train from berlin to warsaw
i took a train from berlin to warsaw this past weekend — and sat twelve hours on the train, looking outside the window, where there were fields strewn with bright orange wildflowers (poppies?) and strips of purple. the trees were a foggy dark green. i sat in a compartment with four other people — all of us masked — and felt so hot and sweaty i could barely stand the feeling of my own hair. germans are not a fan of AC. okay, well, fine, then.
somewhere on the edge of germany, the train men changed voices — and girls came on the trains carrying books in polish. sometimes i forget that i’m in europe, where a few hours in any direction is a different country. there were no border checks, no COVID checks, nothing. just a subtle disorientation in every direction.