So, I have successfully completed a week stay in the Switzerland... Hmm, not bad!
Today was a usual day... had planned to go to the museum, but got late, will go tomorrow... walked to coop with nanaji... he had coffee, i had ice cream... our first voluntary spending outside...
Very near to our home is a place they called Messeplatz, which is a hub for global events. And right opposite to that is the Ramada Plaza, the hotel. And the area between these two plazas is a very youthful place. Kids ride bicycles, teenagers experiment with their skate boarding stunts, lovers come to the cafe, and older people play chess... and this ain't your regular chess! The chess board is painted on the concrete of the road... and there are two to three foot tall idols of the pawns, the elephants, the horses and other forces of each kingdom. And people stand on the chess board and play it (by moving the pieces). I was reminded of the game of chess from the Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.
I learnt my third authentic dish, the Chinese fried rice. We made it with whatever was left of the vegetables: the carrots, onions and peas. And I loved it in spite of the fact that it was too hot (temperature wise) and too hot (because of excess chilly). I was too hungry!!
Me and Anumama went to the coop and got home some vegetables (finally!!) and some bread. So, now I can cook myself a lunch tomorrow! And I can also make a sandwich for a takeaway to the museum!
Anyways, today was the Swiss Republic Day. And they had fireworks at midnight. Anumama was supposed to come with me... but he got caught in some work. So, it was pretty much myself. I boarded the surprisingly crowded Tram no. 6 without a ticket as Anumama told me, and got off at some point I had never been before, and more importantly, at a place and in a direction where I was not supposed to go...
But, there was a large crowd, so, this was 'also' one of the place from where I could see the fireworks!! Shucks, who cares what angle I see it from. I informed Anumama and he confirmed whether I knew how to come back. I did! So, at 11 o'clock in the night, I was standing above the Rhine looking at the beautiful sky and the colorful lights that decorated it...
The fireworks were brilliant... The atmosphere was charged up... There were thousands of people surrounding me... Most of them with their partners... Rest of them with their families... A sudden emptiness filled inside me... I became aware that all of my loved ones are far away... saat samandar paar... and amongst all the merry people I started feeling lonely... but that lasted for another two minutes... until I saw the moon... it was also alone... and it was enjoying the fireworks... and then we exchanged a meaningful look, and the loneliness was gone...
I enjoyed the fireworks, the atmosphere, the newness of the place that I was in, the difference in the culture and the freedom... I stayed for sometime after the fireworks were over... There was loud music around and people were dancing and drinking... I tried to capture some parts of it in my camera...
I got back to the tram station, on the tram, off the tram, in the house, and in the bed... the wretched tooth ache..!!
Friday, July 31, 2009
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Day 6
Wow, I did what I said! I visited the zoo today, on my own, alone!
I took down certain pointers for myself on a piece of paper, crumbled a 20 CHF (Swiss Francs) note and few coins in my pocket and set out for the day. The tram station is just in front of our building entrance. You have to purchase a ticket prior to getting on the tram. So, I went to the Ticket Vending Machine. Thankfully, they had English as an optional language. So, there were three options, short distance, Zone A, and Zone A/B. Now you might make out that these were according to the distances from the stop. But, I wasn't sure whether my stop would be counted in short distance or Zone A. Following some guidelines I read on the internet, I greeted a lady who was sitting by, in the local dialect and asked whether she spoke English. She was delighted to help me out of the doubt. Zone A it was! A full 3 CHF!! (A CHF is roughly translated into 50 Rs.)
I had to get on to Tram no. 2. The indicator clearly maintained a list of trams that are expected to arrive and the time remaining for the arrival. Like the western railway.
The ride was fun. Imagine sitting on a train and riding on the roads. I was surprised to see that at some places, the tracks of the tram went through grass, and more surprising was, the grass remained intact!
A bit conscious of the stops that past by, I got off at Zoo Dorenbach, which was right across the south entrance of the zoo. I got a free entry inside with the coupon that Anumama had given me. The regular ticket for a young person (16-25 yrs) was 12 CHF (600 Rs.!!) Sad, that I will have to spend as much the next time I'm planning to go there, which will be in a few days. Reason?? My batteries dies down this time around!! And this place is really worth seeing! And I wouldn't forgive myself if I didn't capture everything I found worth clicking, which would include about 600 types of animals (amphibians, reptiles, mammals, insects, and what not). I don't remember a specie which I did not see here, except probably dogs and cats. Every living thing under the sun was here.
There was a monkey section which had a wide variety of monkeys. At least 10! And not just distinguished by color, but by size, by habitat, by breed... you'll see when you get to see the photos! And then there were snakes, alligators, spiders, zebras, elephants, ostriches, frogs, ducks, hippos, rhinos, and...
There was a large aquarium, where I saw one of the world's craziest creations. The fishes with glowing eyes won over everything. The tank was fully covered with a case and a few eye holes were provided to see inside. And was it great!! The second prize went to the jellyfishes which were a visual treat. The people arriving at this stop were quite literally mesmerized by the glow and the flow. I managed to grab a few clicks in spite of my marela battery, I just couldn't miss this!! And my faithful batteries did support me with their last few breaths!
Then there was this large hall, where there were two consecutive entries. After getting past both of them, I thought I was transported to some secluded part of the Amazon. The atmosphere depicted a swamp. And rare beautiful birds flew over my head. Some rested on the ground just feet away from me. Some made melodious noises. Some swam in a near by puddle. Some were perched on trees in groups. Wow!! Even reminiscing about it is so peaceful and heavenly.
There were times I got transported to the Disneyland. Some people would understand when I say, I saw Marty, Alex, Melman, Gloria, Skipper, Private, Kowalski, Mason, Nemo, Dora, Sid, Diego, Manny, Koda, Kenai, Oscar, and manny manny more!!
Yea, I know I'm sounding too stupid and too childish, but I was truly over whelmed!! And the child within me just couldn't stay quiet!!
After my random walk around the zoo, much of which was still to be seen, I found the restaurant. I got myself an ice cream and a sandwich - 8.20 CHF (410 Rs.). The sandwich tasted funny, so I packed it back and unwrapped the ice cream. Ice creams can never be bad!! And so I had my lunch with the ostriches (who were right across the bench that I sat on)
I completed the stroll with some other animals, which included many types of deers, bears, more monkeys, horses, goats, donkeys even!! And finally found my exit (ausgang as they call it in German). I got out somewhere, and followed the wall of the zoo back to the entrance where I got in... because that was where I had to board my return tram.
My legs were aching and I was thirsty. I called up Ania to ask her to open the door (They have the entrance to the buildings locked from inside). Don't know what went wrong, the door didn't open! So, I just stood observing people around me... and while I was doing this, I noticed a very junglee human being who was carrying a couple of bags and swaying them here and there as he walked. I realized it was my mama gesturing me to come and hold the bags. So, thankfully, I could go up now.
Today is Wiktor's one month birthday. So we had some sinful pastries!!
Spagetti is the second dish I learnt making here, Pizza being the first which I learnt on Day 2. Mama is kanjoos about cheese, but being in the land of dairy farms and healthy cows, how can I not take a second helping?
Planning to visit a museum tomorrow. There is some Van Gogh Vincent Exhibition around and I have a free pass.
I realize that today's entry is a wee bit too long, but the zoo was really amazing!! Please bear with it, I promise to writer shorter entries hence forth!
I took down certain pointers for myself on a piece of paper, crumbled a 20 CHF (Swiss Francs) note and few coins in my pocket and set out for the day. The tram station is just in front of our building entrance. You have to purchase a ticket prior to getting on the tram. So, I went to the Ticket Vending Machine. Thankfully, they had English as an optional language. So, there were three options, short distance, Zone A, and Zone A/B. Now you might make out that these were according to the distances from the stop. But, I wasn't sure whether my stop would be counted in short distance or Zone A. Following some guidelines I read on the internet, I greeted a lady who was sitting by, in the local dialect and asked whether she spoke English. She was delighted to help me out of the doubt. Zone A it was! A full 3 CHF!! (A CHF is roughly translated into 50 Rs.)
I had to get on to Tram no. 2. The indicator clearly maintained a list of trams that are expected to arrive and the time remaining for the arrival. Like the western railway.
The ride was fun. Imagine sitting on a train and riding on the roads. I was surprised to see that at some places, the tracks of the tram went through grass, and more surprising was, the grass remained intact!
A bit conscious of the stops that past by, I got off at Zoo Dorenbach, which was right across the south entrance of the zoo. I got a free entry inside with the coupon that Anumama had given me. The regular ticket for a young person (16-25 yrs) was 12 CHF (600 Rs.!!) Sad, that I will have to spend as much the next time I'm planning to go there, which will be in a few days. Reason?? My batteries dies down this time around!! And this place is really worth seeing! And I wouldn't forgive myself if I didn't capture everything I found worth clicking, which would include about 600 types of animals (amphibians, reptiles, mammals, insects, and what not). I don't remember a specie which I did not see here, except probably dogs and cats. Every living thing under the sun was here.
There was a monkey section which had a wide variety of monkeys. At least 10! And not just distinguished by color, but by size, by habitat, by breed... you'll see when you get to see the photos! And then there were snakes, alligators, spiders, zebras, elephants, ostriches, frogs, ducks, hippos, rhinos, and...
There was a large aquarium, where I saw one of the world's craziest creations. The fishes with glowing eyes won over everything. The tank was fully covered with a case and a few eye holes were provided to see inside. And was it great!! The second prize went to the jellyfishes which were a visual treat. The people arriving at this stop were quite literally mesmerized by the glow and the flow. I managed to grab a few clicks in spite of my marela battery, I just couldn't miss this!! And my faithful batteries did support me with their last few breaths!
Then there was this large hall, where there were two consecutive entries. After getting past both of them, I thought I was transported to some secluded part of the Amazon. The atmosphere depicted a swamp. And rare beautiful birds flew over my head. Some rested on the ground just feet away from me. Some made melodious noises. Some swam in a near by puddle. Some were perched on trees in groups. Wow!! Even reminiscing about it is so peaceful and heavenly.
There were times I got transported to the Disneyland. Some people would understand when I say, I saw Marty, Alex, Melman, Gloria, Skipper, Private, Kowalski, Mason, Nemo, Dora, Sid, Diego, Manny, Koda, Kenai, Oscar, and manny manny more!!
Yea, I know I'm sounding too stupid and too childish, but I was truly over whelmed!! And the child within me just couldn't stay quiet!!
After my random walk around the zoo, much of which was still to be seen, I found the restaurant. I got myself an ice cream and a sandwich - 8.20 CHF (410 Rs.). The sandwich tasted funny, so I packed it back and unwrapped the ice cream. Ice creams can never be bad!! And so I had my lunch with the ostriches (who were right across the bench that I sat on)
I completed the stroll with some other animals, which included many types of deers, bears, more monkeys, horses, goats, donkeys even!! And finally found my exit (ausgang as they call it in German). I got out somewhere, and followed the wall of the zoo back to the entrance where I got in... because that was where I had to board my return tram.
My legs were aching and I was thirsty. I called up Ania to ask her to open the door (They have the entrance to the buildings locked from inside). Don't know what went wrong, the door didn't open! So, I just stood observing people around me... and while I was doing this, I noticed a very junglee human being who was carrying a couple of bags and swaying them here and there as he walked. I realized it was my mama gesturing me to come and hold the bags. So, thankfully, I could go up now.
Today is Wiktor's one month birthday. So we had some sinful pastries!!
Spagetti is the second dish I learnt making here, Pizza being the first which I learnt on Day 2. Mama is kanjoos about cheese, but being in the land of dairy farms and healthy cows, how can I not take a second helping?
Planning to visit a museum tomorrow. There is some Van Gogh Vincent Exhibition around and I have a free pass.
I realize that today's entry is a wee bit too long, but the zoo was really amazing!! Please bear with it, I promise to writer shorter entries hence forth!
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Day 5
Dude... it's already Day 5, and I have not gone par the Rhine or the Floriculture farm... At this rate, I will need a couple of years to get past the Europe!! All I'm doing is searching maps for places to go!!
OK, I have decided to go forward, spend some money and visit the local zoo... they say the Basel Zoo is worth a see. It's the 7th largest in the world.
Anyways, today just flew by. I did nothing significant other than venturing out to the local departmental store to get some mushrooms for Ania. It was alright. The vegetable section was interesting. The variety and freshness was worth seeing. Everything here is juicy. The onions here are so blessfully watery, you can extract onion milk like you extract coconut milk. Really!
The tooth ache is giving me a real pain... Have to do something about it!!
OK, I have decided to go forward, spend some money and visit the local zoo... they say the Basel Zoo is worth a see. It's the 7th largest in the world.
Anyways, today just flew by. I did nothing significant other than venturing out to the local departmental store to get some mushrooms for Ania. It was alright. The vegetable section was interesting. The variety and freshness was worth seeing. Everything here is juicy. The onions here are so blessfully watery, you can extract onion milk like you extract coconut milk. Really!
The tooth ache is giving me a real pain... Have to do something about it!!
Day 4
OK, today was my first day out, alone... After having the regular milk with 'flakes and nuts' breakfast and my first bath in the swiss (which went on for like an hour), I got ready for my stroll... and in stead of going the regular path, where my mama takes me, I went in the exactly opposite direction.
The first stop on my journey was the money exchange counter. I got some euros changed to swiss francs. I was afraid of getting lost and having no money to call (and eat). And then after analyzing the route to follow, I ended up catching a random path and following it. This street was pleasantly green and had tiny and cute row houses with nicely maintained front yards. These front yards were filled with flowers and stones and little ceramic toys and most importantly, bicycles. Every house had at least two. These people rely mostly on bicycles for their local and even regional transport. It's healthy and economical.
Here I spot my first swiss animal. A mighty healthy cat. She was very friendly, just like the people around here. And I realized, animals from a certain region behave like the people from that region do. No wonder dogs from Mumbai are so hostile!
Anyways, so I met some more animals along the way, some dogs, some more cats, some spiders, some honey bees and a sort of bird. They were nothing like I imagined. The dogs came from breeds I did not read about. But, they were nice and huge and tiny and playful and ferocious and... hmmm...
I walked for like 2 hours to reach to this place where there were big mountains in sight. And the land from the tip of those mountains till the end of my toes was lush green. At some distant, I could spot beds of beautiful flowers, and I advanced towards this place. This was some kind of floriculture farm. And I spent around an hour wandering from flower to flower. After coaxing my self to go home (because they might get worried), I followed my marked path back to home.
I came back and thought of uploading some of the snaps I took, but the tooth ache made me abandon everything and go to sleep.
The first stop on my journey was the money exchange counter. I got some euros changed to swiss francs. I was afraid of getting lost and having no money to call (and eat). And then after analyzing the route to follow, I ended up catching a random path and following it. This street was pleasantly green and had tiny and cute row houses with nicely maintained front yards. These front yards were filled with flowers and stones and little ceramic toys and most importantly, bicycles. Every house had at least two. These people rely mostly on bicycles for their local and even regional transport. It's healthy and economical.
Here I spot my first swiss animal. A mighty healthy cat. She was very friendly, just like the people around here. And I realized, animals from a certain region behave like the people from that region do. No wonder dogs from Mumbai are so hostile!
Anyways, so I met some more animals along the way, some dogs, some more cats, some spiders, some honey bees and a sort of bird. They were nothing like I imagined. The dogs came from breeds I did not read about. But, they were nice and huge and tiny and playful and ferocious and... hmmm...
I walked for like 2 hours to reach to this place where there were big mountains in sight. And the land from the tip of those mountains till the end of my toes was lush green. At some distant, I could spot beds of beautiful flowers, and I advanced towards this place. This was some kind of floriculture farm. And I spent around an hour wandering from flower to flower. After coaxing my self to go home (because they might get worried), I followed my marked path back to home.
I came back and thought of uploading some of the snaps I took, but the tooth ache made me abandon everything and go to sleep.
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Day 3
Hmmm... today was a bit slow and lazy... I got up with a head ache! Ania popped me a firangi pill which worked its wonder in less than 5 minutes. I was supposed to make lunch today. But as I was about the enter the kitchen (not knowing what time is it, and more importantly, what time they have their lunch), Ania asked,
"Yuu weel haaf soop?" She hails from the Poland.
I wanted to ask weather it contained meat.
"Eet's veg" she said as if reading me mind.
But, concepts like Veg and Non-veg don't exist here. And right I was. After I had finished with my soup, I noticed the bowl from which she had served me the liquid in the soup (the soup had boiled vegetables with this liquid which led me into believing it was really veg) There was a big lump, or should I say half of what I later found out, a rabbit!! YUCKH!!! She fed me the hormones and tissues of a rabbit!! (Please don't tell my dad about this incident. He believes, I am a good brahmin who wouldn't get past an egg)
Anyways, a soup is a whole meal here, so this one took care of our lunch.
I held Wiktor for the first time in the evening. He was so tiny but surprisingly, powerful. As he struggled to move out of my arms for god only knows what reasons, I struggled to manage this 27 days old wailing miniscule version of my mama with all my careful might. Finally, Ania came back from her laundry and took over him. The effects mothers have on their infants is worth a see.
And as Ania spent some time bathing him, I started preparing for the Dinner.
These guys have a very healthy habit of having dinner by 6. My mama gets back around that time, and as soon as he gets home, he cries out like a baby for food. He has to has to HAS TO have food within 15 minutes of his arrival.
And he made me quit my preparation for the pulav and made me prepare Chicken Mughlai!! It was so goddamn disgusting. The smell, the texture, the volume of the meat was offending me. Still, I was determined to adjust to any living condition the Europe put me into. I did not wanted to be a good Brahmin girl who lives within the limits of her family and is extremely proud of it too.
So, here was my first chicken preparation.
Then I started proceeding with my pulav, for which I only had mushrooms, tomatoes, cauliflower and carrot. And with mama's instructions, and my expertise, we came up with something my mama named 'Khichada' The rice had almost turned into pudding because of the excess water. I had only used salt and turmeric as seasoning. And the whole mess turned int a puddle. Fortunately, Ania took two helpings. Because she liked it, or because she was OK with any rice preparation or because I was sitting next to her and she did not want to hurt me, or because the salad and raita made it bearable, is completely unknown.
So, as is the custom here, we went for a long walk... in the rains. Yes, it was raining and I had two umbrellas, a large bag of empty wine bottles to be disposed, a bottle of milk freshly purchased, and the keys to the house in my hands. And my mama happily drank some juice watching me struggling to carry this stuff. He has a weird sense of humor. Most people don't like it. But it is OK with me.
Anyways, so we came home and spent some time looking up the internet for some Post Graduate courses for me in Sweden, the Welfare state. And I was dissappointed to find out, every course in Technology required an Engineering or a Science degree. Finally, there was one from the Stockholm University which was OK with a degree in Business Admin., if that is what I can call mine. So, the Strategic IT Management, sounds pretty cool as my area of specialization for masters.
And off I went to bed after having some biscottis at around 1 am.
"Yuu weel haaf soop?" She hails from the Poland.
I wanted to ask weather it contained meat.
"Eet's veg" she said as if reading me mind.
But, concepts like Veg and Non-veg don't exist here. And right I was. After I had finished with my soup, I noticed the bowl from which she had served me the liquid in the soup (the soup had boiled vegetables with this liquid which led me into believing it was really veg) There was a big lump, or should I say half of what I later found out, a rabbit!! YUCKH!!! She fed me the hormones and tissues of a rabbit!! (Please don't tell my dad about this incident. He believes, I am a good brahmin who wouldn't get past an egg)
Anyways, a soup is a whole meal here, so this one took care of our lunch.
I held Wiktor for the first time in the evening. He was so tiny but surprisingly, powerful. As he struggled to move out of my arms for god only knows what reasons, I struggled to manage this 27 days old wailing miniscule version of my mama with all my careful might. Finally, Ania came back from her laundry and took over him. The effects mothers have on their infants is worth a see.
And as Ania spent some time bathing him, I started preparing for the Dinner.
These guys have a very healthy habit of having dinner by 6. My mama gets back around that time, and as soon as he gets home, he cries out like a baby for food. He has to has to HAS TO have food within 15 minutes of his arrival.
And he made me quit my preparation for the pulav and made me prepare Chicken Mughlai!! It was so goddamn disgusting. The smell, the texture, the volume of the meat was offending me. Still, I was determined to adjust to any living condition the Europe put me into. I did not wanted to be a good Brahmin girl who lives within the limits of her family and is extremely proud of it too.
So, here was my first chicken preparation.
Then I started proceeding with my pulav, for which I only had mushrooms, tomatoes, cauliflower and carrot. And with mama's instructions, and my expertise, we came up with something my mama named 'Khichada' The rice had almost turned into pudding because of the excess water. I had only used salt and turmeric as seasoning. And the whole mess turned int a puddle. Fortunately, Ania took two helpings. Because she liked it, or because she was OK with any rice preparation or because I was sitting next to her and she did not want to hurt me, or because the salad and raita made it bearable, is completely unknown.
So, as is the custom here, we went for a long walk... in the rains. Yes, it was raining and I had two umbrellas, a large bag of empty wine bottles to be disposed, a bottle of milk freshly purchased, and the keys to the house in my hands. And my mama happily drank some juice watching me struggling to carry this stuff. He has a weird sense of humor. Most people don't like it. But it is OK with me.
Anyways, so we came home and spent some time looking up the internet for some Post Graduate courses for me in Sweden, the Welfare state. And I was dissappointed to find out, every course in Technology required an Engineering or a Science degree. Finally, there was one from the Stockholm University which was OK with a degree in Business Admin., if that is what I can call mine. So, the Strategic IT Management, sounds pretty cool as my area of specialization for masters.
And off I went to bed after having some biscottis at around 1 am.
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Day 2
The morning started with some corn flakes and musseli. Viktor was happy with all the new clothes and pram, and bed sheets and towel sets that his dearest aunt Sunita had sent. But they had to sanitize it before he could use any of it. Me and Anumama assembled the pram, but Ania didn't seem too comfortable with it.
Had some words with baba. I didn't dare to mention that I had wine. Not that I wana hide it, but it's weird. Anyways, we made Pizza and Salad for the lunch for me, they had Rabbit (yuckh!!) and we toasted some champaige. This was my first champaign and by far the tastiest alcohol I have had.
Me and Anumama went for a long walk par the Rhine to some old church across the city council. There were little fountains by the road that reminded me of Heidi when she was moved to the city to be with Clara. The atmosphere inside the church was none like an Indian church. They had a cafe in the church and we had cappucino and apple pie in front of the stained glass sporting Jesus.
We had a long conversation where Anumama washed my brain clean into goin for Business Warehousing and studyin / working in Sweden. And as usual, I have fallen for the charm of the foreign soil.
We went home and made dinner which we had around 6 pm. Anumama is goin to get me slim, taking me to long walks. But, I enjoyed the second walk in the evening. It was a bit cold. He gave me a few directives for the next day. We got home, spent some time here and there and now, I'm writing this. Going to sleep. Adios!
Had some words with baba. I didn't dare to mention that I had wine. Not that I wana hide it, but it's weird. Anyways, we made Pizza and Salad for the lunch for me, they had Rabbit (yuckh!!) and we toasted some champaige. This was my first champaign and by far the tastiest alcohol I have had.
Me and Anumama went for a long walk par the Rhine to some old church across the city council. There were little fountains by the road that reminded me of Heidi when she was moved to the city to be with Clara. The atmosphere inside the church was none like an Indian church. They had a cafe in the church and we had cappucino and apple pie in front of the stained glass sporting Jesus.
We had a long conversation where Anumama washed my brain clean into goin for Business Warehousing and studyin / working in Sweden. And as usual, I have fallen for the charm of the foreign soil.
We went home and made dinner which we had around 6 pm. Anumama is goin to get me slim, taking me to long walks. But, I enjoyed the second walk in the evening. It was a bit cold. He gave me a few directives for the next day. We got home, spent some time here and there and now, I'm writing this. Going to sleep. Adios!
Day 1
With very less sleep, and very wide anxiety, we left home with 6 baggages in the trunk. The procedures took some time, but I was flying before I realized I'm leaving my dear people behind. Confessions of a shopoholic, Bride Wars and Marley and me... three movies that I badly wanted to see since their release. What a splendid place and time to see them! And we zapped down to Dubai in no time at all.
The UAE airport is a paradise for people who love chocolates, perfumes, cosmetics and alcohols. Most people know about my fascination towards chocolates. So, imagine me roaming around in a place where there were around a lac snicker bars. If you're a guy, imagine roaming around a nude beach in Bahamas. If you're a girl, well... I don't know what girls are crazy about... cosmetics, guys or crazy health consciousness? But, hope you get what I mean.
I ain't crazy about perfumes for the only reason that the rare nice ones cost a fortune. But, one day, when I get really rich, I sure imagine myself using the best of the rarest perfumes, the glimpse of which I witnessed here.
Food was only OK! A simple Veg Surprise Burger costed around 6 Dirhams. Almost equivalent to a 100 rupees. But it stayed true to it's name. I was surprised to find a supposedly-cutlet with a yuckie taste, some chopped onion and a spoonful of ketchup tossed into two halves of a burger bun. So we ended up converting 3 dollors and 2 euros into 20 dirhams and a filch (or something?) and we spent it on a McChicken, VegSurprise(!!) and a bar of snickers (which saved the day).
The food on the flight was OK. And I stole some sanitary napkins from the flight. OK, OK, and two pillows too. We reached Zurich around 9. The sky was still alive... blue, cool and refreshing. My mama had come to pick us up. Took a taxi to the Zurich railhead, furthered to Basel by the rail and taxied our way home from there.
The clean up and down roads, the roadside bands, the youthful atmosphere, the trams and the sexy taxis were a visual treat. And oh, the trains were wonderfully empty and way too classy compared to our mumbai locals, though I secretly missed standing in the door. And guess who I saw at the Zurich station - Emma Watson!! The atmosphere was already so jazzed up, nobody cared who passes by then. And strangely, I didn't feel it too. I realized, I had successfully grown out of mumbai by now. This is Zurich, baby!! Emma can wait! (or had I not?)
I was pleasantly shocked to see a Kokanasta Brahmin family in our compartment - Navra-Baaiko-Saasu-Saasre-Naat, conversing in a language and an ascent which was music to my ears. How I wished I would have got introduced to them somehow. Maybe I could go upto their place to have Varan-Bhaat-Bhaaji-Poli, some odd day I feel home sick. Anyways... So, we get down the train, up the taxi and down the taxi. Some Indians passed by speaking in a South Indian Hindi. Was I in Basel or Bangalore?
Ania, that's my mami who had just delivered a son, was waiting for us to have dinner. So we started off with soup, me, the only one having the vegetarian dishes, proceeded to some red wine and ending up with some 7 varieties of cakes they had brought for the welcome.
All in all a tiring day, I went to the warm and soft bed they had arranged for me and as I was about to get lost into my dreams, this tooth started paining. It troubled me the whole night, until morning when I consumed an antibiotic and a painkiller. And then, the new day started.
The UAE airport is a paradise for people who love chocolates, perfumes, cosmetics and alcohols. Most people know about my fascination towards chocolates. So, imagine me roaming around in a place where there were around a lac snicker bars. If you're a guy, imagine roaming around a nude beach in Bahamas. If you're a girl, well... I don't know what girls are crazy about... cosmetics, guys or crazy health consciousness? But, hope you get what I mean.
I ain't crazy about perfumes for the only reason that the rare nice ones cost a fortune. But, one day, when I get really rich, I sure imagine myself using the best of the rarest perfumes, the glimpse of which I witnessed here.
Food was only OK! A simple Veg Surprise Burger costed around 6 Dirhams. Almost equivalent to a 100 rupees. But it stayed true to it's name. I was surprised to find a supposedly-cutlet with a yuckie taste, some chopped onion and a spoonful of ketchup tossed into two halves of a burger bun. So we ended up converting 3 dollors and 2 euros into 20 dirhams and a filch (or something?) and we spent it on a McChicken, VegSurprise(!!) and a bar of snickers (which saved the day).
The food on the flight was OK. And I stole some sanitary napkins from the flight. OK, OK, and two pillows too. We reached Zurich around 9. The sky was still alive... blue, cool and refreshing. My mama had come to pick us up. Took a taxi to the Zurich railhead, furthered to Basel by the rail and taxied our way home from there.
The clean up and down roads, the roadside bands, the youthful atmosphere, the trams and the sexy taxis were a visual treat. And oh, the trains were wonderfully empty and way too classy compared to our mumbai locals, though I secretly missed standing in the door. And guess who I saw at the Zurich station - Emma Watson!! The atmosphere was already so jazzed up, nobody cared who passes by then. And strangely, I didn't feel it too. I realized, I had successfully grown out of mumbai by now. This is Zurich, baby!! Emma can wait! (or had I not?)
I was pleasantly shocked to see a Kokanasta Brahmin family in our compartment - Navra-Baaiko-Saasu-Saasre-Naat, conversing in a language and an ascent which was music to my ears. How I wished I would have got introduced to them somehow. Maybe I could go upto their place to have Varan-Bhaat-Bhaaji-Poli, some odd day I feel home sick. Anyways... So, we get down the train, up the taxi and down the taxi. Some Indians passed by speaking in a South Indian Hindi. Was I in Basel or Bangalore?
Ania, that's my mami who had just delivered a son, was waiting for us to have dinner. So we started off with soup, me, the only one having the vegetarian dishes, proceeded to some red wine and ending up with some 7 varieties of cakes they had brought for the welcome.
All in all a tiring day, I went to the warm and soft bed they had arranged for me and as I was about to get lost into my dreams, this tooth started paining. It troubled me the whole night, until morning when I consumed an antibiotic and a painkiller. And then, the new day started.
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