The day after the accident the plan was for D, C and me to take the train up to Warsaw to meet up with J and K. I was excited, since this would be my first train trip in Europe, though that was tempered somewhat by the events of the previous day and basically of the previous year (I've had a string of transportation related mishaps lately, for some reason). We borrow K's aunt's car for the trip up to Lodz, which is Poland's second largest city and where we would catch the train. K's dad and sister gave us a quick drive thru tour of town- lots of old crumbling factory buildings, a large palace and Europe's longest shopping street. We did stop at the cathedral for a quick walkaround, where we saw a replica of the Shroud of Turin.
We exchange warm goodbyes with Krzystof and Kasia, who make sure that we get on the right train and are comfortable in our compartment, which we share with a lone businessman. About 45 minutes later the train stops, which we've done a couple times already to allow another train to switch tracks and pass. This time, though, was different-I look out the window and see people milling about outside on the tracks. Odd. A few minutes later the conductor comes in, talking rather animatedly to the crowd that's now gathered in the corridor. People are asking questions, and the conductor gives both a shrug and the two palms down "keep calm" gesture; now I'm starting to get concerned. David asks around for someone who speaks English, a woman explains that the train in front of us has derailed and we're heading back to the last station so that we can be taken around the accident via bus. Bus? Okaaayyyy....
A few minutes later the train jerks into motion and once again we're moving, backwards. We stop in Rogow, a town apparently big enough to have an actual station, but not much else. Our businessman companion, who up until now had been completely silent, tells us to get off the train and wait by the station for the bus, which will take us up ahead of the wreck, where we will catch another train that will take us to Warsaw. We thank him, gather our gear, and disembark, following the crowd up a footbridge and over the tracks, gathering around a newsstand across the road from the station.
Since we're going to be late, David and I try to find a phone so that we can call K and let her know we're running late. The phone in the station is out, there aren't any other phones around and we don't know enough Polish to borrow someone's cell (I did bring a phrasebook, but it's from the '50s-curses!). So we wait, hoping our hosts up ahead will find out what's happening. The crowd stirs, and our compartment-mate finds us and tells us to get back on the train; somehow they've found a way around the accident. "I'm going home," he says. "No reason to go to work today." Rather than go back up and over the footbridge, we squeeze through a hole in fence to cross the tracks and get back on the train.* (Here's the station and our buddy)
By now we're probably 2 hours behind schedule, hopefully J and K aren't too worried. I'm wondering if I shouldn't be worried; my transportation karma is coming back to bite me on the ass or something...we eventually pass the train wreck:
It looks like that car full of gravel lost control, plowed into the platform and jumped the track. Kinda cool; I've never seen a derailed car and fortunately no one appeared to be hurt. We finally arrived at Warsaw's main station, found a phone and called K. Apparently news travels a bit slower in Poland: J's first words to us may have been "Where the fuck have you guys been?" He and K had been looking for us, going so far as to buy a ticket ahead one stop, thinking we may have gotten off at the wrong station. We explained what had happened, even showing him the pictures I had snapped of the accident...
No comments:
Post a Comment