Monday, September 25, 2006

I said I'm lucky

Proof that I'm darn lucky:

My quite frequent trip back from Burgdorf to Neuchatel has a change in Solothurn.
This past Wednesday, the train from Solothurn was 18 minutes late, but I wasn't too tired (napped to Solothurn) so it was ok. I was more concerned with the fact that usually I get back to Neuch with 12 minutes to wait for the last bus of the night to go home.
The train was going really really fast and making up for lost time. I was bored, so I fell asleep. I guess it turned out to be more tiredness rather than boredom, because after waking up when the train stopped in Bienne, I woke up to see that the sign said that the next stop was Yverdon Les Bain. You see, Neuch is the stop in between the two.
I looked outside to see that I'd just missed Neuch be a couple of minutes (train was going friggin fast). Moments of panic ensued and my groggy head quickly tried to figure out what to do.
Flashback to getting on the wrong half of the train in Bern awhile back and ending up in Murten after the train split in Kerzers. A 90CHF cab ride followed.
Back to the present, I was preparing myself for a nice, three figured cab ride home, when I decided to look at my train schedule for kicks. If the train I was on had been on time, I could catch the last train from Yverdon to Neuch with 14 minutes to spare. Well, we ended up arriving 3 minutes too late.
Wander the station for awhile and go to the track and see the sign still up for the train. No one waiting around 'cept for a sketchy looking guy who's passed out. See a conductor and find out that this train is also late!
One minute later, the train arrives and after 19 minutes, I'm in Neuch and take a cab home. I've decided to treat myself to one cab ride a month, so that was it I suppose. It's not like I take a cab very often, but I guess there aren't too many cabbies in the city, because my driver remembered me from a previous trip.

QED

Moral of the story: I'm really lucky, I'm considering some options so that it doesn't happen again - although at least now I know that I can still get home if it does - and it is possible for Swiss trains to be late.

No comments: