The pleasure of living an experience on a human scale, forgetting the goal.

Progress, technology, interconnection, speed, comfort, spaces for working while traveling, dedicated areas for meetings, the restaurant, the bar, bathrooms with buttons, intangible tickets, electric chairs, air conditioning, background music, coffee brought by an employee with the newspaper and ... punctuality.

The new fast trains are unbeatable, they have everything that was previously on airplanes, they are also low environmental impact, they reduce CO2 emissions and you don't waste time driving.

Every moment of your trip can be busy working on the computer, organizing meetings with customers and suppliers, adjusting the speech that will have to be done in the company, finishing the calculations on new budgets to be presented to the sales force.

You have to work hard because, despite the great distance that separates me from the destination, the train runs fast, it exceeds 300 per hour, so I have to commit these two hours that I have available to carry on with the work.

Looking out the window at the beauties of the area I am crossing? Nooo, I don't have time, but who sees them at this speed? My eyes would go crazy to follow the houses that pass by, the cultivated fields full of colors, the farmers who harvest corn, the flocks of birds that fly playing with each other, the hills that seem to move fragmented on the horizon.

They are all indistinct stripes, made of images that overlap, alternating with the black of the galleries and the glare of light when you go out, too tiring to follow what passes.

And then, time is money so let's invest it well, finishing the calculations I'm doing and thinking of some good ideas to write for my new post next meeting.

Tired, I lean on the chair, the work is finished, there are still about twenty minutes left to arrive and I can take a little nap, not before having planned the alarm on the cell phone.

Slowly I slip into a sweet sleep, memories take me back in time, the scents of flowers and the breeze of the countryside mix with an intermittent, regular sound that it is accompanied by an iron, delicate, continuous hum, associated with small vibrations.

A set of sounds, colors, aromas and movements, which make me experience a different journey, with the steam train huffing at the head of the train and a series of shiny, amaranth-colored carriages that glisten in the sun.

Sitting on green velvet armchairs, with the narrow doors between the seats and the windows sliding from top to bottom, half open, with the air who enters and refreshes the carriage, I enjoy the slow movement of the train that gently cradles me.

Looking from the windows all around I see the life that animates the countryside, from a distance the brick bell towers with the swallows flying around, chased away by the sound of the bells that breaks the air when the hours are up.

We pass on the river, with the train slowing down, as if it were a form of respect for the weight it has to bear as it passes.

I see the water flowing gently and some fish jumping out to dive back, leaving large circles on the surface.

People talk to each other, every now and then you hear a few laughter of children and a call from the mother, who orders them not to disturb the neighbors. But travelers don't care about laughter, children don't bother and keep chatting.

A relaxed air, with the journey that becomes the district, square, market and tavern, where people meet, tell each other and live.

Then, suddenly a metallic voice announces the arrival of the train, too modern to be on my steam train and, therefore, I wake up and go back to reality on the high-speed train entering the station.

The dream, however, does not leave me, it accompanies me as I get off the train, with people who quickly earn the exit without speaking to you and without kindness.

I want to live this adventure again so I promise to find out about the historic steam trains that are still in operation by typing historic trains on my smartphone to return in the past.

Automatic translation. We apologize for any inaccuracies. Original article in Italian.

Photo FS