"Driving Home for Christmas" - Once and never again: How I traveled 500 kilometers home on regional trains
I would like to blame someone else for my dilemma. And I have tried. After all, it was my boyfriend who suggested setting the alarm half an hour later (the alarm we then overheard). He was the one who wanted to leave the house far too late, so we missed the subway. And when, against all odds, we were still standing in front of the train - he drove off right under our noses.
The day begins with a double mishap
You might have guessed it: I overslept. The Flixbus that was supposed to take me home had already left when I opened my eyes in panic. Because of the astronomically high ICE prices, as a holder of the Deutschlandticket I decided to switch to regional trains instead. More than 500 kilometers across the country with the Deutschlandticket. One day before Christmas. I was already regretting the idea when I left the house - and missed the first connection straight away. I emphasize once again: it was my boyfriend's fault. We have breakfast at Subway. "I am in misery", Adam Levine sings over the speakers. A pigeon dances around our table and collects the falling sunflower seeds.
When the train - RE 3 to Hanover - finally leaves, the train is packed with people, bicycles and suitcases. We manage to get a seat next to the toilets. At that moment, I wish I had an FF2 mask, as some of the other passengers have them on their noses. The journey is alcohol-free, the conductor emphasizes every time new passengers board. Opposite me, a tattooed man dressed in black nevertheless opens a can of Jack Daniels. Maybe that's the only way to endure the whole thing.
I want to cry too
The passengers crowd the platform in Hanover. We part ways here; my friend is heading towards NRW, I'm continuing south. The regional train to Göttingen is already waiting. Without hesitation, I grab the seat next to the toilet again - a wise decision, because a little later the compartment is packed again. "It would be much worse with children," says a young woman in conversation with an older lady. There don't seem to be any small children on the train, but there are plenty of teenagers watching TikTok videos on their cell phones. "If there happens to be a policeman on the train, let him move to carriage number five," says the conductor. Otherwise, things have gone surprisingly smoothly so far.
There are lots of small children on the train to Kassel. One of them, Emil, bundled up in a brown snowsuit and with a pointed cap on his head, is crying bitterly because his mother wants to sit with strangers. "But I don't like them," the boy clarifies. The mother shows no mercy. I almost cried with him. We drive past villages with illustrious names like Witzhausen. But the stop there is no fun. We stop for 15 minutes.
The conductor informs us that the tracks can only be used on one side at the moment due to storm damage. As a result, we have to wait at least a quarter of an hour at every stop from now on. The connection in Kassel is long gone. Sitting next to me is a girl who complains loudly - and with a "digga" after every second word - about missing her piercing appointment. I hope for her sake that, unlike my home town, her piercer isn't over 200 kilometers away.
The anticipation of Christmas is a long way off
On to Fulda, the train is finally empty. The passengers are tired and irritable. The suffering unites them, but when it comes to who gets on the train first and grabs one of the seats, they all become lone fighters again. Everything is now too much for me too. Every cough, every cell phone ringtone makes me go crazy inside. Pre-Christmas contemplation seems light years away from me. It's pitch black outside. Not that there is so much to see here on the northern Hessian railroad line in daylight. I lean back, close my eyes and can actually sleep for half an hour. The train is only eight minutes late, giving me enough time to at least get a small snack for my growling stomach in a drugstore.
The next regional train is already waiting. The passengers are already talking - sorry, babbling - in the familiar Hessian dialect. Home is within reach. Even more villages with a familiar sound pass by, but at least the names are starting to sound familiar. After eight hours, I finally reach my destination, in the north of Bavaria, where I get off the train in Aschaffenburg. The remaining kilometers are covered in my mother's car. The anger is immediately gone. Suddenly I'm really looking forward to the familiar warmth of home. And Christmas, Christmas is what I'm looking forward to the most.
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- Due to the high prices of ICE tickets during Christmas season, I opted to travel across Germany with my Deutschlandticket and regional trains instead of the usual luxury Germany ticket.
- The top news headlines that day were dominated by stories of heavy traffic and chaos on the roads due to the large number of people traveling for Christmas, making FlixBus an appealing alternative for some.
- Despite the challenging journey, the sight of the familiar Christmas lights in Hanover filled Cassel with a renewed sense of anticipation for the festive season.
- With the Hanover-Hanover train ticket in hand, Cassel boarded the train, hoping to reach their destination in time for the Christmas celebration, unaware of the unexpected delays that awaited them on the tracks.
Source: www.stern.de
