Woke up at five this morning. I was trying not to make a sound leaving the room. The moment I left the hostel, birds was not even bothered to sing yet. So quiet. Basel is kinda quiet to begin with. Dawn was like dead quiet. The station was no better, almost felt like I was the only one who lived in Basel and decided to leave town and let the town rot. Not a single soul on the train neither. The journey was not half bad, just very annoying that it was not a direct one. First I have to change in Mulhouse then change again in Belfort. I so wanted to sleep, like badly. But i have to stay awake. My mind was drifting in and out of consciousness . My body felt cold on one train and hot on the other. In around two and a half hours, I was in a state between asleep and awake.
The moment I arrived and got off from the train though, I just can't help but have a smile on my face. Trying to even sing a song, just that there was no word coming into my mind. There was again no one around at all, but I can heard bird sing, the sun was warm, the air was crisp and the sky was crystal clear. Perfect sign of a good day. Me, myself and I kinda good day if you know what I mean.
Walked around the town trying to find some breakfast. Came to realise how small the town is, and most shops were closed down. Crisis literally. Luckily there was one bakery left. After Greeting with the shopper with my only French then I pointed to the apricot croissant and switched back to my English. Can I have a coke too. Yes bottle please, and no I don't need a bag thank you, I said. The old French lady kept speaking her French of course, but we understood each other with body gesture help. Luckily we were not trying to discuss how to solve the world's problems. Don't know how it worked back in the day when two people from the opposite end of the world met. Anywho. She said Merci, Au revoir as I stepped out. I responded the same.
The croissant was good. Not just good, but gooooooood. It got extra merit surely cause I was starving. But objectively speaking, only if you are good, you survive from crisis. no? At least that's the way I see it.
I walked up the hill briskly as I drank my coke. Suddenly realised may be I should lower my gear for once. I have got nothing to rush anyway. Not today at least. Nonetheless, I still made myself arrived before it was even open. 8:56am! Notre Dame Du Haut! How people adore you. How each architects and designers worship you. I wasn't a huge mega fan of Le corbusier, I studied about him and his work of course. I have made a trip to Ville Savoye before too. But stood before the gate and visitor centre that done by Renzo Piano, excited is not even enough to describe 1/10 of how I felt! At 9am. I greeted with the second soul that I met. She said it is the best to visit between 9 to 11, the tranquil time before the massive tour group arrive.
You have to come and experience yourself. No point telling you. Personal feeling is just… not meant to put into words. The moment you put feeling into words, it becomes something else. It's not like you squeeze an orange becoming orange juice.
Tired but all worth it. Quality 8, 9 hours well-spent with me, myself, I and architecture!
But then just as I was happily heading back to Basel… fuck a duck. There was an accident at the railway in front of my train at Mulhouse. I was so close to Basel. But it turned so far suddenly. I was stuck at the #Mulhouse platform… it was 17 hours since I woke up...
I ended up back in the hostel at around 2am. Four five hours of delay! Big time...however, it turns out not that bad of an experience if I can let alone the accident. Thing does happen with a reason...doesn’t it?
Does the flap of a butterfly’s wings in Brazil set off a tornado in Texas?
It is pure madness if I choose not to mention what exactly happened in front of my train that night, 26th May 2017. The accident turned out to be a deadly one. A 15 years old boy’s life was taken by a train at full speed, 160km/hours. He was killed instantly according to the french newspaper. Why the boy decided to cross the railway without using the underpass will remain a mystery. It happened at 8pm. 39mins later I arrived Mulhouse, just one stop before Habsheim where the accident has taken place.
When I arrived Mulhouse from Belfort at 2039pm, I walked quick enough to the other platform in order to catch the train to Basel. It was supposed to take off at 2046pm. I boarded the not so busy train and found a rather comfortable spot. Took the cable out and charged my old phone, then continuing with my writing about the day in Ronchamp and the Journey. I was so in my own zone. It might have been 15 mins or half an hour. I don’t know, concept of time is not as important when you are not in a rush. There was announcement in the background in french constantly, to me it’s nothing but just a white noise. I am too used to train delay anyway. But then when I was about to finish my writing, a SNCF staff boarded the train car. I vaguely got the message that everyone had to leave the train. I was very confused and just followed the rest of the passengers. On the platform number 5, there were roughly 50 passengers gather together. I had no clue whatsoever about what was going on.
...to be continued...
