Speed train

The french speed train TGV has become a big adventure. When it started it wasn’t speed the whole way (still not for some portions of the journey). It had this orange colour, I guess to make it noticeable when it travels, and mostly to go to south of France. Now it’s blue/grey and travels everywhere. The first time I took it, it was to go in the Alps and it looked small compared to the other trains. I let you imagine how it was with the luggage, the skis and the friends all together in the small space. But from Paris after 2 hours you were in Lyon and then normal speed until the mountains. At least we avoided the car traffic in the snow. I kept on taking it once in a while and because I had to travel a lot and far I couldn’t travel with it anymore. I moved abroad and heard that it improved a lot and the net was growing in France but also in some other countries. From Paris you easily travel to Germany, Holland, Belgium, Switzerland and soon to Spain at a 300 km/h speed at the least. Today I’m in it on my way to Germany. I go to Karlsruhe to meet a friend I didn’t see since a year and I agree it’s better than ever. The space is big, the seats are comfortable, thanks to my favourite french fashion designer Christian Lacroix , you can find a free space for yourself to work calmly on your computer with all the technology you expect nowadays. Plugs, high speed connection (it goes with the train, I let you imagine) isolated seats if you want to be private and all this so fast that you don’t even have the time to look at the landscape. There is of course a restaurant but as far as I remember it was quite expensive and because of the moves of the train you’d be lucky if you don’t throw you cup of coffee at the head of your neighbour (you can use this formula to make new contacts but make a right selection before …). The french train company SNCF takes care as well of the travelers and I guess wants to improve all the time its service. That’s why you have to fill in a questionnaire of 5 pages to indicate what you enjoyed and why you did not. The personnel is polite enough to not disturb you while you’re sleeping on the contrary of the flight intendant in a plane who’s screaming at you because your bag is not under the seat. Of course the big issue stays the moment you wish to go to the toilets. The minute you can’t stand it anymore unless you pee in your trousers means that you have to go now. The thing is only the idea to stand up in front of the crowd, disturb the neightbour who’s sleeping or have his table full of food, beverage and papers and then reach the area and face the look of the people looking at you while waiting at the door and when it opens going inside and then saying to yourself : « I won’t make it ». Most of the time it’s too small. And because you can’t leave your hand bag unattended at your seat you I took it with me. Where’s the space for it ? Where’s the space for my jacket ? It’s not that it is dirty but I never trust the one who was there before and the one before and … . As a man you pee standing up on your legs. And it’s always (always) while I (try to) pee that the train changes the road that I lost my balance, the stream of the liquid going outside the toilet and starting to flow on the floor. This is what I call « a big moment of solitude ». What do I do now ? Take some tissue and clean the floor ? Wash my hands and leave (where’s the soap ?, why is there no water ? so what do I do now with the soap on my hands ? but why there is no tissue in the basket ? …) don’ t forget I have to put my jacket back on and take my bag. And then open the door and smile to the next one who was waiting long enough and then watch some liquid on the floor escaping from the place.
I’ll wait until next station, whatever it takes.