You know those places where you just sit back and watch the world go by? Trains and coffee shops are two places that work for me. On trains I am moving yet watching what it still while at the coffee shop I am still and watch others move. Trains that sway and rattle and stop in the middle of nowhere, for seemingly no reason, the hissing of the closing door between carriages and whispered conversations in the passageways. Coffee shops that open their windows to the sounds of roaring traffic, clicking heals on the pavement, newspaper pages turning over, and conversations from the mundane to the most exciting gossip someone overhead. Both are venues for unexpected introductions, long conversations and a chance to step out of the traffic. And I have found that both trains and coffee shops allow you to be surrounded by a noise that can change to a symphony when one sits back and listens.
This morning I sat in the sun with my new book The Chosen, sipping my frothy soya latte, reading the national paper. In front of me was a gleaming black bike. Smooth looking tires were what I saw –but then I know little about biking. Well as of this morning I know that there is an Electric bike club at the University of British Columbia, and the motor on this bike took 8 months to arrive from China, at a cost of almost $500. But the lithium battery is what was most costly at another $200 more than the engine. You can cycle for almost an hour before the battery runs out. Now that is something I had no knowledge of and now I know about .005%, but that is more than before I stopped for coffee.
On a train between Seattle and Portland I sat across from a serious looking gentleman that had a leather satchel and his French beret as two distinguishing features. He was most annoyed with children in the carriage so after discussion with the attendant the 3 families were moved elsewhere. With a satisfied sigh he settled in to do some serious reading without the distraction of noise and…. heaven forbid but the passenger in front of him, and adult male, began to snore very loudly! I hid my grin as I watched his grimace of annoyance over something he could do nothing about!
Next month I hope to enjoy both these pastimes in a country to which I have never been before. I will travel by train from Kiev, Ukraine, down to the Crimean Peninsula with a team from here, sit in some coffee shops in this “bread basket of Europe”, try national cuisine, listen to an unfamiliar language and see what I can learn. My last trip to Europe allowed me to sit in coffee shops in Sophia Bulgaria and Budapest Hungary. Ah that lovely strong black European coffee slips down so smoothly and the scent of life keeps my eyes and my heart wide open to the adventure. Beyond the roar of traffic will be the colours of life in this nation that is still struggling to renew its own identity. There will be percolations to share upon my return.
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