Euro Trotting - The Beginning

Stepping into the 'developed world' for the first time definitely felt strange. I just bring that distinction out simply because it is omnipresent, or atleast made that way by plenty'a people.

There is this thing that I really like to do. Always taking a detour on my way to the final destination. What ensued was a layover in Helsinki, Finland. And the view out from the plane window of the Finland landscape covered with snow and what looked like scattered pine trees, was beyond words. Glad that the city had the season's first snowfall just the day before, everything around was much brighter. The thing that struck me the most about Finnish is that they are as 'direct' people as you'd ever find, and they'd call a spade a spade with the straightest possible face. You try and bullshit them, and you'd definitely be sorry. And all this, was not just a passing observation, it's been ratified  by the few that I know out here in Grenoble.

Getting back. The detour had a few more bumps with it. Paris and Lyon. But they were limited only to the travelling routes, beautiful though they were. Reaching my European Karmabhumi Grenoble, to put it into perspective.

Mouth watering view from La Bastille, Grenoble

A breathtaking small town at the foothills of the alps, often referred to as the 'Capital of ALPS', is a curious town to live in. With 'Skiing' and 'Snowboarding' probably being the two most spoken words around, with people's lives revolving around the weather just to track the best time to hit the Alps (especially in January), with the ever so lovely 'Chartreuse', and with the never ending parties, this town just amazes me. And I secretly hoped for one such town, simply because I feel larger cities are just same all around, be it New Delhi, Doha, or Paris, same, at least in the sense of lifestyle. They just seem to lose that teeny bit of personality (which makes the most difference) that the region should actually have had. 

Quick word about Grenoble Ecole de Management, it just seems too random, mostly because it just has too many programs on offer. The number of people attending this college is just crazy, but perhaps that is the best part especially being on exchange, you just have that many more people to interact with. I'd give ALOHA a special mention out here, for being the coolest student body I have ever come across. The pains that they go through to help the incoming students, and the events that they organize, TWO THUMBS UP!

And the people. I just wonder when would Indians start to live the care free life. It's high time that we move beyond all the futuristic planning and start living the present. I have often heard statements saying that Indians are the most hard-working people and all, although true to some extent, that's no excuse to stop living. And what's with all that pressure since birth. I'm glad that I was raised different (Can't thank you enough Mom Dad), but come on, that's just plain idiotic when you don't allow your kids to find their own way, even no-brain animals do it. And for Heaven's sake, let the girls be free. One for the Republic Day pledges?


It's like an addiction this multi-cultural environment. You just can't get enough of it. Life is so much more fun and unpredictable this way. I tasted it in Qatar for the first time, and I am relishing it out here.

I have used the words 'beautiful', 'breathtaking' and 'beyond words' often, perhaps most in any single piece of writing, YET.I just couldn't help myself. Somehow the world seems to be shot in 'technicolor' out here, with every element just more vivid, sometimes just too overwhelming for the eyes that are used to a, if i may term it in possibly the harshest way, rustiness of the Indian film.

And perhaps the story would get interesting enough for 'Eurotrip 2' ;)

Lastly, every city has its own story, I just hope to make that a part of my story too, and to that end i'll start the city hopping in less than a week's time (can't wait to do away with that itch ;D)

P.S. This is what happens when you wait too long to blog, and hence end up with too much or too generic (by the human way of forgetting) to write. That reminds me, the smallest of journeys, from Lyon to Grenoble, surrounded by Alps, with a few hilly passes, with Coldplay on, on my second day in Europe, the 4th of January 2012, possibly the serenest I have felt in my life. The explanation, nothing rational, but I was just in that mood for whatever reason.

Adieu jusqu'à la prochaine fois !