Monday morning, 6 o’clock. My two backpacks are ready, 14 kg on my back, 9 kg in the front, and five weeks in Norway ahead of me.
My boyfriend takes me to the train station. 20 minutes early, or 30 even since the train is already delayed. And as he asks me if I want to buy something from the bakery, I notice that, indeed, I could use that, since I forgot my specially prepared, healthy mocha overnight oats in the fridge. I mean, I had to forget something. Better that be food than my camera or my phone. But now, a good old German pretzel has to serve as my breakfast again.
Soon, the train rolls in. I enter, unload my large backpack at the luggage rack, and sit down on an unreserved window seat. I observe the general bustle on the train that always takes place while the train is stopping at a station. Other passengers try to challenge me for my seat, claiming they have a reservation. It turns out they are in the wrong carriage. And then we are rolling. With my attention occupied by other people, I completely forgot to wave my boyfriend goodbye.
But I am finally on my way! The adventure bug has bitten me. It feels so good to be back on the train, on my way into the unknown. I have three long days of travel ahead of me. That gives me a lot of time to work. I still have to finish my thesis; incorporating corrections, reading it all once again, and writing an abstract. The five hours to Hamburg pass in no time.
We arrive timely, which leaves me enough time to eat my pasta salad at the train station. I’m so glad I brought some real food. I will probably eat lots of junk food over the next few days.
The platform is crowded. Looks like a lot of people want to go to Copenhagen. And there must be a thunderstorm going on outside. I can see the rainwater running down the side of the roof, and some heavy drops even make it through some holes and onto the platform.
The train once again keeps us waiting. Why does this always happen whenever I travel to Scandinavia? Not once has the train from Hamburg to Copenhagen been on time. When it finally arrives 15 minutes late, clusters of people gather in front of the entrance doors. It takes forever until everyone has entered, but finally inside, the train is nowhere near as crowded as I would have expected. I even have a double seat to myself.
A little kid who probably just learned how to walk travels back and forth in the carriage with their mom in tow. I smile at them every time they come by. It’s so cute, it’s distracting. I guess I won’t be able to work here anyway. The wifi and power sockets are not working. And so is the air conditioning. The train attendants even bring us water. And again, it’s not the first time this happened on this route. Last year in July, we were basically grilled on our way back to Germany.
They check our IDs in Padborg, and I change my seat from the sunny side to the shade and start reading on my iPad. The first people leave the carriage to find a place elsewhere. I guess the AC is still working in the rest of the train. But I don’t really want to give up my spacious place to cramp into an aisle seat. Until they close down our carriage, and I have no choice. So with a backpack in both the front and back, I start my hike through the train. The straps of my backpack swing next to my legs, and suddenly one gets stuck in an armrest. I struggle for seconds until it’s loose again, feeling watched by the people around me. But I just think, well, I wanna see you with two backpacks on the train.
At least I find an empty seat at some point and read some more. The woman sitting next to me is coding on her computer and gets off in Odense. And if I’m being honest, our delay is not a big deal, as long as we get to Copenhagen. From there, trains to Malmö leave regularly and until late at night, and in Malmö, a hotel room is waiting for me.
Unlike last year in March, it’s still light outside when I arrive in Malmö at 7 o’clock. I drop off my luggage at the hotel and take a walk through the historical city center. I have been here quite a few times by now, but I have never seen Malmö in such a beautiful light. Half of the sky is covered in thick, dark clouds. On the other side, the low sun makes its way through the gloominess, drenching everything in a beautiful yellow-red light.