For anybody that's just now joining this story, here's the situation: After one crazy night in Amsterdam I ate some shrooms, headed to Centraal Station and sat still as I watched my train depart back to Germany right in front of me. Oh well, I'm an idiot, not much I can do about that. There was another train heading back to Germany in two hours, so missing my scheduled train wasn't really that big of a deal.You see, I was in Europe. The rules for taking train rides in Europe are actually very simple. Pretty much the only thing that matters is that you are a human being holding a ticket with a departure city and arrival city. I'm sure the relative times that the ticket was reserved for also come into play; but all the hassle of checking in with some arbitrary database and proving that you are who you say you are have been removed. In fact, anybody can basically get on any train at any time whether they have a ticket or not. Once the train actually leaves the station and is already on its way to the next stop is when somebody (the conductor, perhaps?) will go through the train and ask to see your ticket. But, here's the interesting part - even if you don't have a ticket, you can buy one, then and there, from the conductor. Sure, you'll be paying full price for the trip, but I guess the fact that you are sitting on the train is enough proof that you wanted to buy these tickets anyway. If you show them a ticket for a train that already left, all that matters is that the train that you are on is at least part of a series that will get you from your departure city to your arrival city and your ticket will be accepted. I'm not exactly sure why I find this so interesting; I mean it is a very simple and logical system. It just seems to me, after flying on many flights in the states throughout my life, that this would never happen. I will admit that I have never traveled through the U.S. on trains and maybe it's the same way there ... I'm just prone to think that it isn't.
That being said – about the lack of proving who you are and all – things get a little more complicated on international trips. For these trips, you will be approached by the conductor for your ticket and then by a group of police (or whatever they're designation is ... border patrol...?) that is always more than one guy for your passport. The first time this happened, I made the beginner’s mistake of actually trying to speak with these people when they came by. I now know that this is not necessary and things go much smoother if you just sit there and, once approached, listen for a key word that sounds close to "ticket" or "passport"; give the requested item to the person that approached you and just sit there quietly. If you get asked something you can then go into the whole thing about not speaking their language and inquiring if they speak English; however, in most cases, no conversation is even needed. They'll just punch your ticket or look through your passport then hand it back and move on to the next person. I think they appreciate it more if you just stay quiet and let them get on with their work, no sense in trying to talk to them and slow them down because, due to the language barrier, the conversation will rarely be short. And who needs the hassle?
So, anyway, back to my story. As I mentioned, I had just finished watching my scheduled train leave without me on it and found out that there was another train in a couple of hours that I could take. I did make this second train; however, I don't even remember waiting for it or boarding it. It had now been at least two hours since I ate the shrooms (four from when I must have boarded the train) and I guess they were now hitting with full force. I do remember being on the train though. It was the typical train ride where I basically found myself an open seat and sat down. If you're paying attention to this story, you should be aware that I was now sitting on an international train heading back to Germany with 3 THC brownies and 2 hash joints that I had purchased earlier in the day. Was I worried? No. The shrooms had basically removed all of my worry. I just needed to not be stupid (well, not be more stupid than I already was with my cargo and state of mind).
It's a good couple of hours before we would be crossing back over the German border and that time was spent by me sitting there and contemplating some weird stuff. I remember considering the life force and how our physical bodies were just mere shells that housed us and coming close to deriving, not necessarily the answer to, but a fuller understanding of what life actually is. I remember thinking how amazing it was that I was now sitting on a train in the Netherlands heading back to my new home in Germany and how fascinating it all was to me however, for the rest of the people sitting on that train, this was most likely commonplace life. I'll tell you this - when people are telling you that drugs (shrooms, in this instance) can really open your mind, they're not just trying to justify the fact that they have done them. The trip that I was on was very interesting. I only wish that I had taken my PC along with me and typed up a blog entry while still in the effects. Next time I most definitely will.
The trip went very smoothly. When I was approached I just figured out what document was being requested and handed the said document to the person requesting it. Other than an instance where I was told to change cars due to the electricity being out on the car I was on and one time where I was asked to move seats because I was sitting in somebody else's reserved seat, I really didn't interact with anybody. This, of course, was good as not only would I have had the language barrier to deal with I was also on a completely different plane of existence thanks to the shrooms.
By the time we arrived in Hannover, the shrooms were finally starting to wear off. This, of course, was some 9 hours after I had eaten them. That's pretty good for a €12.50 trip. In Hannover, I departed the train, went outside and took a quick picture of the station at night, found my next train to Braunschweig and finally returned to my apartment around 10:30 that night. That was it, my first trip to Amsterdam was now over and I would head to work the next day and get on with life as normal...
Hey, mentioning that picture has reminded me that I was going to tell you guys that you can see the photos I've taken since I've been over at my Yahoo Photos page. Unfortunately most of the photos I took in Amsterdam didn't come out, but there are some interesting pictures there and I plan on adding more albums while I am here...bis später,
Coriolis
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