Snuggle up

A crisp and rainy July evening sets the stage for our regrettable train adventure. The rain pours as we happily ascend the short steps onto what we think will be a night filled with karaoke and celebration. This, however, is not the case. Chatting we hit a barrier…of people and their oversized bags. Crowds push past us as we all try to cram our way onto the train. A larger woman going the opposite way lifts her bag, but as she maneuvers around us we all unfortunately catch a glimpse of her underarm hair. It smells like manure. And we quickly begin to realize the fun train has definitely left the station. Finally we make our way into an unoccupied cabin with six seats. There are five of us, so it seems perfect at the time. Soon we realize there will be no karaoke on the train. Bummed and disappointed we decide to get ready for bed, but hold on a second, we have no beds to sleep on. We only have the monotone colored train seats with unhappy looking stains to crash on. The weather and travel we lived through the previous night has already left us in a dazed stupor, so we put on our warm sweats and sit down for some rest. We sit opposite from each other (three on one side two on the other). Testing the distance of our cabin with outstretched legs we shortly begin to realize how uncomfortable this will quickly become.

The clock already glows 1 A.M. as we try to find a slightly comfortable position. I remember this feeling when anxiously waiting for field hockey preseason to begin early the next morning. I wake up an hour later with neck pain and blazing pain shooting up my leg. Time to switch positions. I snuggle up to the clear door with the faded yellow curtain. Smells just like home…not. Clearly a difficult night lies ahead. My iPod gives me something to occupy the time because sleep is not really a feasible option, however some of the girls are cozying up to their parts of the cabin just fine. Sometimes one will wake up and shift. Others will courageously spoon. Well accidentally and then wake up stunned. I quietly laugh as my “sleep” playlist filters through my ears. The cabin becomes cold and I curl into a ball. The earbuds hurt and my iPod is about to die a slow death, so I put it out of its misery into my damp blue bag. Oh, right, I should mention how everyones bags got wet from the downpour earlier. No biggie though, really. We will just wear damp clothes for a couple days. The damp clothing creates a faint scent of wet grass that circulates throughout our room. I begin to think about field hockey pre-season in high school as I drift into a calm and peaceful sleep. Thirty minutes later I am awake because it is 5 A.M and the train has stopped at our destination. My eyes feel puffy as they hesitate to focus.

Minutes later we disembark and check our Blackberrys for upcoming weather conditions. It will be a sunny Sunday...thank you Croatia.