? 

What I wanted to focus on today is why I travelled on that slow train. Why didn't I, for example, travel by aeroplane or by car? What stopped me from choosing to go there by bus and is there anything that influenced me ? ( Well there must be) What is it then? 

Well, firstly, in my opinion, trains are an astonishing invention. They travel quickly without you noticing and never stop abruptly or fall into turbulence like other means of transport. People inside them (at least if they can afford it) have the privilege of sleeping in beautiful cabins like my small but delightful 20 square meter cabin, with a beautiful decor and colours in all shades of purple and blue blending marvellously with the countryside. 

People who go to the wagon-restaurant to eat in the morning, afternoon and evening could find the pleasure of talking to many other people of countless ethnic or religious backgrounds. In my train, for instance, there are several Belgians, a lot of Frenchmen and a very nice French woman from Paris to whom I spoke this afternoon, as I ate my lunch. She seems to be a very clever person. I even spotted a shy Italian girl, close to 15 in the train. I never got the chance to speak to her because she came, ate and quickly disappeared. 

If, on the other hand, I travelled by plane from Brussels to Nice, I would, of course, had spent much less time but I would never have been able to create this painting I am so fond of. I would also not have a cabin to stay in and instead be forced to spend a whole 2 hours in a seat with people around me sleeping and snoring, babies shouting and a disgraceful smell of people's sock around me. I would certainly not like that.

You see, dear diary, trains are of another time, another century. They are for sentimentalists, people who want to live in the past, or at least enjoy some of it. People who are thrilled just by watching a bird's struggle to keep up with the train and listening to it singing.

Well, that's partially true, countless other people travel by train but, like many things in life, it is just a generalisation. 

Ships, on the other hand, especially the large and luxurious ones are for those who love to meet people and will spend days partying in the Hall of the ship and on the deck talking to people they wish to find a mutual interest with. 

The ships are also for people who love the sea, or coming from a country whose civilisation is closely interlinked with the sea like the French, Italians, Greeks, British. And yet, most of them prefer smaller ships, leaving their fate to the hands of Mother Nature. These small ships are for the adventurous who are not scared at the thought of a thunderstorm approaching them, one that could destroy their ships and, in some cases, kill them.

Aeroplanes are for the fast-paced ones, those wishing to arrive quickly to their destination, to save time to spend when they arrive. These people would not mind satisfying a million beautiful experiences for a bit of time. 

Time, the thing everybody wanted more of.

The people in the smaller planes and helicopters want to rule the sky, to prove to others that man can fly. They cannot bear spending their lives on the ground and want to rule the skies. They too are adventurous, just like the captains of the small ships.

Cars are for those who do not trust some other person they do not know driving and prefer travelling alone or with their family, without spending too much. After all, cars are the main method of transport, almost everybody owns one so that they can go to work each day and back home. In a car, the driver might change his mind about where he/she wants to go to and when to stop to relax and eat.

Lastly, to me, buses and trams are simply a cheap method of public transport within small distances. I imagine, however, that it becomes disturbing after a while. I cannot imagine anyone deciding to travel for any other reason from Brussels to Nice, if not because it is cheap.

It is funny, don't you think, dear diary, how different a conversation can be based on where it takes place. On land, on a train or a car, on an aeroplane. A simple question like "What are you travelling for?" can have so many different outcomes

She looked down at her watch. Two o'clock. Well, why not write down some of these things. After all, she had more than enough time. She drew up a plan of the dialogues. She was ready. She asked for some paper, took out her fountain pen and started writing. Countless ideas came to her mind. She plunged into the unknown.