May 17, 2006
THE WAY GOD MEANT MAN TO TRAVEL...EXCEPT FOR THE EUROPE PART (via Kevin Whited):
Trained to go on vacation (KEN HOFFMAN, 5/16/06, Houston Chronicle)
This year, I did it old school. Instead of flying from city to city and spending half my vacation (and half my budget) getting to and getting on airplanes, I took the train everywhere, just like I used to. [....]Posted by Orrin Judd at May 17, 2006 1:55 PMWith a train pass, you don't even have to pre-program your trip. Just show up at a train station, check out the big departure board, and go wherever the mood strikes you. That's what I did. [...]
Unlike with planes, there are no weather delays on a train. They go. And they run on time. Trains also don't leave the station, roll 100 yards and then sit there for two hours as planes do with passengers trapped like prisoners.
The best thing about train travel in Europe is that the stations are in the middle of downtown. You don't have to set out two hours early in an expensive taxi to get to the airport. You just show up a few minutes before the train leaves and hop on. Mr. Friendly Conductor will show you to your seat.
It doesn't take an hour to get from the airport to downtown when you land, either. You're already where you're going.
Plus there are wonderful, inexpensive eating places across the street from train stations. My friend had a giant gyro with extra sauce and grease outside the train station in Rome that he's still burping and talking about. [...]
Babies sleep like a baby on trains. On planes, they cry.
By taking a night train, you save money on hotels, which are very expensive in Europe.
Here's one I can't explain: People get off a train in 30 seconds — no time at all. On a plane, it takes forever. There's always that one guy who can't get his bag out of the overhead compartment and just stands there blocking the aisle. That guy should be put on the terrorist watch list.
Another way the train beats the plane: On a train, you are in control of your luggage. It's never out of your sight. It's all carry-on, no matter how big your suitcase.
Sometimes with a plane, it's bye-bye luggage.
He'd be singing a different song if he was taking Amtrak between Chicago and St. Louis. He'd probably still be sitting somewhere outside Blomington.
Posted by: jdkelly at May 17, 2006 6:03 PMUh, that's Bloomington
Posted by: jdkelly at May 17, 2006 6:04 PMGood to hear the trains run smoothly in Europe. Here in Japan, while it can be sometimes more expensive to go by rail rather than fly, the trains are frightenignly efficient: on schedule over 90% of the time, comfortable, and in almost all ways, reliable.
And yet, during the 90s, when I lived in the States, I used to take Amtrak and found it wonderful in completely different ways. If you don't have to be at your destination by a particular time, nothing can beat spreading out in a half-empty car and leisurely poking through America's forgotten byways. The Pittsburgh-Philadelphia and New York-Montreal lines (except for the last hitch by bus in the latter)were just incredible. (Hey, I'm a taxpayer, so I helped subsidize it as well. Why shouldn't I get some return on my investment?)
Posted by: John Ziemba at May 17, 2006 6:22 PM"if you don't have to be at your destination at a particular time"
Right, Mr.Ziemba. I love train travel. We've talked of taking the train to Glacier Park, but wouldn't want to rely on it to get to work.
Posted by: jdkelly at May 17, 2006 7:00 PMNYC to Miami was a great ride too.
Posted by: oj at May 17, 2006 7:48 PMWhen you compare door to door, it is amazing how close car or train travel can be to modern air travel, even for medium haul, what with airport drives, security checks, etc., and that is before reading in the good chance of delays. Ottawa-Toronto, the most well-travelled route here, is 4 1/2 hr by car, 4 hr by train and 3 1/2 hr by air, with the latter costing a great deal more and being much more stressful.
Even long haul is surprising. Ottawa-Orlando is a 22 hr drive and 10 hours by air (one change). Or a 9 hr drive to D.C and then an overnight car-train to Orlando at much less than half the cost for a family of 3-4.
Plus if I take the car or train, I can take Teddy.
Posted by: Peter B at May 17, 2006 8:34 PMNow Peter, if you bought a second seat, you could take Teddy on the airplane, too. Give him the window seat - I'm sure he'd enjoy the view.
Posted by: ratbert at May 17, 2006 9:54 PMPeter, Take the car. Freedom
Posted by: jdkelly at May 17, 2006 10:22 PM