The Semana Santa Saga: Part I

The sun shone over the green fields and reflected off the steeple of the solitary church sitting on the crest of the hill. Armies of pines and hardwoods marched past in a blur of green and brown. Small villages with no more than one hundred buildings passed by within a glance in their direction, their steeply pitched roofs forming an amber mountain range. Cities came in and out of the moving picture, prominently featured in intervals just long enough to allow for a change in casting. At times, the scenery changed from green to white, as a light dusting of snow drifted from the hazy heavens to cover the forests in a soft, downy blanket of nature’s fierce beauty.

I looked out the window and imagined that I was watching a movie, following the story with my eyes and filling in the gaps with my imagination. Other spectators conversed quietly in German, adding lyrics to the soundtrack. Whether they were commenting on the countryside or the smelly man sitting next to me, I had no clue. Thus, from a handful of window seats, I watched a small portion of the European Story play out. And with each train ride, I found myself in some new place, some new city, some new country, where I was given time to explore and discover and wonder up to minutes before hopping on the next train to the next destination.

This Semana Santa, Spain’s Holy Week and my spring break, Miss Sarah Kolb and I went on an epic journey through parts of the Czech Republic, Germany, and Austria. Never in my life have I traveled by train so much, which was a great experience and one which I really enjoyed learning how to do. Overall, train travel is quite relaxing.

My adrenaline and anxiety levels were only elevated from the Normal Level to the Slightly Concerned Level when we had less than ten minutes to make connections. Yet, I did actually enter into Panic Mode once. Just before a scheduled departure, SK & I realized that we had misread the Departure/Arrival Board and had been waiting in the wrong place for over 20 minutes. Thanks to some very kind Austrians, we jumped onto the correct train just seconds before it rolled away from the platform. Other than that exciting mishap, we successfully traveled throughout three different countries by train.

Our trip was such a grand adventure that I am going to have to take some time to recount our journey on a city-by-city basis. So, please stick with me through this...the Semana Santa Saga.