Auf Wiedersehen Deutschland

This post has been in the backburner form some time. I was to write this at the end of my stint in Germany, having ended a chapter of my life. My time was very eventful albeit a little shortlived. I cant think of any other phase when there were so many highlights in such a short period. The ones listed below are in no particular order of importance.

• I got my Master's degree. More importantly I got the foreign education experience I wanted. Whether I made use of the learning opportunities is another thing. My coursework did not warrant any deep learning or many assignments. The exams were kinda tough but the emphasis on application and understanding rather than mugging meant that studying for exams wasn't strenuous. And in the end, the grades were very good. If not for the chilled out course, I would not have had time to work for my living (and travelling) expenses and I would not have had any more points on this list.
• Travelling around Europe was probably the biggest reason I went to Germany. And doing that involved a lot of planning, saving, making use of every holiday I got and sometimes going alone if I had to. I visited Austria, Czech Republic, Italy, France (Paris), Spain, Switzerland, Russia (Moscow), Belgium, Netherlands and of course many parts of Germany. I did leave out Greece and Scandinavia on purpose. There should be a reason to come back, right? Anyway, my travels made my time in Europe the vacation that it was. And of course, it gave me so much to blog about.
• I learnt how to swim. Crossing over to the deep side (in the Olympic pool :) ) took some time but now I am very comfortable in water, which had been a target for a very long time.
• I put on weight. Yes, you read it right. What I thought was impossible is apparently possible. All it needed was a daily diet of 2 litres milk, half a kilo of chicken, and eggs, fish, rice, tuna and mayo sandwiches, peanuts..that is all. And hard and heavy working out. 10 kilos in 5 months is no lean feat, me thinks. And for me, this is probably the most important gain, because I have always been touchy about my body, and enough blood has boiled when unfit people have talked trash about it. But there is still work to be done, and now gymming has become part of my daily routine.
• I learnt to ski. In the Alps. Enough said.
• I can speak German. Just the basic stuff. I really enjoyed interacting with people in German to get around, or in the store etc.
• I got much better in playing the guitar, tennis and cooking. 
• Then there is the whole German experience. Which means four seasons and the cold bitter winters, the discipline and efficiency, the politeness and the hot chicks. Germany is a model state, and there is a lot Indians can learn from Germans. I dont think German punctuality has really rubbed on me. I still am always exactly on time or 5 minutes late tops, but never early. But I hold their politeness in high regard and I try to emulate them as far as I can. I also made a few good friends and many friends from other countries.

I did all these exciting things, but still couldn't find enough reason to stay. I see these two years as a pure vacation, maybe a sabbatical. I studied, traveled, played, lived my dreams and then came home. So the fact that the Masters degree has not given me any real boost to my career does not bother me.  I learnt a lot of things, about myself, about how people live and how things work in a different world. I realized what I took for granted, and I have understood my priorities and discovered the things that mean the most to me. I am really glad I went and I hope I get a chance to visit again.

The wait is over

Camp Nou.

I made it there. The grandest football venue in the world to watch Xavi, Iniesta, Messi and co. pass the ball around. And to top it all, I bought a front row seat to get as close as possible to the action. That morning, I peeped through Messi's Masserati when he got stranded in front of the gate, and later that evening he was kicking a ball 10 feet away from me. Anyway, my happiness had to be limited somehow, and so to bring about some balance, the match ended goalless with Messi missing a penalty. oh what the hell, the didnt stop the match from being one of the best experiences ever.

It was the highlight of my Spain trip. I was spellbound by the Flamenco show also. I had lots of time, and was in relaxing mood, so I didnt walk around the cities too much. In keeping with Spanish tradition, I also took a siesta almost every day. I saw a bit of Madrid and then spent a few days in Barcelona checking out the city in the morning and lazing around the beach the rest of the day. I chatted up some people and we shared our stories, but the most significant one was my conversation with a German on my way to Munich after landing. He was a retired honcho at Siemens with a holiday home in Spain. For an hour he talked about his life, and Spain and Germany and India, and philosophy and I was just listening so intently. It was interesting to hear him crib about how Germans follow the rules all the time, even during leisure. He had been to India many times for business, and I asked him if he plans to visit again. I almost cried when he said he will never go to India again because he cannot see hungry dying people outside when he steps out of his luxurious hotel. Then he got talking about home and family and money and the joy of having a beer at a local bar with his family and friends. He was reiterating many thoughts in my head and I began to wonder that this can't be a coincidence. He was my 'wise old man'. I was waiting for an epiphany to change my mind, but the opposite happened.

It was a good way to end my much awaited Spain trip. Next time, I will for sure visit the smaller towns and islands instead. Anyway, that wrapped up my Eurotrips for the time being. It is about time I sorted all the pics.

Eid Mubarak

Eid-ul-Fitr used to be the day I used to look forward to the most when I was a kid. Because on that day, I would get my pocket money for the rest of the year, and wear my new Eid clothes. Time has passed, and now it isn't payday nor do I have to wait for Eid to shop for new clothes. And I have gone from celebrating with family to spending Eid in an office far away from home. But one thing that has remained constant is the tradition of having biryani on Eid. My mom makes the world's best biryani so mine isn't half as good. But I am sure my biryani would make her proud.

Somewhere I belong

My Masters is drawing to a close and I have been breaking my head over the decision to stay in Germany or go back home. This is not a recent thing, as the question has been bugging me for a long time now. I am sure where I want to be, and a call home just about clears all confusion. But I also think about the occasional extraordinary things I get to do here. Somehow I get into (futile) conversation with people over the matter. I am not someone who takes advice seriously, but I guess it is about listening to others' point of view, which are mostly along these lines:

'Work a few years and then go back'
'Follow your heart'
'Don't follow your heart'
'You are an idiot'
'Life is comfortable here. No late trains. No traffic. You don't need a car.'
'You are abroad with better standard of living. What is not to like?'
'Better work culture here, no working weekends'

I have also been reading about NRI experiences in an effort to find like-minded people. It was heartening to know that it is common to feel the lack of 'sense of belonging' and to miss things back home. The best piece I found on the subject is here, and I don't think I can sum it up better than what she has written.

It is funny how you arrive with stars in your eyes, you are blown away by the beauty of the new place and the well mannered disciplined life, only to then feel that something is missing. Call it culture shock, call it nostalgia, but it is something that has to be fixed. You have to let go of all that is familiar, to adapt to a way of life that is a world of a difference from what you are comfortable with. I have failed at that, blame it on being alone, or on a perfect life before I came here. But I do not understand how Indians here are happy living this dichotomous life, where you spend your life in a foreign country, cooking Indian food everyday (but longing for all the food that you don't get/can't cook), constantly following everything happening in India (from the internet of course), missing family and friends - only to visit them once a year in a hurried affair, and resorting to low quality web streaming in the name of TV and cinema. Basically, living a desi life in phoren.

Why all this sacrifice - for 'higher standard of living' and some extra money, which does not increase your purchasing power a great deal anyway. For me, having clean roads and good public transportation does not mean a higher standard of living. I should be able to visit people I love when I wish, eat anything I want, feel like I belong to a place, where I can make a difference to at least my loved ones if not others, where I feel the warmth. Small things matter, like being able to afford eating out and not missing special occasions and festivals. And I beg to differ, but I so need a car. And anybody complaining of work culture and hectic schedules has obviously not worked in a semiconductor company.

I could stay back a few years, as per my original plan, but I have pushed myself so deep into negativity that staying here longer would be a real grind. I would wake up every morning thinking 'What if..' and 'I wish…'. There is also a fear that things might change and like most people, that plan to return will never materialize. And surely, I cannot and probably, should not catch a flight everytime a close friend is getting married or something. Over the past two years I have done and seen a lot of things I have always dreamt of. Having done that, I want to regain my sense of wonder, my ambition and realize another set of dreams. I know where I will be happy and the pursuit of happiness is most important. Everything else can take a back seat.

My new Galaxy

My Sony Ericsson k750i has been with me for almost 5 years. But even for that age, it was still in pretty solid shape. Ok, the speakers were low on volume, and it had lost its looks. But the music player was outstanding as always and so I would turn a deaf ear to anyone who would ask me to get a new phone. But lately, the earphone socket also got loose which meant it was a pain to even listen to music. So I advanced my smartphone purchase and now I am a proud owner of a very beautiful Samsung Galaxy S. It is so much sexier than I thought. I even fell in love with the box it came in. 

I decided not to go for the Iphone 4 with it's closed ecosystem, and double price for only slightly better looks. I have already installed some cool apps, like synthesizers, puzzles and a few games. The file transfer system is a breeze, just like a USB drive, and video any format no problem. And the blog looks fantastic too, with the compressed pixels.

 

Since I get attached to anything under the sky, I had a hard time letting my ex-phone go. In fact, I removed the sim card a day after I got the galaxy. After all, your phone is the only thing that is around you all the time. And in spite of lots of (unintentional) abuse, it never complained, never got stuck, never disintegrated. Anyone looking for a non-smartphone should pick the k750i, for its sturdiness in build and outstanding audio quality and battery life. No, I wont give you mine.

Moving on, I am hooked to my new baby. Nothing like a new gadget to pump excitement levels up.

And then I headed north

Benelux without the 'lux' was the final part of my planned summer travel series. We were to spend a day in Brussels, then Bruges overnight and then off to Netherlands.

I didnt expect much from Brussels, but what we saw was pretty nice - a centre resembling Munich's Marienplatz, the Atomium and some nice palace buildings.

Bruges was a quiet little town with the canals, and old houses. We were dead tired thanks to Eurolines dumping us in Brussels at 6am. The first thing we did in Bruges was take a good afternoon nap after checking in. For the comfortable beds, perfect pillows - which make a lot of difference - and full course breakfast in the bar all for 13€, St Christopher's Inn is the best hostel I have stayed in. One incident that marred proceedings was when we were (or rather, I was) refused to be served in a Bruges restaurant. I wanted to try out the mussels and fries dish - which was suposed to be a Belgian speciality - but my friends had to be taught that you do not sit at a table for four and order nothing. Anyway I went to the next place, but obviously the Belgians dont know what we mallus do with 'kallumakaya'.

Next stop was Kinderdjik near Rotterdam, to see the windmills Netherlands is known for. We had to change trains at Antwerp Centraal station, which was an architectural beauty. Never seen a station so pretty.

Only one of the 15 or so windmills at Kinderdjik was functional. Anyway, the windmills along the stream complemented by the brilliant sky that afternoon, meant both camera and cameraman were happy.

Amsterdam - wild, crazy party place - lived up to its name, with the crowded streets where people-cycle-tram move together, the party centres, the 'coffeeshops' and the redlight district. Mischief was in the air, and we joined in some of the fun too (wink wink). But since 'What happens in Amsterdam stays in Amsterdam', no details will appear here. And of course, the city was unlike any other in terms of all the beautiful canals running through it.

It was a fun trip with plenty of diversity in sights and craziness in activity. Amsterdam should definitely be 'high' on the list of destinations for any party-lover.

Landscape Suisse

I guess Switzerland caught everyone's fancy, including mine, after DDLJ and other Yash Chopra flicks. ( Of course, if one is into Hindi movies ). This was quite apparent with the sight of Indian families all over the place.

We had the Swiss pass, so we covered quite a lot during the 4-day trip. Two nights in Interlaken, one in Zermatt, and we touched Zurich and Bern on the way.

With Interlaken as base, we visited Grindlewald, Lauterbrunnen and Murren. We skipped the trip to the top of Jungfrau and Schilthorn because of the overcast conditions shown on the live cams.

The Swiss landscape was quite similar to the landscape of the German Alps, the latter being unspoilt and can be enjoyed for a fraction of the cost. Nonetheless, the mountains and nearby villages were very pretty and the snow-capped peaks were a sight whenever the clouds cleared. What is interesting is that the scenery looks so much better in the photographs I clicked. Must be the absence of crowds in the pics that adds to the surreal effect.

We loved Zermatt, for being a quiet town with the majestic Matterhorn overlooking it.

We spent a lot of time in trains. This included six hours on the Glacier express, which was a tourist trap I fell into. Switzerland is the place to hike, but I was with people who did not want to walk a mile, forget hiking. I feel a view is best when it has been earned. Would have definitely been an adventure. But anyway we didn't have too much time, and the only adventure I got was with white-water rafting. It was my first time, but the river was too calm and the thrills were hard to come by. Class III-IV rapids it seems, we were never remotely close to falling over. The guide said water levels were low, and it gets much better when the levels are good. At least, he allowed me to take a dip in the cold water for some time, and fake a fall-rescue sequence. Also, the photographs tell a different story.


Lovely place, but Switzerland does not fit the bill for 'Heaven on earth' yet. I guess it needs to be explored the the right way with a more relaxed time frame, maybe then it will get my vote.