Hamburg to Paris

My alarm went off and I showered. That was a mistake, I should have done it before going to bed but I was too excited to be unconscious. Even as I was not fully awake, I realized that I’d be spending my day dealing with a wet towel and wet shower shoes on the train. Fun. 

My layover was 50 minutes in Frankfurt. The irony that been around Hamburgers and Frankfurters all in one day was not lost on me. Hilarious. More than anything I’m just glad to be out of the clutches of Deutshce Bahn for the rest of this trip. I can report that SNCF knows how to build a railcar that’s decently comfortable. Even more incredible than the comfort in general was the comfort at speed. The engineer brought us up to 200 miles an hour and the car was steadier than most American trains at half that. The French countryside was zipping along so quickly that I couldn’t even see the poles holding up the overhead wire.

Doing two bucks on rails

I pulled into Gare d’lest and what should have been an easy Metro ride from the station to my hotel turned into an hour ordeal. My train broke down and I had to make two transfers and do a lot of walking with a heavy bag to get to where I needed to be. At the hostel, I met up with Sadie again! She had let me know she was going to be in Paris and as it turned out our dates aligned for some of our time!

We grabbed dinner and a drink and wandered the city. So much to see so much to look at. Paris is quiet tonight, tomorrow is a state holiday commemorating the end of the First World War so people are taking it easy today ti prepare for taking it easy tomorrow. The hi light of the night was stumbling in to an incredible open mic in the marais. Not even one act was less than incredible. Well worth the beer for admission.

Open mic open lens