Appooppanthaadi 8

24.12.2010 : Curtains to my third visit to Europe. Got up at 5 in the morning. Got ready by 6 in the morning and walked down to Gere d’ el est railway station in Paris. As the weather was bad and there was no let up to snow fall, I did not venture into a plane journey from Paris to Frankfurt. My flight to Chennai was booked from Frankfurt. So, I had to reach Frankfurt to catch the Emirate flight at 1425 hours. The first train from Paris to Frankfurt starts at 0645 hours and scheduled to reach Frankfurt at 1045hrs.

I got a ticket in the first class compartment for 73 euros. It was a special price that included complimentary breakfast also. Normal charge in first class is anything in the range of 150 euros. Bahn service offers a lot of concessional journeys, especially if we plan our travel well in advance

Anything that can go wrong will certainly go wrong. That is what Murphy ’s Law claims. True to this claim, things started going terribly wrong on this journey. The much touted, adored and awed German technology came to a screeching halt at a railway station after around two hours of journey. Announcement came from the train’s public address system. “There is a technical problem with the engine and is being attended to by the technical department.” Snowfall outside the train was like a moderate shower then. We mulled over dashing off to the Frankfurt airport by car. (By the way, this time, I was not alone in my journey. I got one of my colleagues on board today) But the climate was too bad for it. There were thick layers of snow all over the route. There was no guarantee that car could run smoothly on the road. So, we abandoned that option. As the seconds in the watch ticked by, the speed of the heart beat was increasing, slowly by surely.



Flight will never wait for a simple human being like me. Finally, after 2 hours, the famed German Technology was brought back to life. Train again started moving. Still there was hope to catch up with the flight. As mentioned in my earlier posts, these trains can run at a speed as high as 315Kmph. I was sure, German technology can take the rabbit out of the magic wand.


But, the luck was not with me today. The train, after running for a while again stopped at another station. This time the train’s captain informed that there was an accident and the route is closed for traffic. The wait was for two more hours. By this time, it was sure that I will miss the flight. At last, the train rolled over to Frankfurt Main railway station at 1445hrs, 30 minutes after the scheduled departure of my flight. The total delay of the train was 4 hours by that time.


The railway officials were s apologetic about the delay. Usually, if the train is delayed for more than 30 minutes, the crew members distribute an application form to all the passengers. We may fill it up and then produce at the ticket counter when we go to take ticket for a future journey. There will be a discount of 50% of the ticket cost then. I got a few of such forms during my travels. Sad thing is that, everything in that application form is written in German. So, I considered it as a Greek and Latin leaflet and kept as a souvenir in my bag. By the time we got down at the Frankfurt Main station, there were staff members standing at the exit point of the platform holding glasses filled with champagne. Look, they felt so sorry about troubling the passengers. Anyway, I gracefully declined the offer.


Though the heart beat was rising initially, I could gain control over it when I realized that I will not reach on time to catch the flight. Luckily, my colleague had a wi-fi connection. He could access our head office in India through internet and inform them to reschedule our flight. Though both of us had German sim cards in our mobile phones, we did not have enough balance to make a call. Calling charges are too unaffordable. A topup of 25 Euros will simply disappear into thin air if we make just a few calls. With the help of our head office personnel, my flight was rescheduled for the night flight and my colleague had to spend another night in a Frankfurt hotel before he returned to India next morning.


On another occasion, I have been waiting for the train from Frankfurt to Zurich. The train was about to leave Frankfurt at 2005 hours. At 2000 Hours, there appeared a scrolling message on the board. The train to Zurich has been canceled. Suddenly a chilling impulse passed through the spine. What could I do if the train was canceled at the last minute? After recovering for a few moments of numbness, I straight away approached the service point of the railway station. The lady at the counter informed that the train had not be canceled exactly, instead, it will be starting from Frankfurt Sud (Frankfurt South) station that night. I took a local train and reached the station. There I had to stand in the chilled weather condition out in the open platform for more than 45 minutes


Though most of the time, when I am faced with such uncomfortable situations, I become a bundle of nerves, at times, my nerves keep cool. I could remain calm and think of an alternate solution to a crisis situation when I could gain control of the nerves. Thought, it happens very rarely, it does happen. The main purpose of narrating these incidents here was to underscore the fact that there are no problems in the world that do not have a solution. Keep your composure and leave the rest to your brain.