Cross-country North America by Train and Bus

Traveling has become a comfortable affair. We get there faster and with less hassle. You board a plane in Frankfurt, watch a movie, glide into slumber and wake up in Buenos Aires. Or Singapore. Once there, hotels will be happy to provide you with the "feel-like-at-home" experience. I like it!

At the same time, I feel as though I am losing touch with distance and genuine travel spirit. Therefore, I am glad to look back on a widely unfashionable way to cross the United States: Several years ago, my brother Christoph and I have traveled cross-country by train and bus.

We boarded the first Greyhound bus in Pittsburgh to start our way north to Niagara Falls. More a customary stopover than to explore the falls (I had once lived by the side of Niagara Falls for a year), we soon crossed the border to Toronto, where we hopped onto the VIA train. With a tourist class ticket from Toronto to Vancouver, we were bound to spend three days in regular train seats. Comfort we did not find in fluffy cushions, but rather in Nietzsche's advice to the mountaineer: "Learn to look away from yourself if you want to see a lot!"

Accordingly, our focus was the fleeing landscape: A non-stop film of endless forests, where bush fires called our train to halt from time to time, and lonely lakes, then prairie and open meadow terrain, until we hit the mountains. On winding tracks, the train inched its way through the Rockies, until the land leveled off and we approached the Pacific Coast.

After a week in Vancouver, the true pearl of the west, we continued south. From here on, we traveled by bus again: In America, this is equivalent to taking the train in Europe. With frequent connections between all major cities, bus companies offers a cheap and flexible method of transport, albeit neither the fastest nor the most comfortable one.

Seattle, San Francisco, Salt Lake City: During the day we visited sites along the way, while at night we would try to find a bit of sleep in some old Greyhound  seat. As we soon found out, the constantly moving landscape works like a catalyst for your thoughts! If you want to think in a new way - don't take drugs. Put on some good tunes and gaze at the world as it passes by a bus window for several days. It is an enriching experience. It is also an  exercise for which most people lack patience. But this I had already learned during fishing: You have to look what comes after the boredom, just sit it trough!

Being considerably cheaper than flying, bussing is an option for many low-budget travelers. Consequently, we were among interesting company. One person in particular caught our attention. Coincidently on the same route as we, this guy, maybe thirty years of age, told us he was making his way east to look for a new job. Somewhere between Salt Lake City and Omaha, he evidently ran out of money. With some discomfort, he asked us if we could spare a few bucks for a bite to eat. At the next stop, we slipped him a five-dollar note, and although he insisted on getting our address to make it up, I never spent any thought on getting the money back.

Almost four years later, the world was preparing to enter the new millennium. Amongst busy preparations for New Year's Eve, a day or two before the end of the year, I found a letter in the mail from an unknown sender. Upon opening, a ten dollar bill fell out with the following note:

"Dear Matthias - You might not remember, but a few years ago, you helped me out of a bad situation. I was traveling from Portland to North Carolina and needed some food, and you helped me out. This is finally my re-payment and I apologize for taking so long, but I wanted you to know that it was very appreciated. Thank you, Bill."

What goes around, comes around - sometimes it just takes a while. I will send Bill a greeting card to thank him for his repayment. But then again, this can still wait for a  couple of years.

PS: Above story took place in 1996. I received Bill's letter at the eve of the year 2000, and replied in 2006. Some weeks later, I received my unopened letter back. It carried the following handwritten note on the back of the envelope: "Return to sender. Receipient deceased. Fatal car accident."