19) The Invisible Train Station Hero

Another train station story I remember, in that I am owing someone a lot of gratitude because of a happening a few years ago.

Again, not necessarily one of my smartest moves. Over night I drove by train from work back to home. I had between 1 and 4 am a stopover in Schweinfurt. I had expected this city to be a bit bigger and the train station not to close overnight. But exactly that was the case. It was beginning of March, not below zero degrees in the night anymore, but still cold. The first hour I could actually still rest on a bench, but afterwards it became quite uncomfortable. That is again such a story where I should say up front that I do not necessarily recommend to anyone to stay a night alone at a train station. But that is not my point, just a side note to my improvidence. My saviour for a comfortable night came in the shape of a worker on the train station, who came in the middle of the night for cleaning. He asked me what I was doing at the train station and how long I still had to wait. Then he asked me if I wanted to come into the building. He opened it and I was sitting down in the foyer. And even when he was finished with cleaning and left again, he offered me to stay until my train would come. That way I could even sleep a bit, on the floor next to the heater.

When I am thinking back, I am still thankful to the man whose face I already forgot, for his helpfulness, his trust and his empathy (and no critique). His action was not self-evident.

18) Midnightsnack

Completely tired out I arrive in the middle of the night at Berlin Central Station. Here I will have to stay for the next four hours, until my train leaves. Already last night I stayed in various trains on my way from the North into my hometown, tonight I am on the way back. The reasons are not important for this story, but know that I happily took this effort. But I was still wondering, in the second night without a bed, with little sleep sitting at Berlin Central Station, how I am supposed to  pass the time. At least I am save from the cold of the night. I decide: if I already have all this extra effort, then I can also give myself a treat. A bakery in the central station has still opened quarter past one in the night and I get myself a “Franzbrötchen”, that I take with me to the bench on my platform. My awareness is not that attentive anymore. Therefore I do not notice until now, that I open the bag, that the guy from the shop did put two extra pieces of sweet pastry into it. I had not noticed it in that moment and for that reason also not thanked for it. The salesman completely surprised me with that present. Silent, without any comment, without searching for recognition or gratitude, not with the purpose to get anything back- he did it just like this.

Very sweet, literally.