A train of thought...on trains.

As I was on my way to Budapest on Tuesday, I couldn't help but think how freakin' cool it is that I could do a day trip to an entirely different country on the Eurail system.
I grew up in Juneau, AK -- a place that has no roads leading out of town. To get to another town you literally have to take a very long ferry ride or buy an airline ticket -- and this is just to get to the next town, let alone a different country or a new culture. Even after living in the I-5 corridor for a few years now, I am occasionally taken aback by the thought that I could drive to Florida if I wanted. But even in the USA, everything is spread out geographically, and you would have to travel a long way to get somewhere that feels totally different. In Europe that's not the case; I can take a 2.5 hour train ride and be in another country, in another culture, a different economy, a different language, and a different history. It is a very cool feeling to have such a different world so easily accessible, and I will miss the opportunity to explore so freely and easily these different countries. I traveled to four different countries and seven very different towns all within four weeks, and I can't get over how cool that is.

My ticket to explore.