I have hit the summer rush of travelers. The Nice train station has lines dedicated to Eurail pass travelers. This is the first time that I have seen these station signs for Eurail and InterRail (the similar pass for European travelers). It´s a good place to meet other international travelers. Go here for seat reservations and help booking trains that cross into other countries. The reservationists speak good English; and several are young French students fluent in English working these lines as a summer job.
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My final connection for this trip is in Marseille, and given that I had only a 20 minute wait before my next train to Nice, I nearly waited inside the Marseille train station.

I’m glad I didn’t. If you have only a few minutes, step outside the station, which sits perched atop a hill. From the station, you can see wonderful views of Marseille’s hilly terrain. I was lucky to be there at sunset, when an orange glow illuminated the Cathedral hill.

As I am leaving Köln (Cologne), I meet an Australian couple who haven’t even yet left the German platform and already miss Germany for the beer. The woman is carrying a large wrapped cylindrical object on her back, which they explain to me is a horse whip. She’s a horserider, and this whip she found in Germany was so unique in its design, that she had to have it. Of course she has to carry it strapped to her back the whole trip, her husband quickly adds. She doesn’t seem to mind at all.
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This is my first trip on the Thalys, the fast train that travels from Paris at top speeds of 300 km or 186 miles per hour. I make the mistake of running to grab snacks for my three-hour trip to Köln. I didn´t know that in first-class they serve you small meals and drinks along the way.
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I´ve been seduced by “Soldes.” It´s odd, but charming, that French stores are allowed to have sales only twice per year: at the end of June, and again in January. But these weeks bring out the shopper in everyone, whether from France or not.
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Our train was delayed an hour coming from Copenhagen, and in Hamburg while trying to re-route myelf to make the next connection, I meet two other Americans who were on the same delayed train as me. They are heading to Paris for an International Gaming Conference.

We quickly pool our resources and head to the Travel Center to get new seat reservations. And here we learn that what we thought was the curse of missing a train connection, turns out to be a blessing.
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Lyon - Montpellier
A French woman sitting next to me offers to share her celebrity magazines. I attempt to translate some words, but instead we play a game of charades describing the escapades of Michael Jackson, Britney Spears, and Lindsey Lohan.

Montpellier - Barcelona
In a train compartment that looks like it came from the set of Boogie Nights. All 70s: Earth tones and large modular seats. I expected to see a shag rug.

Just as I think that my last 24 hours on a train is too much, a woman next to me recounts how she spent 50 hours traveling in the back of a vegetable truck in Morocco. I´m reminded that everything is relative.

Arrival in Zurich
We arrive late in Zurich. My grogginess seems perfectly matched with the overcast weather. I miss my connection. A Swiss agent helps me re-route myself. She tells me to spend the day in Zurich, enjoy the city. I look out the window and see raindrops. I´m thinking of Spanish sunshine. I go on.

Zurich - Geneve
The elderly Swiss man looks big-eyed out the train window, his head bopping to the sights: fog lifting out of valleys, water cascading down rocks, birds encircling tree lines, families emerging from chatlets. Hairs stem from his ears, an oversized cargo jacket engulfs his frail body, and a red plaid cap covers his forehead. He watches out the window with all the delight of a school child. This can´t be the first time he´s taken this train. Maybe he fears he won´t have so many opportunities more? Next to him a young woman sleeps.

There´s a big car show in Geneve today. That´s why the train is crowded, the woman next to me says. She gets off at the next stop. I use the car show as an ice breaker for the rest of the ride. ¨Are you going to the car show?¨ Nearly everyone is.
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