On this day 128 years ago the very first Orient Express chugged out of Gare de l'Est in Paris on its way to Constantinople. The Express was touted for its luxury and speed. You could get from Paris to Vienna in just under 29 hours.
It seems human beings by nature are in a hurry. Faster has always been a demand of our species. We spend our youth impatient with the pace of life and our older middle-age increasingly aware of how little time we have left.
Luxury train travel, aside from the now-astronomical price tag, would appeal only to those of us who have managed to overcome that internal clock that winds us up to move faster. And even they are probably checking their Blackberries every ten minutes.
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