Our trip back to Groningen, part 2.

So after the “humiliating” (Brad’s words) escalator incident, we are waiting to catch the train from Amsterdam to Groningen. Keep in mind that we have 3 large suitcases, 2 heavy backpacks, a large duffel bag, and my “purse” (a small carryon).

Getting one’s luggage on and off the train can be tricky at the best of times. At small train stations the train will often stop for only 1 or 2 minutes giving you barely enough time to get off and make your next connection. In large stations, the train stops for several minutes so there is not as much urgency to get on or off.

In Europe, it is courteous to let all of the passengers get off before you get on. However, there is no common consensus as to which side of the doors you should enter and exit from. Passengers getting on and off crowd both sides of the doors. This sometimes causes a bit of chaos when you have several suitcases to lug on and off. The other passengers tend to get a bit disgruntled but so far no one has offered to lend us a hand.

Brad and I had agreed that this time we would wait until everyone had gotten off the train and the new passengers had gotten on before we man-handled our bags onto the train. Most of our baggage this time easily weighed 45-50lbs which is a little difficult for a small girl like me lift. Thankfully the station wasn’t too busy so we had plenty of time.

If you’ve ever been on a European train you’ll know that at the beginning and end of every car is what Brad calls the “baggage compartment” with a door that separates it from the sitting area. Depending on the size of the car, the baggage compartment usually has a couple of fold down seats, a small toilet, and a bit of room to stash suitcases or in Holland, bikes.

Although you aren’t allowed to smoke on the train, some teenagers sometimes try to get away with it by hanging out in the baggage compartment. The toilet in these areas is really nasty smelling, so we usually avoid the area as much as possible. That is, until today.

After systematically loading our bags onto the train, Brad proceeds to go sit down in the “sitting area” leaving our bags in the baggage compartment. I, on the other hand, do not want to leave our bags “unattended” and suggest we sit with them (in the baggage compartment).

An argument ensues… Needless to say, we sat in the baggage compartment with our bags. On the tiny pull down seats. It was cold and smelly. And the trip was about 2.5 hours.

By this time, it was early morning N. America time as we’d traveled through the night; we were tired, to say the least. So, even though the seats weren’t remotely conducive to sleeping, we both dozed off a couple of times. About a dozen people came out to use the toilet during the duration of the ride. The door clicks loudly when someone opens it. That kind of jolts you awake when you are snoozing. It was a little embarrassing when they eyed all of our luggage.

Once I was awakened by a loud noise. I thought it was the door again, but I opened my eyes to find that Brad had fallen off his seat when the train changed tracks and he was sleeping. He almost did that again two other times, but caught himself on the way down. I was too tired to laugh.

Another time the train changed tracks, the whole pile of luggage fell over. Our poor computer now has a big ol’ dent in the corner and the corner of the screen has gone black. Sigh. Would this have happened if we sat inside? We’ll never know.

Needless to say, we did finally make it back to our little home in Groningen. Us and our 200+ pounds of luggage. Lesson learned (again): Pack lighter!