Traveling first class on a European train is wonderful and lavish.

I attended an international conference in Budapest, and took a few days off afterward to travel to Paris by train. It was a half-day/half-night affair in more than one way.

During the first leg, to Vienna, alone in the compartment, I stretched out luxuriously and enjoyed the beautiful scenery moving by, with awesome mountain ranges, green pastures, rivers, picturesque villages. In Vienna a young man in a business suit joined me. At first I was sorry to lose my privacy, but soon Evan and I started a conversation and exchanged our experiences in different countries.

We had dinner together in the diner, where the conversation became more personal and intimate. I found out he was married with two children, just like me. We commiserated with... Leer Más