What a day this has been! This is the only way to put this into words after a day that started at 6AM in the morning and is still to end at 00.00Hrs! After the usual breakfast, we started to out to the preplanned destinations. Today is the day before christmas and usually on this day, everything comes to a halt in Germany. Sparse trains and metros and no trams, absolutely no shopping and yeah, no one on the roads too. This is not the case here(was not the case in Paris last year too). The metros and trains run 24hrs and with twice the frequency in the evenings and many people love to party tonight. Its the 25th that is significant here and I will write about how it was tomorrow!
So, the first destination stop was at the main Cathedral in Barcelona. Well, it is Gothic and surrounded by the Roman influence on Barcelona. Spending a few minutes in this, we then proceeded to the Archaeological museum which houses the Roman foundations of the city. This was very informative historically but not so very culturally. I have to visit a culturally and artistically informative museum on Saturday!!
Out from the ruins, we proceeded to the Casa Mila, the most visited Gaudi house here in Barcelona. I went inside this one and personally I feel that Gaudi is brilliant from the outside, but the interiors of the apartment were a bit too non conventional. Details will be posted along with pictures!!
It was then lunch at an Indian restaurant, Bombay spice. I had a limited north Indian thali and the food was very average. This lunch was readily digested when we decided to visit the Gaudi park. It is a flop idea of a commercial apartment complex that was commisioned to Gaudi. It contains loads of mosaic designs and beautiful pillars. The adventure was in reaching this place. From metro stop we had to trek 30 minutes uphill to reach this place.
The next stop was the Olympic stadium. Its massive and romantic. Totally. I think its the best romantic place Ive seen till now to spend the evening alone with you girlfriend/wife, or at least I would prefer to do it someday!! I will write about the architecture when I am able to post the pictures.
7PM we entered the Spanish village for the Flamenco concert. Well, it was just breathtaking!
This blog has just been a simple travel log because I am totally running out of energy now. I have loads to write about the Flamenco concert!! But let me recharge my batteries(the ones in my camera and mobile too) to start yet another adventurous Christmas.
Showing posts with label travel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label travel. Show all posts
Friday, December 25, 2009
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Barcelona : Day 2
The day started at 6 AM after a fairly decent sleep of 5 hours. Hot shower and emails to mom followed by breakfast at 8 AM occupied the time I spent inside the hostel. It was filling breakfast of cereals, bread with nutella and orange juice and this was perfect to kick start the day. I have seen beautiful sun sets where the sky is splashed around with a hue of colors, but this was the first time I was treated to a painted morning sky.
The first place of visit was Sagrada Familia. This is a famous architectural structure built by the renowned Antonio Gaudi. I will write more about Gaudi after tomorrows in-detail visit to one of his master pieces. Sagrada Familia was started in 1882 and was left incomplete due to his untimely death. Further constructions were also disrupted due to the Spanish civil war. This church is yet to be completed and is expected to take yet another decade, but still this is one of the most visited places in Barcelona. My want to go inside was cut at point blank by the expensive entrance fees of 12E!
Having navigated with ease with the city map in Brussels and Krakow, I thought we could walk to the next Gaudi architecture with ease. Let Spanish and Catalan be praised, we lost of way in spite of the detailed map I had in hand. The reason, the street names are so similar, even the parallel streets. Carrer Maria and Carrer Mariana and the likes ran parallel causing a retinal malfunction leading to disorientation of directions!! Anyways, these things happen for the best.
So, we figured out the nearest metro station and headed straight to La Rambla (more on this street tomorrow) where we had to meet at the Travels Bar to start our free walking tour of the Gothic part of the city. I am not going to write in details about what I saw during this walk, for I want to do this in detail with the pictures posted along side. But the history is fascinating and seriously, if my history teacher had made our classes as wonderful as our guide did, I would have probably taken up history as my main subject!
Our walk group consisted of nine people, 4 from India, 3 from Mexico and 2 from Australia. I liked the way our guide made us interact with each other to make it a well knit group and not the known people talking their own language during the tour. It did rain, but I only now I think about it, I actually remember that it rained! The 2 hour walk through the Gothic quarter ended with lovely Sangria. This is a typical spanish wine punch with sliced fruit, sweetener and brandy. Await the surprise blog regarding this on Sunday morning (27.12.2009)!!
Lunch was in a small vegetarian eatery, Maoz. It consisted of a custom made falafel, exactly th same I ate in Amsterdam. Not wasting time we took the metro and then the funicular up to the Montjuic castle, the highest point in Barcelona. The sunset was imposing upon the city. Yet again, detailed description will be given along with pictures as soon as I touch base in Germany!
Walking down the hill, we located the place we want to visit tomorrow and also confirmed our reservation to the event I had book for. Dinner consisted of dough nuts and a lovely Mexican Desperado (Beer with tequila) and 1L of Pineapple juice that I purchased from the supermarket.
So, what is the place I located to visit tomorrow and what is the event I attend? Also, what does the Sangria hold as a surprise?! Tune in again to indulge in Barcelona through me!
The first place of visit was Sagrada Familia. This is a famous architectural structure built by the renowned Antonio Gaudi. I will write more about Gaudi after tomorrows in-detail visit to one of his master pieces. Sagrada Familia was started in 1882 and was left incomplete due to his untimely death. Further constructions were also disrupted due to the Spanish civil war. This church is yet to be completed and is expected to take yet another decade, but still this is one of the most visited places in Barcelona. My want to go inside was cut at point blank by the expensive entrance fees of 12E!
Having navigated with ease with the city map in Brussels and Krakow, I thought we could walk to the next Gaudi architecture with ease. Let Spanish and Catalan be praised, we lost of way in spite of the detailed map I had in hand. The reason, the street names are so similar, even the parallel streets. Carrer Maria and Carrer Mariana and the likes ran parallel causing a retinal malfunction leading to disorientation of directions!! Anyways, these things happen for the best.
So, we figured out the nearest metro station and headed straight to La Rambla (more on this street tomorrow) where we had to meet at the Travels Bar to start our free walking tour of the Gothic part of the city. I am not going to write in details about what I saw during this walk, for I want to do this in detail with the pictures posted along side. But the history is fascinating and seriously, if my history teacher had made our classes as wonderful as our guide did, I would have probably taken up history as my main subject!
Our walk group consisted of nine people, 4 from India, 3 from Mexico and 2 from Australia. I liked the way our guide made us interact with each other to make it a well knit group and not the known people talking their own language during the tour. It did rain, but I only now I think about it, I actually remember that it rained! The 2 hour walk through the Gothic quarter ended with lovely Sangria. This is a typical spanish wine punch with sliced fruit, sweetener and brandy. Await the surprise blog regarding this on Sunday morning (27.12.2009)!!
Lunch was in a small vegetarian eatery, Maoz. It consisted of a custom made falafel, exactly th same I ate in Amsterdam. Not wasting time we took the metro and then the funicular up to the Montjuic castle, the highest point in Barcelona. The sunset was imposing upon the city. Yet again, detailed description will be given along with pictures as soon as I touch base in Germany!
Walking down the hill, we located the place we want to visit tomorrow and also confirmed our reservation to the event I had book for. Dinner consisted of dough nuts and a lovely Mexican Desperado (Beer with tequila) and 1L of Pineapple juice that I purchased from the supermarket.
So, what is the place I located to visit tomorrow and what is the event I attend? Also, what does the Sangria hold as a surprise?! Tune in again to indulge in Barcelona through me!
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
First evening in Barcelona
Lets try something different this time, a live blog about each passing day in the new country I visit. Barcelona. This is the ninth country I am visiting in the past 2 years and I have never arrived so impressed!
The flight to Barcelona was from Dusseldorf Weeze, one of the misnamed airports in Germany but allowing the cheapest travel possible! Every flight for the day was delayed owing to terrible snow. But since snow is seldom heard of in Barcelona, ours was the only one that was on time. After 2 hours and 15 minutes of uneventful air journey, I had to take the bus service from Girona airport to the main city. Accommodation was booked in Dreams hostel. This is the first time I had booked a youth hostel for my stay, in every other country it was a cheap hotel. Rains welcomed me into the country and now I have learnt after my Krakow experience that a rainy welcome will lead to the best enjoyment and its proving to be true again! 1 hour of bus journey saw the rain fade away to lead into the most pleasant winter evening so far. 14 degrees and wet with little breeze. The thermals that I had to wear to fight the minus 10 in the morning was already starting to feel uncomfortable and useless.
The hostel is situated in a place called Pep Ventura, 20 minutes from the city center where we [myself and Vimal] got off. But the well structured metro connections made it a cake walk to reach this place. Learning from a Spanish guy how to locate the hostel, I was highly impressed by its neatness and organization. The 12 bed dormitory is clean and well insulated. The reception is spacious allowing space for numerous activities and the guy at the reception too was helpful with the touristic doubts.
After a refreshing face wash, we were surprised in the reception by an Indian couple who had also just checked in and plan to stay for the next 3 nights. So we teamed up to get to the city center and walk around. The city center, Plac Catalunya is enormous with fountains and huge streets which resemble the Champ Elysee in Paris. Brilliantly lit for the christmas, its is truly a shoppers delight. The four of us were just walking and awing at the beautiful lit complexes, buildings and restro bars. Finally the long walk ended in an all you can eat Catalan buffet. Wonderful salad and the Catalan spinach was my pick and I relished it very much.
back in the hostel at around 10 and we planned the itenary for day 2. Until then, its good night from Rp!
The flight to Barcelona was from Dusseldorf Weeze, one of the misnamed airports in Germany but allowing the cheapest travel possible! Every flight for the day was delayed owing to terrible snow. But since snow is seldom heard of in Barcelona, ours was the only one that was on time. After 2 hours and 15 minutes of uneventful air journey, I had to take the bus service from Girona airport to the main city. Accommodation was booked in Dreams hostel. This is the first time I had booked a youth hostel for my stay, in every other country it was a cheap hotel. Rains welcomed me into the country and now I have learnt after my Krakow experience that a rainy welcome will lead to the best enjoyment and its proving to be true again! 1 hour of bus journey saw the rain fade away to lead into the most pleasant winter evening so far. 14 degrees and wet with little breeze. The thermals that I had to wear to fight the minus 10 in the morning was already starting to feel uncomfortable and useless.
The hostel is situated in a place called Pep Ventura, 20 minutes from the city center where we [myself and Vimal] got off. But the well structured metro connections made it a cake walk to reach this place. Learning from a Spanish guy how to locate the hostel, I was highly impressed by its neatness and organization. The 12 bed dormitory is clean and well insulated. The reception is spacious allowing space for numerous activities and the guy at the reception too was helpful with the touristic doubts.
After a refreshing face wash, we were surprised in the reception by an Indian couple who had also just checked in and plan to stay for the next 3 nights. So we teamed up to get to the city center and walk around. The city center, Plac Catalunya is enormous with fountains and huge streets which resemble the Champ Elysee in Paris. Brilliantly lit for the christmas, its is truly a shoppers delight. The four of us were just walking and awing at the beautiful lit complexes, buildings and restro bars. Finally the long walk ended in an all you can eat Catalan buffet. Wonderful salad and the Catalan spinach was my pick and I relished it very much.
back in the hostel at around 10 and we planned the itenary for day 2. Until then, its good night from Rp!
Monday, June 08, 2009
Travel to the land of Tintin : Brussels, Belgium
It’s been two weeks since my return from Brussels and somehow I have been kept busy and not able to write about it. Finally, today I start when my proteins are spinning upstairs leaving me a bit relaxed in the office. Every time, my experiences are written like a guide book, but this time, I would like to write it like a journal entry or perhaps like experience sharing. Either way, I can tell you, it might be a bit long!
Brussels Zuid or Brussels Midi, the main station is just 100 minutes away from Aachen, Germany. The fast trains are a pleasure to travel inspite the fact that Deutche bahn (German rail) is always very expensive. But luck brought a 38 Euro two way ticket to me!
First things first! Everyone speaks English! Relief, especially after the sign language and grunts in Paris! Brussels is nearly the centre of Europe and had 3 official languages, Dutch, French and English. Though you can hear people dabbling away in French, they also speak good English. I didn’t hear them speak Dutch but there were advertisements and announcements. Who cares as long as they all speak English!! Makes your travel much easier and allows you to get lost happily.
Brussels is very well laid out. Makes touristic travel very cheap since all the important visits are situated around the Grote Mart or the grand place. It lives up to its name, grand place, for it is really grand. Grandeur comes to this place from its oldness. The minute you stand in the centre of the Grote mart, flanked by the Flemish bell towers and the magnificent buildings, you feel transported back to the medieval times. The place smells of roasted nuts, caramel, ice creams, chocolate, chocolate and chocolate! There are pubs and restaurants and it makes the place very enjoyable.
Situated around the grand place are the churches, Royal palace, Belgium centre for fine arts, the comic strip museum and the Mannekin Pis. A couple of minutes in the metro will take you to the Atomium and the mini Europe. I did not visit the mini Europe because I did not want the miniatures to spoil my fantasy of standing before the originals. Probably I will visit mini Europe after I have visited all of Europe!
Brussels is the birth place of Tintin amongst other cartoon characters. As a kid, I grew up on him and liked the characters very much. To actually be in Brussels, was very exciting for me, just to satisfy the Tintin hunger! Cartoons painted over several walls and buildings all around the city boast of its glorious cartoon characters and their creators.
Belgium is a very beautiful country and the travel within Belgium is very cheap, even at 300Kmph! I bought tickets to Antwerp, Ghent and Brugge in the fast trains, both ways for just 21 Euros! Enchantingly tourist friendly!
The train from Brussels to Antwerp takes 40 minutes, at 300Kmph and as usual, the very first thing that attracted me in Antwerp, more than its diamonds is the really antique look of the railway station. Though modernisation is evident interiors, the structure is perfectly antique and massive.
Walking out of the station brings you right to the diamond centre of the world. Inspite the fact that business has changed hands from the Jews to the Gujjus (no offence meant!), the best diamonds are still out of reach for me at the moment! The Meir is the shopping street of Antwerp and seriously, wow! Women will freak out shopping here. The French impression is well seen when it comes to fashion and the Dutch impression is seen on the architecture. Exotic blend I would say. The city centre of Antwerp has less to offer but the Rubin house is really worth the visit when it comes to appreciating painting. The huge metal guy looking down on you near the harbour really gets into you when you look around the brilliantly shaped city and the once biggest harbour of the world. Incidentally, Congress party will have an easy victory in Antwerp since the symbol for Antwerp is the Hand (Antwerp – from the hand).
Ghent is another beautiful city, 30 minutes from Brussels. It was a merchant controlled town laid out in great perfection. Absolutely easy to navigate by foot with the tourist map, Ghent is a real good destination for walking tour buffs like me. Oh yeah, not to forget the awesome soup I had there. I was automatically attracted to the soup salon serving only vegetarian soups with various toppings. Brilliant!
Brugge is further 30 minutes from Ghent and is considered to be the best romantic spot in the world. Well, I would not argue much for I also felt the same way when I saw the city. It’s a city which has everything. Canals, churches, a perfect city centre, boats, walks and cycle routes. It is really a huge city and would take an entire day to enjoy its history by walk and by water. Unfortunately I could not spend the evening there, but then yeah, I wasn’t with the perfect companion either!
A surprise inclusion in the trip was Ostendee. It’s a beach and was hyped to be great. Well, being brought up on the seaside, it was not thrilling for me, just a blank, bland beach. I would any day rate our good old Marina as more happening and exciting. Not even babes in bikini decorated the vast emptiness. May be it was not the season yet, but this place holds nothing special.
Waterloo would seem an exciting bet as soon as you hear the name and imagine Napoleon at war and conquered. But trust me, its nothing more than a hill with a lion on top and green fields beneath. Well, the light and sound shows and museums might be of interest, but missing this place owing to a tight budget or time is no blasphemy.
Coming to the issue, food and people. Well, non vegetarians will love the food since Belgium boasts of one of the finest sea food. Me being a vegetarian always had French fries, pizzas, falafels and the likes to fill my stomach. No complains since it was cheap and always allowed place for Australian ice creams. This is the best selling brand here and the scoops are always extra big! People are tourist friendly and like every city, the night life always attracts. Brussels is safe and locals willingly help you with directions. This city also boasts highly about its gay population and yet again it is not a threat to any male tourist!
Shopping can get very addictive in Brussels. Being the French like in fashion, Brussels offers every new fashion you can imagine of. And chocolates! I think there are more chocolate bars in Brussels than the bricks that would have gone into constructing the city!
Every street has chocolatiers making home made chocolates and selling them and you get to choose from unheard but tempting varieties!
On the whole, Brussels is an ideal place to camp and move around Belgium and even entire of Europe. Its cheap and fast railways and international airport offers the best and quick connectivity.
Brussels Zuid or Brussels Midi, the main station is just 100 minutes away from Aachen, Germany. The fast trains are a pleasure to travel inspite the fact that Deutche bahn (German rail) is always very expensive. But luck brought a 38 Euro two way ticket to me!
First things first! Everyone speaks English! Relief, especially after the sign language and grunts in Paris! Brussels is nearly the centre of Europe and had 3 official languages, Dutch, French and English. Though you can hear people dabbling away in French, they also speak good English. I didn’t hear them speak Dutch but there were advertisements and announcements. Who cares as long as they all speak English!! Makes your travel much easier and allows you to get lost happily.
Brussels is very well laid out. Makes touristic travel very cheap since all the important visits are situated around the Grote Mart or the grand place. It lives up to its name, grand place, for it is really grand. Grandeur comes to this place from its oldness. The minute you stand in the centre of the Grote mart, flanked by the Flemish bell towers and the magnificent buildings, you feel transported back to the medieval times. The place smells of roasted nuts, caramel, ice creams, chocolate, chocolate and chocolate! There are pubs and restaurants and it makes the place very enjoyable.
Situated around the grand place are the churches, Royal palace, Belgium centre for fine arts, the comic strip museum and the Mannekin Pis. A couple of minutes in the metro will take you to the Atomium and the mini Europe. I did not visit the mini Europe because I did not want the miniatures to spoil my fantasy of standing before the originals. Probably I will visit mini Europe after I have visited all of Europe!
Brussels is the birth place of Tintin amongst other cartoon characters. As a kid, I grew up on him and liked the characters very much. To actually be in Brussels, was very exciting for me, just to satisfy the Tintin hunger! Cartoons painted over several walls and buildings all around the city boast of its glorious cartoon characters and their creators.
Belgium is a very beautiful country and the travel within Belgium is very cheap, even at 300Kmph! I bought tickets to Antwerp, Ghent and Brugge in the fast trains, both ways for just 21 Euros! Enchantingly tourist friendly!
The train from Brussels to Antwerp takes 40 minutes, at 300Kmph and as usual, the very first thing that attracted me in Antwerp, more than its diamonds is the really antique look of the railway station. Though modernisation is evident interiors, the structure is perfectly antique and massive.
Walking out of the station brings you right to the diamond centre of the world. Inspite the fact that business has changed hands from the Jews to the Gujjus (no offence meant!), the best diamonds are still out of reach for me at the moment! The Meir is the shopping street of Antwerp and seriously, wow! Women will freak out shopping here. The French impression is well seen when it comes to fashion and the Dutch impression is seen on the architecture. Exotic blend I would say. The city centre of Antwerp has less to offer but the Rubin house is really worth the visit when it comes to appreciating painting. The huge metal guy looking down on you near the harbour really gets into you when you look around the brilliantly shaped city and the once biggest harbour of the world. Incidentally, Congress party will have an easy victory in Antwerp since the symbol for Antwerp is the Hand (Antwerp – from the hand).
Ghent is another beautiful city, 30 minutes from Brussels. It was a merchant controlled town laid out in great perfection. Absolutely easy to navigate by foot with the tourist map, Ghent is a real good destination for walking tour buffs like me. Oh yeah, not to forget the awesome soup I had there. I was automatically attracted to the soup salon serving only vegetarian soups with various toppings. Brilliant!
Brugge is further 30 minutes from Ghent and is considered to be the best romantic spot in the world. Well, I would not argue much for I also felt the same way when I saw the city. It’s a city which has everything. Canals, churches, a perfect city centre, boats, walks and cycle routes. It is really a huge city and would take an entire day to enjoy its history by walk and by water. Unfortunately I could not spend the evening there, but then yeah, I wasn’t with the perfect companion either!
A surprise inclusion in the trip was Ostendee. It’s a beach and was hyped to be great. Well, being brought up on the seaside, it was not thrilling for me, just a blank, bland beach. I would any day rate our good old Marina as more happening and exciting. Not even babes in bikini decorated the vast emptiness. May be it was not the season yet, but this place holds nothing special.
Waterloo would seem an exciting bet as soon as you hear the name and imagine Napoleon at war and conquered. But trust me, its nothing more than a hill with a lion on top and green fields beneath. Well, the light and sound shows and museums might be of interest, but missing this place owing to a tight budget or time is no blasphemy.
Coming to the issue, food and people. Well, non vegetarians will love the food since Belgium boasts of one of the finest sea food. Me being a vegetarian always had French fries, pizzas, falafels and the likes to fill my stomach. No complains since it was cheap and always allowed place for Australian ice creams. This is the best selling brand here and the scoops are always extra big! People are tourist friendly and like every city, the night life always attracts. Brussels is safe and locals willingly help you with directions. This city also boasts highly about its gay population and yet again it is not a threat to any male tourist!
Shopping can get very addictive in Brussels. Being the French like in fashion, Brussels offers every new fashion you can imagine of. And chocolates! I think there are more chocolate bars in Brussels than the bricks that would have gone into constructing the city!
Every street has chocolatiers making home made chocolates and selling them and you get to choose from unheard but tempting varieties!
On the whole, Brussels is an ideal place to camp and move around Belgium and even entire of Europe. Its cheap and fast railways and international airport offers the best and quick connectivity.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Fright and Flight
Nearly 6 weeks before, that was 2 weeks before my flight to India, I had to suddenly change my airlines from Emirates to Air France. I had travelled before in Lufthansa and Emirates and know pretty well about their air crafts and the baggage allowance. Well, this is the most important fear factor for everyone. Who wants to pack up excess, then throw away, simple but heart rendering stuff away in the last moment at the check in counter?! I definitely don’t want too!
So, Air France was new to me and they allowed just 20Kg of baggage. I don’t understand why people want to start a panic by discouraging them about the flight. I was discussing my India trip over the phone with my friend and as soon as he heard the airlines name, he was like “I’ve travelled once with that, its totally galeej (dirty) flight. It’s like taking a town bus in India. Rickety seats, dirty floors, not so friendly air hostesses and very bad food. Why did you have to book with this airline?” He literally took my enthusiasm about the flight, though the destination home was an annulling factor to his comments. So, I made up my mind, don’t care about the flight, just get on, think India and you are home!
The days rolled by and I had packed my baggage and weighed it, 21.7Kg. Not a big deal at all and for a frequent flier with various airlines, I knew it would pass through. Just when I was calling to say goodbye to friends, the second panic switch was pressed. “Do you know, these days everything is so strict. You flew a year back with a few kilograms excess. It’s near to impossible these days. I paid 90 Euros for an excess of 3Kg in Lufthansa and I’ve heard Air France is more expensive and totally strict. So, be prepared to pay for your excess” Well, it wasn’t really the panic button for me, but for my friend. I was carrying her expensive sarees to be delivered to her house and that was the major part of the baggage. I told her what I heard about Air France and she said she will come to the airport in morning (it was a very early flight!) and in case they demand money, she will take her sarees back. Well, it was disappointing for everyone, until check in…
The baggage weighed 22.7Kg on the counter! I bit my lips and crossed my fingers as the lady scanned my passport and visa. I could hear my friend chanting prayers that she must let the luggage through and then tadaa… It was through! No questions, no raised eyebrows, it was just through!
After crossing the first hurdle, the second one was still nudging my peace. Will the flight actually be as my friend described?! Well, I soon found. It wasn’t! I would rate it as the best one I actually flew with. Class interiors, awesome leg space, comfortable push back, tasty and good food and entertaining selection of movies! What else can you ask for?!
I don’t understand why people have to be so discouraging and negative about every airlines! Especially when someone is about to travel, isn’t it always good to put the positive points and if there arnt any positive points, why blow up the bad ones? Anyways, we cannot change the flight in the last minute just because someone tells it’s the worst! Grow up people, seriously!
So, Air France was new to me and they allowed just 20Kg of baggage. I don’t understand why people want to start a panic by discouraging them about the flight. I was discussing my India trip over the phone with my friend and as soon as he heard the airlines name, he was like “I’ve travelled once with that, its totally galeej (dirty) flight. It’s like taking a town bus in India. Rickety seats, dirty floors, not so friendly air hostesses and very bad food. Why did you have to book with this airline?” He literally took my enthusiasm about the flight, though the destination home was an annulling factor to his comments. So, I made up my mind, don’t care about the flight, just get on, think India and you are home!
The days rolled by and I had packed my baggage and weighed it, 21.7Kg. Not a big deal at all and for a frequent flier with various airlines, I knew it would pass through. Just when I was calling to say goodbye to friends, the second panic switch was pressed. “Do you know, these days everything is so strict. You flew a year back with a few kilograms excess. It’s near to impossible these days. I paid 90 Euros for an excess of 3Kg in Lufthansa and I’ve heard Air France is more expensive and totally strict. So, be prepared to pay for your excess” Well, it wasn’t really the panic button for me, but for my friend. I was carrying her expensive sarees to be delivered to her house and that was the major part of the baggage. I told her what I heard about Air France and she said she will come to the airport in morning (it was a very early flight!) and in case they demand money, she will take her sarees back. Well, it was disappointing for everyone, until check in…
The baggage weighed 22.7Kg on the counter! I bit my lips and crossed my fingers as the lady scanned my passport and visa. I could hear my friend chanting prayers that she must let the luggage through and then tadaa… It was through! No questions, no raised eyebrows, it was just through!
After crossing the first hurdle, the second one was still nudging my peace. Will the flight actually be as my friend described?! Well, I soon found. It wasn’t! I would rate it as the best one I actually flew with. Class interiors, awesome leg space, comfortable push back, tasty and good food and entertaining selection of movies! What else can you ask for?!
I don’t understand why people have to be so discouraging and negative about every airlines! Especially when someone is about to travel, isn’t it always good to put the positive points and if there arnt any positive points, why blow up the bad ones? Anyways, we cannot change the flight in the last minute just because someone tells it’s the worst! Grow up people, seriously!
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
The French Connexion
After a day of brilliant seminar and some tough structure elucidation through software, I thought, why not blog today and complete the hatrick! In principle, the sequence would be good if I wrote about nostalgia again, but then I guess its time for a change!
When I was taking a holiday in Paris, even though I was stunned by the beauty of the city, I was nauseated with the attitude and behaviour of the public. After living and travelling in Germany for nearly two years and having travelled quite a bit to other European countries, by far, Paris has been the place of worst public attitude.
The first repulsive moment was when people understood English but refused to answer back in English! Fine, don’t tell me now that I am a tourist and it is an adventure to travel like this. Accepted. It is really adventurous to explore places, but when the entire world is striving to be cooperative, why can’t the younger generation speak English?! French may be like music even when spoken, but it can be really irritating when you have to catch a train on a day of train strike! We were really luck to find a young French girl (no eye brows going up please!) who could guide us using her broken English to the correct platform and even she was confused. Finally it was my ingenuity that lead us to take the correct train in spite of announcements happening in French!
Let me not press further with the language. I guess in a non English speaking country, it is always like this and no complaints. The above was just an experience ;-)
The metro trains were always crowded and people were standing jam packed even near the doors. Funny that the doors do no open automatically and even the people standing near the door will not open the doors unless it is their stop! Come on French people, can’t you open doors atleast?! They stand right in front of the door, sometimes with big bags on their backs, not even giving way to fellow Frenchmen, forget tourists! The very first time, we didn’t know the doors weren’t automatic and I was waiting for the doors to open. When they didn’t I fiddled with the knobs and still didn’t open. If such a situation was here in Germany, the person behind you will gladly help you with a smile. Here people were least bothered. I finally managed to kick the door open and then learnt that you had to turn the knobs! Crazy!!
Talk about French wine, French perfumes and French kiss! I guess some frustrated tourist got bheja fried in France and hence the name French fries!!
When I was taking a holiday in Paris, even though I was stunned by the beauty of the city, I was nauseated with the attitude and behaviour of the public. After living and travelling in Germany for nearly two years and having travelled quite a bit to other European countries, by far, Paris has been the place of worst public attitude.
The first repulsive moment was when people understood English but refused to answer back in English! Fine, don’t tell me now that I am a tourist and it is an adventure to travel like this. Accepted. It is really adventurous to explore places, but when the entire world is striving to be cooperative, why can’t the younger generation speak English?! French may be like music even when spoken, but it can be really irritating when you have to catch a train on a day of train strike! We were really luck to find a young French girl (no eye brows going up please!) who could guide us using her broken English to the correct platform and even she was confused. Finally it was my ingenuity that lead us to take the correct train in spite of announcements happening in French!
Let me not press further with the language. I guess in a non English speaking country, it is always like this and no complaints. The above was just an experience ;-)
The metro trains were always crowded and people were standing jam packed even near the doors. Funny that the doors do no open automatically and even the people standing near the door will not open the doors unless it is their stop! Come on French people, can’t you open doors atleast?! They stand right in front of the door, sometimes with big bags on their backs, not even giving way to fellow Frenchmen, forget tourists! The very first time, we didn’t know the doors weren’t automatic and I was waiting for the doors to open. When they didn’t I fiddled with the knobs and still didn’t open. If such a situation was here in Germany, the person behind you will gladly help you with a smile. Here people were least bothered. I finally managed to kick the door open and then learnt that you had to turn the knobs! Crazy!!
Talk about French wine, French perfumes and French kiss! I guess some frustrated tourist got bheja fried in France and hence the name French fries!!
Thursday, February 05, 2009
Skiing - The ultimate experience
“Origin has reached the maximum number of users, please wait until someone disconnects.” This was the message displayed to me when I excitedly opened it to analyse the spectral data I had been accumulating for the past few days. Hyperfine couplings between electrons and protons had been recorded and it is time for me to interpret. But then, why am I writing all this?! Gosh, too much of project thoughts…
January 4th 2009 recorded the highest snowfall in Germany in the past 25 years. The entire city engulfed in whiteness and buried under several inches of snow made it a mesmerizing sight. The first two days after the snowfall were good, but thereafter, the snow became dirty, slushy and sluggish and made walking in the streets a total pain. Still, the excitement didn’t dampen much. So, wanting to make use of these conditions, I decided to Ski!
Saturday 10th of Jan 09 was chosen for this adventure. My first ski trip. Accompanied by enthusiastic friends, I started to Winterberg. It is nearly 3hrs travel by train from my home town, Muelheim and we reached there by 12.15. The travel had made us hungry and we headed straight to the pizzeria in spite of the welcoming white slopes of snow. After lunch, we rented our ski equipment, a pair of heavy boots, ski and poles and walked up the hill with great difficult owing to the heaviness of the equipment.
The ski slope was wondrous and the people skiing down made the adrenaline rush in me. Small children were skiing like accomplished professionals and this gave me some confidence that even after initial trials, I would be able to ski decently well. I imagined myself as James Bond and got ready for my first attempt. There was a conveyer rope that you had to hold to ski up the slope and since so many people were doing it with ease, I thought it would be a cake walk. Confidently I held the rope and skied up for a few seconds. My legs twisted on their own accord and I lost balance and then bham, I was on the snow with my body twisted in all possible funny angles. Moreover, I had to roll to the sides to avoid other skiers! After a few seconds, I thought I heard the echo of my fall, but looking back I saw my friend twisted in a similar funnier fashion!
The lady who was overseeing the conveyer walked up to us and decently told us not to try this again as it was for professionals and commanded us to walk up the slope to ski down. Unfastening the skis, we started walking up. The thrill rose when I was ready to ski down. Just one small lean, I was racing down, balancing well. The chill air brushing against my face made it more thrilling. The view through my sport goggles was blurring as I picked up tremendous speed, probably 50km/hr! The slope was nearing end and I had to stop. Only now I realised I didn’t know how to! It was a planned fall and I was flat on the snow. It didn’t hurt but it was taunting me to try again and again! Finally after 25 times of falling down and getting up, we decided to call it a day. It was really the best experience.
Proudly displaying the pictures and narrating my experiences had encouraged more people to experience it and hence we started on a second ski trip the following weekend. Now it was group of 16! 15 Indians and one adventurous Russian. This time, we hired a ski instructor and took lessons on how to stop, turn left-right and walk up inclines even with the ski attached. It was just great and now I am waiting to go for skiing again to test myself again!
January 4th 2009 recorded the highest snowfall in Germany in the past 25 years. The entire city engulfed in whiteness and buried under several inches of snow made it a mesmerizing sight. The first two days after the snowfall were good, but thereafter, the snow became dirty, slushy and sluggish and made walking in the streets a total pain. Still, the excitement didn’t dampen much. So, wanting to make use of these conditions, I decided to Ski!
Saturday 10th of Jan 09 was chosen for this adventure. My first ski trip. Accompanied by enthusiastic friends, I started to Winterberg. It is nearly 3hrs travel by train from my home town, Muelheim and we reached there by 12.15. The travel had made us hungry and we headed straight to the pizzeria in spite of the welcoming white slopes of snow. After lunch, we rented our ski equipment, a pair of heavy boots, ski and poles and walked up the hill with great difficult owing to the heaviness of the equipment.
The ski slope was wondrous and the people skiing down made the adrenaline rush in me. Small children were skiing like accomplished professionals and this gave me some confidence that even after initial trials, I would be able to ski decently well. I imagined myself as James Bond and got ready for my first attempt. There was a conveyer rope that you had to hold to ski up the slope and since so many people were doing it with ease, I thought it would be a cake walk. Confidently I held the rope and skied up for a few seconds. My legs twisted on their own accord and I lost balance and then bham, I was on the snow with my body twisted in all possible funny angles. Moreover, I had to roll to the sides to avoid other skiers! After a few seconds, I thought I heard the echo of my fall, but looking back I saw my friend twisted in a similar funnier fashion!
The lady who was overseeing the conveyer walked up to us and decently told us not to try this again as it was for professionals and commanded us to walk up the slope to ski down. Unfastening the skis, we started walking up. The thrill rose when I was ready to ski down. Just one small lean, I was racing down, balancing well. The chill air brushing against my face made it more thrilling. The view through my sport goggles was blurring as I picked up tremendous speed, probably 50km/hr! The slope was nearing end and I had to stop. Only now I realised I didn’t know how to! It was a planned fall and I was flat on the snow. It didn’t hurt but it was taunting me to try again and again! Finally after 25 times of falling down and getting up, we decided to call it a day. It was really the best experience.
Proudly displaying the pictures and narrating my experiences had encouraged more people to experience it and hence we started on a second ski trip the following weekend. Now it was group of 16! 15 Indians and one adventurous Russian. This time, we hired a ski instructor and took lessons on how to stop, turn left-right and walk up inclines even with the ski attached. It was just great and now I am waiting to go for skiing again to test myself again!
Monday, November 03, 2008
Spiritual connections and Hamburg
I was really confused for the title of this blog and finally settled for this one.
It was 1980 and my father got an offer to work with Prof. Armin de Meijere. He was Prof. of Organic chemistry in the University of Hamburg at that time. But unfortunately, due to some political problems, the funding for the project was withdrawn and my father couldn’t make it there. After that, life took a different course for him, but working with this Prof. was something he really missed and wanted to.
Nearly three decades later, in the year 2008, I get a chance to work in the University of Hamburg. It was really a special offer. I met the contact in Czech republic and made arrangements to visit the DESY (Deutche Electroniche SYncrotron) facility in the University of Hamburg to measure Dynamic Light Scattering on my proteins. His name was Dominik and he was doing his PhD under Prof. Betzel. It took me three hours from Muelheim to reach Hamburg. The train journey was brilliant and the main railway station in Hamburg is just similar to our good old Chennai central! Over bridges, kiosks in the platform, huge clocks, battered down main display board, dim lighting, the smell of food and the crowd, it was nostalgia in a new place.
I made my way to the DESY campus by taking the suburban train ( S1 / S11 to Oathmarshen, direction of Wedel and bus from Oathmarshen to DESY ) and was bowled over by the huge campus and greenery there. Dominik took a hungry me to the canteen where I had real good German food! To get good food in the canteen is a blessing and we sadly don’t have in here in Muelheim. And then it was time for measurements. They came out really well and Domink was pretty good in pacing up the work.
I told him, “If time presents, then I need to visit the department of organic chemistry in the University of Hamburg and try to find the whereabouts of Prof. Meijere.” “Dr. Meijere?! How do you know him?! He was my teacher in Organic chemistry in Gottingen” was his surprised reply. Then I told him my father’s story. It was really a very special moment for me. I actually worked with a student of the Prof. with whom my father should have worked with! There is some spiritual connection running beneath everyone. It surfaces during happenings like this.
After a days work in the lab, I met up with my school mate, Harsha. He works in Hamburg. Unfortunately, I could not see the beauty of the city due to my packed schedule. Before boarding the train back, I sent dad a postcard…” Dear Appa, we will visit Hamburg as the first place when you come here to visit me…” Love, Munna.
It was 1980 and my father got an offer to work with Prof. Armin de Meijere. He was Prof. of Organic chemistry in the University of Hamburg at that time. But unfortunately, due to some political problems, the funding for the project was withdrawn and my father couldn’t make it there. After that, life took a different course for him, but working with this Prof. was something he really missed and wanted to.
Nearly three decades later, in the year 2008, I get a chance to work in the University of Hamburg. It was really a special offer. I met the contact in Czech republic and made arrangements to visit the DESY (Deutche Electroniche SYncrotron) facility in the University of Hamburg to measure Dynamic Light Scattering on my proteins. His name was Dominik and he was doing his PhD under Prof. Betzel. It took me three hours from Muelheim to reach Hamburg. The train journey was brilliant and the main railway station in Hamburg is just similar to our good old Chennai central! Over bridges, kiosks in the platform, huge clocks, battered down main display board, dim lighting, the smell of food and the crowd, it was nostalgia in a new place.
I made my way to the DESY campus by taking the suburban train ( S1 / S11 to Oathmarshen, direction of Wedel and bus from Oathmarshen to DESY ) and was bowled over by the huge campus and greenery there. Dominik took a hungry me to the canteen where I had real good German food! To get good food in the canteen is a blessing and we sadly don’t have in here in Muelheim. And then it was time for measurements. They came out really well and Domink was pretty good in pacing up the work.
I told him, “If time presents, then I need to visit the department of organic chemistry in the University of Hamburg and try to find the whereabouts of Prof. Meijere.” “Dr. Meijere?! How do you know him?! He was my teacher in Organic chemistry in Gottingen” was his surprised reply. Then I told him my father’s story. It was really a very special moment for me. I actually worked with a student of the Prof. with whom my father should have worked with! There is some spiritual connection running beneath everyone. It surfaces during happenings like this.
After a days work in the lab, I met up with my school mate, Harsha. He works in Hamburg. Unfortunately, I could not see the beauty of the city due to my packed schedule. Before boarding the train back, I sent dad a postcard…” Dear Appa, we will visit Hamburg as the first place when you come here to visit me…” Love, Munna.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
P R A G U E
Arriving in Prague
The flight from Dortmund takes less than an hour to reach Ruzyne, the airport of Prague. Bus number 119 connects the airport with the metro station in the green line, Dejvicka. The metro has a train every 3 minutes and from Dejvicka reach Muzeum from where the Red line has to be taken to reach Hlavni nadrazi, the main station. Prague still has to work on the beautification of its main station. Some metro stops look far better than the main!
The main mode of transport in Prague is the metro. It consists of 3 lines red, green and yellow and they cover all the important land marks in the city. We never used the yellow line even once! Accommodation was at hotel Kafka which is a tram stop away from the main station. The hotel room was impressive. It was a double bed room apartment with a cooking place. Very comfortable place for six people.
Sightseeing
Prague has complete structures. None of its landmarks were destroyed in World War II nor has there been any destructive revolution. Though there is a history of the king being thrown of the window from his palace, everything is intact! I guess Hitler too was amazed by Prague’s beauty that he didn’t have give us any ruins.
The Vltava River has 18 bridges and out of these, the most famous one is the Charles Bridge. It is highly crowded by tourists who cross over from the town side to visit the Prague castle. This bridge stands from the 15th century and has an array of statues of saints and patrons of that time. Now, there are also shops and artists who earn a living on the bridge.
Crossing the bridge and climbing uphill takes you to the magnificent Prague Castle, Pražský hrad as called in Czech. This is the most beautiful place in Prague. The history of the castle dates back to the 9th century and the grounds comprise of the Basilica of St. George and St. Vitus. The castle served as the office of the president when it was Czechoslovakia and now serves for the head of the state in Czech Republic and is the world’s largest ancient castle.
Walking down to the old town square is the marvellous Astronomical clock or the Pražský orlo. It consists of three main components and is a highly complex system. There is an Astronomical ring, stationary background and a zodiac dial. Once an hour, there is also the walk of Apostles when the clock chimes.
Wenceslas Square is the new town of Prague. It is the cultural and shopping hub. It houses theaters and the National museum and the majestic statue of St. Wenceslas who was the patron saint responsible for the new town.
Prague also has a set of impressive Jewish Synagogues. We did not visit the interiors due to lack of time. Nevertheless, our guide on the tour explained us the beauty of it. The Old-New synagogue, the oldest of them all stands from the 12th century and is still functioning!
Shopping in Prague
I was highly excited with shopping in Prague. There are so many things that are trademark and cultural of Prague. The Bohemian crystals for sure, though expensive they are worth the collection. Czech is also the thrive of puppetry and you can find numerous puppets that can be string controlled. Collectable miniature designs of the astronomical clock and traditional hand painted Czech eggs are a must buy.
Food
Vegetarian is a bit on the low key but its not a difficult place if you are not choosy. The traditional Czech dish is the Bramborachi which is made of potatoes. Sometimes its served with cheese on top which makes it too fatty! Sour cabbages are a delicacy and definitely worth the try. Meat eaters have heaven here. Czech beer, the Urquell Pilsner and Budweiser are definitely thumbs up. The Budweiser is an original of here and not America. God knows why the Americans want to spoil such a great beer!
Blogger is not configured enough to accomodate pics in the format I've prepared this travel log! Anyway, hope this is a good enough apetizer!
The flight from Dortmund takes less than an hour to reach Ruzyne, the airport of Prague. Bus number 119 connects the airport with the metro station in the green line, Dejvicka. The metro has a train every 3 minutes and from Dejvicka reach Muzeum from where the Red line has to be taken to reach Hlavni nadrazi, the main station. Prague still has to work on the beautification of its main station. Some metro stops look far better than the main!
The main mode of transport in Prague is the metro. It consists of 3 lines red, green and yellow and they cover all the important land marks in the city. We never used the yellow line even once! Accommodation was at hotel Kafka which is a tram stop away from the main station. The hotel room was impressive. It was a double bed room apartment with a cooking place. Very comfortable place for six people.
Sightseeing
Prague has complete structures. None of its landmarks were destroyed in World War II nor has there been any destructive revolution. Though there is a history of the king being thrown of the window from his palace, everything is intact! I guess Hitler too was amazed by Prague’s beauty that he didn’t have give us any ruins.
The Vltava River has 18 bridges and out of these, the most famous one is the Charles Bridge. It is highly crowded by tourists who cross over from the town side to visit the Prague castle. This bridge stands from the 15th century and has an array of statues of saints and patrons of that time. Now, there are also shops and artists who earn a living on the bridge.
Crossing the bridge and climbing uphill takes you to the magnificent Prague Castle, Pražský hrad as called in Czech. This is the most beautiful place in Prague. The history of the castle dates back to the 9th century and the grounds comprise of the Basilica of St. George and St. Vitus. The castle served as the office of the president when it was Czechoslovakia and now serves for the head of the state in Czech Republic and is the world’s largest ancient castle.
Walking down to the old town square is the marvellous Astronomical clock or the Pražský orlo. It consists of three main components and is a highly complex system. There is an Astronomical ring, stationary background and a zodiac dial. Once an hour, there is also the walk of Apostles when the clock chimes.
Wenceslas Square is the new town of Prague. It is the cultural and shopping hub. It houses theaters and the National museum and the majestic statue of St. Wenceslas who was the patron saint responsible for the new town.
Prague also has a set of impressive Jewish Synagogues. We did not visit the interiors due to lack of time. Nevertheless, our guide on the tour explained us the beauty of it. The Old-New synagogue, the oldest of them all stands from the 12th century and is still functioning!
Shopping in Prague
I was highly excited with shopping in Prague. There are so many things that are trademark and cultural of Prague. The Bohemian crystals for sure, though expensive they are worth the collection. Czech is also the thrive of puppetry and you can find numerous puppets that can be string controlled. Collectable miniature designs of the astronomical clock and traditional hand painted Czech eggs are a must buy.
Food
Vegetarian is a bit on the low key but its not a difficult place if you are not choosy. The traditional Czech dish is the Bramborachi which is made of potatoes. Sometimes its served with cheese on top which makes it too fatty! Sour cabbages are a delicacy and definitely worth the try. Meat eaters have heaven here. Czech beer, the Urquell Pilsner and Budweiser are definitely thumbs up. The Budweiser is an original of here and not America. God knows why the Americans want to spoil such a great beer!
Blogger is not configured enough to accomodate pics in the format I've prepared this travel log! Anyway, hope this is a good enough apetizer!
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