I just love the almost dreamlike state this essay evokes. I agree that the fragile intersection of so many people, so many lives, during train travel creates a heady state of 'what if' , whipping up almost-memories of existences not lived.
I really love this - "Train time is not clock time, it is a paused, suspended, dream-like state…" It would be nice to find more places where time is like this. Time, it's killing me. Time travels at different speeds in different places. At my day job it tortures me with its slow pace. At home on the weekends, it teases me, speeding by at a breakneck pace.
Love, love, love a train journey. After reading your piece I want to book some solo journeys, to travel, to view through glass and imagine myself in another life. Thank you
Oh how I miss being in the timeless worlds between stations. I haven't been on a train in years. It's not as common here in Australia. Back in Europe I used to take the train everywhere. Your beautiful story took me straight back to it ✨ and also makes me want to know more about your trip haha
Thank You Laura. Many times I thought about riding a train during winter and Christmas time across Europe and seeing the alps and small villages decorated for the holidays. For a few moments I just did.
I love this so much. To me, travelling by train feels rather magical. I only ever take the train when I’m heading to do something fun, but it’s funny to me how often my train journeys themselves become part of the memories of the event. Recently a journey into Melbourne included a spontaneous musical session as a group of young people started singing songs in their language and cultural style, as the suburbs flashed by on our way into the city centre. It was so wonderfully unexpected. I always take my journal just in case something like that happens along the way.
My husband, who works in the railway industry here in Australia, seems amused by my having an anecdote to share from every supposedly mundane train journey, as it’s something that he sees as not particularly different to a day in the office. That said, even he appreciates that working in the railways has taken him across this continent and to parts of Europe. Place names on a map might be transformed into memories of the best sandwiches he’s tried in a corner shop in a remote rural town, or old buildings with interesting historical architecture, or beautiful landscapes to be filed away as future hiking options. Most recently his work has taken him to towns where some of ancestors settled when they first came to Australia.
I also wanted to say, I’ve been reading your book “Little Stories of Your Life.” I appreciate it so much. It’s sparking memories of when I first created a Blogger account, when I was in my early 20s and a young mum. It was a time in my life when I was trying to find my voice, in a place where other folks were trying to define my life on my behalf. Your book has me thinking about creative ways I might utilise the piles of old physical journals scattered around my house, and seeing if I can find my old blog writings to bring together the happy memories. Thank you for the inspiration.
I love train travel and you evoke the sense of dreaminess very well, Laura. Since ditching the car, I've also started using buses quite a lot and I really like the camaraderie I see on buses locally. Thanks for sharing, Laura.
This is exactly how I feel on airplanes, and in airports for that matter. I understand why people avoid travel these days, but international travel was part of my childhood as my family were expats in the Middle East for many years. There is something about being between places— worlds, even—as if time is suspended, that I find comforting.
Beautiful! Even more beautiful is the fact that I enjoyed reading this while traveling on a train. My last read before my final destination just ahead. Thank you for these beautiful words and colorful depictions!
Ohhh I love this Laura. 50% of my posts are written on trains and I used to write my uni essays on trains. Thoughts flow differently when we’re moving and the scenery flies by. There’s such so much to experience with all our senses, small stories, big emotions and cute conversations to witness.
I’ll be on a 6h train ride tomorrow across Germany, praying for no delays and hoping for some good writing time.
I love a long, uninterrupted train journey for exactly the reasons you describe. I would write like someone possessed before I had my baby. Now, I try and write on my phone as she sleeps in a sling when we travel back and forth to Norwich. Thank you for capturing the magic (although if you could make Greater Anglia a little more magic, that would be great).
Oh for more train time 🧡
I just love the almost dreamlike state this essay evokes. I agree that the fragile intersection of so many people, so many lives, during train travel creates a heady state of 'what if' , whipping up almost-memories of existences not lived.
I really love this - "Train time is not clock time, it is a paused, suspended, dream-like state…" It would be nice to find more places where time is like this. Time, it's killing me. Time travels at different speeds in different places. At my day job it tortures me with its slow pace. At home on the weekends, it teases me, speeding by at a breakneck pace.
Love, love, love a train journey. After reading your piece I want to book some solo journeys, to travel, to view through glass and imagine myself in another life. Thank you
Oh how I miss being in the timeless worlds between stations. I haven't been on a train in years. It's not as common here in Australia. Back in Europe I used to take the train everywhere. Your beautiful story took me straight back to it ✨ and also makes me want to know more about your trip haha
Thank You Laura. Many times I thought about riding a train during winter and Christmas time across Europe and seeing the alps and small villages decorated for the holidays. For a few moments I just did.
I love this so much. To me, travelling by train feels rather magical. I only ever take the train when I’m heading to do something fun, but it’s funny to me how often my train journeys themselves become part of the memories of the event. Recently a journey into Melbourne included a spontaneous musical session as a group of young people started singing songs in their language and cultural style, as the suburbs flashed by on our way into the city centre. It was so wonderfully unexpected. I always take my journal just in case something like that happens along the way.
My husband, who works in the railway industry here in Australia, seems amused by my having an anecdote to share from every supposedly mundane train journey, as it’s something that he sees as not particularly different to a day in the office. That said, even he appreciates that working in the railways has taken him across this continent and to parts of Europe. Place names on a map might be transformed into memories of the best sandwiches he’s tried in a corner shop in a remote rural town, or old buildings with interesting historical architecture, or beautiful landscapes to be filed away as future hiking options. Most recently his work has taken him to towns where some of ancestors settled when they first came to Australia.
I also wanted to say, I’ve been reading your book “Little Stories of Your Life.” I appreciate it so much. It’s sparking memories of when I first created a Blogger account, when I was in my early 20s and a young mum. It was a time in my life when I was trying to find my voice, in a place where other folks were trying to define my life on my behalf. Your book has me thinking about creative ways I might utilise the piles of old physical journals scattered around my house, and seeing if I can find my old blog writings to bring together the happy memories. Thank you for the inspiration.
I love train travel and you evoke the sense of dreaminess very well, Laura. Since ditching the car, I've also started using buses quite a lot and I really like the camaraderie I see on buses locally. Thanks for sharing, Laura.
This is exactly how I feel on airplanes, and in airports for that matter. I understand why people avoid travel these days, but international travel was part of my childhood as my family were expats in the Middle East for many years. There is something about being between places— worlds, even—as if time is suspended, that I find comforting.
Beautiful! Even more beautiful is the fact that I enjoyed reading this while traveling on a train. My last read before my final destination just ahead. Thank you for these beautiful words and colorful depictions!
Beautiful, as always, and very much identify ♥️♥️♥️
Lovely, sensory. Thank you, Laura.
Ohhh I love this Laura. 50% of my posts are written on trains and I used to write my uni essays on trains. Thoughts flow differently when we’re moving and the scenery flies by. There’s such so much to experience with all our senses, small stories, big emotions and cute conversations to witness.
I’ll be on a 6h train ride tomorrow across Germany, praying for no delays and hoping for some good writing time.
Just beautiful. I love the ethereal way you write and capture the reader with the senses.
I thought this a beautiful piece of writing, which I read on the train from Spain to Paris in-between editing my memoir.
I love a long, uninterrupted train journey for exactly the reasons you describe. I would write like someone possessed before I had my baby. Now, I try and write on my phone as she sleeps in a sling when we travel back and forth to Norwich. Thank you for capturing the magic (although if you could make Greater Anglia a little more magic, that would be great).