This blog started in Sep 2010, to capture stories from my home village Höfen in Southern Germany, where I was going to live again for one year. I’m now living back in London, and I keep thinking about what is rural.
I’m sure that everyone has plenty of snow stories at the moment, but I thought this one is quite good.
I got stuck on a high speed train from Berlin back home to Höfen – due to severe weather conditions in the Frankonian Forest. Four hours travel time turned into eighteen, and I spent eight hours on a platform (well, in the train) in snowy Saalfeld without any useful announcement of what was going on. Positive side effects were that the local Kiosk had sales records, that I spoke to people I normally don’t meet and that whole books could be read. Today I found out that my brother – who I don’t see very much – was on the same train, and we didn’t bump into each other. He travels first class, is well equipped mobile phone and internet wise (unlike me who lives with a british pay-as-you go mobile here) and decided to book into a local hotel. I stayed on the train, kind of believing in what I remember as a functioning train system (big mistake!). We both arrived in Southern Germany at roughly the same time the next day.