I had to go to Paris for a couple of days to look at apartments. I decided to make the trip by train. It’s less expensive than flying, plus you get to see the countryside.

The French TGV (Train à Grande Vitesse, or high-speed train) operates between Munich and Paris and reaches speeds of up to 200 miles per hour (321 km/h) during certain portions of the trip. The ride was quite smooth, and the noise wasn’t the wheels on the track, but the wind rushing along the train.

Traveling through the German and French countryside at speed, passing old villages nestled in the hills among vineyards was fabulous. Even in Second Class!