Forced to relax

A Saturday evening is not much different than any other evenings in the week. I spend most of the time on a website called twitch, where people stream themselves playing videogames. We watch in real time while they play plus there is a chat so it is quite interactive. Just now I'm watching someone playing a train simulator, and this made me reflect on my experiences travelling by train. Society nowadays is a constant stream of impressions; from the TV, the Internet, mobile phones, tablets etc. Taking a time-out from this marathon is much needed for many of us.

Let me just first say that I love taking the train, I absolutely love it. The area where I was born and grew up doesn't have a train connection, making the train a bit exotic even to this day. It's not just the travel itself, but the idea of the train: The technology that allows us to move en masse, and the history of technology are so fascinating. This doesn't make me a trainspotter by any means, but my English friend isn't far from it.

Now, I've deliberately chosen to go by train to alle the concerts I've been to. Going from Trondheim to Oslo takes about eight hours. Some might say that that's too long, but not me. The train forces me to deconnect from everything. I always try to read during the journey but I always end up watching the scenery passing me by; looking at the nature, maybe some animals are visible, can you see any cars, perhaps? Still, it is a bit strange to spend eight hours next to a person without speaking to each other. Maybe it's different in other countries, I don't know. 

A few years ago I went home for summer with the coastal express ship that runs up and down along the coast. This trip takes about a day and a half home and a bit longer southbound as you depart later in the day when going south. The Internett access is minimal here, but perfect for relaxing. Even with so much time spent on photographing, I still managed to read through quite a big book. Travelling by myself doesn't bother me either. There are so many new impressions and things to see that there is not much time to sit and be sad. 

What I wonder, though, is would these two examples be transferable to going on a longer trip abroad, for example? There are plenty of friends I'd like to visit. My current financial status doesn't allow it in the near future anyway.Thinking about it gets my anxiety going for some reason. It's difficult to not be anxious when there isn't any specfic details, though. I'm sure I'd be able to travel by myself, knowing where to go and the rest of the practical stuff. Well, at least I hope.