Lasse Stolley wanted to make a change in life after his plan to become an apprentice didn’t work out. So about two years ago this teenager started living on a train in Germany.
The long journey of a 17-year-old from a small community took him from the far north of Germany to the southern border. Starting in August 2022, he has traveled 650,000 km, which is equivalent to circumnavigating the globe 15 times. He had to sit on the train for 6 thousand 700 hours to travel this distance.
“It’s wonderful to be able to decide where I’m going every day – that’s freedom,” Stoli told AFP in an interview at Frankfurt train station.
In his words, ‘I love being able to look out the window and see the view ahead when traveling. Besides, I can visit all parts of Germany.’
Stoli travels with only one bag. Satisfy hunger with pizza and soup. These are available free of charge in Deutsche Bahn station lounges as a train pass holder.
Complications begin
It’s hard to believe that the unintelligible teenager with the wide smile on his face chose the difficult life of living on a train, leaving behind the comforts of being at home with his family.
As a child, he was not very interested in trains. He didn’t even have a toy train. He traveled only twice on Germany’s high-speed trains before deciding to live on trains. At the age of 16, he decided to live permanently in the train.
But after finishing secondary school he planned to become an apprentice in computer programming. Which was ultimately not done. While searching for what to do, he comes across a documentary. The documentary was about a man who lives on a train.
In his words, ‘I thought I could do it too. In the beginning it was just an idea, an unrealistic idea. But then I kept thinking about it. At one point I’m not sure if I’ll actually do that.’
Initially parents discourage him but later they decide to support him. He buys a rail card that gives him unlimited travel on the rail network. Fockbeck in the northern state of Schleswig-Holstein to Hamburg, then Munich by night train.
The early days were tough. Stoli could not sleep at night. His railcard did not allow him to board trains at night with a bed. He had to meet his family at home regularly.
But gradually he got used to living in the train. He buys an airbed, which allows him to sleep in the large baggage area at night on high-speed trains.
A year later he changed his travel card to first class. It costs 5 thousand 888 euros for one year. This gives him access to a more spacious cabin and the use of the Deutsche Bahn lounge.
train love
He no longer needs an airbed to sleep on the train. He can easily sleep in the straight seat of the train. But now he doesn’t feel comfortable sleeping in a normal bed.
She says, ‘I miss the sound of trains a bit in a normal bed at night.’
Stoli works in motion. He is programming apps for a start-up company. He travels regularly to important cities. Sometimes he also appears in small towns. He also went to Switzerland and Austria. However, his journey was not without obstacles and challenges.
“Delays and other issues have disrupted day-to-day operations,” Stolley said.
He said, I don’t know how long I will continue to live like this. Maybe another year or five years.
In his words, ‘Right now, I’m enjoying a lot and experiencing a lot every day.’
#German #teenager #lives #train