Hail, Drugs and Lots of Trains...

After 5 days of exhaustion, a very boring training, recovery and another plan for the coming weekend, i've decided to write about my 4-day trip to the Netherlands last week. And what a trip it was !!

I took 2 days off from work, and left Grenoble early on the morning of 8th, and made my way to The Hague in Holland, passing through infamous Paris Gare du Nord and Brussels. I got there early in the afternoon, and hung around in the centre of town until Amogha could finish work for the day.

Amogha has a duplex apartment on the beach, paid for by the multi-national software company that he works for. Obviously this prompted me to get back to old habits, and i once again ended up abusing software engineers, the fact that they are spoilt, and how they dont deserve all the stupid perks that they get.(If any softies are reading this, you can leave your abuses in the comments column, and i will get back to you. But rest assured i will justify each of my points and leave you wordless)

Anyway, there was a storm that night, and on the morning of 9th i had the impression that i would not be able to visit the city at all... it was raining, accompanied by strong winds.The sun eventually came out by 10 A.M, i left for the city centre to do my usual "walking tour", and was warmly greeted by a hail-storm !! One which lasted all but 30 seconds, but rendered walking difficult !!

I spent the rest of the day discovering The Hague, and found that it is not a big place, and like most European cities, "all roads lead to the central square". I also found out how easy it is to get run down by a Dutch tram. They run everywhere, there is not distinction between a tram track and a pedestrian path, and they sneak up on you when you are looking elsewhere. And they cost a bomb !!

Dutch women, however... they have beautiful noses !Once you meet a dutch woman and you get a glimpse of her nose, everything else fades into oblivion...

Dont ask me why and how (i dont want to abuse Amogha's planning skills), but on Friday night we ended up watching Om Shanti Om. I dont believe i went all the way to the Netherlands to watch Shahrukh Khan act like a jackass (which is usually the case with him anyway)

On Saturday we took off to Amsterdam. Need i say more?
We went out again that night, and (i dont want to abuse Amogha's planning skills) we got back home at 3 A.M, despite the fact that i had a train to catch at 9 A.M

Sunday 11th Nov. is a day that will always be remembered !
I warn you, what follows is an account of a harrowing experience. As funny as it sounds, it was not !!

I got to the train station at 8:30 A.M, all groggy and droopy eyed, waiting to get into the train to Brussels so that i could catch some sleep. Can you imagine my consternation when i see that this train is cancelled, and my shock when the guy at the counter says i need to make 4 changes to get to Brussels???

I did it... Hague to Rotterdam by train... Rotterdam to Rosendhal by a bus... Rosendhal to Antwerpen by train... and finally Antwerpen to Brussels by another train... by then i was exhausted, hungry and had already missed by train from Brussels to Paris. To top it off, at the Thalys counter i was told that the next train to Paris leaves in 3 minutes, and i need to buy a new ticket if i want to take this train. I ended up loosing my nerve with the woman at the counter, and she then punched some numbers into the computer, promptly told me this ticket is valid since it is insured, and told me to take any seat in the train once it is moving !!

I ran !!
And got into the train even as they were announcing "Fermeture automatique des portes" !!

I spent the next hour calculating and planning my transit from Paris Nord to Paris Gare de Lyon for my next train, the one that would take me home to Grenoble. I calculated that i need exactly 25 minutes to do this one (yes, from previous experience and averages, taking into account shortest routes)

I arrived in Paris Nord at 14:10, and my train was scheduled to leave at 14:34... 24 minutes !!Could I?
I told myself i could, was the first one to get out of the train, and i made my way towards the centre of the station to get down to the metro.

Thats when it happened.

Out of nowhere, a cop jumped into my path and asked me to present an identification. And i knew i had lost my race already... Better yet, i knew why this guy was stopping me. I was coming from the Netherlands, and let me not even mention my appeareance. I had shaved last before leaving on Thursday, and a 4-day old stubble doesnt help the druggie look. I hadnt slept much over the past 3 days, and i sure looked like hell. Of course they were going to stop me.

So i waited while one guy check my papers and another frisked my bag for marijuana as he asked me the stupidest questions about my work, like he knew a lot about circuit breaker design !! I was at my wits end when he saw my onward tickets, glanced at his watch and then tells me that i am going to miss my train !! But i knew better than to lose my temper with a Parisian cop, especially in Gare du Nord. They do wicked things to brown men in that place...

I got to Gare de Lyon, in a record 25 minutes (including cop time)... only to see my train pulling out of the station...

I had to buy another ticket, the one i had was not insured. In fact this one wasn't even paid for. I got it from the miles that i had accumulated in France, and it wasn't insured or exchangable.

I was back in Grenoble at 7 P.M... I have never had a problem with trains in France (as much as they go on strike as often as they do), but apparently it is very common to cancel trains in the Netherlands !!! My return trip turned out to be a quick roadtrip... 6 changes in 1 day !!