Wednesday, 18th July 2012
I woke up around 5 a.m., when we had already docked, and couldn’t get back to sleep. At 6 a.m., I got up, showered, and packed everything up. Of course, there was no sign of the others at breakfast. I grabbed a piece of baguette as a snack for the journey and was down at the dock at 7:30 a.m. sharp, where unfortunately there was no taxi waiting.
On the way, I ran into Jerome, who kissed me goodbye again. He looked pretty exhausted, though. He probably hadn’t slept more than 2-3 hours at a stretch.
Christophe, who was already on his way (and was looking pretty rested), warned me that Marion and I might have to walk to the harbor entrance because the taxi might not be allowed on the port area.
So we set off on foot and, luckily, a few dock workers gave us a lift to the security entrance, where the taxi arrived a short time later.
The ride to the train station felt like it took forever. Marion chatted cheerfully with the taxi driver, while I tried desperately not to think about anything stupid that would bring tears to my eyes.
“Fortunately,” we were so late that I was fully occupied with buying a ticket and getting on the right train before it departed at 8:08 a.m., instead of thinking about ships and cruises, crew, etc.
Everything went like clockwork until Paris: we arrived at Saint-Lazare in Paris right on time at 9:40 a.m., and I immediately found the right metro line, number 14, which took me directly to Gare de Lyon. Everything was fine there too at first. I followed the signs for “Grandes lignes” (or something like that, in any case there was a train sign), then the signs to the ticket counter, where unfortunately there was a relatively long line.
But it was only 10 a.m., so I should easily make it to the train by 10:23 a.m…. theoretically….
After it turned out that most people were taking forever at the counter, I tried my luck again at the ticket machines, which are also not very transparent in their operation. After about 3 minutes, I was at the payment stage when the now familiar message appeared: “Your credit card is invalid.”
So far, my credit card has worked without any problems in New Zealand, Canada, and South Africa, but it is rejected by French SNCF machines – even though it works fine at the counter… just great.
So back to the line and more precious minutes lost. When I finally reached the counter, it was 10:25 a.m., and the next available connection was the 11:11 a.m. TGV via Geneva, which arrives in Bern „just“ two hours later than the train I would have gladly taken at 10:23 a.m. – if it the ticketing machines hadn’t objected.
So I sat around in the crowded Hall 2, where for some reason water was sprinkling down from above. Maybe it’s meant to keep passengers fresh – like vegetables in the supermarket.
Shortly before 11 a.m., the train was already waiting, and after a quick trip to the wrong carriage, I sat down in my reserved seat in a 4-berth compartment. Togehter with three girls in their early to mid-20s, who could have stepped out of a fashion magazine: 10 cm high heels, short skirts, busy applying makeup for half the journey.
The contrast to four weeks among men in oil-stained blue overalls couldn’t have been greater. Is anyone surprised when I admit that I felt more comfortable among the blue overalls? 😉
Since I didn’t feel like reading or listening to music, I stared out the window or dozed off and ate my now somewhat squashed piece of baguette in between.
Somehow, the time until 2:15 p.m. passed. In Geneva, I bought myself a generous lunch consisting of a Mars bar, a croissant, and multivitamin juice (from organic farming) for a reasonable CHF 7.60.
At 2:45 p.m., we continued on our way, passing large lakes via Lausanne and Fribourg, and arrived in Bern at 4:26 p.m. After a quick trip to the Libero office, where I bought a new monthly pass and a 15-minute bus ride, I was back at home after almost exactly four weeks away.
By 5:30 p.m., I had unpacked my suitcase, and by 6 p.m., I had checked my emails. Then I finally treated myself to pasta with tomato sauce. I hadn’t had that once in the whole four weeks!!!
After dinner, I talked to my parents on the phone for an hour.
Since I hung up the phone, I’ve been wondering what I’m doing here.
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