Dogodivščine na nizki zemlji

Remember how highly I've always praised Dutch public transport, or at least trains? Well, I still like trains. They are tidy and quite comfortable, they are fast and as far as I'm concerned until a month ago they were also punctual. My opinion has changed though since I have to use them almost every day to get to work at the embassy in the Hague.

If you'd asked me what I thought about the NS (Dutch train company) about a month or two ago, I would've probably been quite happy about it. I never really complained about the trains here like so many other people, I had never had problems with them like so many other people seemed to have, I simply loved them. I still do, mind you, because I really think they make a great means of public transport. In the past couple of weeks, I had to change my opinion in certain extent though.

You know those free newspapers that you get at train stations … well, in one of the newspapers from a month ago, there was an article about three Dutch students who went travelling around the Netherlands to prove to grumpy people that train connections were just fine and that there was simply nothing to complain about. Having travelled around the Netherlands for a day, they reported it happened just once that a train had delay but that they were still able to catch the next connection they needed in order to travel continuously. Though the experiment was probably not 'correct' or appropriate from a statistical point of view, I thought it was interesting to read about it. Even more so, at the time I even agreed that some people in fact complained way too much. Funny. It was the following day that things started to go wrong. Just one day after having read that and having agreed with those three yahoos. Since that day most of the trains I wanted to take were delayed or cancelled. Needless to say, the newspapers of the following couple of days featured a chain of reaction letters to the article of many outrageous commuters. So I had to reconsider everything: When you have to use public transport every day to get to work, it does start to get on your nerves. Book or no book.

So, it was the following day that my train from the Lammenschans station was delayed which made me miss my connection.
Then the other day, there were no trains around Utrecht because the control tower burned down.
Then one day, there were major delays due to aanrijding. In most cases, so I've been told, an 'aanrijding' (collision/crash) means a collision with a person, which means somebody committed suicide by throwing themselves in front of a train. Of course, it can also be some other kind of collision. Usually you get to know what it actually was from the news the following day. Anyway, we discussed this way of commiting suicide with housemates and - I mean no disrespect but - we all agreed it's pretty selfish. I mean, do you know how many people you put in an awkward position if you do that? Come on, seriously. Ok, I get it, you want some attention, but this way you only cause annoyance, and that is a negative kind of attention, if you ask me.
And then the other day, there was another aanrijding, but this time an incoming train hit the train that stood at the station, so there were again no trains in my direction. I still remember very well what a chaos there was at the station. I arrived at the Leiden central station and ran to get the connecting train but the whole area around that platform was closed off with that police tape and there were paramedics, firemen and policemen and the whole square in front of the station was closed off so we had to walk all around to get to the centre.

I could write novels on train travelling just in and around Leiden, let alone the whole country of even Europe. :)

But let me share yet another train experience. After reading this, you'll wish you never had to use public transport in winter Holland. :) Despite its geographical position in Europe, the Netherlands seem not to be able to cope with too much snow. At least not in the province of Holland, obviously. It's been snowing for a week now and most of the country has to deal with traffic jams, delayed flights and trains or no flights and trains whatsoever. Although I was quite aware of the situation, I really wanted to go to the Slovenian mass in the Hague today. Keeping in mind all potential problems I could come across, I decided to leave home early, and with early I mean really early. For the record, the mass was at 5 pm and the Hague is 15 minutes by train (you do have to get to and from the station, so all in all ...). Yep, I left home at 3.30. And don't you laugh at me. Hahaha.
Anyhow, I walked through the snow-covered streets to the Lammenschans station only to find out there weren't any trains (the website didn't say anything about there being no trains today). After having realised that, I went to catch a bus to the central station. Once at the central station, I was right in time to catch a train to the Hague Hollands Spoor from 3.04. Yep, the train had 50 minutes delay and it came in right when I reached the platform. So, that went smooth. Upon arriving at the Hollands Spoor station, I was told there were no trams or at least not in the direction I wanted to go, so a very kind man advised me to take another tram that I could find just around the corner. Great! Well, there was a tram stop right around the corner and there were already crowds of people waiting but after half an hour of waiting, there was still no tram. Since I've gotten used to waiting on buses, trams and trains, I never leave home without a book or something to read. Still, after having read quite some chapters, I couldn't stand still any longer. I'm not a very patient person. Besides, it was really cold, so I started looking for another solution. At that point, I saw a bus coming in. I had no idea which bus I would have to take since I always knew it was tram number 17 that I needed, but it said Rijswijk on the bus and that was the place I needed, so on I jumped and hoped I was heading the right direction. The bus was so packed I couldn't see the signs, but at some point, the majority had left the bus so I could catch a glimpse of the map only to figure out just in time that it was at that very stop that I needed to get out. Smooth! Thanks to the city map that stood close to the stop, I could tell I was in fact in the right area and that I'd still have to walk a bit. And look at the time, I still had 10 minutes. Yay! Plenty of time, hahahaha. So off I went.

Flanked with little houses on the left and huge trees of a park on the right, the street I needed to take was as from a fairytale. By that time, it had already gotten dark and the lights from the warm houses where families were busy making dinner were the only signs of life. It could have been a very romantic stroll, had I not had to hurry.

To wrap up this dramatic story and let the Aristotelian catharsis do its job, let me tell you that I did make it to the church in time. The church bell chimed the fifth time as I rang the bell of the house where the mass took place. My feet had melted down by the time I arrived because they almost froze when I stood waiting for that no-show tram. A lot of people simply didn't come and frankly speaking, who would blame them?! But there were a couple of us, diehards, hahaha.
I then spoke to a friend who didn't make it. I said: Would you believe me if I told you that it took me almost two hours to get here? Whereupon he reacted: From Leiden? Are you being serious? You might as well have walked. Or biked, I added. Of course, I couldn't agree more.

The way home was a piece of cake, hahaha. I asked some people if they could at least give me a ride to the station. The train came on time, took me to Leiden where I got the connection to Lammenschans. I was home in less than an hour. As I walked along the white streets, everything was so quiet and peaceful and I couldn't but smile at yet another crazy public transport adventure.