Baltimore Continued
On Tuesday night, I had dinner at Supanos -- an Italian/Frank Sinatra/Rat Pack-themed restaurant that I liked so much I went back for a second night on Wednesday. It being my last night in Baltimore, I decided it was now or never to check out the Metro, so I walked a few blocks up to Charles Center Metro stop.
Baltimore's Metro doesn't run with great frequency once the sun goes down and that is reflected in the ridership. Or, perhaps, the ridership has dictated the schedule. In any event, when I got to the platform well below ground I thought I found the ultimate liminal space.
Yes, I know there is another person on the platform, so it doesn't quite meet the definition of a liminal space but I will add a few things here in my defense. One is, that was about to change. And two, it was even a little creepier with just a single, silent, unmoving man off in the distance.
The train rolled in. I got on and I had the car to myself. Alone on a train to no where. The Metro, unlike many subway lines I have rode, seems to move incredibly fast. At least that was my impression. The distance between stations also seemed a lot further than back in my hometown of Boston. Boston stations are so close together you can often walk faster than the train rides.
I decided to only ride the Metro one stop and got out at Lexington Market. As soon as I stepped off the train I was once again alone. A single soul drifitng without a specific destination.
The next train wasn't due for a while. The quiet and the solitude began to play on my nerves, so I went topside. I emerged into a crowd of locals waiting for the bus. A woman immediately stepped up to me to ask if she could borrow my cell phone to call her brother. I smiled and stepped backwards. I opted to walk back to the hotel at that point got a tour of the best and worst of Baltimore.
I was back at the hotel in no time. I got there sooner than if I had waited for the train, but it was a heftier distance than a similar trek between stops in downtown Boston. I checked off another city and another subway, so I was happy.
Baltimore's Metro doesn't run with great frequency once the sun goes down and that is reflected in the ridership. Or, perhaps, the ridership has dictated the schedule. In any event, when I got to the platform well below ground I thought I found the ultimate liminal space.
Yes, I know there is another person on the platform, so it doesn't quite meet the definition of a liminal space but I will add a few things here in my defense. One is, that was about to change. And two, it was even a little creepier with just a single, silent, unmoving man off in the distance.
The train rolled in. I got on and I had the car to myself. Alone on a train to no where. The Metro, unlike many subway lines I have rode, seems to move incredibly fast. At least that was my impression. The distance between stations also seemed a lot further than back in my hometown of Boston. Boston stations are so close together you can often walk faster than the train rides.
I decided to only ride the Metro one stop and got out at Lexington Market. As soon as I stepped off the train I was once again alone. A single soul drifitng without a specific destination.
The next train wasn't due for a while. The quiet and the solitude began to play on my nerves, so I went topside. I emerged into a crowd of locals waiting for the bus. A woman immediately stepped up to me to ask if she could borrow my cell phone to call her brother. I smiled and stepped backwards. I opted to walk back to the hotel at that point got a tour of the best and worst of Baltimore.
I was back at the hotel in no time. I got there sooner than if I had waited for the train, but it was a heftier distance than a similar trek between stops in downtown Boston. I checked off another city and another subway, so I was happy.
Comments