Sen O Kaku: Where in the World is Marta Senn-Diego? Part 21: A Long Dam Day

Since having to sacrifice a trip to Pai with the other members of my Thailand wolf pack, I decided to leave myself a few unplanned days after Paris. It gave me more flexibility to move around Benelux. I thought I might take the train early to Belgium and explore Antwerp or somewhere, then move on to spend a night or two in Rotterdam before finally arriving in Amsterdam.

But oh, the whimsy of Fate.

I bid adieu to gay Paris bright and early. And because I'm so delightfully cliche, I did it with a coffee and croissant at a cafe before heading into the train station to buy a ticket to Rotterdam.

Turns out, life just wasn't going to be that easy. There had apparently been a strike in effect in Belgium since Monday and all trains going through there were delayed or canceled. I was a bit dismayed to hear about the strike, but glad that the service counter could still help me out. I felt like I was making some difficult and dangerous exodus the whole time.

I was given three tickets: one to Lille, one to Brussels, and one to Rotterdam. Getting to Lille was easy and uneventful. I rode a nice train and had a lovely little nap. Then things got a little dicey. At Lille, I had to find another train station that would connect to Belgium. After finally finding it due to some rather inaccurately placed signage, I found the trains were all canceled! Fortunately, a bus would leave soon that would take me there and I wouldn't have to buy another ticket: I just used the one meant for the train.

Finally on the bus and inching my way out of Lille, things were smoothing out again. I was nervous, though, because the bus was moving so slowly through Lille to get to the highway and I was panicked about making the next connection.

Ah, but not to fear: that train was canceled too! I'll tell you something: there are few things in life creepier than an empty building that is supposed to be bustling with life and chaos. The station was nearly deserted! A few station masters milled about and service people gathered around kiosks and chatted. Small individuals and small groups echoed through the large empty station. We were provided water and waffles-to-go while we waited for our respective buses to arrive.

I spent a while just walking around the station, feeling like I was in another, much creepier dimension, like something out of a Stephen King novel.

Eventually the buses came, and eventually, I arrived in Rotterdam and checked into my hostel. It was large, clean, and most importantly, it had free coffee.