Posts Tagged ‘train’

Train to Poland — Part 2

Thursday, July 22nd, 2010

This is our eighth trip to Eastern Europe since 2008 and, apart from gasping at near head-on collisions, I’ve never felt afraid. Until today, that is.

Passengers come and go on these trains. For several miles, two men in their 60s sat on the bench across from us. Theirs was an animated conversation until one turned his attention to me and began jabbering in Polish. His eyebrows shot up when I told him that I couldn’t understand because I spoke only English. He moved closer, grabbed my hand and kissed it.

I was okay with this display of Polish culture but squirmed inside when he began to squeeze my hand and pat my arm with his other hand. Then he leaned toward my face. All of this happened within a few seconds. A teenage boy in the next seat began translating what the man was saying, at which time Gene stood up and asked the man to back off.

The man responded by speaking louder and squeezing tighter. Gene repeated his request. The man turned up his volume and now leaned towards my husband. Visions of his punching Gene popped into my head. I shot up an arrow prayer for help.

At that exact moment, the conductor stepped into our train car. Understand that conductors routinely walk through the cars to ensure that all passengers have purchased tickets and aren’t freeloading. This conductor hadn’t set foot in this car for the past hour despite the train making numerous stops and collecting passengers along the way. His sudden appearance at that exact moment was nothing short of an immediate answer to prayer.

Without speaking a word, the conductor sized up the situation and took control. He pulled the man away from me and kicked him off the train when it stopped a few moments later. Everyone in the car heaved a sigh of relief. “I’m sorry,” said the conductor as he walked way.

“No problem,” I said, whispering a big thank-you to God under my breath. He showed up as my protector in the form of a train conductor – how awesome is that? While it was quite amazing to see Him answer prayer so quickly, I truly hope He won’t have to do it again!

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Journal Entry for March 30 and 31

Tuesday, March 31st, 2009

Today we began our 21-hour journey to our next and final destination. It will take three trains and one bus to get there, finally arriving on Tuesday around noon.

Budapest train station

Budapest train station

Our third train was an overnighter. Remember the four-hour adventure Gene had buying tickets for this trip? Well, it continued in Budapest when we doublechecked with the conductor re: whether or not this was the right train before we boarded. The conversation went something like this:

G (Gene): Does this train go to Krakow?

TC (Train Conductor): Yes.

G: Thank you. (We picked up our suitcases and boarded the train.)

TC (from behind us): Show me teeckits. (We deboarded the train with our suitcases and showed him our tickets.)

TC: Yes. Dis da train. Come. (TC led us back onto the train and to our reserved sleeping compartment.)

G (wishing to triplecheck): This train stops in Krakow, correct?

TC: No! Dis train no stop in Krakow. It go to Warsaw. Show me teeckit.

G: The tickets say ‘Warsaw’ but it goes through Krakow to get to Warsaw. Will it stop there?

TC: No stop in Krakow.

G: I told the ticket agent that we wanted to go to Krakow and these are the tickets he gave me. What should I do?

TC: (shrugged) I dunno. Come vit me. (I stayed with the luggage while Gene and TC deboarded the train, walked along the platform past several cars, and disappeared. They returned minutes later having found a solution. Gene learned that the train would split during the night. The car with our reservations would head for Moscow! We had to move to a different car and pay an additional 42 Euros despite the fact that it was the ticket agent’s mistake. Sigh.)

Then came THE phone call. Our son called our cell phone to tell us the good news: his wife had safely delivered their wee son, Luke Timothy, 35 minutes prior! So, grandbaby #2 is safe and sound, albeit about 3 weeks early. Praise the Lord for this little life!

The night was a long one. Gene climbed onto the top bunk and promptly fell asleep. His ability to do so is truly a gift. I stayed on the bottom bunk and tried to sleep, but that’s as far as it got. My mind was filled with thoughts about the new grandbaby: What did he weigh? What does he look like? How will 15-month-old Anna respond to having a sibling? I could hardly contain my excitement.

Besides my having an emotional rush, the train rumbled and rocked, screeching to a stop and lurching to a start countless times until dawn broke and we pulled into Krakow. Within 20 minutes we’d boarded a lovely tour-type bus and were headed to Zakopane. “Thank You, Lord, for watching over us so faithfully and for giving us the blessing of Luke.”

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Train Station Guffaws

Wednesday, March 4th, 2009

Journal entry for Saturday, February 7, 2009

Travel day! The Andersons and ourselves boarded a train at 10 a.m. and headed for Hungary. The lady who sold us our tickets said we’d have to switch trains in Budapest. So, doing as we were told, we got off in Budapest and lugged our suitcases down the walkway to find out where to board the next train. We had only 9 minutes to do all this, so we were hustling!

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