I’ve been traveling a lot lately. In fact, May is the first time in 16 months–and the only month this year–that I’m not going anywhere. My journeys over the past year have been by car, by plane, by boat, and by train. March and April were especially train-heavy for me: I rode trains in four countries and two US states, for a total of about 3500 miles.

I’m not complaining about the trains–in fact, I’m delighted. It’s one of my favorite means of transport. I always promise myself I’ll get work done, but in fact usually I sink into a mellow relaxing zone that leaves me gazing out windows or dozing. I love the scenery too. On my recent trips, I saw cathedrals and castles, deer, surfers, an otter, a bunch of rabbits, dozens of species of birds, snowy mountains, rivers and lakes, fields and orchards, sleepy little towns and bustling cities.

Train experiences vary by country. In Europe, I rode up to 319 km/h, waiters came by offering food and drinks (and in Germany, chocolate), and the stations were often elaborate affairs with lots of food offerings and even entire shopping malls. (Leipzig’s station, incidentally, has a beautiful Starbucks.)

My Amtrak experiences were different. The trains are slower, of course, and lots of the passengers were journeying by train for the sake of adventure rather than convenience. I had a roomette (a small sleeping berth), which was cozy. During meals, I shared dining car tables with an assortment of really interesting people. The train stations in Los Angeles and Portland are historic and beautiful, while my local “station” is simply a covered shelter alongside the rails.

I had a few minor adventures. At one point, Deutsche Bahn inexplicably and without warning decided not to bring my train to Brussels, as normally scheduled. Instead, a few of us had to make a sort of frantic run for a different train, which took us to Lieges (an hour away), where our train awaited us. I have no idea why, although a helpful DB employee was giving me instructions via Twitter. In any case, I made it and ended up at my destination on time. And that incident was nowhere near as stressful as air travel tends to be–not to mention, my luggage stayed firmly with me (when I flew to France in March, it took the airline almost a week to reunite me with my suitcase). On one of my Amtrak trips, some nearby children were very excited about the trip and took a long time to settle down, and a waitress in the dining car forgot she hadn’t brought us our dinners yet and tried to serve us dessert.

So now I’ve settled back in at home, but I’m daydreaming of future train trips. So many possibilities!

What’s your favorite way to travel? Have you enjoyed train journeys too? What trips do you daydream about?

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Kim Fielding is the bestselling author of numerous m/m romance novels, novellas, and short stories. Like Kim herself, her work is eclectic, spanning genres such as contemporary, fantasy, paranormal, and historical. Her stories are set in alternate worlds, in 15th century Bosnia, in modern-day Oregon. Her heroes are hipster architect werewolves, housekeepers, maimed giants, and conflicted graduate students. They’re usually flawed, they often encounter terrible obstacles, but they always find love.

After having migrated back and forth across the western two-thirds of the United States, Kim calls the boring part of California home. She lives there with her husband, her two daughters, and her day job as a university professor, but escapes as often as possible via car, train, plane, or boat. This may explain why her characters often seem to be in transit as well. She dreams of traveling and writing full-time.

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