![]() Every time I pass through Grand Central, I have to allow myself at least an extra half hour to soak in the atmosphere and take photographs. Second, I reach instinctively for my camera/camcorder/cellphone to try to capture some small part of its breathtaking beauty. First, my mind flies to that wonderful scene from Terry Gilliam’s film The Fisher King and I have to fight the urge to break out into a waltz. Two things invariably happen when I wander through the main concourse of Grand Central. An ideal place to whisper sweet nothings from afar. Thanks to the vaulted ceilings, someone can whisper on one side and the noise will travel across the ceiling and be heard perfectly on the other side. It is officially named The Biltmore Room, but during the golden age of train travel in the 30s and 40s, this was where the 20th Century Limited train would arrive from the West Coast, and impassioned passengers would rush to kiss their loved ones in the centre of the ‘Kissing Room’.Īnother deliciously naughty area of Grand Central is the Whispering Gallery. Grand Central Terminal is also home to the evocatively named Kissing Room. Meet me under the clock at Grand Central Terminal ♥ What it lacks in stature it makes up for in history it opened in 1841 with a train connection to Cologne, and by 1843 it became part of the world’s very first international trainline with trains running from Liège in Belgium though Aachen to Cologne. I have begun and ended countless journeys at that tiny station and hold it near and dear to my heart. The Aachen Hauptbahnhof is perhaps my favourite railway station of them all. Just to the west of Cologne in Germany lies the beautiful little town of Aachen, otherwise known as Aix-la-Chapelle. Some of my favourite train stations are in Europe. Train stations are steeped in history echoing with the memories of tearful goodbyes and joyful reunions resounding with a million moments of journeys being embarked upon or drawing to a close haunted by the ghosts of lovers planning secret trysts, soldiers kissing farewell to their sweethearts and families welcoming loved ones from far away. I suspect it has to do with the fact that train travel is a much older form of transport than air travel. There is an undeniable air of romance about train stations that cannot be found in airports.
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