June 23 Train Trip to Frankfurt

Monday June 23, 2008

There ARE plugs in second class on the train.

After about a 2.5 hour train ride from France to Saarbrucken (eventually on the way to Frankfurt this just happened to be a stop along the way) without any computer (I had wanted to catch up the blog (just typing it) not getting it posted, while things were still fresh in my mind, we had a guy get on and sit in a seat near us and plug in under the seat!!! I watched amazed, I had just assumed that since we were in second class we didn’t get the same luxury of a plug (or an evil French woman trying to play footsies with me) and had just tried to veg/sleep for the duration of the train ride. For the most part live and learn has been a theme for our trip and it seems to continue to be prove it self.

This morning we woke up about 6:00, and Steve took us and the Canadian couple back to Paris in the rental van. He was flying out from Charles De Galle and said he would get us that far and from there we could figure out how to get to the train station we needed to be at to catch our train to Frankfurt. We happily took the ride instead of the train again from St. Amand.

We had done our research with the Paris info we have to establish there was a direct route of some public transport that took us from the airport to Gare de Est (the east train station). Unfortunately when we arrive at the airport and get to the area the public transport leaves, and I wait in line to ask the info desk where to catch, the person in front on me asks their question, gets their answer and moves along. As it’s my turn the help window closes, uh… ok. It was a shift change for the help desk worker. I smile and wait patiently as the lady who replaces the guy who seemed pretty nice makes a big to do about getting settled and comfortable before she reopens the help window. And when she does she doesn’t really answer my question but gives me a vague non committal answer and dismisses me to get to the next person. Right, very helpful. Not! So we weigh our options and decide for a taxi. For the first time there is no line to wait in to catch one! Something going our way perhaps? Perhaps.

We get into a C Class Mercedes cab, and tell the driver where we’re headed, he says no problem, tells us there will be some traffic but we’ll be there shortly. Uh, yeah. Let me tell you the map we used to make the decision about taking the cab was NOT to scale! Our taxi ride ended up being quite long, and pricey! Oops, it didn’t help that traffic was totally chaotic in Paris. At least our taxi driver drove aggressively, not like our previous two taxi rides, and that at least made us feel like he understood our pain. He spoke enough English to get by, and kept saying sorry about traffic. There were for sure some crazy moves he pulled, cutting people off, driving 100 in the middle of Paris in the BUS lane and being one of the triple left turners, just adding to the insanity of Paris.

After we got to the station, gave him his tip he gave us ours, hehe he told us to have a safe journey, a happy marriage and basically to get on with having kids cause they are the best things in the world. He went on (off the clock of course) to tell us he had four and that at the end of the day when he finished work and went home to them and saw them they made all his troubles disappear, is it wrong for me to think in the complete opposite perspective that thinking of feeding them, and educating them and caring for them is also likely a big concern of his and so really an addition to his worries? I’m sure the parents that are reading this can debate with me on it, and I don’t doubt that parent hood is great, but I guess I don’t need my taxi driver to tell me to join the ranks of being a parent :p

Wow that got deep for a bit.

Moving along to the train station. We went in followed the signs down to where the trains were to leave from, only to find out that really we were already on the right floor. Hungry, a lil cranky, and obviously tired and annoyed to be back in Paris we spent about 15 minutes just wandering around looking actively for SOMEONE who could help. Being Paris, that was not long enough to seek out someone. We kind of just figured we had to be in the right place, found a place to sit and I guarded the baggage as Aaron got us lunch. After we had eaten we got some of our “fight” back in us, and we discovered which gate we were to leave from. So we proceeded to get on the train. Find our seats, in second class, and squish together (Poor Aaron and his lack of leg room). I fell asleep; Aaron took pics and just tried to entertain himself in general.

Now we’re on the last leg of our journey to Frankfurt. And I haven’t been online sine Thursday the 19th. Hopefully everyone understands the lack of internet in the middle of the French country side and no one is worried since we haven’t been in touch, via e-mail or blog.