Strange Ramblings

I would have loved that. You would too. But it turned to more of a Catalonia Armada. And dare I say, it was more than satisfying. You know that saying, "when in Rome, do as the Romans do", try that, and then when in Barcelona, do as the Catalans do. It's like a city wide party, they surely must hold some kind of Guinness record for that. If not, they should get one. Fabulous. We wanted to cover a few cities in Spain. The mistake that we made though was going to Barcelona first up. And once you are there, there is no going back, there is no visiting any other city and there, in almost all probability, is nothing more that you want more than spending your life around, atleast for a week ;) Every city in Europe is different and yet similar. After the first round of travelling across Europe, it came down to visiting select things, things that are unique. No more of Castles, no more of churches, no more of museums. Its all the same, especially when an art and architectu...

Warning: This post puts the T in Tacky, the M in Mushy, the G in Gooey, yada yada.. I Hate Goodbyes. Period. And the only thing that makes them bearable are the smiles. After all, you want to leave the person in front of you with a last smiling memory. I guess its hard for all of us at some level. Exchange was a big part of my MBA plans. I had this rosy picture in my mind, of how I would be an amazing experience to meet people from all across the world, to travel all across Europe, to see some of the history that made studying 'History' interesting. Did it live up to it, you ask? Much, much more. The bliss on making it through the selection for exchange program was something else. I remember that instant when I got the call quite clearly. I couldn't stop smiling the whole day, and to cap that more good news followed ( more.. ), I was blessed. That ting in your voice, when you see a kid getting excited over candy, that sparkle in your eye, same as when a kid gets exci...

Beauty that is Europe! My first tryst with an actual photo journal. Let's see how it pans out. Places on display: Brussels, Amsterdam, Stockholm, Helsinki, Copenhagen, Hamburg, Berlin, Prague, Vienna, Bratislava, Cologne and around.... Manneken Pis. Literally meaning Little Man Pee , is one of the most fascinating thing that one encounters on visiting the enchanting Belgium. Look beyond the famous Belgian beers and chocolates and they are aplenty across town dressed in varied outfits. This particular one was dressed as an Indian style Maharaja. There are enough stories surrounding the myth that could keep you glued enough for hours. Well your guess is as good as mine, but this is trademark to that place, yes you guessed it correct. And if Merlin's beard (how geeky could i get ;)) you failed to guess the place then you are just not worthy enough to live. Amsterdam. Any more words would be diluting the craziness that is Amsterdam. One remark before I move on though...

'Minus 26 and still HOT' Oh Yes. It was hot. Never mind the apparent chill. And that was all about the IHD. Naah... I have been edgy to write about this ever since it got over, not that i'm going to forget anything anytime soon, but rather to make it more memorable. The issue with all of it is though that words simply aren't enough, you have to live it to know it. I had taken a liking to Finnish people from the start , and more so after the week. It was special this week. I got a glimpse into the culture that is Finn. Perhaps limited to the student culture, but nevertheless, enough to make up my mind that they all would go places. Work to Live, they value there free time immensely, and that's how it is supposed to be. I heard somethings about Finns not being happy etc, not from what   I saw, and if they believe in the philosophy, I doubt anyone could be unhappy for long. And if anyone had doubts about their work ethic, they just have to look at the IHD tea...

View Euro Trip #1 in a larger map  Take that. The itch will finally be satisfied. Countries being touched: France -> Belgium -> Netherlands -> Sweden -> Finland -> Denmark -> Germany -> Czech Republic -> Austria -> Germany -> France 31st of January -> 21st of February 2012 \m/ JOIN IN :)

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...