Delayed on the Train to Amsterdam

It was another journey from Berlin to Amsterdam, a route so familiar that even the delays felt predictable. This time, though, the delay seemed to stretch the moment into something different.

In the beginning, the air inside the coach was heavy with anticipation. People were restless, glancing at their watches, or fidgeting with their phones—searching for a distraction from the creeping frustration. The minutes ticked by, and the familiar routine of waiting began to unfold: a sigh here, a muted curse there. We were all strangers, yet we were united by a shared impatience, silently willing the train to move, to return us to the expected rhythm of our lives.

But the train stood still.

No one knew when we would arrive. An announcement crackled through the speakers, vague and unsatisfying. “Unexpected delays.” No details, no timeline. We were left in a limbo, suspended between cities, between our plans and the reality of the present moment. The collective mood began to shift. The initial surprise and irritation gave way to something deeper, a kind of resignation. There was nothing to be done, nowhere else to go. And so, we waited.

Then, something curious began to happen. The frustration didn’t grow—it softened. A quiet acceptance settled over the coach. We were no longer just individuals absorbed in our own worlds; we were a group of people sharing an experience, however inconvenient it might be. Someone made a joke—a small comment about the absurdity of the situation. A few people chuckled, and the sound of laughter seemed to unlock something in the air.

As the delay dragged on, the mood lightened. Conversations sparked between strangers, small smiles were exchanged, and the collective energy began to shift. What had started as a source of annoyance had become something almost communal. We were all in this together, after all—suspended in time, moving nowhere fast. And yet, the very stillness of the situation created a space for something unexpected: connection.

It’s strange how a delay, a disruption in our carefully laid plans, can sometimes reveal a different kind of truth. Here we were, stuck on a train, our schedules thrown off track, and yet in that shared inconvenience, there was a sense of surrender, even camaraderie. We had let go of the need to control the situation, to demand answers or outcomes. In the space that opened up, there was room for something else—humor, understanding, perhaps even a touch of grace.

And so, we sat there, waiting. Not just for the train to start moving again, but for something less tangible, a shift in perspective, a moment of clarity. The delay had turned into something more than just lost time; it became a quiet reminder of our shared humanity, of the small but profound ways in which we can connect with one another when we let go of our expectations.

In the end, the train did move again. We reached our destination, later than planned but not as bothered by it as we might have been. The journey wasn’t what we expected, but perhaps it was what we needed—a moment of pause, a break in the rush, a chance to simply be, together, in the waiting.

And… does not matter what happens on our way… aren’t we always arrive?