Diane
Another day on the train, and it became a real adventure. The trip from Avignon to Lyon was mostly uneventful, but we got stuck in Lyon because there was an accident on the line. As the delay reported on the departures board extended from five minutes to ten, then twenty, thirty, and forty, I spoke to two people who worked for railroad to ask if they had any idea how long the delay would be. They said the problem was that several unconscious people had been found on the tracks, and they had no idea when it would be resolved. The delay ended up being an hour, and it was clear we weren’t going to make our next connection in Geneva, but that was okay because we had some extra time in Zurich that would allow us to get to Milan in time for the overnight train to Naples. Then I remembered that the train from Zurich to Milan was going to leave an hour earlier than originally scheduled, and we were really in trouble.
In a bit of a panic, I emailed Simon, the English guy who’s got a website and helps people figure out the railroad just because he loves train travel. He suggested that when we got to Zurich we could race over to a train going to Lugano. We had only nine minutes to drag our baggage and ourselves from one platform to another across the station. Pant, pant, but we made it! I had talked to the conductor on the Swiss train to try to figure out some options, but all he had to offer, rather self-righteously, was that his train was on time and, yes, we were in trouble.
Next, it was getting to a regional train from Lugano to Milan. A wonderfully helpful Swiss student, I think, helped us figure out what we were doing, got us an image of the station to help explain where we had to go, and then led us to the correct platform. She was such a nice young woman, studying physical therapy, which we all could have used at about that point.
Amazingly enough, we made it to Milan in time for the overnight train which then sat on the tracks for an extra two to three hours. The Orient Express this was not, although we were thrilled to be there. Skip discovered that their bathroom facilities had a rather simple structure. On flushing the toilet, he saw the bottom of the bowl simply open up, the railroad ties speed by, and the–well, you get the idea.
Wow! Making all that work – amazing! I’d be a wreck. How do you even find out about “Simon, the English guy”?? Never let the equipment go uncharged, that’s for sure!! Glad you finally made it!
I just found Simon on the internet when the travel agent seemed not to hear us saying we wanted to take the train. i found the plethora of choices for ticket agents and schedules so baffling that i needed help and stumbled across Simon’s site. Thank goodness because we’d still be trying to figure it out.
I guess you figured out why there were unconscious people on the tracks… well, you get the idea.