Journeys and Journals

Wanderweg – Hiking Trails

Ankur — Wed, 16 May 2012 11:56:54 +0000

“Not all that wander are lost.”

The German term for the word Hiker is Wanderer, the word itself indicates the spirit of a hiker. I am hardly an expert at hiking, in fact I am a lazy person who prefers comfort over most other worldly things. However, the past few weeks have been exciting, and testing for me.

The story behind such testing times were two hikes taken at Uetliberg and yesterday at Wengen.

Uetliberg is a hill near Zurich, at the height of around 873m. It is known for its panoramic view of the city and the Alps beyond. It also had a set of hiking trails marked for people to move to surrounding hills and the town below. Uetliberg is a hit between people of all ages and normally has a big crowd of the Swiss folk attempting a hike. In fact, I notice that the Swiss are big fans of hiking, skiing and all sorts of physically intensive activities, there is always someone running even in the middle of extremely cold and windy weather. Their dedication to frequent physical activity makes me nervous and jealous.

Anyways, back to Uetliberg, so it was a windy and rainy day, which made sure that the little crowd was even lesser. We went up by a train and decided to follow the 6 km planet walk, with marked paths leading to Felsengg. The walk was fun, it started to rain and in came the hale, yet we moved ahead enjoying the weather and admiring the yellow colored wild flowers on the meadows. Then came a junction, with the marked road leading right and a sign for teahaus leading left. That was the moment when the phrase, ‘I took the road less traveled and that has made all the difference’ came to my mind. Thus we went left, stepping on a makeshift staircase and managed to discover this small, but wonderful hut offering us tea, warm orange punch, and pinapple juice. After a short stopover in this surprisingly good and hidden cabin, we decided to go further downhill. On this path the markers were missing but the area did seem to have a few marks of previous hikers. For a while everything was good, we also found steps to go down. After a while it got tricky, due to the wet weather, the fallen leaves with the water formed an amazing slippery combination. Confused and with no guidance we kept moving ahead, thankfully at some point a couple going uphill told us the way to the bottom. What they did not tell was that it was going to be really slippery, we did manage to rejoin the hiking trail after a few tricky moments and were soon back in the meadows at the bottom of the hill. A few minutes walk to the next bus stop brought us back into the city and thus the journey was over. The legs ached the next day, but thats another story…

Last week on Labor day, we visited Jungfraujoch. The weather had taken a wild turn and it was snowing as if there was a blizzard. We decided to cut our stay short on the top and return downwards by train, midway through the journey we got down at Wengen, a tiny and beautiful station which we had seen on our journey upwards. The thrill of getting down at a place which one has no prior idea about was enticing enough. Wengen is one of the venues for the Skiing world cup, it is a small village with a native population of around 1300 people. The place is also famous for its wooden chalets at the height of around 4100 feet. We discovered the possibility of a hike while sitting in a coffee shop and talking to the waiteress. She told us to follow the yellow signs to Staubbachbänkli; out of the cafe we looked at our watches. We had to take the 7.03 PM train to Lauterbrunnen, and it was 5.25 PM.

The markers on the road read 25 minutes to Staubbachbankli, we took the plunge and walked on the road. The walk on the hill road allowed used to admire the traditional Swiss village houses, small stream of water, and the lush green leaves of Spring. It was a cloudy day and we worried about the rain, but the weather Gods were helpful. When it was just around 6, wifey was a bit worried as we had to return in time for the train. She bidded us to return, but I pushed her a bit, the markers of the trail were sparse now, but we managed to reach the end of the hill. The sight of the waterfall on the hill across us, the clouds handing so low that we could not see the peak of the hill and various chairs to admire the view was the prize of this journey.

After spending a precious little 5 minutes, we headed back, somehow the return journey felt shorter, we were in time to catch our train. Its strange how satisfying a hike is, something which I am gradually getting fond of.

We’ll always have Paris

Ankur — Sat, 21 Apr 2012 07:27:21 +0000

It is indeed difficult to start with a title of blog post on Travel. I never could buy the phrase ‘City X calling’, No sir, I do not think a city calls one…one being at a specific place in a specific time is purely circumstantial. Anyways, returning back to the post…the title was an easy one, one of the most famous movie quotes from Casablanca, ‘We’ll always have Paris’

Last weekend, we visited Paris, the city of lights and the city of love. Our trip wasn’t the perfect one, but Paris still left a lasting impression. It also taught us plenty of tricks for future travelers to make.

First things first, 3 days is just not enough if you really want to spend time in Paris. Its a good weekend getaway only if you are looking to feast on the city’s beauty without ever tasting the dish. This city, needs around 5 days for you to dive into the Louvre, Versailles and the likes.

Arriving in Paris, we had booked a room in the Ibis Eiffel Tower hotel, it was quite close to the Tower and one could see the most famous French monument right from our window. However, the hotel had bad sound proofing, one could detect any movement in the surroundings without effort.

The first visit was to a nearby local cafe, the couple tried egg-mushroom omlette and a french duck delicacy. The food was good, and the portions too big. We then managed to navigate through the narrow streets to the tower, only to be attracted by Bengali music playing at full blast. It didn’t make sense, why were the French playing Bangla music? Ah ha, a group of Indians/Bangladeshis were celebrating Poila Baishak, and they chose the most prime location in France to celebrate it.

My partner was filled with joy, this was it, the tower and there we were right in front of it! After a round of pictures attempting to look taller than the tower, we crossed the huge garden to reach the river on the other side. The lines below the tower to go up were filled with tourists, this is when i realized that one must book tickets online to save time on waiting to go up.

The river itself is the nerve dividing the city with over 22 or more bridges connecting the ends, the bridges themselves are a feast to the eyes, and the right way to do this is taking a river cruise at night (last departure at 10.30 pm from Notre dame or Eiffel tower). This is a must do activity, one could also attempt boat dining cruises but we focused on the regular one with commentary on the sights. It is the night time when the city of lights really enthralls you. And yes, the tower lights up, I do not know why, but the view just stays with you as a fond memory.

The next day, I was conscious of the Tower queues (and the ticket was not available online for the next month!), so I ventured to the tower around 8.45 AM. It was 45 minutes before they open, only to find myself behind around 200 other people already in the queue. It was a very windy and cold morning, the wait was not a delight…but we got our tickets by 9.45, because most people ahead of me were from group tours and their tickets weren’t sold individually. From this point on, we went straight to the top, at the height of 281 metres, the view was simply exceptional…the wind was like a blizzard. I couldn’t feel my fingers, but when you are on the top of Eiffel tower, would you really care?

Next stop was Versailles, a RER train trip from Champe de Mars (near Eiffel) to Versailles River Gauche (don’t take the one going to Versailles Chantiers – St Quentin en Yvelines). The train station is around 5-10 minutes from the Palace, we had booked the tickets online to save ourselves from the queue. The palace is just exceptional, and will need 4-5 hours for a simple walk. One wonders at the wealth of the time gone by, the richly adorned rooms, halls and beds of the French monarchy and the violent deaths brought upon by the Revolution. The Palace gardens were filled with springtime blooms of tulips and roses, the palace itself is an architectural marvel with a chapel, a hall of battle, the hall of lights and the chambers of King Louis XVI and his Queen.

We returned to Paris in the evening, and helped ourselves to an Indian meal near the Dupleix metro station, it was one of the best Indian restaurant experience I had in continental europe. We then stopped by a local cafe for a dessert, which didn’t disappoint us. Tired and spent, sleep soon beckoned us.

Next morning, our key stop was the Louvre and Notre Dame. How could a trip to Paris be over without a visit to Notre Dame, the 800 year old church, the stage of Victor Hugo’s Hunchback of Notre Dame. We avoided going up the church tower due to the queues and paucity of time, but the insides of the church are worth a visit.

This was the place where Napolean Bonaparte was crowned Emperor, this was also the place where Joan of Arc was granted her right place in the history of France.

Our next stop was Louvre, we bought tickets at a Kiosk shop and avoided the large queues, our main focus area was the Grand gallery. It didn’t disappoint us, the Nintendo DS audio tour is worth taking, for the paintings have a story..which one doesn’t know about. Apart from the Mona Lisa, David and Goliath by Volterra, Four seasons by Archimboldo, Crowning of Emperor Napolean and other works are worth noticing.

Louvre needs 4-5 hours just for a quick browse, it is a must see place for art students, the colors, proportions and representations of human forms by the likes of Da vinci, Michelangelo, Rafeal and others cannot be missed.

Tips:

Buy tickets online for Versailles, Louvre and Eiffel Tower
There are far too many tourists in the right season, its going to be very crowded, so be prepared!
Tourist services were not capable of handling the crowd, specially in terms of washrooms. McDonalds had big queues of folks who wished to use their services, this was noticeable in all the places we visited.
Do try the crepes, they are available almost everywhere!
Don’t buy souvenirs at Tourist spots themselves. They are pricey.
Metro/Train system is not extremely structured, but worth figuring out.
Getting a hotel near Notre Dame will be advisable due to connectivity

Respirer Paris, cela conserve l’âme (breathing paris preserves the soul) - Victor hugo

The move – Final Frontier

Ankur — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 12:49:35 +0000

Be grateful for the home you have, knowing that at this moment, all you have is all you need.

Sometime in 2010, when I was setting up living in Kolkata, India; I had talked about how my mother craved for me to buy bigger products aimed at a family life. I had, painstakingly, defended my bachelor position for a good 17 months after that. I finally capitulated in November last year; but then I moved back to Zurich and continued to live in a limbo.

Since November, I was a married guy, still living the bachelor life, waiting for her to join me. The last post is an indication enough of our long wait, luckily she will be joining me in the next few days.

I have been busy packing since morning to move to an apartment tomorrow meant for a family, trying to cram in everything in the limited set of bags which I possess. Its always strange to realize how one tends to gradually buy new stuff over a few months and then wonder when did it all accumulate. Coming back to the topic, this is my final move as a singleton, this marks the end of the bachelor pad era for me.

I had a good run, bought things only for my own use, ignored any product which could make an apartment homely, never cared about matching color schemes, family packs and tidiness beyond a bare minimum level. Got a TV for my Xbox, removed all silly Hindi channels from my cable network, got a cycle, bought small utensils, never bothered with storage boxes and ate out of packets!

I know it will be strange to live with a girl too, there will be a zillion things which will annoy us about each other, there will also be so many things I would be asked to care about. Its a transformation from indepedence to co-dependence on each other, its my first real step towards family life. Will it be easy? I don’t think so, but I know that each phase has its own relevance, while I enjoyed living like this, I am looking forward to the next step.

Here’s to The Move, cheers!

To wait….

Ankur — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 19:55:10 +0000

“For a while” is a phrase whose length can’t be measured.At least by the person who’s waiting.” ― Haruki Murakami, South of the Border, West of the Sun

A few months ago, yours truly bit the bullet and got married, the travails of an Indian wedding were well summarized here. A couple of weeks later I returned back to the Alps and resumed my work while my girl stayed back waiting for the travel approvals to come.

Thus our wait began, its been tough couple of months since we applied for approvals, with plenty of eventful false alarms, all we know is that things are still moving and will work out soon.

Its been a trying period with people, who until now didn’t care about us, asking her when is she leaving. Indeed, it is a trying question, because it is for a while that she has to wait, she does not have an answer…and the question often hurts.

Patience often wears thin, and emotions often flood out, it is difficult to handle things tenderly when one is himself going through similar motions. The experience has taught me that no matter what happens to me, I need to be there for her and remind her that we can do better.

It is indeed strange how a period of just 2 months seems so trivial at times, and sometimes it is the longest test on has endured. I guess that is relativity to me.

All I want my girl is to have faith in things, to hold on to hope, to wait a bit longer, and be stronger each day…maybe its a week, or two or three…I do not know but it is not forever and it will never be.

Do not stop living each day, because moments are still passing away, and with each moment comes nearer the time of us being together. I know she doesn’t like me to publicly write our feelings, but this post is for all those who wait…for whatever the situation maybe. Remember dear,“We are the perfect couple, we’re just not in the perfect situation.”

Just hang in there, and be strong. Everything will work out soon.

Of Berlin and Berliners

Ankur — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 20:02:03 +0000

“Ich bin ein Berliner” (I am a Berliner). These words were spoken by JFK during his visit to Berlin in 1963. He proclaimed that every free person is a Berliner. Little did he know the nuances of the German language nor was he aware that ‘Berliner‘ is a popular jam filled bun popular amongst the masses, his words really meant he was a jam filled bun. The right phrase should have been, “Ich bin Berliner”. But setting aside the linguistic nuances, the spirit of Berliners was celebrated on that day.

Last weekend, we paid a trip to the city of Berlin. It turned out to be a pretty good experience for a history buff like me, to a massive city, the biggest in Germany.

The first impressions of Berlin came up the moment we got out of the train, Berlin HauptBahnof is a huge railway station opened in 2006 with five different levels serving various local trains like S Bahn and International/National routes. It is modern architectural marvel for its large expanse and design.

Our hotel was near Alexanderplatz, on a cold and wet winter morning, we were standing at the exit of the Alexanderplatz station staring at the Fernsehturm , at 368 meters it is the tallest building in Germany. It was a TV tower constructed by GDR, as the place was a part of East Berlin. They wanted it to be the sign of the city, and it truly is. One could go up the tower and enjoy dinner at its restaurant.

After a while we attempted to venture out in the cold weather, the first stop was Fernsehturm, we wanted to go up but it had a long waiting period, so we decided otherwise. We then took a train to Hackesher markt and wanted towards the Museum Island (Museum Sinsel). Buildings of Altes Museum, Pergamom Museum and Berliner Dom populate the place. Large hallways outside the National Gallery still bear marks of damage from the WWII.

We spent a few hours at the Berliner Dom, which overlooks the Lustgarten (no, don’t giggle!) park. It is indeed difficult to imagine that Lustgarten was one of the places where Nazis would hold mass rallies and during the WWII it was destroyed by bombs. The Berliner Dom is indeed worth a visit, a very different cathedral when compared to churches elsewhere in Europe, it celebrates Reformation and is worthy of spending time.

Next stop for us was Brandenburg Gate, it is the iconic monument of Berlin. In fact it is also stamped on Euro coins, this monument is probably the heart of any visit to the city. This is where the wall stood, right in front of the gate, a division of the people, this is where Ronald Reagen once spoke, ‘Mr Gorbachev, Tear down this wall‘. Till date three US Presidents have spoken at the gate talking about freedom and peace.

Near to the gate is the Reichstag, we really wanted to visit the place inside, but we did not know that free bookings have to be made in advance. I would have loved to visit the Reichstag dome, hopefully I’d go back again someday. With this we returned to Alexanderplatz and visited the TV tower at night, the view of the city and its light was enchanting.

Next morning, the first place to visit was Checkpoint Charlie. A very touristy spot, it was one of the gates where diplomats from US sector would enter/exit the Soviet sector. That single board of Checkpoint Charlie attracts many visitors, an open exhibition of the Berlin wall and markers on the road illustrating where the wall once stood make it an incredible experience.

On the same street as the checkpoint, one could also visit the Mauer Museum (Wall Museum). It is a private museum dedicated to the wall, to peace and the struggle of German people during the days of the Cold War. Anecdotes, actual escape vehicles/contraptions and pictures of people who escaped through the wall make the place a living memorial of the days which went by. Some of the stories are trying heart wrenching, a couple of pictures shook me up…

The last place to visit on the day was Charlottenberg palace, unfortunately by the time we reached there it was already closing time. With this we returned to the HB and waited for our train.

Tips

Local Travel: Buying a day pass at 5.5 EUR (or if in a group upto 5 people at 15 EUR) will allow you to travel by metro, trams and buses. It is worthwhile to also check out the Bus #100 route, it moves around all major spots of interest (except Checkpoint Charlie) and this single bus could be one of the best ways to move around the city.

Stay: We stayed at Etap hotel near Alexanderplatz, the price for two people was 53 EUR. Rooms are clean and simple, perfect for budget travelers.

Ham honge kamiyaab

Ankur — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 09:18:11 +0000

If you are of Indian origin, chances are that you have heard the song above, probably sung it at one point or other in your life. It was a translation done by Girija Kumar Mathur

We used to sing the English version of this song in school, the real song “We Shall Overcome” is in English which had become the Anthem of the African-American Civil Rights Movement.

Standing at the Berlin HB station, we were singing this song, and then the reality struck(akin to the light bulb being lit). The song is probably a reflection of the prepetual state of affairs in India…it talks about overcoming the odds someday, it doesn’t mention when…not today, not tomorrow but someday.

Isn’t that the real Indian way? Infrastructure projects going on forever, to be completed someday? Lokpal Bill in process for over 30 years, will be passed someday? India will be corruption free someday…Indians will be empowered someday…

Maybe it gives us hope to not give up…but it also makes the time period abstract…

What are your views?

2011 – Shape of things to come….

Ankur — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 01:09:44 +0000

Sometime in February, I had written something about the Facebook Revolution; the year is now on its last day. Sadly, the revolutions have not yet resulted in stability and peace. In some cases, like Egypt, the savior army now seems villainous while in places like Syria, violence driven by the autocratic leaders has become the norm. It just stands to prove how short sighted was my view of expected outcomes of uprising. If there is one more additional wisdom I have earned on this, it is the fact that one cannot fast forward to self-rule or self-determination without going through the motions of the transformation. No NATO forces could get a nation back on the road to recovery until a support structure is ready by itself.

But enough of the uprisings, for I was to play soothsayer again…umm..wait I already talked about EU no? Hmm…its already 2012, and EU is still not disintegrated except for the Brits, who weren’t the part of it anyways…but…

The thing is, I am at pains to see that the Euro crises hasn’t gotten any better. Italy and Greece are already seeing new governments, Italy is already in recession. EU is expected to be in recession for the next year, we are in for tough times, tougher than we can visualize right now, because there is no eminent solution in sight. Its like someone hitting the snooze button and refusing to wake up, until the day is already bright enough that you can’t help it.

People still laugh at me when I mention that such a crises could have huge political and social repercussions, they say that its Europe not Africa. Well, here’s the logic…if you refer to the recent Youth Employment rates for EU(not this is NOT a direct percentage, click on the link and understand it). So the Youth Employment rates are as high as 48.9% in Spain and 45.1% in Greece, if this is compared to the Germany figures of 8.5% you will understand what I am referring to. The recent roits in UK may be a sign of what could happen. To complicate the situation, free movement of people across Europe allows citizens of one state to apply for a job in another, so for an already shrinking number of opportunities more people can apply. This in turn can lead to resentment in people belonging to an economically better off state, and is often used as an issue by the politicians to play upon.

Maybe my view is very cynical, afterall EU East consistently has bad youth unemployment, and we don’t see them screaming. But what we miss here is, for people who suddenly see themselves as not being better off or equally well off as their parents were, it means that the state is failing them…once the numbers start adding up it doesn’t matter if it were civilized europe.

Maybe am just being paranoid, but things back home also don’t seem ripe. The Parliament didn’t vote for Lokpal, Hazare just finished another fast. Its silly that some people say that he keeps doing his fasts again and again…he should do something different. Wonder if thats what people felt with Gandhi too. Indian rupee is the worst performing currency, market is down, inflation is up…well…just hope that 2012 is NOT like the 2012 Mayans predicted.

A ring, a ring o’ roses,
A pocket full o’posies-
Atishoo atishoo we all fall down

Unique feelings?

Ankur — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 23:52:04 +0000

If you haven’t realized by now that I am quite cynical, I probably love being cynical. I’d try to dig out slivers of negativity from the most happiest times, would listen to sad tunes during cheerful days…why? Maybe its just the need to be different, to be able to see or experience which everyone else around is missing. Maybe am just creepy!

And so I got married (you should read my last post here) and had a nice trip to Bali and am back in the midst of cold Alps on what is the day of the Christmas eve. Someone had asked me to write about Bali, normally I would jump at the idea of writing a blog post on any new place visited. However, giving a review of your own honeymoon didn’t seem to make sense (no no, not the juicy details but of the location itself!).

I remember watching it on Discovery that the real moments of life which we truly remember are the ones which were unique experiences, this is exactly the reason we hardly seem to remember details of what we did 2 months ago on this date at office, because life is often very regulated(or as Morgan Freeman said, Institutionalized). The mind tends to recall most the specific moments which were unique, these could be visiting new places, first kiss, first love, first breakup, first job interview and so on…

Now the trip to Bali was something which I wanted to be unique, and it indeed was, yet today someone has pasted pictures on facebook about the same Island, their honeymoon and well a lot of similar places…and the trip suddenly doesn’t seem as unique as it was. Its strange, even the iPhone 4S which I bought standing in a queue here on the second day of its launch seems not so unique when I see some other newly wed bride getting the same from her hubby. Jeez…we first try to prove we are different and then we do all the same things as others! How predictable no?

But then, my experience in Bali or my emotions while buying the phone are unique to me, nobody in the same place even at the same time could feel the way as I did. That special feeling or experience is privy to me, it can never be duplicated.

Oh and one more thing, to have unique experiences one doesn’t need to do big things, sometimes even the smallest things are big enough to leave a sweet mark in our memories…

Here’s a song I love, Rob Thomas – Little Wonders

Weddiction?

Ankur — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 20:14:23 +0000

Hmm…so in just about 9 days from now, I shall be locked in the chains of matrimony.

Its been more than 6 months since the day was decided upon with due consultation from the holy men, November being the wedding season in India, my D-day is on the 20.11.2011

For the past few weeks, with an increasing frequency (and thanks to Mr Zuckerberg’s facebook) I have been a party to these questions, the thing is, for most of them nobody believes my answers or they just drown my answers in their own way (of course with all good and sweet intentions). So here’s a primer,

Now that its just xyz days left. How do you feel? Honestly, I haven’t been feeling any different, am so far away from home that I don’t feel anything different than I normally do! But then, most people either feel something is wrong with me or am just not speaking the truth!
Aren’t you excited or nervous (or maybe scared)? To this the standard response is neutral, but people feel you are just denying the excitement…umm…but why would I do that?
The fun part of this question is, most of my European colleagues refer to a phenomena called the cold-feet and they believe that we have a choice left till the last day to say I do. But I have explained them the dynamics of a few gazillion guests visiting you in an Indian wedding, and thus making your escape impossible. Hey, I don’t even know if you can successfully get a loo break in the process without being a victim of some humor. But honestly, am NOT over the top, neither am i scared to death. I have been trying hard to scare my fiance a bit, but she doesn’t seem to fall for my pranks yet!
Then there’s the classic, the statement that wedding resembles an sweet which those who don’t eat they regret, and those who do eat regret eating it! Hmm…surely they are referring to an obese person on a diet…who could not resist a donut…and then regrets eating it later. Anyways…am bored of this one, I was never regretting my not eating the sweet, was trying to defend it (click here), and I still don’t and I hope not to regret the next phase either. Afterall, I remained single by choice (or by other peoples’ choice?) and now I’ll be married by my choice.
You don’t know what you are getting into! Hmm…well that holds true for anything we do in our own personal and professional lives. We step in with an assumption, give it our best and wish it turns out well.

But these are all questions from people who wish me well, and I respect that. Am thankful to them for being concerned, am not trying to mock them but cynical as I am, i cannot help commenting on it. Besides, when everyone else is going to be having some fun at my expense (literally) I do deserve to throw in a few jibes.

Below is the next set of top things which I’d expect to face on the wedding evening from various guests and well wishers(and the answers which I shall never speak).

Beta, how are you feeling? Umm…make a guess…there are a couple of hundred folks all at my wedding eating away all the food while I look at them…i have been smiling constantly for hours, haven’t slept in 3 days…there is no part of my body which isn’t in a state of rebellion. And yes, am dressed like a magician who is just going to pull up a bunny from his hat!
When did you arrive from Zurich? You are so lucky to be there, Switzerland is a very beautiful place. Yes indeed its a wonderful country, sadly I work there unlike most people who go there for fun…everyday i struggle to meet deadlines, attend meetings, cook food, communicate like an ape-like sign language to the kind Swiss folk who speak German, and yes…watch no TV as nothing is in English. And yes, I DO NOT see snow covered Alps out of my window (thanks a lot Yashraj Chopra)
Where are you going for honeymoon, oh wait…isn’t Switzerland a honeymoon destination? Umm…yes…but do you realize what month this is? Its November…do you know how cold it is in November? Sigh….
And the event called Jaimal(or the garland exchange)…so here you are tired as hell…and the girl arrives and now you are supposed to exchange the garlands. But…and this is a big massive BUT…everyone now wants you to stand up and wait for the other person to do it first…and then there are a few overzealous cousins who want to lift you up so that the girl cannot reach out…Guys, do you realize, it hurts my bottom and the magician outfit doesn’t help either! Moreover, if you get tired of the joke and try to get over with this exchange of garlands, you are also labeled as a joru-ka-gulam (umm…means something like a slavish husband?). Honestly, guys I don’t care…you want to do the garland exchange after a few hours, fine by me, just allow me to sit down and chill!
Photographers and the likes, Oh don’t get me started on these creeps, they blow up a super warm light on your face to blind you, so that you don’t even realize whats happening behind their back! They charge you by the number of pictures they take, and then they fill it up with pictures of people gobbling up all the food you paid for and of young teenage female guests, who you probably don’t even know.
Cousins and the aunties and the uncles and the people who-you-are-meeting-the-first-time-yet-they-expect you to remember their name, Well…they are there to support you, or is it? They are there to make sure that no opportunity of pulling up a prank, joke or a snide remark is missed. Hmm…engineering college ragging was better? Maybe, but this has its own special charm (thats what I have been told)…ah well…once I get married, i can pull them up for the rest of my life…
Vidaai (the time when you take the bride with you after the wedding), this is an emotional moment, suddenly the bride starts weeping, all that extra layers of make up starts to wash away. But what about the groom? He stands there alone, feeling utterly guilty of taking the bride away. Its as if he is taking her away forcibly without her consent, and he is the villian of this story. Well..sweetie if you are feeling so bad, maybe you can stay for another day…I can take you home the next morning…just don’t cry okay!

I know many of my guests who may read this blog may not approve of it, don’t worry am thrilled to be married and I am glad that you all will be there to pull my leg and make sure that I don’t run away

Bello Milano

Ankur — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 11:40:08 +0000

I have been traveling quite a bit, this started in the last few months…Vienna, Amsterdam (not exactly!), Milan, Konstanz and of course places within der Schweiz. I have already completed that wish to visit 5 countries by the time I am 30, in fact, i have already exceeded it by one.

Do I regret traveling? No, I love it.

So it was a fine sunny day in September, not like the suddenly gloomy, dull days of the fall, devoid of any Sun. Early around 8.30 we left from Zurich HB towards Milano Centrale. Yes, Yes I know I should have taken an earlier train, but a weekend is all about lazy beginnings right?

Anyways, it was already around noon when we landed up in Milano Centrale. The first taste of Italian hospitality came in when the Tourist counter lady at the station acted super rude and just gave me a tourist map to the city, she did not respond to my query about this thing called Milan Card (a coupon which gives you free local travel and discounts in shops). It took us another 10 minutes to find our way out of the station, deciphering the map…The station itself is huge, with connections to the Milan Underground system. The station was opening in 1931 and was, at one time, an attempt to showcase the impact of the power of Mussolini’s regime.

Next step was to look into the map and select the places we’d visit, afterall we had to return the same day. We were hungry, and ended up at the McDonalds across. First tragedy stuck, the lady at the counter said yes to vegatarian burger, and what i ended up with was a salad burger without any patty. It was yuck! Anyways, we marked around 10 places on the map, and figured out the Azienda Trasporti Milanesi route.

Next halt was the massive Piazza del Duomo, a huge expanse of a square with buildings all around it. I have never been to a place like that, a huge square with hundreds of people. It was indeed a crowded place, a novelty in Europe I suppose? The square is faced by the famous Milan Cathedral on one side, the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele and a series of other important buildings and shopping arcades.

The square had like a zillion pigeons with sellers trying to lure outsiders like me to feed corn to them at a price or get a picture taken at a price. Sounds familiar? Yes, this reminded me of India. The impression of Italy was reinforced in the rest of the day.

The Duomo di Milano (cathedral) is a huge building which started off back in 1386, finally ordered for completion by Napolean. In fact Napolean was crowned as the King of Italy at the Duomo. The church with its extensive glass paintings, sculptures, halls and the treasury is THE place to visit in Milan. I have been to a lot of churches here, but nothing compares to Duomo.

We later headed to the Art museum (Pinacoteca Ambrosiana) nearby, it started as the personal collection of Cardinal Federigo Borromeo it has expanded to over 12k paintings and a huge collection of artifacts and manuscripts. The notable elements of the place Raphael’s School of Athens sketch, designed for the fresco in the Vatican’s Stanza della Segnatura, and manuscripts by Leonardo da Vinci, including the Codex Atlanticus.

From here on, we returned back to the square and searched for a small chapel nearby, we could have almost missed the place as the opening was hidden. After this, we took a walk around the Piazza and visited the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele, this huge building houses the most premium shopping brands with plenty of food joints. It opens on one end towards the town hall facing the Opera house.

It was around this time when we wishes to return, but the return journey was not as fun as i had thought. For the day we traveled to Milan, it was the same as the F1 GP in Milan. We managed to get reserved tickets to Zurich (only 1st class was available). Only to realize on boarding the train that the ticket agent gave us tickets of the next day! We went back to argue, the man just denied it. It annoyed us because he had himself proposed us to buy 1st class as reservation was available! Sadly it was the last direct train to Zurich, we then took another ticket to reach a place called Arth goldau, hoping to catch the last connection for the night to Zurich.

But the train was delayed, it was indeed similar to India again! Our worry was that our connection was in Switzerland, thus there was no way we could now catch it. Everyone was quite uncomfortable, afterall most were visiting from der Schweiz, trains getting late is not a common thing.

As the train entered the Swisss territory, a terrible thunderstorm started off…well i had no hopes left, i thought I’d reach home the next day. But, soon a train announcement was made, the train would now be going to Zurich and Basel. Any passengers who were going to Luzern (as in the original route) should get off on the next stop and they would have a bus waiting to drop them off. You can only expect the Swiss to do this!!!

We did not have a ticket to Zurich, and we explained it to the ticket checker, he said, ‘No problem we are delayed and its on us’.