News.com.au :
Student Leonie Müller decided she did not want to live in the unit in Stuttgart, Germany, any more. In fact she did not want to live anywhere.
Leonie, 23, who is at Tübingen University some 30km south of Stuttgart, decided it would be cheaper and more convenient if she lived mostly on a train as she began a romance with a man from Cologne, 370km away from Stuttgart.
So Leonie paid for a BahnCard 100 which allows her to board any train in the country for free. Now, she washes her hair in the train bathroom and writes her college papers while traveling at a speeds of up to 190mph as she commutes between her boyfriend’s unit and her mother’s home in Berlin, 632km from Stuttgart.
“I really feel at home on trains, and can visit so many more friends and cities. It’s like being on vacation all the time,” Müller told The Washington Post.
Leonie has become the poster girl for the BahnCard 100 and has appeared on major news web sites including Spiegel Online and Bild.
“I read, I write, I look out of the window and I meet nice people all the time. There’s always something to do on trains,” Leonie told German TV station SWR in an interview.
She lives out of a small backpack in which she carries clothes, her tablet computer, college documents and a sanitary bag. She also knows where the empty carriages are.
“I want to inspire people to question their habits and the things they consider to be normal,” Müller told The Washington Post.
“There are always more opportunities than one thinks there are. The next adventure is waiting just around the corner – provided that you want to find it.”
Leonie admits sleeping on the train has its problems; the best she can manage is the odd nap as she is concerned about the safety of her backpack. She added that headphones were a must.
She intends to remain homeless until she studies finish in April next year and has begun a blog to record her experience and to use it towards her bachelor thesis in Media Studies.
A spokesman for Deutsche Bahn said 40,000 take advantage of the card, which costs 379 euros ($590) a month and backs Leonie’s decision. “There are many people who are in a train a lot of time. That’s not so unusual,” a spokesman said.
Student Leonie Müller decided she did not want to live in the unit in Stuttgart, Germany, any more. In fact she did not want to live anywhere.
Leonie, 23, who is at Tübingen University some 30km south of Stuttgart, decided it would be cheaper and more convenient if she lived mostly on a train as she began a romance with a man from Cologne, 370km away from Stuttgart.
So Leonie paid for a BahnCard 100 which allows her to board any train in the country for free. Now, she washes her hair in the train bathroom and writes her college papers while traveling at a speeds of up to 190mph as she commutes between her boyfriend’s unit and her mother’s home in Berlin, 632km from Stuttgart.
“I really feel at home on trains, and can visit so many more friends and cities. It’s like being on vacation all the time,” Müller told The Washington Post.
Leonie has become the poster girl for the BahnCard 100 and has appeared on major news web sites including Spiegel Online and Bild.
“I read, I write, I look out of the window and I meet nice people all the time. There’s always something to do on trains,” Leonie told German TV station SWR in an interview.
She lives out of a small backpack in which she carries clothes, her tablet computer, college documents and a sanitary bag. She also knows where the empty carriages are.
“I want to inspire people to question their habits and the things they consider to be normal,” Müller told The Washington Post.
“There are always more opportunities than one thinks there are. The next adventure is waiting just around the corner – provided that you want to find it.”
Leonie admits sleeping on the train has its problems; the best she can manage is the odd nap as she is concerned about the safety of her backpack. She added that headphones were a must.
She intends to remain homeless until she studies finish in April next year and has begun a blog to record her experience and to use it towards her bachelor thesis in Media Studies.
A spokesman for Deutsche Bahn said 40,000 take advantage of the card, which costs 379 euros ($590) a month and backs Leonie’s decision. “There are many people who are in a train a lot of time. That’s not so unusual,” a spokesman said.
