Godziemba was a train fanatic. This usually quiet and timid dreamer became unrecognizable the moment he mounted the steps of a coach. Gone was his unease and timidity, and his passive, musing eyes took on a sparkle of energy and strength. This notorious day-dreamer and sluggard was suddenly transformed into a dynamic, strong-willed person with a feeling of self-worth. And when the horn signal faded and the black coaches started toward their distant destinations, a boundless joy permeated his entire being, pouring warm and reviving currents into the farthest reaches of his soul, like the rays of the sun on summer days.
S.111, “In the Compartment” in: Grabinski, Stefan. The Dark Domain. Cambs: Dedalus, 2013.
Welch fantastische Transformation wohl mit Otto-Normal-Pendler jeden Morgen vor sich geht, wenn er in den Zug steigt?
Faszinierende Lektüre auf jeden Fall. Neben dem Zugfahren thematisieren Grabinskis Kurzgeschichten, alle um 1920 erschienen, übrigens Identität, Wahnsinn, Kreativität, Vorstellungskraft, Sex und das Übernatürliche.
Transformational train journeys
Godziemba was a train fanatic. This usually quiet and timid dreamer became unrecognizable the moment he mounted the steps of a coach. Gone was his unease and timidity, and his passive, musing eyes took on a sparkle of energy and strength. This notorious day-dreamer and sluggard was suddenly transformed into a dynamic, strong-willed person with a feeling of self-worth. And when the horn signal faded and the black coaches started toward their distant destinations, a boundless joy permeated his entire being, pouring warm and reviving currents into the farthest reaches of his soul, like the rays of the sun on summer days.
p.111, “In the Compartment” aus: Grabinski, Stefan. The Dark Domain. Cambs: Dedalus, 2013.
What fantastic transformations may be taking hold of the bog standard commuter each morning when he ascends the train?
Quite the fascinating read. Grabinski’s fantastic short stories, originally published around 1920, deal with identity, madness, creativeness, imagination, sex and the supernatural.
Durch das Wilde Kinzigtal 
That is EXACTLY how I feel 🙂
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From an outside perspective, I have to say, it looks like you are on board a train even if you’re not. Got that sparkle most of the time, you know. 😉
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This is very kind of you to say, thank you 😀 😀
However, I really do feel „changed“ the moment I step aboard an ICE or TGV or any other long distance trains – a Bahncard100 (1st class *g*) or a European Travellers‘ Card, being allowed to use all the trains – that would be one of the most beautiful gifts ever 🙂 I could _live_ there …
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When I was still working for the uni, I had a colleague – a PhD student and lecturer – who spent his lecture-free days writing his doctoral thesis on the train. He had a BC100 and would board the train in Frankfurt in the morning, work till lunchtime or into the afternoon, spending his break in Berlin, Hamburg, Munich, whereever, and then return home in the evening. He said he had the best ideas on the train.
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