In a Matter of Four Hours

Well, this is a little different. I remember back in May I took a 4-5 hour train ride with Paris, France being my destination. This past weekend, I drove about 4 hours and ended up in Ohio. Like I said, this is a little different.

Travel in Europe still amazes me. It's so awesome how you can hop on a train and within a couple hours you are in a totally different country--different scenery, different people, different language. Before going to Europe, I never really realized how small it is compared to the USA. Yes, the train typically does go faster than a car, so the actual travel time is a little less comparable--but I think you get the point.

My drive wasn't too bad, but it certainly wasn't that exciting. Sometimes the train rides weren't too exhilarating, but at least there were usually some awesome sceneries to stare at out the window. This time around, I didn't see snow-capped mountains and I didn't see numerous lakes and streams. Rather, I saw corn fields and drove through tiny towns that weren't too lively.

For one of the group projects we worked on for our Germany within Europe class, we compared German transportation to that of the USA. The sections of our project were: roadsigns, trains/public transportation, and cars. Train travel in the USA...well, yeah...it's not as popular as in Germany. I have taken a train in the USA because at that point in my life I had never taken a train, aside from the kind you would find at an amusement park. My brother and I took the train to New York. Total trip time (includes a bus ride and a layover) = 16 hours. One way. Would I do that again? Most likely, not.

I've thought about figuring out how many hours I spent on a train during my European travels...I haven't actually done so yet, but all I know is that it is A LOT. According to my Eurail Pass travel log, I rode on many, many trains. What my travel log doesn't reveal are the metro rides, bus rides, tram rides, etc. Between public transportation, bike rides, and walking!, I definitely covered a lot of ground.

My four hour drive this weekend was definitely worth it though, because I got to spend the weekend with my brother! :) (I will have to write another blog post about this trip later.) and I also got to see one of my sorority sisters on my drive back. :) Overall, it was a wonderful weekend, which left me eager for my next travel adventure!


Peace. Love. Happiness.
--TR