Its been over a month since i landed in Copenhagen . I wanted to post and tell so much but time seems to be flying at the speed of the BrahMos(2.8 Mach).Anyways , since there is so much to tell i will limit myself to the ppt format and thus bullet points :)
Here Goes :
Few Vital Stats :
Countries visited or passed through : 7
Distance Covered : 11,000 Km is what it shows in the map above.
But that is one way mostly and does not show
the random detours which i took . So estimate
in excess of 25,000 KM ... Whew :)
- The grass does appear greener here and the sky clearer
- The ice cream vendor at Istanbul airport shouting "Badhiya Kulfi" when he saw us Indians
- Talking to the Brit girl sitting beside me on my flight only to discover that she was working as a dancer in Bollywood movies and was part of "once upon a time in Mumbai"
- The clouds and how they danced around an hour from landing at Copenhagen
- The feeling when i first saw the windmills and ferries in the sea between Denmark and Sweden
- How the houses and cars and roads look like toys in a toy world when looked from above in Denmark and Germany
- The shock i got when looking at prices of everything in Scandinavia . The relentless conversion of Kroner and Euros to Indian Rupees and thinking its too expensive
- The first trip to school and how i walked in the exact opposite direction. Came back looked at Google maps , took my laptop along , tried buying a ticket at the automatic machine at the train station , failed doing so and finally arriving 1.5 hours late in class
- The first trip to Stockholm , the girl like antics of Parag and all the convincing i had to do to make him come along
-The amazing time i had at Malmo. And it has been a regular part of euro trip now. To get connections i end up at random stations only to discover a cute little town or city . Malmo, Strasbourg, Karlsruhe , Cerbere , Nuremberg and i am sure lots many to come.
- Spending 5 hours inside a club in Stockholm just buying 1 drink so as to pass time. Witness some wild way these guys party here .
- The way the water sparkled in Stockholm . The awed feeling inside the VASA museum which tends to transport you into the Pirates of the Caribbean world
- The amazingly beautiful train trip to Norway and the never ending feeling that i was in the Hogwarts Bound train and a tall wizard will appear on the railway tracks out of nowhere
- The hike to the bordal Gorge at Vass village. Sitting for more than an hour , just looking at the scenery and smiling
- The 5 kilometer walk on international highway at Bergen with the sun shinning brightly behind, the backwaters of sea to my left , i pod playing old Hindi songs , wearing sunglasses , carrying my backpack and cars running at 150 Kph beneath. All this to save 23 Kroners or 180 rupees . Not really , just for the sake and satisfaction of discovery on foot.
- Being mocked by the bar tender at Bergen for asking to split up a glass of wine
- The Fjords !!!
- The beautiful random street performances , be it Stockholm, Bergen , Oslo , Copenhagen, Barcelona, Madrid or Nice
- The view from the top of Mount Floyn in Bergen , Prague Castle, National Museum in Barcelona, Berlin Parliament observation tower, Nice steps , Monaco Castle
- The way the sky was overcast and smooth cool wind flowing across my face in Barcelona
- Getting lost ( i am officially bad at reading city maps) in Barcelona , running all the way back to where i started. Starting again and finally managing to see all that i wanted . One great way to see a city
- Feeling of awe inside St Nicholas Church in Prague, Old Cathedral in Barcelona and Prague Castle.
- The way the church appeared out of nowhere inside the Prague castle to totally take me in by surprise. And the towers looking so like Hogwarts . The amazing book shop on the way with a cellar full of old books
- The 6 floors of Berlin Haufbaunhauf or the main train station and marveling at the German engineering
- Being misunderstood by 5 railway clerks in Barcelona, 2 in Hamburg , 1 in cerbere but managing somehow( sign language and written words) to find the right connection.
- Being lost again in Madrid , trying to read the Map. Then the cute old lady coming out of nowhere asking me where i intended to go. Me mumbling something in English and she replying something in Spanish. None understanding a word but still she directed me by holding my hand to some square that turned out to be brilliant . Ah amazing...
- Food : Tapas at Madrid, 3 course meal and Socca at Nice , Thai curry chicken at Berlin near the holocaust memorial. The pleasure of having hot daal , chawal and rice at home after days of eating sandwiches. Cooking , taking pictures and eating some amazing self cooked chicken curry, dum aloo, pulao, pasta, biryani and even paratha
- The Sea and how it was . Blue and Green and crystal clear at Nice and Monaco. The amazing splash at the secluded beach in Monaco . The cold water but with a bright sun behind. The rocky steps leading down to the beach and all the effort it took to reach there . All worth it .
- The way people sometimes smile at you in Copenhagen in the metro or on the streets.
- All those cold nights spent at the Stockholm, Berlin and Hamburg train stations.Brrr
- Oktoberfest and how wild it was. What ambiance , what color and enthusiasm. Us shouting at passerby to not click pics of a puking friend. People shouting at random inside the tents. We singing typical rowdy songs like U.P Bihar lutne , sutta and khalnayak inside the tent and then making Italians sitting near us sing them as well. Shouting India ka tempo high hai.
- Boarding the train from France to Germany without reservation since i had no other option and luckily not being disturbed even once by the ticket checker.A few rowdy french fellow travelers taking hold of the PA system of the train and announcing something in french. Everyone in the train laughing except myself.
- The ride on the bus across the France German border on a bus doing 120 Kph.
- The excitement before a trip next day and all those hours of planning in order to save those euros
I guess that is a lot for one post. Must have missed a few things but maybe for later. :)
