---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What I liked was the train ride. It took…"
description: "\"“What I liked was the train ride. It took an hour and that was enough for me to be able to lean backwards against the seat with closed eyes, feel the j..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aa1/per-petterson-8468_fitness_what-i-liked-was-the-train-ride-it-took_301709.png"
---

#  What I liked was the train ride. It took an hour and that…

![“What I liked was the train ride. It took an hour and that was enough for me to be able to lean backwards against the seat with closed eyes, feel the joints in the rails come up and thump through my body and sometimes peer out of the windows and see windswept heathland and imagine I was on the…” quote by Per Petterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aa1/per-petterson-8468_fitness_what-i-liked-was-the-train-ride-it-took_301709.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aa1/per-petterson-8468_fitness_what-i-liked-was-the-train-ride-it-took_301709.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aa1/per-petterson-8468_fitness_what-i-liked-was-the-train-ride-it-took_301709.png)

> ““What I liked was the train ride. It took an hour and that was enough for me to be able to lean backwards against the seat with closed eyes, feel the joints in the rails come up and thump through my body and sometimes peer out of the windows and see windswept heathland and imagine I was on the Trans-Siberian Railway. I had read about it, seen pictures in a book and decided that no matter when and how life would turn out, one day I would travel from Moscow to Vladivostok on that train, and I practised saying the names: Omsk, Tomsk, Novosibirsk, Irkutsk, they were difficult to pronounce with all their hard consonants, but ever since the trip to Skagen, every journey I made by train was a potential departure on my own great journey.””

[Per Petterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/per-petterson/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Imagining a distant train journey fuels a lifelong desire to explore and learn new places.

**In simple terms:** Dreaming of travel inspires real adventure.

Key Takeaway

Let imagination guide real journeys.

Themes

travel imagination longing learning adventure

Mood

dreamy motivational

Type

literary personal growth

When to use this quote

- travel planning
- language learning
- personal goal setting

Key Concepts

Narrative psychology cultural curiosity

Questions to Reflect On

- What distant place calls to you?
- How can you turn imagination into action?

A Different Perspective

Dreams may clash with practical constraints.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Fitness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fitness/)

## Related quotes

> [“Number 1 was the hardest to think about now. After. But Blake let himself go there as Chaos pressed into the deepest punctures. Blake…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debra-anastasia/number-1-was-the-hardest-to-think-about-now-after-but-blake-let/)

[Debra Anastasia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debra-anastasia/)

> [My father will go see Trans-Siberian Orchestra every single year. I mean, he's completely into it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eddie-trunk/my-father-will-go-see-trans-siberian-orchestra-every-single-year-i/)

[Eddie Trunk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eddie-trunk/)

> [You can find dozens of books about people taking the Trans-Siberian Railroad. I knew I had to do something different to cross Siberia. To…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-frazier/you-can-find-dozens-of-books-about-people-taking-the-trans-siberian/)

[Ian Frazier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-frazier/)

> [The Trans-Siberian Express is like a cruise across an oceanic landscape. I've done it three times.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-theroux/the-trans-siberian-express-is-like-a-cruise-across-an-oceanic/)

[Paul Theroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-theroux/)

> [Something I always liked to train is kickboxing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-aldo/something-i-always-liked-to-train-is-kickboxing/)

[Jose Aldo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-aldo/)

> [I liked 'Last Train to Clarksville.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronnie-james-dio/i-liked-last-train-to-clarksville/)

[Ronnie James Dio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronnie-james-dio/)

> [...the long train ride was like traveling through limbo. You weren't anywhere when you were on a train, she decided. You weren't where you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-paterson/the-long-train-ride-was-like-traveling-through-limbo-you-weren-t/)

[Katherine Paterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-paterson/)

> [“Your train ride appeased you?” I asked. “Oh, God,” he said, “twenty-six hours, fucking unbelievable.” This girl Unbelievable must be very majestic, I thought.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/your-train-ride-appeased-you-i-asked-oh-god-he-said-twenty-six-hours/)

[Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/)

> [Today's baseball players are walking conglomerates. They have fantastic salaries, multiple investments, but we had one thing they don't have today, the train ride.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/duke-snider/today-s-baseball-players-are-walking-conglomerates-they-have/)

[Duke Snider](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/duke-snider/)

> [“We may be soulmates for life, or only a train ride. But it just changes your life no matter what.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zosia-mamet/we-may-be-soulmates-for-life-or-only-a-train-ride-but-it-just-changes/)

[Zosia Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zosia-mamet/)

> [Other people's hearts ran on their own schedule,like a train,if you found a ride you wanted to take,you had to hop on while it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haether-cocks/other-people-s-hearts-ran-on-their-own-schedule-like-a-train-if-you/)

Haether Cocks

> [“I'll only be twenty-minute train ride from your school, and I'll make the commute to see you every night. I'd take a commute ten…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-perkins/i-ll-only-be-twenty-minute-train-ride-from-your-school-and-i-ll-make/)

[Stephanie Perkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephanie-perkins/)

> [“This imaginary gift is a journey for your imagination. I send you... A luxury train ride. On this train are all the inspiring people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-ariel-rainbow-kennedy-sark/this-imaginary-gift-is-a-journey-for-your-imagination-i-send-you-a/)

[Susan Ariel Rainbow Kennedy (SARK](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-ariel-rainbow-kennedy-sark/)

> [“Life is like a train ride. The passengers on the train are seemingly going to the same destination as you, but based on their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johna-passaro/life-is-like-a-train-ride-the-passengers-on-the-train-are-seemingly/)

JohnA Passaro

> [Life is a train ride, and at the many stations along the route, people important to us debark, never to get aboard again, until…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-koontz/life-is-a-train-ride-and-at-the-many-stations-along-the-route-people/)

[Dean Koontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-koontz/)

## More by Per Petterson

> [“Light in every lamp, light in every mind.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/per-petterson/light-in-every-lamp-light-in-every-mind/)

[Per Petterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/per-petterson/)

> [I come from a working-class family. They're the people I know and the people I love, I guess. I do not write about them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/per-petterson/i-come-from-a-working-class-family-they-re-the-people-i-know-and-the/)

[Per Petterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/per-petterson/)

> [When my mother talked about her brother, there was this light in her eyes. I thought, 'This is the basis of a novel.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/per-petterson/when-my-mother-talked-about-her-brother-there-was-this-light-in-her/)

[Per Petterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/per-petterson/)

> [“But life had shifted its weight from one point to another, from one leg to the other, like a silent giant in the vast…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/per-petterson/but-life-had-shifted-its-weight-from-one-point-to-another-from-one/)

[Per Petterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/per-petterson/)

> [“All my life I have longed to be alone in a place like this. Even when everything was going well, as it often did.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/per-petterson/all-my-life-i-have-longed-to-be-alone-in-a-place-like-this-even-when/)

[Per Petterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/per-petterson/)

> [“I distinctly heard the blackbird from the top of a spruce tree, and clear as glass I heard the lark high up and several…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/per-petterson/i-distinctly-heard-the-blackbird-from-the-top-of-a-spruce-tree-and/)

[Per Petterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/per-petterson/)

> [I decided if I couldn't be a writer, my life would be miserable. I had this imaginary room of references to all the books…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/per-petterson/i-decided-if-i-couldn-t-be-a-writer-my-life-would-be-miserable-i-had/)

[Per Petterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/per-petterson/)

> [“It is important not to be careless about supper when you are alone. It is easily done, boring as it is to cook for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/per-petterson/it-is-important-not-to-be-careless-about-supper-when-you-are-alone-it/)

[Per Petterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/per-petterson/)

> [“We ran back, he first and I following him, between the beds and downstairs, and we picked up an armful of wood from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/per-petterson/we-ran-back-he-first-and-i-following-him-between-the-beds-and/)

[Per Petterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/per-petterson/)

> [I rely heavily on rhythm when I write. You should tap your foot when you read it, all the way through.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/per-petterson/i-rely-heavily-on-rhythm-when-i-write-you-should-tap-your-foot-when/)

[Per Petterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/per-petterson/)

> [“...everything felt fine at that moment; the suit was fine, and the twon was fine to walk in, along the cobblestone street, and we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/per-petterson/everything-felt-fine-at-that-moment-the-suit-was-fine-and-the-twon/)

[Per Petterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/per-petterson/)

> [“It may be all very well in Dickens, but when you read Dickens you're reading a long ballad from a vanished world, where everything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/per-petterson/it-may-be-all-very-well-in-dickens-but-when-you-read-dickens-you-re/)

[Per Petterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/per-petterson/)

> [I write about families. That is who we are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/per-petterson/i-write-about-families-that-is-who-we-are/)

[Per Petterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/per-petterson/)

> [“...the young swans as big as their parents now, but still grey and it looks peculiar, like two different species swimming in a line,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/per-petterson/the-young-swans-as-big-as-their-parents-now-but-still-grey-and-it/)

[Per Petterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/per-petterson/)

> [ “\[H\]alf blinded you embraced your own body, and with the warmth still under your jacket, you walked up the pavement along the square, moving… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/per-petterson/h-alf-blinded-you-embraced-your-own-body-and-with-the-warmth-still/)

[Per Petterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/per-petterson/)

[Explore all 79 Per Petterson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/per-petterson/)

## More Fitness quotes

> [I train my muscles, and I do a lot of stretching, and try to kick higher. But for me, practicing kung-fu is a way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-chow/i-train-my-muscles-and-i-do-a-lot-of-stretching-and-try-to-kick/)

[Stephen Chow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-chow/)

> [Every one knows that the exercise of military power is forever dangerous to civil rights; and we have had recent instances of violences that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-adams/every-one-knows-that-the-exercise-of-military-power-is-forever/)

[Samuel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-adams/)

> [I do a lot of vocal exercises and drink hot tea, which I hate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darci-lynne-farmer/i-do-a-lot-of-vocal-exercises-and-drink-hot-tea-which-i-hate/)

[Darci Lynne Farmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darci-lynne-farmer/)

> [It took me 20 years of hard training to get the physique I have today. what you need is what i had - BELIEF…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/branch-warren/it-took-me-20-years-of-hard-training-to-get-the-physique-i-have-today/)

[Branch Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/branch-warren/)

> [Sport is not just about entertainment. It is equally about winning and losing, pooling and galvanising the energy of the youth, upgrading people's physical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nita-ambani/sport-is-not-just-about-entertainment-it-is-equally-about-winning-and/)

[Nita Ambani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nita-ambani/)

> [Spring training means flowers, people coming outdoors, sunshine, optimism and baseball. Spring training is a time to think about being young again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernie-banks/spring-training-means-flowers-people-coming-outdoors-sunshine/)

[Ernie Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernie-banks/)

> [I always wanted to make sure that within my unit that I was never the weak person. So I made sure that my physical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liz-carmouche/i-always-wanted-to-make-sure-that-within-my-unit-that-i-was-never-the/)

[Liz Carmouche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liz-carmouche/)

> [“For those filled with regret, perhaps the most needful exercise of proactivity is to realize that past mistakes are also out there in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-r-covey/for-those-filled-with-regret-perhaps-the-most-needful-exercise-of/)

[Stephen R. Covey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-r-covey/)

> [Physical beauty is not everything, but the beauty is more careful than anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/physical-beauty-is-not-everything-but-the-beauty-is-more-careful-than/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“Of all the train, none escaped except Wamba, who showed upon the occasion much more courage than those who pretended to greater sense.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-scott/of-all-the-train-none-escaped-except-wamba-who-showed-upon-the/)

[Walter Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-scott/)

> [Everyday happiness means getting up in the morning, and you can't wait to finish your breakfast. You can't wait to do your exercises. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-burns/everyday-happiness-means-getting-up-in-the-morning-and-you-can-t-wait/)

[George Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-burns/)

> [If your goal is to look different, you'll see results faster with strength training than with cardio alone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-kaiser/if-your-goal-is-to-look-different-you-ll-see-results-faster-with/)

[Anna Kaiser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-kaiser/)

> [“He sighed. "Look, love, I know I seem like a tactical genius, but really, I'm just a magician who occasionally kills a bunny or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/delilah-s-dawson/he-sighed-look-love-i-know-i-seem-like-a-tactical-genius-but-really-i/)

[Delilah S. Dawson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/delilah-s-dawson/)

> [There are things you can do in training like learn from the manager and talk with team-mates, but it's the game that tests you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-burke/there-are-things-you-can-do-in-training-like-learn-from-the-manager/)

[Oliver Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-burke/)

> [Exercise teaches you the pleasure of discipline.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-fonda/exercise-teaches-you-the-pleasure-of-discipline/)

[Jane Fonda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-fonda/)

[Browse all 13,910 Fitness quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fitness/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“What I liked was the train ride. It took an hour and that was enough for me to be able to lean backwards against the seat with closed eyes, feel the joints in the rails come up and thump through my body and sometimes peer out of the windows and see windswept heathland and imagine I was on the Trans-Siberian Railway. I had read about it, seen pictures in a book and decided that no matter when and how life would turn out, one day I would travel from Moscow to Vladivostok on that train, and I practised saying the names: Omsk, Tomsk, Novosibirsk, Irkutsk, they were difficult to pronounce with all their hard consonants, but ever since the trip to Skagen, every journey I made by train was a potential departure on my own great journey.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Per Petterson"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/per-petterson/what-i-liked-was-the-train-ride-it-took-an-hour-and-that-was-enough/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Fitness"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/per-petterson/what-i-liked-was-the-train-ride-it-took-an-hour-and-that-was-enough/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aa1/per-petterson-8468_fitness_what-i-liked-was-the-train-ride-it-took_301709.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aa1/per-petterson-8468_fitness_what-i-liked-was-the-train-ride-it-took_301709.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aa1/per-petterson-8468_fitness_what-i-liked-was-the-train-ride-it-took_301709.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“What I liked was the train ride. It took an hour and that was enough for me to be able to lean backwards…” — Per Petterson",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Per Petterson",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/per-petterson/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“What I liked was the train...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/per-petterson/what-i-liked-was-the-train-ride-it-took-an-hour-and-that-was-enough/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/per-petterson/what-i-liked-was-the-train-ride-it-took-an-hour-and-that-was-enough/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
