Categories: words, luxemburg, postcards
Date: 02 July 2008 18:27:14
The train in which I was now ensconced was a double-decker type and I was sitting upstairs. I had never been on a double-decker train before. It was very sensibly laid out for the sets of seats on either side of the gangway were not directly opposite each other. This meant that when two people on either side wanted to get up and stand in the gangway they weren't in each other's way. This is much more convenient an arrangement than any other train I think I have ever been on!
There was a display screen at the end of the carriage confirming that the train was calling at Namur, Arlon and....Luxembourg (hurrah for that!). Another display advised passengers to buy their tickets before boarding to avoid paying a supplement but it seemed a bit late to mention it now we were speeding along. There was a good view from the windows - even when we called in at a station - for generally the top deck was higher than the canopy over the platforms. The disadvantage of this arrangement is, however, that it makes it a bit difficult to see the station name but as I was not getting out until the terminus, I did not allow this to bother me on this occasion. (I'd had enough to rant about on this journey without getting involved with things which were not going to directly affect me!)
The passengers seemed to be commuters and even after a couple of hours we seemed to be depositing commuters at their home stations. We picked up speed as we passed through the beautiful forested area of the Ardennes. The ticket collector came to inspect my ticket and stared at it rather hard. I looked at it once he'd gone and noticed that it said I was going via Sterpenich. With no idea where Sterpenich was, I wondered for a moment (again!) if I was on the right train but took comfort from the display at the end of the carriage confirming I was on my way to Luxembourg.
Eventually we arrived at Arlon. Passengers disembarked. And then I looked around and realised everyone had disembarked. Huh? Was this a co-incidence or did they know something I didn't? I grabbed my bag and went in search of a conductor who happily was just boarding the train. I asked him in halting French if the train was going to Luxembourg. (I wasn't sure if I should speak French - or if this was a Flemish speaking area and whether English would be a better bet). Gentle reader, the display on the train had been telling lies, nothing but barefaced lies! Monsieur (for he was a French-speaker) told me to go to the next platform - where I recognised most of the people who had been in my previous carriage. I boarded this train slightly unconvinced (that display had been telling me for 2 hours that the train was going to Luxembourg!) and off we set.
Shortly before 7.45 pm we duly arrived in Luxembourg (hurrah!) which looked like a building site. For it was a building site. Everywhere there were gaping holes, safety fences, heavy plant machinery and signs advising you to wear a hard hat. I descended into a subway to stare at a departure board. After about 15 minutes it told me that the 20:17 was due to leave from platform 7. I trudged off to platform 7 to wait. At about 20:10 an announcement was made. Ich verstand nur Bahnhof.* Well, the only word I did catch above the scratchy, crackly bangs and whistles was “ausnahmsweise” - exceptionally. Oh heck. What is happening ausnahmsweise? I shouldered my bag to plod back down into the subway to the display board. Platform 4. Up more steps to wait on platform 4. At about 20:14 a little red two-carriage train which had clearly seen better days, with Trier Hbf written on the front, went sailing past me. I watched it go and waved “bye-bye”. It looked as if it was on its way to the depot. At 20:16, I was getting a little nervous as the platform indicator showed no sign of announcing a train to Trier. I bombed back down the steps to read the departure board. Now it said Platform 4 CD. Back up the steps and looked wildly to my left - the platform petered out.... Wildly to my right (where I had been standing previously) - AB. But wait! What was that further down the platform - behind the scaffolding? Saints alive - it was CD - about 75 yards away. A chap in a grey suit had just noticed the same thing and we both belted towards the train for now it was about 20:16:55. The Suit, having had a 25-yard headstart and not being weighed down by a 20-kilo bag, got there ahead of me - but I was not far behind. As I fell into the carriage, the doors tooted and closed and off we chugged towards Germany. Less than three-quarters of an hour later, we pulled into Trier station where I was welcomed with a big hug from the Lödgerin.
The journey door-to-door had taken 11 and a half hours of my life and aged me by as many years. I looked almost as old as the photo on my BahnCard.
* A curious German expression which literally means “I only understood railway station” and means “I didn't understand a thing.”