This morning we got up at 4:30 AM and headed over across the street to the local city train station to begin our journey to Paris, France - the city of light. We finally got our 3 large suitcases, three bags of misc. stuff, camera bag, laptop, and carry on bag, as well as Justyn's backback over to the station. We made it in one try and received strong muscles in return!!
We caught the 5:09 AM train and arrived at the Frankfurt main train station at 6:00 AM. I am so glad we did. Rex tried to retrieve the remaining balance from our checking account to pay for our Paris apartment and was declined. The money was in the account, but he had withdrawn in Frankfurt late Friday afternoon and because of the time difference, the ATM considered the 6 AM withdrawal, a same day one.
We were both in a sort of panic with the decline of his card so I had to find an Internet connection to check our balance. I found one in a gambling casino in the train station and paid the 2 Euros to get access. All was OK in our account -- it is just that the credit union ony allows one withdrawal per day. We knew Paris was the only option at that point.
Friday afternoon, we had made a late trip to the grocery store to pick up some water, a few fresh french rolls and cheese for the train trip (to save on costs using the snack bar car). We had intended to buy the rest of our food -- meat and additional cheese at the train station the next morning. That, of course, did not happen because of the money fiasco. But, we thought, no worries, as we could always purchase something to eat on the train.
Wrong...
We got on the train, first class section and discovered 1/2 hour into our journey there was NO food or snack bar on the train. We were so glad we had gone to the grocery store the day before or we would have arrived ravenous in France. What we had, at least, kept the hunger pangs at bay. Just a warning to the wise, if you undertake train travel in Europe and you assume a 5 1/2 hour train trip in which you will have access to food on that train -- check the info on that train before leaving to prepare in advance!
Alternatively, we all slept (sitting up) and viewed the passing scenery which was very interesting -- lots of farms and fields and sheep and waterways. Everything was very green, unlike the U.S. In the area of Champagne, France, we had two other people join us in our train cabin area. They were French teenagers. They ignored us and simply spoke rapid French with each other. It was very strange to hear a language I had very little knowledge of.
See the itinerary of this trip, and details about each destination.
We arrived in Paris, France on time. This is very usual for the European train system. Immediately, we became award of the difference between being in Germany and being in France. The German train station was neat and clean and had tons of facilities. The French train station was dirty, full of construction and a decided lack of facilities. Rex took Justyn to the bathroom and commented that next time they would go on the train instead. Enough said.
Stay tuned...
