thinking of my first train ride in the u.s.

a lovely little train station sits in sleepy small town kelso, washington. you can see it from the distance: a tall modern clock tower with single short stubby strokes where the numbers of the clock would show hovers high above a little red brick station. it tells the accurate time. 9.46am.

the swing doors open up to a spacey hall with wooden waiting benches. a big old-fashioned round clock with roman numbers dominates the inside. in the middle of the hall sits a dainty little girl in bronze on a traveling chest waiting for her train to come. national geographic and the daily news offer themselves for reading. brochures on kelso, longview, mount st. helens, portland, and seattle lay on the window sill to lure the visitor to sights in the region. a warm friendly glow is in the air.

at the far end of the hall behind wooden windows with old-fashioned gray metal bars sit an elderly man and an elderly woman in an office. their name tags read "depot volunteers". they both have silvery gray hair; he has a mustache; she wears glasses. when a fresh train rolls into the station the man announces its arrival and direction. he misspeaks but apologizes over the station microphone: "pardon, going south".

then he hurries toward the door out on the station platform. in passing he asks if i still tickets are bought best online, there are discounts for students and seniors, maybe also for round trips. need to catch this train. no, for now i am just cherishing the atmosphere of the little station and the thought of my first train ride in the united states.

the brochure from amtrak -- which is the passenger train line in the united states -- tells me it's about an hour to portland, oregon (in the south) and two hours and 45 minutes to seattle, washington (in the north). the friendly man says train fares depend on the day of the week and the time of the day -- unlike in germany, where there is a fixed price for each distance (at least until prices go up) is tell him with an interest in the different details. but i am not telling him anything knew. "i know, i was in leipzig about five years ago", he says. the united states, he adds, tried to model their system after the german one.

a round-trip from kelso to portland should cost between $30 to $40 (€24.50 to €32.50 as of today), he says. only on labor day a single trip costs outrageous $52 (€42.30) -- one way.the amtrak cascades, as the regional train is called, is a nice train, the elderly lady adds.

kelso-portland would be a bit as if i would be going from my small german home town of zeitz to medium-sized leipzig with its stores, restaurants, museums, universities, and markets. it reminds me of the day trips i took with girlfriends in teenage days. we would ride the train to go breath big town air, buy tops at our favorite h&m store and others, and to eat out fancily. wild rice with fish filet at the nordsee restaurant. back on the train riding home with full bags we would marvel at our new treasures bought.

how fun to do it all over again, maybe already tomorrow? on the nice train.