An 8.5-Hour Cross-Border Journey from Paris to Berlin: Wheelchair Travel and Realizing My Assumptions

A long-distance train day that started with a "We haven't heard anything" at the departure station, yet turned out unexpectedly fulfilling.

After finishing a five-day stay in Paris, I headed to Berlin via DB (Deutsche Bahn). The travel time was a whopping eight and a half hours. It was a long-awaited long trip for my husband, Darling, who uses a wheelchair, and me.

There was a minor issue before we even left.
I thought I had requested wheelchair boarding assistance, but it had only been arranged for the arrival station (Berlin).

The station staff in Paris had an expression that said, "We haven't heard anything about this," which was conveyed through Google Translate.

I had assumed that "if you request it at the arrival station, it would naturally be communicated to the departure station," but when I thought about it, France and Germany are different countries. Assumptions are something to be careful about when traveling.

I learned that in Paris.

Darling had a stern look on his face and seemed like he wanted to say something. I knew what it was.

"That's why I said I wanted to find the assistant early. You take a long time in the restroom, and you look around at shops."

I consciously projected an "It's okay, it's okay, don't worry" attitude. In truth, I was nervous too.

……That seemed to make him even more irritated.

We had originally booked first class, but since there was no wheelchair space in that carriage, we had to move to second class. I didn't intend to complain.
Darling was able to transfer from his wheelchair to a seat, and I thought an eight-hour trip would be fine for the two of us.

Having experienced the Eurostar from London to Paris, I thought it would be a breeze.

To be honest, the seats were a bit hard. However, the French countryside that came into view shortly after leaving Paris healed that soreness in my backside."Ah, I've been waiting for this. This is the European train journey I've always dreamed of."

"Ah, I've been waiting for this. This is the European train journey I've always dreamed of."

Before long, the view from the window changed from the vast farmlands of Germany to a more urban landscape.

The train stopped for a long time along the way. An announcement said we would be 30 minutes behind schedule, but I wasn't surprised.

I had heard that Deutsche Bahn is often late, and living in the UK, I'm used to that kind of training.

Observing people at the station is also a real pleasure of traveling. I imagined what kind of thoughts each of them might be carrying as they were there.

I found myself wanting to use "Dankeschön" at the shop for everything. When I struggled to count the Euro coins, the man at the register laughed and said in English, "Take your time, you've got a week." His colleague had a look that said, "Oh, brother."

The book an elderly woman who boarded a few stops after us was reading was nearing its end before we arrived in Berlin.

She took something like a pasta salad in a Tupperware container out of her bag and ate it. Being a seasoned traveler is cool.

We arrived at Berlin Central Station after 6:30 PM.
The sound and rhythm of the German language were fresh, and I felt a sense of luxury in having experienced two countries in one day. The English mixed in also felt somewhat comforting.

Like a two-year-old repeating words they've just learned, I kept saying "danke schön" to the taxi driver to thank him, and we arrived safely at the hotel.

When we entered the hotel room, the shower chair that my darling uses, which should have been there, was missing.My darling immediately went to the front desk to complain. As for me, thinking, "I want bananas and oranges for breakfast tomorrow," I decided to look around the nearby shops.

In the futuristic cityscape, it didn't seem like there would be any fruit, but I found bananas next to the register at a cafe.

They looked as if they were shining like gold.At 1 euro each, I bought four. Wow, that's expensive. I had been turned away at another cafe for oranges, told they were "only for juice, so we can't sell them." I see, so they sell them for juice, but not as whole fruit. That was a lesson learned.

When I walked around the area, I happened to discover an event like a food festival.My darling enjoyed a German-style burger and German beer. As for me, I chose a vegan wrap with plenty of lettuce. The taste was... well, with the hunger-induced bonus, it was decent enough.

But eating a meal while sitting on a bench in the humid Berlin twilight, with various languages flying about.

That alone filled me with a sense of satisfaction. Darling, we really made it this far, didn't we? I felt that it was, in a way, the history of our marriage as well.

And so, our first day in Berlin,as we played the part of veteran train travelers, began quietly, but firmly.