The Long Day Of A Traveler

If all my days were like the one I left for Hamburg, my life would be as exciting and fun as very stressful.

My busy day started early in the morning, when after taking a shower and shaving my beard, I had to go check my father before leaving. Why is a long story and doesn’t really fit with this one, so I’m not going to be very particular about it. Anyway, we had breakfast at his favourite bar right below his apartment, because he said its croissants are delicious. The place is pretty nice, but if I tried, I couldn’t find croissants that suck more in all the city.

Gone back home I was ready to leave. I needed to reach the train station of my neighborhood to catch a train to FCO Airport. It’s a 1 km walk, about 15 minutes. Got to the station, my car mechanic thought it was the right moment to call me to say my car was fixed and ready. I already had given up the hope to get it back before leaving. Instead, I decided to go get it back, since I had a little time to spare and my mechanic is right next to the train station. So I got it back, took it to my garage which is right below my apartment, and headed again to the station.

Fortunately, I took the train that I was supposed to take because it run a little late. Fortunately because arrived to the airport I found out it was all a mess. That’s because, maybe some of you may have heard that, about a month ago the Terminal 3 got burnt, and now all its traffic has been diverted to the T2. So I had ahead of me a neverending line, which brought my usual anxiety level up to a higher point.

Finally passed the security control, another mess was in the lounge. There were like a million people, all asking to the attendants why the screen didn’t show their gate yet. It’s in the middle of all that mess that I made the acquaintance of a pretty girl who found out I was going to Hamburg like her, and thought it would be better to share her anxiety with me. I played smartass of course. I have a weakness for pretty girls.

That’s how I ended up with a new companion for the travel. Turned out she was an actress who was going to Hamburg for a week, to participate in a theater lab project apparently very famous among the actors all across Europe. Since she was alone and wasn’t too sure about the way to reach her place in Hamburg, gently as I am, I offered to help her out. So we did, after a subway ride to the city center, and an hour spent on a table before an espresso in the central station, having a nice chat.

Now, the the part I didn’t mention before, is that unfortunately she broke the handle of her luggage in Rome, so, still kind and gently like I said I am, I offered to bring it for her. Truth be told, she initially denied, but I couldn’t let her bring it. You know why? Because that fucking trolley was heavy like hell.

So the situation was kind of like this. Me, pretending carrying the case was a piece of cake, she, very thankful yet free like a butterfly, and at some point the fucking rain. And even if this place was supposed to be not that far from the central station, I had to ask like a thousand of very kind German people, to indicate me where the hell was that place marked on the sheet she had, and hardly get a good response because apparently that place was in the middle of the fucking nowhere.

Eventually, thanks to another German guy, and his Internet connection, we got there. I have to say it was an area pretty suggestive, among old warehouses close to the port. And it gave me the first vibes of the city and the perfect place to start taking pictures. I’ve been immediately struck by the modernity of this city, with its particular landscapes, like city trains running beside brand new condos.

So after the usual greetings and a break for me to use the restroom, I headed back to my hostel, which I didn’t mention before but it was located practically in front of the central station.

We changed phone numbers and a promise for another coffee in Rome, but I didn’t write her and I doubt she’s going too. Nonetheless it was fun to spend that day together.

At this point my long day could have ended with a quick dinner in central station, instead I thought while I was at it, I could have gone to the Reeperbahn, which is basically the red light district, but it’s also crowded with pubs. That’s how a day started with a crappy breakfast in Rome, ended with me drinking and singing along with a bunch of drunk Scottish guys “The best” by Tina Turner and a refrain from a song of the 70s that stuck on my mind for the rest of my vacation. Definitely a long day. And fun. Traveling is fun. Always.

John Reese