Liminal adventures on the most boring train in the world

[yvannairie]

So, a couple of observations:

1) There's no better feeling than reaching your train compartment and taking your damn boots off

2) I seem to always orient myself the same way whenever I visit the same train station? In Tampere it's facing away from Tammela, in Oulu it's facing due south, in Pasila it's facing away from the radio tower. In Kokkola, it's a little more vague, but usually it's facing due north. In Vihanti, also due north.

And it doesn't seem to actually matter which direction I'm going :/ Maybe it's just the way Train Stations are (i.e. weird and liminal -- I need to repost the one post I made about them, because I still really like it) or maybe it's some weird homing instinct or maybe I'm just predictable, but it's consistent to the point where I'm surprised at how many places I've just passed through, I can tell which way I'd orient myself.

Comments

[hellofriendsiminthedark]

Sometimes on trains, I get a sudden "what if I'm on the wrong train/going in the wrong direction" panic, so I tend to sit either facing the front of the train or facing the back, based on which route I'm taking.

[yvannairie]

I do that with local train -- but on long-distance trains I usually need to buy the tickets ahead of time, so I get to have that panic at the checkout (also about the travel time |D)

It might have something to do with the layout of the stations, actually? The way you come up to the platforms in Tampere puts you with your back towards Tammela -- and the stairs that lead up to the platforms in Oulu point south. I don't see the connection for a few of the other settings but it's a possibility :|c

[hellofriendsiminthedark]

Hmmm, definitely sounds like it makes sense. I don't take trains enough to have too many patterns other than what I said, which applies to the regional train I've taken a few times to go between big cities.