Dear ,
This is another train station story.
I was at my tiny, local train station, waiting for a train. Another lady was also there, and she looked lost. She stood on the platform, looking at her phone and then at the station and the area around it. I didn't ask if she wanted help because maybe there wasn't a problem.
Finally, she came up to me and asked a question that really surprised me. She wanted to know where the train station was.
Now I was confused!
OK, where we were is little more than a train stop, not a station with a proper building. But I still thought it was clear.
I pointed out (1) to her that this was the train station.
No, no, she wanted the big train station. As well, there should be a large area for buses.
I assured (2) her that this was the Obertshausen train station, showed her where the buses were, and explained that there was no other station; this was it!
Clearly, something was still wrong. So she asked me where the train to Duisburg left from.
Oops!
We have one S-Bahn in Obertshausen. It goes to Rödermark-Ober Roden in one direction and Wiesbaden (via Offenbach and Frankfurt) in the other.
She showed me the timetable on her phone, and finally, I could see the problem. She thought she was in Oberhausen.
Now the answer was easy.
She needed to go to Frankfurt Central Train Station and catch a train from there to Oberhausen or Duisburg.
Correction - it was easy for me to tell her where she needed to go, but she still appeared puzzled and confused. We pulled up a map on her phone, and I showed her where she was and where she wanted to go.
It's easy to see how you could get the two place names confused - they are spelled nearly the same. However, they are more than 250 km away from each other, which makes me wonder how the lady ended up at the wrong one!
So tell me, , have you ever been in one place and you thought it was somewhere else? Let me know if you have. I don't think I have, but I'll write about it if I remember a story.
Have a great week!
Andrea
(1) point (something) out - explain, show (with words)
(2) assure - convince someone of something, overcome their doubt or disbelief
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