I chose to abstain from last week’s prompt. It was a “March Madness” (basketball) style rating game of the supposed ‘best’ country. No thank you. But this week? This week is about trains!
Prompt #12: What is it about train travel that captivates the imagination of travelers in every corner of the world? What about it makes the word “romantic” so apt? Do you have a rail experience that perfectly captures why we love trains so much?
I have a hunch that my love of trains originates from Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express. Combine that with the fact that I grew up about 20 feet from a train track & the seed was sown. Friends sleeping over when I was younger always were startled by the occasional nearby sounds of the train but I had internalized it. I liked counting the freight cars & waving at the passengers.
I like that trains are part of the journey. (With crowds & the increase in security, planes feel more like the trials & tribulations to get to where your journey begins.) Trains are right there setting you into motion; they leave you to enjoy a bit more leg room & better food options. Plus, don’t you love that first moment when the train starts to take away from the station? The moment of possibility.
Plus it was the best way for friends without drivers’ licenses to come visit! Oh, those Amtrak nights…
I feel like we have both logged our due time sprinting to catch the train before it leaves the station!
I love being rocked to sleep on a train. I love movie scenes on dining cars. I love the chuga-chuga rhythm of slowly moving forward, in a way I can feel, in a way that echos my heart’s race. When I arrive somewhere by train, I feel like my heart and I can step off together. If I travel by plane or boat, there is a whoosh of catching up to do. Trains make me feel grounded.
I respect your choice to bow out of the supposed best country post, by the way. What does that even mean? It’s like saying there is a best colour. Silly. We need them all.