EuroTrip - Day 36

The German Experience

Just to save 5 euros each, two Indians traveled for 8 hours changing 3 trains in between. This journey from Lyon to Manheim resulted in us crossing three countries (France, Switzerland & Germany) in a span of a couple of hours (for the country-count types people that must be like a treat - 3 countries on the list in no time).

With three different countries, we could experience the way their police works.

France has the least number of checks on the trains (of course our Scandinavia trip was an exception where we were never asked for our passport during the entire duration). You are checked for your tickets once and you are good for the journey. No more hassle for the rest of journey.

Switzerland, being a new entry to Schengen regime, is still coming to terms with this border-less Euro Nation concept. The Zurich railway station has a custom duty office just next to the platform where International trains arrive (the first time we saw such a thing). Even to cross over to some other platform, you might need to cross this counter. Only consolation is that it is deserted now (or may be it had not opened by that time). Hopefully it will be removed soon to lessen the discomfort and confusion for the travelers. While entering the country, there is a thorough identity check done for all traveler - something that cannot/should not be avoided.

German story is altogether different though. They have passport checks at regular interval. There are many random checks apart from those near its boarders. And I feel a little sorry to admit that somehow the pattern and experience so far shows that these checks are not entirely random. It's the skin color that decides to an extent if you will be asked for your passport/identity card during those random checks. While we escaped with just a passport check, the guy next to us had to undergo a full security screening of his luggage and documents. It seems his passport was in Urdu.

The oddness of the moment cannot be explained here but that day I felt that we indeed were outsiders for Europe. Our skin colours determined this for us.

Bora and me discussed it over our long walk in Manheim. While the European countries are more than welcoming outsiders like us, their apprehensions are still holding strong. We don't know if we should blame anyone. I don't recall any better treatment we have given to the foreigners who come to India. A nation's security is prime and I feel the police has to do its job. Just that a little less discrimination should make souls like us more attached to their concerns.

We have not yet experienced any misbehavior or rude dealing in Europe and that really amazes me. It's a really great feeling the way every officer - ticket collector or security personnel - behaves with everyone. The smile on their face so nicely hides the toil of their job. We the Indians should learn this art of hospitality from them (we say 'Atithi Devo Bhav' and still give such a bad treatment to travelers - outsiders and insiders alike).

About the day: After spending most part of the day in traveling, we reached Manhiem on a sleepy Sunday afternoon. Bora gave a guided tour along the university area sharing the stories that he picked from his stay here. This town was severely destroyed after being one of the major target in the world war. They have reconstructed most part now. Preserving is the rule of the game. Its businesses and proximity to Frankfurt makes Manheim an important town in Germany. This part of Germany is also the hub for car makers. It's a university town too. There are more than 600 exchange students here at this point of time and the town council proudly boasts about this fact. It's their attempt to bring this city on world map. Apparently the MBA program here is right on its way to become the best program in Germany. Any guesses on how much time did it take to achieve this?? Just around 4 years. Amazing it is! And we talk about legacy and crib for associations.

I had another bad experience with French railways. It is almost impossible to find reservations in French trains and I was going to suffer because of this again. I could not get any reservations to reach Paris, and that means tomorrow it will be a long day for me in the trains. And the worst part is that I don't even save any money for incurring this pain.

The night in Manhiem are pretty chilly and I should really be thankful to Bora who spared his cozy bed for me.

Tomorrow it's a long day for me and to my bad luck that day will start with an early morning train.

Good night world.

EuroTrip - Day 35

A French Diwali

Here is a French recipe to make a memorable festival of light.

1. Wake up early in the morning (read 8am) praying for a good day ahead.

2. Start your day with a cup of hot black tea (I never knew that I can actually enjoy black tea. I am pretty sure, I can give another chance to ice tea too. At least, one of my girl friends will be glad to hear that).

3. Make breakfast of your choice. Make sure your contribution is much more than just eating or doing dishes. Aloo sandwich and orange juice count as a very good breakfast on a chilly winter morning in any part of the world.

4. As it is Diwali, you should call your loved once and bring some smiles on faces that are missing on such an joyous occasion. (thanks to the wifi connection at A1's place - ApartHotel - and PooCh's find Nymgo, I could speak to almost everyone I wanted to speak to). Though this step might take a little more than expected time, don't worry. The joys come out in full color if you have given sufficient time here.

5. Take the first train to Chambery (ofcourse it is assumed that you are presently in Lyon). Make sure you take the lobby seats in the beautifully decorated TER that runs in Rhone Alpes region.

6. A game of Dumb Charade brings extra smile and make the day even more memorable.
Caution:
a. French people like it when you actually play dc like a dumb. It's potentially dangerous to make a lot of noise in trains.
b. If you have two sisters playing this game with you, make sure you know the song selection in their ipods and about the favorite actors and all. Otherwise you might find guesses like 'it's there in my ipod?' or 'Is he your favorite actor?' :-)

7. Reach Chambery after a picturesque train journey along one of the biggest lake in Rhone Alpes.

8. Head to tourist information officer, get the map, mark the places to visit and the head straight on your search for veg food. A MonoPrix shop is a good option if you can lunch on bread-cheese-baked bean-tortillas sandwich. The pleasure of lunching at a historic monument while enjoying a sunny yet cold day.

9. Share stories from movies while walking through old town roads. It's a great fun specially if you talk about the movie in which the protagonist kills 13 most beautiful girls in the world to find the 13th tone to make the perfect perfume.

10. By the time you reach the castle, it might be closed for the day. In any case, you have been to too many castles already. So it's better you have one last good look of the town and head to your next destination.

11. Take the next train to Annecy (you don't need to go there again) and get down at Aix Les Bains (it's a 12 minute journey so don't even thinking of blinking your eyes).

12. Get down from the train and walk along the railway line to reach the Bourget Lake. There are some private section of lake on your way, you can give them a chance if you want to treat yourself with a lavish French lunch on a Diwali day.

13. Keep aside your bags and of course all the worries and go to sleep on the lush meadow on the lake front. The sun might play hide and seek from behind the clouds, but it's ok. Kuch bachche hote hi hai natkhat.

14. Indulge yourself with some good quality chocolates and dry fruits. They will give a long lasting taste. If you speak to your love at this very moment, an unmatchable and unforgettable day is guaranteed.

15. The festive dinner will require a lot of super-marketing. So head straight to Carrefour, grab all you can think of and pay as quickly as you can. The train is precisely 10 minutes from now and only way you can catch it is but running all the way. So run, as if there is no train. The big grocery bag might be hindering your movement, but it should not dampen your spirits. You will reach just in time and as soon as you enter the gates will close. To feel special you can also think that the train was waiting for just you. Take some rest in the train as there is lot to be done still.

16. Tomato soup and popcorn to start with, aloo gobhi dry, aloo matar with gravy and rice as main course and chocolates to finish the dinner on a sweet note. Make sure you are also watching DCH all this while as it gives a tangy funny taste to the dinner.

17. A game of poker to keep up the Diwali tradition (if you are playing with people from IIMC, don't forget that they allocate euro 1 lacs of token money to play the game. Note down this moment, you might have been the richest of all your life so far).

18. A game of DC adds on to the fun before you hit the bed. Movies like 'everybody says I am fine' and 'monty python and the holy grail' are some tried and tested entertainers.

19. Before you realize, it would be 2am. Better go and get some sleep. You might have to catch an early morning train tomorrow.

20. End of recipe. Good night.

PS:
1. It's been a great change in last couple of days. Less of running around and more of taking things at their own pace, I am really loving it.
2. Thanks A1, Bora and Neha for the amazing trip. Thanks Ankit, Himanshu and Abhinav for the memorable evening, the game if poker and dc.
3. Bora and A1 are certified as good cooks from now on.

EuroTrip - Day 34

A Date with French Alpes

France can boast of a real diverse landscape owing to its big size. After the rocky beaches of Nice and Monaco, it was time to explore some snow-capped high mountains. A1 had promised us a trip to couple for cities near Lyon to explore the French Alpes.

Annecy, situated at 2 hours distance from Lyon, is the most popular tourist attraction in this region which is situated near the base of Mont Blanc (they also call this region Savoie Mont Blanc, I think). Some of the biggest and most beautiful lakes in France have contributed to make this region very scenic. In winter, it is home to some of the most popular ski resorts.

The two girls in the gang had been looking for a good day to do some cycling. Today, with the sun out in the sky on an otherwise chilly morning, it looked a perfect day. The tourist information officer agreed and happily told us about the famous cycle tracks and routes. To our luck, Annecy indeed is a really good place for cycling enthusiasts. With around 40 km of cycle tracks in shadow of French Alpes, it offers a relatively flat cycle route amidst a colorful (greenness mountains with white snow-capped peaks and a blue water lake) landscape.

It took us a little time to get adjusted to the cycle and the city maps. After that it was all a journey through a dream land. With a beautiful lake on our left side, we crossed a couple of really beautiful villages. The relatively empty restaurants and ski resorts along the way reminded us throughout that the winter is not yet here. In winter, it will be a mela in those places. There are a couple of camping sites on the way too. Wish we could have stayed a night there, with campfire in the night on the lake front.

The geared bicycles that are used in these parts of world are so much comfortable (except the seat, which is not made for Indian posteriors) and smooth to ride. In no time your feet are into a clockwork groove. The joy of the ride holds you so involved that you easily forget the distances. We drove for almost 20 km (Bora says it was more than 30 actually) and did not feel any tiredness. 2 hours of cycling refreshed us and we were ready to see some popular tourist attractions in this 'Venice of the France'.

Lake Annecy is the beauty spot for this town and offers really scenic view of the Alpes. The lush meadows around it are real good place to soak up some sun on a bright afternoon. Just sit on the benches overlooking the lakes, do a boat ride or just go for a stroll - you have your day made. Or if you are like Bora, you can run and try to scare away those lazy pigeons. :-)

The city also offers a visit to a magnificent castle overlooking the canal network. Just walk along the canals, you will also reach the cathedral and the famous prison - Palais de l'isle. This prison is supposed to be one amongst the most photographed monuments in France ( according to A1 who says she read it in wiki). Most photographed or not, it is indeed a beautiful place. I bet many of us would pay to make a visit there. :-)

There is another very popular attraction in this city of canals that is a must visit. It's called Pont des Amours (the lover's bridge). From the photographs that are available on the brochure and on internet, you can actually agree to the claim and the name. However, the challenge is to identify the place. We had crossed this bridge 3-4 times earlier in the day without realizing what it actually was. May be the love birds amongst us were too lost in themselves and others like me in missing their love. In any case, it was a nice place to spend some quite moments.

The day ends well if you get a nice dinner to treat yourself after the day's 'hard work'. And we got the same. Rasam has never tasted so good for ages now. Once again, I must accept that MTR rocks! It's going to be a good night's sleep and I am surely going to dream about the beautiful Annecy lake.

EuroTrip - Day 33

12:40 ki last tram

Switzerland, Germany or Spain - where to go this week? Considering the amount of group work that is expected from us before the presentations in the next week, we had to make a short trip this week. And keeping in mind the generosity of the French railways (we have to pay a hefty reservation fee every time we travel to/from Paris. Only option to avoid that is take slower local trains with many changeover which takes a direct hit on our travel time), we had to do some real good planning.

So we did and the priority went in the order - Germany, Spain and others. Search for reservations in TGV went futile once again. I wonder why the trains from Paris are always full. We had no other option but to spend the night in Paris only.

And by chance I started chatting with Archana (A1). Bora was on his way to Lyon and she told me about their plans for visiting French Alpes. The chance to meet the old gang from RV was too tempting to refuse. And thus I decided to join them for their trip. Others will leave for Germany tomorrow. And hopefully I will join them in the end.

The train to Lyon starts from Gare Du Lyon, which means that I had to take a metro to Lyon. It was the first time I was going to travel alone. So first the search for metro route and then the right platform at the Gare Du Nord (gosh!! It's such a big station) - it was going to be my first chance to do all this tasks (HotTiii is too good at it, I must tell you that). I did it good and within 15 minutes I had reached Gare Du Lyon just to realize that the train was delayed by 20 minutes. It meant that I was going to be late in reaching Lyon. I prayed so much that the train makes up some time (like they do in India). But with the high speed which they travel, TGVs hardly have scope to speed up and save some time. Reaching late can be real painful if you are doing it post midnight and if the last metro leaves at 0020 hours. Bora and A1 had come to pick me up from the station. In our little hi-hello ceremony we also missed the last tram. God! We missed it by just a minutes because we spend an extra minute comprehending the map which was put at the terminus (one more thing HotTiii is really good at). Now we had almost one hour to share our stories before reaching the cozy comfort of home. Authentic sambhar rice was awaiting for me. :-)

RV arguably has been the best time of my life so far. That and my life in Bangalore is the most precious phase of my life. It was nice to relive some of those moments. Bora, in any case, is a very good company. His uncanny sense of humor and ready wit keeps you entertained. Beware when he is in mood to pull a prank or two. You might not even know when you become his prey. Him and A1 make a very cute pair. Fighting like kids on things as trivial as the correct pronunciation of Monaco, they are a real good company. Thank god Neha (A1's little sister) is also there so nobody can blame of being kebab mein haddi. :-)

A nice homely dinner followed by a cup of tea and some long conversations - there could not have been a better end of the day.

PS: It's been a day filled with mixed emotions. For a large part of it, I felt totally confused. A little work load had all of us little off guard today. I think we need to work a little to find our the right balance.

EuroTrip - Day 32

Aap kaha se hai?

How would you feel when a white man old approaches you on a railway station and says these golden words - "Aap kaha se hai?"

We were pleasantly surprised when it happened with us while we were waiting for our train to Bruges. All we could say was "India." Mr. X was going on the same train as ours so our conversation was bound to be longer than just one question. We had lots of questions in mind now and somehow waited till we settled in the train.

He has been coming to India for more than a decade now. A retired language teacher, he teaches Shakespeare at schools run by Belgian Missionaries. His last visit was more than 3 month long where he spent the time juggling between teaching English and learning Malayalam in some town of Kerla. A documentary film maker, he had also been to Jharkhand and done some research on Naxalites. He has also been to Gujarat, Orissa (those temples are really beautiful!) West Bengal and Diu too. It feels so great when some firang knows more about India than just Bombay and Goa.

He says he really likes his students in India as they are much more serious about their studies, are much more disciplined and actually give him respect. They are still in touch with him through emails and Facebook. That's such a pleasant thing to here. We always thought that we are such a waste. Our group-mates in ESCP have really made us believe this.

He recently had showcase of his work in his town. That evening it rained and he says he felt so much like being in India. It was like the smell of monsoon, he felt. Interesting.

Last but not the least, he mentioned that Belge broadcasters are showcasing India oriented show on the national tv these month. They sent experts from here to visit India and explore the place. A lady writer who is expert on woman's issue is going to present a documentary on state of women in India, this week. India shining it is. At least some of them consider us worth some attention!

The meeting was an experience in itself. He talked about his country too and gave us some useful tips for traveling in Belgium. For just the first time, we had the real exchange of ideas. So far we have just behaved like those tourists who come, enjoy, buy souvenirs and go back. Our interaction with any city hardly ventured beyond what is given in the tourist information brochure or LP. I have been to 10 countries by now and somehow I feel it's just this race to increase country count that we are being caught in. This is one thing that I really cursed my tuchchas for when they told us about their country counts. I don't want to be in this race. I am not too much into geography so it is ok with me if I leave one or two countries that were just an overnight distance from here. I want to spend some time in a quite countryside village smiling with the people there. With the kind of issues we are faced with (being strict vegetarian, we hardly have chance to explore the local cuisine. No drinks either for the obvious reasons. And then the goal of actually finishing this trip on real shoestring), its a limited freedom that we have got. I think it's the high time we start exercising it.

Life needs more excitement.

The same old jokes don't make me laugh anymore.

EuroTrip - Day 31

Wednesday

For the time being, Wednesday is a comparatively chilled day in our life. We have no class in the morning slot and that means that we don't need to get up early. With one WC and 4 people in this place, it really is required to get up at unearthly hours to get ready for the morning class in time. And when we are traveling, early mornings (like 8am) are generally the time when we pack our bags and get down from the train.

So to enjoy the freedom that these Wednesdays provide us, we sleep till late. For record it means I get up at 8 and others at 9:30. :-)

Today was the day when I had meetings. The submissions are looming right there on our head and our multi-cultural study groups have ensured that we have no way to ignore them. Load to lena hi padta hai. So first it was meeting with the group for Marketing Strategy and then with the group for Consumer Behavior field work. Second one was rather interesting as none of us knew each other. We had decided to meet in the courtyard and so we reached there. It was our luck that 4 of us were present there since the planned time but all in the different corner of the courtyard. But the 'in search of someone' look gave away the clue and we could meet. You might ask, why did we not mobile or sms anyone? The simple answer to it is that firstly we did not have each other's contact number and secondly it's hell expensive to use cell phone here. In spite of this we could find each other and start our meeting. The students here take their assignments really seriously and their preparations for the meeting make you feel ashamed. Luckily today it was not like that. I had done my homework.

Our evening was dedicated to the prof for international finance who has allowed me to attend classes on a convenient day. This American man has his distinct sense of humor and brings his can of bear to the class. Last class he spent half the time playing with a balloon. His classes are interesting due to his ready wit. Here is a glimpse of what he shares with us: The Rule of 3-6-3 which basically says that in early days of banking the manager used to define their job as - "Take deposit at 3%, give loan at 6% and head to golf course at 3pm. Any IBanker there?

Pissu and gang has arrived. We are hosting anyone for the first time. It being start of the month as per our lease terms, it meant that our land lady could come home anytime to take the rent (and actually more importantly do the status check). We could not afford that today and thus the only option left to us was to 'take initiative'. And so we did it. We, like a bunch of good boys, went to her place and delivered the rent on the first of the lease month. And as we were leaving town for the day, the status check was postponed to a further date. We are safe now.

Getting out of home at 10pm with no thermals on (only jacket) was an experience in itself. It is freezing cold outside and one can not guess it in even his dreams if he has spent the whole evening in his cozy home. Me and PooCh had to face this reality today. And just because jokingly I had asked HotTiii to give the 'sex shop' as the landmark where we will meet Pissu and gang, we had to actually go there. They were right outside the shop where 'we had asked them to be'. I wonder when the thin lines between our jokes and reality vanishes.

The night was to be longer than the usual with so many people around. I can not even imagine now how I had squeezed a group meeting on Skype in between. But I did it and it was useful for sure.

EuroTrip - Day 30

When It Rains Freebies

There is one thing that is common across all the students around the world. "free pizza ke liye ham kahi bhi jaa sakte hai." The freebies in question this time were not pizzas but small gifts like pens and t-shirts. And the event where it happened was the job fair organized by the placement cell of our college. As part of the process to get its student internship and full time job opportunities, our college organizes job fair where the creme de la creme of the industry come to campus and interact with the students. Today it was the day for IBanks and it really was the chance to meet the big players. BOfA, Citi, Nomura, Barclays - you name the firm and they were there.

And what do these firm do to attract the best of the talents? They offer them a chance to get closer to the firm, discuss their resume and application and exchange visiting cards. And for the others? They offer branded merchandise. Freebies like pens, notepads, sticky notes, Tshirt and what not. Things are in plenty at each and every stall. You just need to go there and grab it. At times you might at least show some interest in having a conversation. That's precisely the point where we started our treasure hunt. With PooCh in our team, we were all equipped to ask some sensible questions and make our presence felt. We did it at a couple of places and realized that in reality the offers on plate did not have a great significance for us as there were language barriers. And once the realization occurred, our attention shifted to find opportunities where there were no such condition. After a couple of attempts and after collecting some pens and writing pads, we proceeded to the class. In a deep corner of our heart we had a little guilt of doing such a cheap thing like grabbing those freebies shamelessly.

However, the class had something else to offer. The discussion there was all around who had the best freebies on offer. Everybody was sharing their catch and was proud about it. Others felt bad if they had missed something. And we were having a cultural shock. The guilt seem to vanish as we realized that whatever we did was apparently an inherent nature of every student. Our nationality or identity had nothing to do with it. As the guilt receded, a feeling of dissatisfaction occurred as we had not collected the best of the things. Others too had similar feeling. Greed has no limit. The next opportune moment and we all were out there in the fair. This time there was no and feeling whatsoever. We happily shared information about our find and filled our bags. It really was a treasure out there.

I really wonder if these freebies indeed serve their purpose. For me, the most important thing is that I could collect some pens and now I won't have to pay a euro (around 75 rs) to buy a pen that I could have bought in 2 rs in India!!

The lesson of the story is that it was a day when we shamelessly grabbed freebies from a campus recruitment fair while there were some people out their toiling with their blood to get that first major break in their career.

On an afterthought I really think we would not have done anything like this if the event had taken place in our alma mater. It was the comfort of being in some 'other' place that let us do this.

PS:
1. To an extent, this blog is a confession letter. I don't take any load anymore for whatever whatever we did.
2. The event continues tomorrow with consulting firms putting up their stalls. And we are looking forward to it.

EuroTrip - Day 29

The Tiny Little Fairyland called Luxembourg

The 'country' of Luxembourg is like a land from the fairy-tells like the Far Far Away Land. In one city there is so much natural beauty that it's hard not to believe that you are in your dreams. LP says the journey to Luxembourg is as scenic as the city itself but somehow none of us had the energy to keep ourselves awake to see the most of part of the countryside. After a chilling night's sleep, it is the least you could have done to get some rest.

The city welcomes everyone - sleepy eyes or otherwise. One cup of hot coffee, a few slices of bread and you are all set to start your tour of this city. The tourist information gives a nice brochure which can act as a good guide for a walking tour of the city. Our beloved map-man/guide/planner/consultant Mr. HotTiii took the lead as usual and before we could even take breath, we were in front of the registered office of Mittal Arcelor. It's a grand mansion, more like a small palace but alas we did not see anything Indian from the outside at least.

As you walk further down, you see a long old bridge called Adolphe Bridge that is used to road traffic. On the other side of the bridge, the Gëlle Fra monument is distinctly visible with its golden shine. This monument commemorates those who volunteered for service in the armed forces of the Allies in World War I. While you get the view of the valley below standing near this place, on your back you can also see the Notre Dame Cathedral. Further down the road, you reach the central square and the Grand Ducal Palace (the official residence of Grand Duke). The town is centered around these buildings. Further down you reach a long gallery overlooking the valley below. They claim that it is one of the most beautiful gallerias in the world. And I don't refute that claim as of now. It is really very beautiful and gives a good panoramic view of the town. There is a river (or actually just a canal) flowing below, a couple of churches on the bank of the canal, a big theater and some other historic building that you can capture in a single shot. The houses are like stacked on the small hills across the valley. Green and yellow, the tall trees are a treat to watch. Winter might offer the opportunity to play in snow but it is autumn when the real beauty of Europe blossoms.

Our next stop was going to be the world famous sites of Casemates. These are underground passages hewn from the solid rock or in simple terms caves in the mountains. These tunnels were built over a long time and at one time they spanned a total of 37km. Today around 21 km stretch still exists and out of that around 1.6km stretch is open for public visit. They were capable of sheltering thousands of defenders during their time, as well as equipment, horses, workshops for artillery, kitchens, bakeries and slaughterhouses. A must visit place. It is really interesting to see the way various sections of the casemates were built overseeing different things and acting different roles. It's pretty cold inside so be prepared for it in advance. The sites are very well developed for tourist viewing with their well put directions and aesthetically fitting lighting. The views from the caves is superb and is worth every effort to visit them.

The walk around the city takes you through many more such attractions. The magic of this place works depending on how much of the history you are able to absorb. There are a couple of museum but somehow I felt that the real beauty was out in the open. The valley tells you stories that you otherwise would have ignored. It is treating you with a glimpse of a glorious past. A dream that has taken form of a city.

I will highly recommend this city for everyone who is visiting this part of the world. BeNeLux is the place to be (I finally heard this term from other too, at the railway station, and also saw it in wiki too) at this point of time.

EuroTrip - Day 28

Honeymoon Express

Antwerp is the diamond capital of this region. The first thing that will catch you attention as soon as you get down from the train is the beautiful railway station. The railway stations in these European cities are a places to visit in themselves. Historical buildings fitted with modern facilities - these railway stations really area treat to watch.

Once you are out of the station, you will find innumerable shops selling diamond jewelery (in fact there is one big shop in the railway station itself). Many of these shops are very similar to those in India. Javeri bajaar ki yaad dila di...

On a Sunday morning, it's really difficult to find local people on the streets of Antwerp. It's only tourists that you will find on the roads. And that makes it easy for any visitor to find directions. Just walk in the direction where everyone is going and you will reach the most popular tourist attraction. Indeed the case here too, we reached the Cathedral of Our Lady. If I remember correctly, this one is considered to be the tallest cathedral in Europe. Its design is very similar to those we have seen in Paris. Thus somehow we did not find the enthusiasm to pay for the entree ticket and we left without entering the cathedral (Even though, HotTiii says "din ki shuruat me cathedral visit karna 'banta hai'". We tend to ignore his wisdom sometimes).

River Scheldt flows through the city and plays a very important role in its existence. There are three road tunnels that are built to connect two parts of the town. We visited one of those. Built in the early part of the century, this tunnel [I don't exactly recall its name but I think it was one of Wassland (built in 1930s) or Kennedy (built in 1960s)] is around 1.6km long and is used for pedestrian and cycle traffic. Unimaginable it is for someone who has seen the effort it takes us to build a flyover like the one in Anand Rao Circle in Bangalore. We just could not stop our admiration and spent a lot of time taking photos inside the tunnel. On the other side, there is a beautiful park and some quite place to enjoy the panoramic view. The cold winds have a charming effect and can make you sleep even while standing. There are very few places that offer so much peace.

Antwerp has some more places of tourist's interest but somehow we did not get the enthu to spend more time there. We had to visit Bruges and we could surely skip a place or two in Antwerp to reach Bruges in time.

Bruges (Bruggs) is a world renowned heritage city in northwest of Belgium. Currently listed amongst UNESCO World Heritage Sites, this city is also called 'Venice of the North' owing to the canal network that runs through it. It has successfully preserved it its medieval architecture. As we had got late to reach this city, we had to rush to visit the biggest attraction in the town. We had our first chance to visit a Béguinage. Wikipedia gives following description of this place - "A Béguinage is a collection of small buildings used by Beguines, which were several lay sisterhoods of the Roman Catholic Church, founded in the 13th century in the Low Countries, of religious women who sought to serve God without retiring from the world." In simple terms these are places where nuns stay and practice their religion. Very calm and serene, this place gets its charm from the silence that prevails. The compound has a small church too where regular prayers and other ceremonies are done. In all, it's a beautiful place to visit. There is a museum too but it closes bit early so we could not visit that. I am pretty sure, a guided tour would have helped us more at this place. How we wish there is a guided tour in every place!!

The weather in Bruges had been pretty good so far with clouds hovering over the sky and cool breezes passing to give a soothing chill. But it was to change soon and it started drizzling. We have been seeing some amount of rains off late and don't really mind them unless they force us to stay home. It was the same feeling here too, the rains were more of a cherry on the cake than a spoilsport. This sleepy town gets a makeover in the rains. The walk along the canals exposes you to real beauty of the town. The medieval architecture looks more beautiful with it's reflection in the clear water of the canals. The snowwhite swans play hide and seek and try to disturb those reflections. It's just too dreamlike to be in this place on a rainy evening. I guarantee that the mist around you will make you feel nostalgic and miss your loved ones. I did that too.

Interestingly, somehow all of us had this feeling that Bruges has to be a great honeymoon place. It just came naturally. It's not a place where you go museum hopping or sightseeing. It is a city where you spent your time at your own pace - taking long walks with your loved ones, stopping on the way, enjoying the view along the canals, sip a hot cup of coffee and indulge yourself with Belgium chocolates. It indeed is the most beautiful town we have seen so far. Wish you were here - is the song I can recall at this moment.[For the record, I have got a sponsorship for my stay in Bruges too. One night stay at the hotel of my choice with my girl. Bid is invited to sponsor our tickets and other travel needs. Hurry!! :D]

While just taking a random walking tour in the city, we reached a lane of chocolatiers. There are shops and shops of chocolate makers selling 'authentic' Belgian chocolates. I guess we were ready to splurge and treat ourselves lavishly to mark the day even more memorable. And so we did it. Never in my life I have bought chocolate worth 1700 INR. Hehe, it does not make sense to make conversion between two currencies. I should simply keep in mind that those chocolate costed me around 15 Euro and all the pain is gone. :D [If you are thinking that these chocolates are for you people back home, please excuse me. Even though these chocolates are meant to be taken home, they might not reach home in reality. It's difficult to have Belgian chocolates at your place and not eat it. kya kare.. control hi nahi hota... :)

A walk around the city roads also takes you to the main market where there are many more historical buildings that are beautifully lit in the evening. There are nice restaurants all along the street serving delicacies from around the world. This is a common attraction in most cities of Belgium. And you really can spend a good time just sitting somewhere here and just enjoying the hustle and bustle of the market.

Our day was to end at Lille where Aparna and Ana were to host us for the night. Their hostel had some weird restrictions so we could not stay in their room. Still they did fantastic arrangements for the stay with their friends Aditya and Manish. I met a couple more new people and it was a good time spent with them. I wish we had more time in Lille. But we had to catch the morning train. For now, it is good night Lille.

EuroTrip - Day 27

Love Sex Devotion (LSD)

Amsterdam is not just the sex capital of the world. It has more feathers in its cap. It is one of the very few places where some of the most popular drugs are legal too. Weed is sold over the counter. Smoking is banned in public places. The funny side to this rule is that the rule applies to smoking of tobacco only. You can still take your puff as long as it is pure grass. Don't mix, take it clean.

XXX is what a lot of Amsterdam souvenirs read. Sex is spread in more than one dimension. To satiate the curiosity and understand the cultural aspects of sex, there is a sex museum too. Located close to the Centraal station this place showcases some of the sex related art and artifacts. There are some working models too (it becomes quite odd with the audios playing some fitting sounds). Photography is not prohibited. They have an exhibit on life of Marilyn Monroe - discussing the very famous skirt blowing incident. It also dedicated a section on how she entered modeling and about her numerous love affairs. There is a section discussing various fetish and abnormal sex habits. The photos and description were gruesome at moments. One might wonder how does one derive pleasure out of such sadistic methods. Anyways, it is exposure to a world culture.

It's not the India is under-represented here. There are some artifacts from Indian temples too. Still, I really can not imagine having such a thing in India. Yes we do have our Khajuraho. That's our sex museum. But that was built centuries ago. Today we live in the age of VHP and Sri Ram Sena.

Our exploration was not yet over and the next stop was visit to a sex shop. From porn dvds to sex toys, you get everything there. And there are sales people who can help you find the stuff you want. It's not difficult to imagine how difficult their job is. I don't recall but I did see some guy who was doing the role of a bouncer in case of need.

Oh yea, forgot to mention one thing. For the first time in my life (oh I sound so much like HotTiii) I saw a information and help center for gays and lesbians. Times are changing.

For those who have read Anne Frank, they will recall that she lived in Amsterdam. Her home is a museum now and is one of the biggest attraction in town (ofcourse along with the RLD). There are long queues in wait at anytime of the day in this museum. We somehow did not have the enthu to wait in the queue for an hour or so and thus dropped the idea to visit it. Bansi and TARDi did visit it too. And from what they say, it is a good place to visit if you have read the book. The museum has lots of videos and audio based exhibits to tell the story of the little girl.

There are couple more things that one can do while in Amsterdam. There are some nice museum and then a chance to do a boat tour in the canal. The city of Amsterdam is beautifully located in a big mesh of canals. One can get a good feel of the city's natural beauty and architecture by taking these boat rides or walking along these canals.

With this, we decided to end our trip in Amsterdam for a while. We had so much to cover in Netherland and we were already running behind our schedule. Rotterdam was going to be our next destination. We planned a round trip to Rotterdam so that we could come back and stay with Paka before leaving for Belgium.

Rotterdam is the busiest port in Europe. It offers you a chance to see some of the best of modern architecture in the form of high-risers, bridges and gardens. The city was completely destroyed in second world war so there is very little left from its glorious past. Clearly the modern development makes up for it. EuroMast is what we had planned to visit. This 180+ meters high tower was built in late 60s and offers a chance to have a panoramic view of Rotterdam from the highest point on the tower. There is a revolving glass lift that takes you up till the peak. The 6 minute ride tells you about various facts and stories about the city and its future plans. At the top of the building there are some suits too for those who want to have a very high altitude honeymoon. [From what I have heard I have already got sponsorship for the Euro 380 per night package. If you are interested in contributing for my eurotrip honeymoon, you can contact me by mail. Hurry, very little opportunities left]. At 8 euros, the trip to this tower is a bit expensive but I feel it is one of its kind experience and one should not miss it.

We took a walk around the town as it was very late to do the boat ride along the harbour. The town has a distinctly modern feeling which we had not seen in any other city that we have visited in Europe so far. Europe really offers something new every time.

Our date with Rotterdam's city was going to be a short one as we had to go back to Amsterdam for our night stay. Again, thanks to Paka, we could have one night's good sleep. Things have been pretty good so far in BeNeLux. Looking for more :D

EuroTrip - Night 26

Sex and the City

Sex sells in Amsterdam. And it sells big-time. And there is a tax on it as it is a legal profession. You can not look down upon it. If you do not agree to what I have said above, you might want to refrain from reading rest of the post as I can not guarntee to be politically correct today.

Our train journey to Amsterdam was a quick one. Board the train, take a seat, sleep, get up and then get down. Voila!! You are in Amsterdam. I am getting used to sleep in trains. Any time of the day, does not matter if I am tired or not. The novelty of the beautiful countryside is also not sufficient to keep us awake now. After a limit, it's all the same - lush green fields, old-style buildings, smooth roads and jazzy cars. :)

Bansi was to join us in Amsterdam for our trip to Benelux. And so she did. We are super 5 again. It was time for another reunion of sort. Paka was to be host for the night. I last met him almost two year back in Bangalore. And now its through his twitter that I keep updates of his life. So I was pretty excited to say the least. We waited at the station itself and were getting ourself ready for our trip to the Red Light District (RLD). Paka had offered to give us a 'guided tour' to RLD and from what I know of him, I had to believe that it was an offer we could not refuse.

So we waited. For the rains to subside. And me and paka exchanged more news and updates and recalled the old times at RV. It took good one hour or so for rains to settle down and then we started our walk to RLD. We were 6 now. 4 of us from Paris, Bansi (yes, we went to Amsterdam with a girl. How cool na? ) and Paka.

RLD is situated just across the road from the Centraal station and is spread amongst the maze of canals that give a charming feel to this city. Amsterdam legalized prostitution almost a decade back. Historically too the attitude of Dutch people towards sex trade has been very liberal. The legalization helped in regulating the trade and reducing the criminal activities that take place in disguise of prostitution. The prostitutes pay taxes and they have their union too. This brought security in their business as well as for their future. Almost 95% of prostitutes are registered and they conduct their business from the 'windows' that are spread in RLD. Road side solicitation is illegal and so is pimping (this is still present to a certain extent). The girls rent these windows at around Euro 40 per shift. The rates are fixed by the union and currently stand at Euro 50 for a quicky. In general there is no bargaining. The windows are open, girls stand there fully dressed up to attract the customer. Whoever interested can knock or gesture and gate opens. People do tend to bargain but that is against the union rules. The girls have a panic button in their room which gets them quick help in case of need.

So much of general gyan on RLD (you could have got this from LP too. My source include LP and Paka). So what did we see? Windows that stretch across the narrow lanes. Big window with red lights near the top. Girls generally stand close to the door making some calls or trying to entice the customers. They are all smiling. Their attire changes from window to window. Most of them are in their lingerie. The blue lights (UV) gives a shining glow that adds on to their beauty. I can tell you the girls here were more beautiful than those we saw in Oslo. There are some lanes where the girls are more beautiful than others - young and tender. At others there are some old ones. There are also windows that are known for their services - whatever fetish you have, you might find one window. There are no charges to see, but photography is strictly banned.

How did I feel? That the girls were beautiful. Their confidence is remarkable. Personally I did not like the exhibition part as I really felt that they were standing like those statues that stand in clothing shops. But then one need to realize it that is required as part of their business. Beauty can not be told about, one has to see it to believe it. Sex trade could not have been glorious.

RLD also has many strip clubs and sex joints. Various shows and performances keep the people entertained. Paka gave a good descriptions of things to expect if we enter any of those. But ofcourse that was not our intention. Roaming on those streets with a girl with you is an experience in itself. And I guess, none of us had any other plans. So it was a perfect trip - full with stories and lot of beauty. Big thanks to Paka.

Night had not ended yet (please ignore the title of the blog). Our talks continued on a cup of nice and hot "red label" tea. We did not realize that it was almost 3am. As they day was to be longer tomorrow, we had to finally catch some sleep. And thus we decided to sleep.
Finally it was EOD.

EuroTrip - Day 26

The Chocolate Factory

I had never heard the term Benelux. That clearly shows my ignorance of the world geography and also raises serious questions about the preparation I had done before coming on this exchange program. From what I have been told by my roommates (or should I call apartment mates irrespective of the fact that the apartment has just one room), it is an acronym used for Belgium Netherlands and Luxembourg. Whatever it is, for me what is important is that it is a region full of natural beauty as well as culture. And the best part is that it can be covered to a good extent in a very short trip.

And that's precisely what we plan to cover this week. The main attraction of this trip is going to be the Belgian chocolates and the 'night life' in Amsterdam. The trip starts with Brussels, goes on to Amsterdam, to Rotterdam, Bruges and Antwerp and finally ending in Luxembourg.

For the people leaving from Paris here is a piece of info. There is a cheap route to Brussels through Lille. This way you can also avoid the (obsessively expensive) Thalys trains. Same applies for journey between Paris and Amsterdam.

Brussels (Bruxelles) looks like a modern town which is still trying to hold on to its past. Concrete high-risers share the skyline with historic cathedrals and medieval palace. Currently the head quarter of EU, it's a city of cobblestones roads. The cathedral here has played a central role in many royal and historical event. An architecture that is very similar to that of the cathedrals in Paris (especially the Notre Dame), marks this place as a good visit to start the day. The glass paintings here are more lively than I have seen anywhere. The artists have remarkably shown the depth in those, thus making more realistic like a 3D view.

The Museum of the National Bank of Belgium is situated on the road next to cathedral and gives historical as well as current perspectives on Euro; the currency of EU. It is free for all visitors on the weekends.

Grand Place is a central place that is surrounded by some of the most prominent buildings in the town. This central square is abuzz with activities throughout the day. The Hotel De Ville is main attraction here. LP narrates its story as the lone building that survives the attacks by French in 1695. Considering that it was the target of the attack, this survival gives a mysterious character to the place.

The Galleries St. Hubert situated one block north-east of Grand Place hosts some of the most famous stores in town. The display windows showcase the best of Belgian art and craft. It also has shops by some the most famous chocolate makers (Neuhaus, Leonidas etc being the most popular amongst them). Belgium is the Mecca for chocolate lovers. It's the source of the finest dark chocolates as well as rum and other flavors. The aroma of cocoa is in Bruxels' air owing to the umpteen number of chocolate shops. The chocolate fountains are too difficult to resist. If they say its the presentation that the truly defines taste of a dish, chocolates-makers seem to know this magic formula. I could not take my eyes off from the chocolate offerings because of the way chocolates are packed and served (and of course because of their smell). We still need to taste them though. They are too expensive and more importantly there are always threat of them containing traces of egg. :-(

MIM (Musical Instruments Museum) situated in the historical Old England (department store/hotel) is another must visit in Brussels. The highly distinctive building will catch your attention when you are passing through the road to the palace. The brochure to the museum describes the building as "Its entrance is a jewel of the art of nouveau style while the rest is in perfect harmony with the neoclassical ensemble on the Plalace Royale." Whatever it means, in my words - it's a beautiful building and you can not miss it while passing through this road. The MIM boasts of an extraordinary collection of musical instruments from all ages and parts of the world. The tour inside the museum is made more interesting by the audioguide that is provided with the entrance ticket. You can hear the instruments play harmonious music suited to their history. It's superb use of technology. You just need to stand in front of the exhibit and music automatically starts playing. The songs and tunes are chosen from best of authentic sources and really gives you an unmatchable experience. It is a place to experience music and I will recommend it to everyone.

Manneken Pis is another symbol that is synonymous with Bruxeles. The pissing boy is the picture boy for the Belgium tourism. The small statue is decorated in various attires to mark some key occasions (of course he is no more nude then, still the pissing goes on).

Atomium was built as an exhibit during the Bruxels Expo of 1958. It is 102-metres (335 ft) tall, with nine steel spheres connected so that the whole forms the shape of a unit cell of an iron crystal magnified 165 billion times. The story is that this grand structure was meant to survive only the expo and the plan was to dismantle it after the expo. However, it attracted so much attention and love from the people that they decided to let it stay. A major tourist attraction (must see in my view, especially when the lights are on after around 7pm), this place is an engineering marvel. Also situated close to Atomium is the King Baudouin Stadium. It is used by Belgian national football team for practice. The floodlit stadium with lush green field is a treat to watch. We were lucky to see some team practice some shoots at the goal.

There are so many things and we had so little time before taking our train for Amsterdam. For the first time in this EuroTrip we found ourselves really feeling short on time at some place. We could not go to the Mini Europe. Situated close to Atomium, it has replicated the Europe at one place. You get to see the best of natural beauty, architecture and art in a miniature version. It is a must visit too, I heard. And then there are many other places as per the tourist map which we could not visit. One day is too short for this city. Still, we could not have done more. There are more places to visit, more colors to capture.

We left for Amsterdam in evening train. I guess our time at Amsterdam will need a seperate entry altogether as the life begins at midnight in Amsterdam.

EuroTrip - Day 25

Another Date with Glory

It's not that the castles of Carcassonne are the best of royal glory that Europe has to offer to the tourists. The Princely Palace (State Apartments) in Monaco is a relatively newer construction and is supposed to be a good example of glory meeting modern comfort. The Royal Palace has preserved its glory well and is a good place to get a glimpse of the past. In the same lines, Château de Versailles too offers a glimpse of the past glory in its true sense. Situated in the outskirts of Paris city ( Take RER C from Champ De Mars and get down at Versailles Rive Gauche), this place has one of the most beautiful castles that one can visit in Europe.

As soon as you get out of the train, you are greeted with historical buildings that are serving as cultural centers and luxury hotels. The palace is at a walkable distance and it is a nice walk in a city that is filled with tourists. The palace is visible from a long distance because of the golden shine that is reflected from each and every dome in it. Gold work is a especiallity in this part of the world where major buildings have their domes and doors painted with gold. The palace has one of the best golden work around.

We visited the King's and Queen's State Apartments, the Dauphin's Apartments in a tour where the audio-guide told us the stories. Now this is what I like. The glory meets technology to weave a spellbinding narration. I really have no words to describe the experience from the palace and the museum inside. I hope the photos that I will upload soon, will give you the glimpse of what I am talking about.

There is a beautiful garden surrounding the palace and it is worth a visit too. There are musical fountains too, though I am not sure when they are in action. And yes, there are plenty of places to capture some kodak moments.

End of the day, when I look back, I can surely tell that all the effort that we took to visit Versailles as well as the Euros spent were worth it. If you get a chance to spend some time in Paris, do go to this place.

PS: For EuRail Pass holders RER C line is free for travel to/from outside the Paris to the central part. Ask at the ticket counter for your free ticket by showing your EuRail Pass.
PS2: I am losing my edge. :( I know myself how gibbup blog I have written tonight. I am really at a loss of words for what I have seen today. More than that, there are too many things going through my mind right now. I hope to get back to tune soon.
PS3: Photos will be updated soon.

EuroTrip - Day 24

Calls to India at 70 paisa/minute

When I reached Paris, as expected out of every student who is going abroad for the first time, I called home from the airport itself. The call from my matrix sim costed me 0.65 BRP (British Pounds) per minute. In Indian currency terms it would translate to something like Rs. 50/min.

Before leaving for Paris, I had checked the ISD rates offered by all mobile operators and had found out that the cheapest was our own BSNL at somewhere around Rs. 6.4/min. The rule of the game was that everyone who is near and dear to me will need to call me. So that the poor guy me sitting in Paris does not need to pay hefty mobile bills (I still need to pay 0.05 BRP/min for incoming calls)

Calling cards offer cheaper rates with a promised call time of around 250 minutes on a 5.5 Euro calling card. The calls need to be made from a public booth, if you don't have a landline phone at your home. With so much hassle, the real issue is that the 250 minutes talk time is never yours. The hidden terms and conditions make it almost impossible. What you get is what your luck allows you to. Not the best thing to do when you are so far away from home.

And then started the search for the cheaper ways to call India. With PooCh (a big family and 3 girl 'friends' to take care of), HotTiii (family and friends) and TARDi (thank god his girl is in Europe only, so only family and friends) and yours truely PritS (who supposedly did not call his girl for more than a week after having arrived in Europe, and talks to home only twice a week) the search was bound to be a big one. We checked everything from Skype to Freecalls to SmartVoip to finally Nymgo. You tell us, we find out about it. And with the help of our friendly dbable, the feedback and reviews can be arranged in a very short notice.

Now the name of the game is Nymgo. With call charges are somewhere around 70 paisa/min and an excellent voice quality, it also gives added advantage of being able to make calls from my mobile (Nokia E63 - thanks a lot SidJ) and PooCh. The SIP settings have been updated on the phone and now I can make calls directly from it. The only catch is that it works only when we are in our home. So the new rule is that if it is Tue or Wed, and not our college hours - just try to give missed call and expect a call back from me. :D

This is most of what we did in last couple of days. Classes were as usual fun though it is very difficult to avoid getting dozed off in the post lunch classes. Somehow, these firang (or are we firang here?)students don't seem to have this habit. Pata nahi kya khate hai ye log lunch me. I can crib about them some more, but let me not do that. Time to make some more calls. See you around...

EuroTrip - Day 23

3 Classes 9 Hours

As I think of the title for the post, I realize that I have almost spent a third of my time here in Paris. The empty packets of maggie also point to the same. It's a good time that we have spent here. With so many different moods, jokes and feelings each and every moment has been special. We have tried our best to live it to the fullest.

College is a weekly event now. Every Tuesday and Wednesday, we make the visit to the college, attend classes, try to finish the assignment in the class itself and come back home to plan the next trip. It's a very monotonous life, but I better not complaint.

Actually ESCP is a real nice place to be. There are people from so many different backgrounds and culture that it always feels like to be in a mela when you are in college [There are around 200 students on exchange right now]. Everybody seem to enjoy their time here. Other students (read non-IIMA) take the courses and studies really serious and thanks to them we are up-to-date with our work too [thought at times, they are too irritating. They are just too much serious about their studies].

For a change, I went prepared for the Marketing Strategy class and contributed to the discussion. And things worked for us in the end. With a giant leap, our company is positioned at 2nd place in the market. Alas, it's just a game. Next week, the class should be even more fun.

Negotiations is an amazing course. With workshop kind of methodlogy, classes keep us involved all along. The new case has some relation with information technology, so I had a lot to contribute for my team. We have not yet started the negotiations though.

Technology Transfer class was boring. The prof had given some assignment question in the last class. We conveniently forgot about them. But, that was not the best thing to do. Some fighters had prepared jazzy presentation (with no content) and presented their 'analysis' of the problem to the class. And to our bad luck, professor coldcalled everyone. We have been given an assignment now to be completed and submitted before the next class. Ye aane wale week me kuch fight marna hi padega.

In the evening, there was some music concert in the college, but somehow I did not have any enthu to stay back for that. The walk on my way back was quite pleasant. iPod rocks.
I am in the process of sorting the photos from the trip. You will get to see the best moments soon.

Till then, Adios

EuroTrip Photos

Finally, I have been able to sort the photos that we have taken in last couple of weeks. With more than 5000 photos to be checked, it was not an easy task. Right now I have reached a level of around 1000 photos, which still is very high. It will take one more round of sorting, I guess.

For those, who wanted to have a look at the EuroTrip in more colorful ways, I have uploaded the best of the photos in my picassa web album. The photos should summarize the best of the moments from this trip.

Here is the link to the photos - http://picasaweb.google.com/8priteshj

Needless to say, your comments are more than welcome.

EuroTrip - Day 22

La Gioconda and Some Rains

I don't want to create any suspense here. The first half of the title is the name of a painting which is better known as Monalisa. The second ofcourse gives a mention to the rains that Paris is witnessing. It is interesting to know that even in some parts in India, it is raining heavily at this very time. Coincidence it is?

Monday morning was like any Sunday morning that we had while working as an IT enginner. Get up late, make breakfast at your own pace and have it as brunch. Go out for grocery shopping for the coming week. Make lunch, eat it and then sleep off for the rest of the afternoon. We did everything except the sleeping part. The pressure to sort out photos (there are more than 4000 of them so far from this trip) did not give us any chance to enjoy that customary sleep.

The evening was spent in Louvre. For a museum of this size, I think they should issue weekly passes. A day is not at all sufficient to see even a single galary there. Luckily, we get free entry (being a resident student in European Union), and thus we can go there as many times as we want. The issue is that all the descriptions are in French, so without renting the audio guide, it does not make any sense in the museum. I hope to do some background reading and visit that place next time.

Talking about Monalisa - my frank opinion is that I did not find anything special in that. There were lots of other paintings with superb colour and shadow work. Monalisa stands like a lone warrior capturing one full wall for itself. Somehow all the paths seem to lead to it. Still, I could not feel any magic. I shall give her a second chance. The entire world can not be mad behind something for no reason.

It's been more than 20 days since I am away from home. I talk with my family and friends as frequently as I used to. Still, somehow, I can feel the distance. I think this is the price I need to pay for having so much fun.

EuroTrip - Day 21

Eiffel Tower and Some Observations

I am not a man with words. My vocabulary beats me regularly when I try to play with words to describe a place/event/person. I end up using words like awesome, amazing, superb, cool, beautiful etc. at a frequency that is more than that of the AC supply in this country (Don't ask me it is 50 Hz or 60 Hz? I am not sure).

I am a man of stories. Stories - that I did not write, I just narrate them the way I heard them. And that's precisely the reason I find museum with no good story very boring. Same applies to historical monuments and various cathedrals that are present in every corner of this continent. I never imagined so much presence of faith and religion in some of these most developed countries with a strong inclination to logic and science. The churches here are very old and so to an extent that clarifies the contradiction. Atleast that's what I will love to believe. These countries are preserving the past - the glory of a time when churches were as strong as the queen/king and religion was the pivot that connected various countries.

Eiffel looks beautiful. In any time of the day. However I am still wondering about some fool who sinned to compare it to his fiancee and said that Eiffel is more beautiful than her. How could he do such a crime? I disown him today. I am not doing it under any pressure - parental or peer. :D
Eiffel is as beautiful as you can imagine it to be. It is grand, it is magnificent and it is the center of attraction here in Paris.

European countries have done amazingly well to provide the public amenities to their citizens and others. Roads, trains, power - the system seem to work smoothly. However when it comes to drinking water and public toilettes, these countries leave a lot to be desired for. When you stand in a queue for 15 minutes to go to the loo, just because this was the only public toilette you could find around Eiffel, you can not resist cursing the government here. The water supply to the homes is that of portable water. That means that we can directly drink the tap water. But the issue is that once you leave home, you can hardly find tap anywhere. It's unimaginable the kind of places we have filled our bottles from. Oh yea, one more thing - somehow the packaged water culture is not as developed in France and most other European countries as it seems to be. At times a bottle of packaged water is as expensive as buying coke or bear. I guess cheap wines and bear make up for the lack of drinking water outside home. Or else they carry their own water bottle from home.

In India, shopping is much more easier with the concept of MRP. Here, you are never sure about the price of something. Everytime we need to buy something, we think twice before buying it. Can we get it cheaper somewhere else. It takes time to figure out the references in a new city. Today we planned to shop from LIDL or CARREFOUR but could not do. Visit to Tam Street was not very useful too as most of the shops were closed. Only good thing is that we did get frozen parathas and thus had a very good dinner.

Tomorrow, we plan to take some rest and then think what to do on a monday.
Till then... Bbye...

EuroTrip - Day 20

Unplanned journeys

Some journeys are better done unplanned. For an Indian who has grown up in a family where all trips are well planned that too well in advance, this seem to be a difficult task. The MBA background does not help either as, in general, we tend to do a lot of thinking before taking even the first step.

The 10 Euro shocker was too much for us to handle in the first leg of our South France trip and we made sure after that we travel by CoRail or TER to save on the reservation money. EuRail is a life-saver indeed.

After spending the day in Monaco and Cannes, we took the night CoRail to Toulouse. Toulouse was meant just as a stopover to move to Carcossone. With EuRail pass, we got a recliner reserved in the night trains for just 1.5 Euro. Cheapest way to spend the night you see. One suggestion, trains in France are air conditioned (not like the other countries in northern europe where they heat the train) and so you might want to keep a blanket or two for night. :D

Toulouse station makes best use of its clocks. Although the station is open 24 hours, the paid toilette there opens only at 6am. The reservation counter opens at 7am and then the left luggage opens at 8am. Imagine pur painful situation. We had to wait desperately for each of these timings. We missed our first train. For the first time in my life, I paid to use a toilette. And we had to pay more for each bag than anywhere we have left our luggage at station counter.

For the first time, we heard the mention of H1N1 too. They make regular announcement about it on Toulouse station. I am still clueless as to why only Toulouse station? They mention about washing hands after coming in contact with some flu affected person and give phone number of a helpline which is not even toll-free. Are we in India too much scared of this flu or is it that they have something of an invisible hand taking care of everything.

Just by chance, we visited two weekend flea markets in the town. Nice local haat bazaars, pretty much like those in any Indian Town. Same old stuff just the currency changed. On our way, we also visited the monastery (Eglise des Jacobian). It has a beautiful structure specially the decorated roof at the one side of the big prayer hall. The mirror on the floor gives a 360 degree view of the work on the inner side of the dome. A nice way to see things :D

The town of Carcassone has rich history revolving around the castle. It was built many a times and restored every time after getting destroyed in attack by some warrior. This French fortress which shared boundaries with Spain in past has seen rise of a new town in the base for the development of business. The fortress itself is very beautiful (so far the best we have seen in Europe). There are couple more places to visit in the town, specially a cathedral. But we skipped them for catching up some rest and fixing a quick lunch. The Canal du midi passes close to the railway station and you can observe the unique way through which they move boats from one section of canal (parking) to another (on journey). It is something similar to what is done in Suez canal, so can be a good watch while soaking the evening sun.

Back to Toulouse and then search for food and shelter. We planned to reach Paris by the night CoRail so that we could do some free sightseeing on the first sunday of October. It's going to be a hectic day tomorrow so let me keep it a short post. Am off to sleep now in my cozy recliner in CoRail.

EuroTrip - Day 19

Formula 1 and a Film Festival

Spread in a mere 1.98 sq km, Monaco is the second smallest country in the world. If you take the train from Nice to Monaco - Monte Carlo, it takes merely 25 minutes inspite of the fact that the train stops at as many as 5 stations in between. At no time can you be sure that France's limits have ended and you have entered Monaco. I believe we crossed the border when we were in a tunnel. I hate these tunnels now. There are too many of them and they almost always block a nice view of the outside world. In case of journeys in French Riviera, it means missing out on a view ointment which there is vast seaface on one side and charming towns on other.

The railway station at Monaco is made in a tunnel (or atleast it looks like that) and is at a considerable height. As soon as you get out of the station, you see the Monaco harbour in front of you (actually it is below, you have to get down atleast a 6 story building type of height). It is crowded with luxury yachts of the megarich. They say it is easier to own a yacht in Monaco but very expensive to have it parked in the harbour. Whatever it is, we had our own Monaco-on-foot trip planned with the help of the map which was almost 1/1000th the size of the actual country (PJ disclaimer). We were to be here for a couple of hours only and that means that we would visit just the most important places in town. The aquarium and the palace - the two places make it to our list after considering recommendation from many people. The casino should have been on the list too but we could not accommodate it in our agenda. JFYI, these casinos are the only source of income from the government in this tax-free heaven (ofcourse there is income from tourism and other allied industries).

The walk to the museum takes you through the palace and the cathedral. For a country, that hardly had to fight any war, the palace seem quite well secured (or may be those cannons are ornamental). The aquarium opened at 10 and as we would have wished, we were the first few to enter it. This place has a real corral reef in making under almost natural environment. There are fishes of every kind from all parts of the world to make it as close to reality as possible. We spent more than two hours and I can tell you that you won't get to see as many colours anywhere else. Watching shark was a thrilling experience. In the same tank, they have kept fishes of hundreds of kinds and they struggle for their survival amongst these beasts just the way they do in real world.

The change of guard ceremony takes place daily at 11:55 am and is comical as promised in LP (Lonely Planet - Europe on a shoestring). The place is full with tourists at that time. I am pretty sure if we see the physical distribution of human beings in the country at that moment, the palace will have more population than the rest of the country. As usual our neighbors are there in maximum strength as proportional to their contribution to world population. I feel a guided tour of the palace, cathedral and around should be a good option if you have some time to spent in this country. The history and present of this small country has a lot to tell.

Last but not the least, F1 fan would love to come to see this city as it hosts the only F1 race in the normal city roads (Come on Delhi). We could guess some of the roads that are part of the circuit. I wish they had put road signs and directions guiding F1 drivers too.

This is it about Monaco. We had heard this city (country) also hosts some of the very popular nudist beaches in this part of the world. However, we did not try to verify this. :-)

Cannes is just another town in French Riveira and there is nothing special that you can attribute to this place. Unless if you come here at the time of the Cannes International Film Festival. Or if you like to take bath in a sandy beach. Or if you want to have another panoramic view of the Mediterranean sea. Or if you want to see the shops of who's whos of the fashion labels. For us, it was meant to be a place where we will idle on the sandy beach and listen to some nice music while 'observing' the people around.

So nothing much about our day here. Just that the most attractive crowd in town lands at the railway station but then vanishes. The beaches are flocked by middle age and elderly couples who seem to be on their well deserved vacations. Apart from the artists who put their work on display and sell all along the promenade, I did not find anything remarkable. Still, the relaxation that we had while sleeping on the beach made the trip to this town well its worth. I wish the sun had been a little less harsh, I would have felt like being in heaven.

Tonight we move to Toulouse in a corail train. At 1.5 euro reservation fee, they provide amazingly comfortable recliners. What better way to save money than to spend the night traveling in such comfort. It's time for a well deserved sleep for me. See yea soon.

EuroTrip - Day 18

And to a Nice Beach

We have not been doing justice to our (host) country. After having arrived on 14th of September, we have stayed in France for just three and half days. We did not even touch base with Eiffel Tower before leaving for our Scandinavian journey. So I guess it was high time that we get some more of France before we see the rest of Europe.

So the group decided to hit the Mediterranean sea in south of France and left our home in the wee hours of Thursday. Our first stop would be Nice, the heart of French Riviera. It's pebbled shores are famous for sunbathers who enjoy their sip or two of the best of French vines. The long and picturesque Promenade des Anglais consists of a number of private and public beaches from where you can get the view of the best of the French architecture. The Opera majestically sits across the promenade and is lit very beautifully in evening, making it a visual treat to take a stroll once the sun sets in.

The beaches here are pebbled thus not the most comfortable to dive into the salty water. However if your plan is to soak up some sun, then these plages have a lot to offer. The luke warm water can be quite attractive as compared to the many other beaches and sea fronts that you see up north. There is water sports etc to entice the adventure seeking soul.

The old town of Nice is called Vieille ville and is still preserved well. The restaurants there serve authentic Nacoise delicacies and are supposed to be some of the best places to indulge yourself. Alas there is nothing much for vegetarians in the Nacoise cuisine. The old market specially flower market gives an old town type feeling. You hardly get to see many crowded places in this part of world, old town is one such places. Chandani Chowk in a French colour.

The Parc de Chateu towards the end of the old town is built on top a small hill and gives a panoramic view of the town as well as the sea. It's a nice place to be towards the end of the day as you can witness sunset from the top. The hike to the top can be tiring if you have had a long day in water or on road. So while taking rest in the parc, don't forget to keep an alarm for the closing time of the parc. No prizes for guessing that we did the mistake of not keeping the closing time in mind (they are open till 7 in September and till 6 October onwards. And we reached there on 1st Oct). On our way back we found the entrance (the exit too) closed. And there was no one to man the gate. We checked the map and approached another gate. Result still the same. This time there were some people enjoying their bear sitting on the stairs just outside the gate. Very matter of factly they told us that all the gates are closed and that they will open the next day only. Only option was to call police. However, that was our last resort. We roamed around to find a church and some living souls there (there is a big burial ground next to church too) and they told us about one possible way out. We couldn't have been happier. Finally we had found the way out and within 10 minutes we were out of the Parc. Gosh, why do we end up doing such things again and again.

The promenade is even more beautiful in night. Cool breeze passes across you soothing any pain you have. The roller-scatters hit the walkways to thrill themselves as well as the passer by. People here are fitness freaks and you can find them doing jogging or running at any time of the day. In evening, they are even more out.

Our stay for the night was at the grand mension where Ankit Bajaj has rented an apartment. It was another get together of sort with a mix of IIMA and IIMB people spending rest of the night together. The walk to station and then to old city, finally back to home was a long still pleasant one. The autumn showers made it even more enjoyable (though for a moment, I felt we should have better stayed at home). As we were really tired, we hit the bed earlier than usual while others went to the beach to enjoy their day's quota of bear. Life couldn't have been better for those people.

For us, it was a good night's sleep. Pooch might not agree though. :-) Tomorrow we visit world's second smallest country and also hit the beaches in Cannes (of the film festival fame).