Not all the journeys should be planned. And I always plan for unplanned journeys!! My plans are always very simple: buy the ticket, make sure I have proper documents to visit the place, pack bag- the usual stuff, and withdraw money. What happens later, I leave for future- a classic example of procrastination.
This Luxembourg trip was close to perfect when it comes to totally unplanned trip. I bought the ticket just 12 hours before the departure and booked the accommodation even later; that I was going to totally new country was not a problem. I am European resident and hence, I am allowed to visit schengen countries for as long as my resident permit is valid. Also, because the availability of phone might have tempted me to look for timetable beforehand, I left my dear gadget-the iPhone- in my room. And carried with me a commitment with myself that unless I am forced at the point of fully loaded gun, I will not use computer during this trip!!
As usual, I was late for the train and again, as usual, I got into the train just a second before doors met each other. To catch this train, I had first walked slowly- that warmed me up- then increased the tempo by walking fast and then came to halt. Oh.. I had to withdraw the money. You see that is the part of unplanned journey planning. So, I stopped, took my card out and then put it back inside my wallet- damn ATM was out of order!! It happens when I am in hurry. The whole world conspires against me when I am late. Never mind, I was expecting the unexpected failures. I went to another ATM, withdrew money and ran fast. There was no time to be lost. I knew from my previous experiences that there was no fast train to next station for another 30 mins. The next station was where I had to board my international train (i knew at least that thing). Catching this train became more important in the light of that fact. Only 4 minutes remaining, the station was visible. But my platform is the last one… did I make it? Yes, I did… oops I told that in beginning itself.
The train, as I expected, was devoid of human crowd. Not many people travel to another country on first day of new year at 9:20 in morning. This journey to Brussels was quite uneventful and when I was showing my ticket to conductor she told me my next train was from Brussels station’s platform 7 at 11:40. Such a nice lady!! People in Europe are really friendly and helpful. I reached Brussels at 11:36. 4 minutes to next train but I was hungry too. I stopped at vending machine, put a coin and selected the number for chips, chip packet fell down but somehow got stuck in the middle. Only 3 minutes left. I banged the machine… inserted my palm to separate the flaps so that packet could fall down… 1 more minute wasted and I am still away from platform. Packet came out… I ran. Both of us arrived at platform together- I and the train. By the time train left Brussels, after stopping at 3 small stations, the head count had swelled to a significant number. I too had company in the 3 seats- 2 in front and one by my side. Front seats were lucky… warming them were 2 lovers. A weird looking guy and a lean and attractive but addicted-to-that-guy girl. For next 3 hours, my time was spent in listening to music and looking outside. In between those two things, my eyes were making frequent sweeps from the inseparable and entangled-into-each-other couple in front to the seats across the aisle. The guy on the aisle side of opposite quad-seats looked like Sheldon from ‘The Big Bang Theory’. He was acting quite weirdly too, sample this- he took out his razor and started shaving right in the compartment. His friend in front, was so fast asleep that he was now leaning on the shoulder of other guy beside him who was apparently looking quite embarrassed because his own girl friend was sitting just in front. It was funny situation until his friend intervened and moved the sleeping friend to another position.
The scenery on the way to Luxembourg was awesome- by the way, awesome is an understatement for that beauty!! Looking out of the window when my eye sight was not wandering inside, I could see valleys, hills, gorges and cute looking houses which were located so far from each other that I was wondering whether the people living inside them had any social life. The houses were similar to few punctuation marks in a long fascinating novel… dotting the amazing scenery with man made structures.
Just when I was getting intoxicated with this scenery, a voice yanked me back to reality with an announcement that we were at Luxembourg city station. Armed with an excitement derived from the expectation of surprises waiting ahead, I strapped my backpack and set out to find the youth hostel with only its address in my hands and without any directions to reach there. Turns out, it was not a big problem. What happened next is still in my mind and I need some time to shape those thoughts into readable sentences. Until then, enjoy the pictures!!!
Wu Li 
You must be logged in to post a comment.