i have to admit it...

(disclaimer: to my devoted and beloved followers. i know the sudden influx in blog entries seems a bit rash, but i am living in constant fear that my internet is going to give out for the next week, so i am really doing this for all of YOU =)

i LOVE traveling by train. under certain circumstances, of course. i feel as if i must admit this because i recently was on the phone with the rents regaling them with horror stories about the train system here. turns out, it is not all that bad, unless you're stuck in an 8-person compartment and the other passengers are worried about the breeze flowing through and, thus, opt to keep the windows shut for the entire 4 hour train ride.(when i'm alone in my seat and get to choose, i travel with the window all the way down...WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOYEEEEEE! rebel!)

BUT, the experience of traveling by train, i have found, can also be very rewarding. i was forced to take a train on my recent trip to (a northern town) and found the afternoon i spent whisking through the 'old mountains' mountain range to be one of the most pleasant so far in this country. imagine it: a beautiful august afternoon, foliage abounding, deep gorges plunging below you, trees shooting up left and right on either side of the train that lurches forward and slows down for unknown reasons. the four hours on THIS particular train ride were delightfully meditative and relaxing.i have found that if you have some good tunes to accompany you on the ride, the journey is infinitely more enjoyable. my music of choice for this particular trip was the amelie soundtrack, complete with beautiful music composed by yann tiersen, rich with violins, lively accordians, and quirky piano parts that each tell a story.the music has a unique, whimsical air that transformed the otherwise dull train cabin i inhabited into a fun little european time vessel that transported me from volunteer to tourist instantaneously. like magic, like clockwork. the music's exquisite ambience helped remind me that there is so much beauty in life, so much to pay attention to in assembling the pieces of this great puzzle together to form some logical creation. i loved every minute of it.(on this trip, i was the ONLY person in my entire train car!)
trains here are cheap, slow, hot, old, and unapologetic as they wind their way through countrysides you might never see if you only stuck with riding buses. perhaps the fact that i never rode on trains in the states amplifies the exotic revelation of train traveling, so much so that i might just ride trains as often as possible.