जावे मालिकांच्या गावा

फार वर्षांपुर्वी स्टार ट्रेक ची सुरुवात धीर गंभीर आवाजात होत असे - टू गो व्हेअर नो मॅन हॅज गॉन. मग कोणी चहाटळ लोकांनी त्याची "हं, म्हणजे बायकांची बाथरूम ना" असं म्हणून हेटाळणी केली होती. म्हणजे कॅप्टन कर्क च्या पंखात बळ यायच्या आतच त्यातली हवा काढून घेतली. आज मी तसाच एक प्रयत्न करून बघणार आहे. टू गो व्हेअर नो मॅन...नाही हं, तस काही मनात आणू नका. बायकांची बाथरूम म्हणून चार जोडे खायाची माझी ईच्छा नाही!

ई, मी, झी वगैरे अक्षरं घेवून टीव्ही चॅनल्स सुरु झाले आणि बघता बघता या नविन जगाची सुरुवात झाली. कॉलेज मध्ये असताना चुकून कधी एमटीव्ही चा धांगडधींगा लावला तर आमच्या वेळी असं काही नव्हत हे ऐकवलं जायाच. पण एकच एक दूरदर्शन चा जमाना जाऊन केबल आलं आणि एक नविन जग सुरु झालं. संध्याकाळी ६ ते रात्री १० मालिकांच गुर्हाळ सुरु झालं आणि सहाजिकच नो मॅन्स् वर्ल्ड सुरु झालं.

श्वेतांबरा दूरदर्शन वर होवून गेली...पण नंतर डेली सोप नी आगदी तोंडाला फेस आणलाय. नावं तरी काय काय तर म्हणे आभाळमाया, वादळवाट, सोनियाचा ऊंबरा वगैरे. आणि स्टोरी काय तर बदला, गॉडी मेकप, थॊडा आणखिन बदला. आणि हे कमी पडत म्हणून लांबण लावणे हा जोडधंदा.

संवाद इतके उत्क्रुष्ट की ह्यांनी फक्त ग्यानपीठाच्या चपत्या खाव्या. हे एक उदाहरण बघा. एक रिकामा हॉल. जोरजोरात बेल वाजते. मग एक पोक्त बाई, पदरानी कपाळाला न आलेला घाम पुसत आले आले करत बाहेर येते आणि दार उघडते. दारात एक टीशर्ट मधून मसल्स बाहेर येत असलेला हसतमुख तरूण. मग ह्या काकू-पुतण्याचे एकमेकांकडे बघून स्मितहास्य. ह्यात बरच म्युझिक. "अरे, ये, ये...ऊन्हाचा आलास एवढा" म्हणत काकू स्वागत करते आणि आत पाणी आणायला निघून जाते. पुतण्या तोवर एक मासिक चाळतो. पाण्याचा ग्लास भरून काकू परत बाहेर येते. मग त्या दोघात पुन्हा स्मितहास्य. पुतण्या घटाघट पाणी पीतो. "थांब हं, चहा ठेवते" - काकू. "नको नको मी आत्तच जेवून आलो" - पुतण्या. चहाला नाही म्हणलं तर पाप लागत ही शिकवण पुतण्या विसरलेला दिसतो. बरं इतक जर ऊन मी म्हणतय, तर काकूनी तरी लिंबू सरबत विचारावं ना...ते नाही. एवढ्यात ब्रेकची वेळ होते.

आता मला सांगा, चार स्मितहास्ये, एक ग्लास पाणी आणि आर्धा थेंब घाम या मध्ये कथानक कुठे गेलं?

कथानक कधी जर पुढे सरकलच तर कशी गम्मत येते बघा. अधुरी म्हणता म्हणता पुरी न होणाऱ्या कहाणीतला नायक मरतो. त्याला अगदी अग्नी बिग्नी दिला जातो...तर पुढच्या चौथ्या भागात हा परत जिवंत. तोही जश्याचातसा! म्हणजे पुनर्जन्मावर किती हा अगाढ विश्वास? बरं त्याहूनही जास्त विश्वास प्लॅस्टीक सर्जरीवर. इतका की सर्जरी झालेली व्यक्ती नुसतीच चांगली नाही दिसत तर तिची ऊंची सुध्दा वाढलेली असते! एका मलिकेत काय तर म्हणे गाडीला अपघात होतो आणि गाडी चालवणारी महिला माहिमच्या खाडीमध्ये पडते. तिच्यावर लगेच प्लॅस्टिक सर्जरी. का, तर म्हणे माशांनी तिचा चेहरा खल्ला. आता महिमच्या खाडीमध्ये मासे असते तर मुंबईतल्या तमाम जनतेनी ते शिल्लक ठेवले असते का?

जसं प्लॅस्टीक सर्जरीच तसचं लफड्यांच. ह्याचं तिच्या बरोबर, तिचं आणि कुणा बरोबर...एक ना अनेक. मला अजूनही आठवतं, स्टार मूव्हीज वर वगैरे Pretty Woman किंवा Top Gun मध्ये तसले ’सीन’ आले की आम्ही पटकन चॅनल बदलत असू. पण अलिकडचे हे मालिकावाले...शीव, शीव. आमची बयको लग्नाच्यावेळी नुसतीच वधू झाली. ईथे टीव्हीत मुली कुलवधू कश्या होतात ते बघण्यासाठी मी एक मलिका बघू लागलो. बदला आणि कुंभांडां मधून वेळात वेळ काढून हिरो-हिरॉईन चक्क एका हॉटेलात जातात. राजे शिर्के देशमुखांची पोर पळवतात. मला मात्र यात आईला एम्बॅरॅस करण्याची संधी सापडते - हे प्री मरायटल की झालं यांच लग्न? असा प्रश्न मी विचारून टाकतो. ऊत्तरा दाखल एक जळजळीत कटाक्ष मिळतो. बरं सगळं करून सवरून झालं की यांच्या पोटातली पोरं दहा-दहा महिने बाहेरच येत नाहीत. मलाच काळजी लागून रहाते. रोज ऑफिस मधून परत आल्यावर मी विचारायचो अजूनतिकेचं काय झालं?

दुसरीकडे वेगळाच प्रकार. एक दिवस नट्टा-पट्टा करून रेशम टिपणीस दादांकडे येते. हे दादा म्हणे रोज दत्त महाराजांशी बोलायचे. तर हिनी दादांना काय विचारावं? दादा, मला आई व्हायचंय. म्हणजे घरी धडधाकट नवरा असताना, दादांनी काय करावं अशी या पात्राची अपेक्षा होती? स्पर्म डोनेशन?

आता तुम्ही म्हाणाल घरचेच होऊन जातात हे लोकं...पण किती? एक किस्सा सांगतो. एकदा गणपतीमध्ये माझ्या मावशीकडे गेलो होतो. माझा मावसभाऊ आणि त्याची बायको दोघेही मिडियावाले. एक अनोळखी माणूस, मिडियावाला तिकडे आला होता. सगळ्यांची चर्चा चालू होती मुक्ता नी हे केलं, ते केलं, तिचं असं झालं, तसं झालं वगैरे. मला प्रश्न पडला, ही मुक्ता कोण? एखादी कझिन मला न सांगताच लहानाची मोठी झाली की काय? पण विचारायचं कोणाला? नंतर मला कळलं की मुक्तानी सागरशी लग्न केलं. म्हणजे आपल्याला आमंत्रण नाही आलं असा प्रश्न मी आईला विचारणार तरी आपली गहन चर्चा चालूच. नंतर कळल की मुक्ता, सागर कुठल्यातरी मालिकेतली पात्र आहेत.

बदला घ्यायचा म्हणजे किती घ्यायचा? एक पिढी, दुसरी पिढी, तिसरी पिढी...पण पुनर्जन्म? तेही होतं पण बदला संपत नाही. आधी सासू-सून, मग त्यांची पोरं, मग त्यांची पोरं...ह्यात सासूचं वय मात्र पहील्याभागात जितकं तितकंच हजाराव्या भागातही. मग पुनर्जन्माची काय गरज? तरीही पुनर्जन्म होतात. आणि निव्वळ योगायोग समजून सोडून द्यायच असं हे मालिकावालेच सांगतात. आता बोला?

ह्यांचे सण-बीण पण मजेशीर असतात. सण समारंभामध्ये दीवाळीच्या आंघोळी पासून सगळ. मग पाडवा, दसरा, गणपती हे तर सोडाच, पण अगदी मंगळागौर सुद्धा. एक मात्र आहे की सावीत्रीबाई फुल्यांचा वारसा सांगत ह्या मंगळागौरीला एक विधवा आणि एक परित्यक्ता यांना पण बोलावण आलं होत. एवढाचं काय तो यांचा सामाजिक संदर्भ.

आणि रहाणीमान? घरातच चांगले कपडे, मेकप, छान साडी, ऊंच टाचेचे बूट वगैरे घालून कधी माझी आई, काकी, आत्या का नाही स्वयंपाक करत? आमच्या सारखा, कधी यांच्या घरात पसारा का नसतो?

बरं मालिका सोडून दुसरं काही बघावं तर तिथे नुसताच टाळ्यांचा कडकडाट. तरी मराठी चॅनलवाल्यांची चलती झाल्या पासून आमच्या घरात हिंदी हद्दपार झालय. तिथे काय चालतं याची कल्पनाच न केलेली बरी...

Keukenhof - A Picture speaks Thousand Words

Impressions

(I seem to be doing the travelogue in a very random order…but our travel was optimized, the sequence used on the blog is not how we did the trip)

Salzburg
Salzburg was our penultimate day of excursions. By the time we reached Salzburg, we were really tired from all the walking. We had grown tired of the cheese in the food and the sausages. But Salzburg was our last hop. From Munich, we took an ICE going to Salzburg. This was the only train that was delayed by about 20 minutes. And that too because of some track work going on near Munich. But the train never really picked on the lost time and it continued to be late. An old couple in our coach probably missed a connection in Graz because of this delay.

After we got down at Salzburg, we checked at the Information Center on things to do in about three hour walking tour. (See, walking again! Why should I complain of being tired?)

So off we went to Mirabell Gardens. It was a pleasantly landscaped garden. The day was sunny, crisp and beautiful. We spent a lot of time there, strolling on the grass, resting in the shadows and of course, taking pictures. There is a statue of Nicolaus Copernicus in this garden and also statuettes of some fairy tale characters that we did not recognize. From the gardens, we walked across towards the Salzach River. As the day was sunny and beautiful, and that was just the middle of spring, Austrians were out on the road in hordes. Surprisingly in this conservative country, many half-naked youngsters were found on the river banks, smoking and drinking.

We walked towards the old-market place, saw Mozart’s birthplace, visited an antiques shop, ate a hearty Italian meal and walked backed, pretty much taking the same route as going in. It was a nice morning/afternoon spent in this historic town.

Amsterdam
Contrary to the hype, we found this city to be just okay. May be we did not do enough justice to this place…as a lot of time was spent in Keukenhof Tulip Gardens. Some of the things that we did NOT do while here was a visit to the red light district and Anne Frank house. This was possibly also the place that was filled with tourists from all places mixing in the hippie milieu. What struck us most about the Netherlands was that how relaxed everything was. Our room in the hotel was not ready when we checked in. The tourist center was full of patrons waiting to be taken care and only one counter was open. The manager came through, but instead of asking for more counters to be opened, threw her hands up in the air saying she couldn’t do much. After some time, another employee came in and now two counters were open. It took us almost one-and-a-half hour just to buy the combi-tickets to Keukenhof.

Innsbruck/Wattens
Let down would be too strong a word, but if I have to recommend something, I would say, drop Innsbruck and Wattens from your itinerary. Wattens hosts the Swarovski Kristallwelten (Crystal World Museum). The must see grade of the museum is perhaps a hype created by the Indian travel agents. To reach there, we took an ICE to Innsbruck. From there, we took a Verkehrsverbund Tirol bus to Wattens. Or to put it in simpler terms, we travelled in a State Transport bus to Wattens! It was almost half-hour through Austrian countryside. The bus took several stops, went through traffic and narrow roads and finally reached Wattens (to continue its journey to Schwaz), where the good driver told us how to get to the museum and that the museum offers a free bus service back to Innsbruck, should we want to take that.

The museum itself was a bit of let down. Everyone who has seen pictures of the inside of the museum likes it…but perhaps we were expecting something different from it. It has several chambers demonstrating artistic creations out of crystal and then in the end a shopping area, where you can buy (over-priced) crystal jewelry. There were a lot of Indians in this place and I think this place has been made famous by the likes of Kesari and SOTC etc. who bring busloads to the museum. What’s nice is that even many conservative Maharashtrian families were seen contemplating buying crystal jewelry, where the cheapest of the earrings were available at a price of €80 and upwards.

Because of time constraints, we did not get to explore these towns more. But the Alps were a beauty…so even if we did not enjoy the Crystal World as much, the nature was a consolation.

Munich
This was probably the least explored cities in our entire trip. We reserved almost all the evenings to Munich…but after a day trip to some place, there is only so much you can do in the spare time! But nevertheless, Karlsplatz and Marienplatz were a charm. It was nice walking on these fußgängerzone (walking plaza) and even better was sampling a strawberry cake!

Just as all good things come to an end, this trip too ended here. From Munich, we came back to Paris in a TGV (actually ICE from Munich to Stuttgart, and TGV from Stuttgart to Paris). TGV itself was a great experience and we enjoyed the ride through German and French countryside very much.

Bitte, Rauchen Sie Nicht!
Germany in particular and all the places we visited in general has a very high smoking rate. I remember of reading somewhere that in Germany, for the age group above 17, the smoking rate is 44% in males and 37% in females. This seems a shockingly high number. But we can corroborate that based on our unscientific observations! It is not too difficult to inhale the second hand smoke while waiting at the intersections to cross the roads. While many train stations are smoke-free, it is a very common site to see people puffing outside the stations. On many occasions, we saw young parents smoke – especially with a baby in the tow or in the stroller. It is hard to say that the smoke would not impact the baby! For otherwise clean cities, the walkways can be found littered with cigarette butts very easily.

Fantasy Land – Neuschwanstein Castle

Sleeping Beauty Castle in Disneyland Park? Or the real one? Schloss Neuschwanstein takes you to the real world of fantasy! It is a very good day-trip location and is probably the most visited iconic building in the whole of Europe.

It rained the morning we started for Neuschwanstein in Munich. The air was chilly! But by the time we reached the castle, the weather was clear and it was as crisp an afternoon in the spring as it can get.

Getting to Neuschwanstein itself was a trek! It seems that all the places on the Romantic Road are located such that the journey gives you enough glimpse of the beauty but keeps you guessing what the final stroke will be. And it doesn’t disappoint.

We took a train from Munich to Buchloe, from there another train to Kaufbeuren and from there a bus to Füssen. As we got down at Kaufbeuren, and walked to the underpass, there were two signs in opposite direction, one for the bus to Füssen and another to the Kaufbeuren city. So popular is this destination that of all the people who got down at Kaufbeuren, only one lady walked to the City. All others were immediately herded to the buses waiting outside Kaufbeuren bahnhof. Almost an hour ride through the Bavarian countryside later we arrived in another small, medieval town of Füssen. Except for the modern signage, electric lamp posts and traffic lights, Füssen can still easily be in the 17th century. After getting down at the bahnhof, we immediately walked towards the tourist center and asked for the directions to the castle. The lady at the counter said, a bus leaves every hour on top of the hour from the train station. Duh! We couldn’t check that earlier?! I glanced over her shoulder; looked at the wall clock and quipped we perhaps missed it, didn’t we? You perhaps did sir, she said looking at the clock strike 12 in the noon. But we hadn’t! The bus was still there and waiting to take more passengers, although we would have to stand till we reached the base of the castle. After another 20 minute bus ride through the countryside and tree lined avenues later we reached the base of the castle.

After a quick meal of sausage and fried chicken, we started our hike to the castle. The castle offers only guided tours. You are not allowed to explore things at your will, unless accompanied by a guide. Even photography inside the castle is not permitted. We chose an English tour, which was to begin about one-and-a-half hour later. This gave us enough time to take the hike. The road is a well-paved carriage way right up to the top and doesn’t need any mountaineering skills. But more people were walking, few took the horse-cart and even lesser had cars. The place was pleasantly crowded with families and even older people preferring to hike than take the horse-cart. The area is nicely wooded with a stray waterfall or two and with stunning views of the valley overlooking a river and a few small villages.

The castle itself is more of surprise. König Ludwig II of the then independent country of Bavaria built it. History debates whether Ludwig was a mad king or whether the report of incapacitation is to be attributed to his frustrated council of ministers. But you sure need an element of eccentricity to be as creative as Ludwig was. Who else would choose an artist to build such a grandiose castle and not an architect! Having grown up in the beautiful surroundings of Hohenschwangau, Ludwig wanted to create an even more stunning retreat, holy and unapproachable (sic) and hence the reason to build Neuschwanstein. Most of his inspiration comes from Richard Wagner’s operas. The castle itself was never completed and it stands incomplete even today. But the frescoes, the elaborate carvings and the canopies are remarkable. The floor patterns are stunning. Ludwig’s bedroom and his bed have elaborate carvings. The music hall is painted with frescoes from Wagner’s operas. The view outside the windows is beautiful. One does not need more convincing why someone would want to live there! According to our guide, the castle was pretty high tech for its time. The castle had running tap water, double insulation windows to keep the cold out, a telephone connection etc. To entertain himself, Ludwig had a winter garden and an artificial snow cave created in the castle. The concert hall was built keeping in mind the acoustic needs of the music!

But what drove Ludwig to build such a castle? It appears that his upbringing was very strict, in order to prepare him for the rigors of being a king. Ludwig ascended to the throne almost immediately after attaining majority not leaving him enough time to prepare. The crisis with Prussia surfaced very soon putting the king and his council of ministers under duress. The eccentric elements of the king were evident right from the beginning though. He was never interested in the worldly and day-to-day matters. His only love-interest was married off to become the empress of Austria and he broke his own engagement after multiple postponements of the wedding. He increasingly started taking solace in the fantasy world of Wagner’s operas and wanted to build a castle that was a fantasy! Under such circumstances, it is not surprising that the council of ministers was frustrated. After annexation to Prussia, Ludwig became a mere figurehead leaving most of the matters to the council. They had him labeled “mentally unfit” and deposed him off the throne. The four psychiatrists, who wrote the report, had never met Ludwig personally. The king was found dead, along with his psychiatrist the next day after this incidence. Conspiracy theories are still debating whether it was a suicide, murder or death because of some natural cause.

The debt that Ludwig incurred because of various construction projects was partially recovered by opening the castle for public. This happened merely within three weeks of his death. Till date, the castle welcomes tourists and offers some insight into its eccentric patron. The monies made by the castle perhaps have paid itself many times over…but for a tourist, it is money well spent.

A Thing of Past – II

On reaching Rothenburg odT train station, we checked the way to our hotel. Contrary to my imagination, about the quaint little town, a wall and a gate and all that, we were welcomed by a traffic signal. The lady at the information center had drawn the map for us and assured that the hotel is just 5 minutes from here, ours is not that big a town, you can walk – she said. But walk into traffic? Now, for that she had not prepared us. But we went down to the traffic light, turned right, walked a few meters and the old wall and its gate welcomed us! The concrete road turned to a cobbled old street and the imposing wall surrounded us by its very existence.

About Rothenburg ob der Tauber

This is a quaint, little old town, which has preserved much of its 12th and 13th and 14th century buildings. Contrary to Hitler’s orders, the Nazi military commander in charge of this town gave it up easily and the American Assistant Secretary of War knew enough history to ask the allied general not to use artillery while taking the town. So much of the old buildings, towers and walls are still preserved. In 12th century, a Hohenstaufen Roman-German king built a castle here and started holding his court. Though on a trade route, Rothenburg soon fell out of the charm as a capital city. It lived through the Staufer and Habsburg dynasties and became one of the 20 large cities of the Holy Roman Empire. By 1800s, the town became a part of Bavarian Romanticism and laws were passed to prevent major changes to the town. Since then this middle-Franconian town has been well preserved as a medieval town.

The narrow cobbled alleys and the omnipresent wall and its towers are a constant reminder of the past. The Old Town House, the Christmas Decoration Shops, the gardens and the observation decks in the wall – all are very charming. The view of the Tauber valley is also splendid. And the unkempt grass and weed (yellow and white flowers) sometimes growing outside the wall limits have their own beauty! Although the cars whizz past you on those cobbled roads, there is enough history for time travel! We walked on all the major alleys and roads, explored the gardens and walked through the wall.

On the Menu!

May be it was the influence of the history or may be we were just hungry, but we decided to have a German dinner. The size of the dinner was as big as an average German! But it was the menu that took us aback. We went to a place that can be roughly translated as Potato House. The menu had everything potatoes! You could order just the boiled potatoes, boiled but unpeeled, if you wanted to earn what you eat, fried, hash-browned, baked, French-fried, mashed – the way you want. Of course, all these were side dishes, the main ones being pork, more pork and some more pork and may be a small fillet of salmon.

Trees?

Even though there are enough old buildings around, what struck us was the absence of any trees on the streets and inside the walled-town. Many of the large trees were found in the gardens or on the slopes of the valley, but not inside the town. Was it by design or chance – we do not know.

Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte

We wanted to sample the original Black Forest Cherry Cake. Hopefully we did that in Rothenburg! We don’t know if it was the mom-and-pop shop that we were looking for, but it was one of those melting-in-mouth cakes for which we will always remember Rothenburg!

On our way back to Mumbai, I was asked so what did you like the best? Rothenburg; came an emphatic reply!

A Thing of Past

Germany was my choice on the itinerary, what to do in Germany wasn’t. I stuck to the conventional places like Frankfurt, may be Cologne, Munich etc. But then Panchita came across the site www.romantischestrasse.de and suggested Rothenburg ob der Tauber as a place to go. At first, I was skeptical but later relented when I came to know what exactly we will be visiting.

But to see Rothenburg, we had to get there! A search on EuRail showed that no matter which way we took, it involved four trains, three changes. Again, my skepticism grew…but something about the old town touched our nerves and both of us wouldn’t give up! Let it be four trains and three changes, we said to ourselves, we are going there!

The evening before our travel, was spent in Amsterdam. I realized that in hurry, I had scribbled only the train numbers and stations that we were going to change instead of the entire itinerary. This presented a problem – what if we don’t get to know our train, our platform, what if we miss? The handy EuRail timetable naturally did not have information about how to get to this small town. So we made a trip to the Service Point at Amsterdam Centraal and checked on their computers. And later also checked using the hotel’s wi-fi some details that were missing in my initial scribbling.

We started from Amsterdam Centraal at 8 AM and took the ICE going to Basel. It dropped us at Frankfurt (M) Flughafen (Airport). From there we took an ICE to Würzburg, a RegionalBahn from Würzburg to Steinach bei Rothenburg and from their one more RegionalBahn, finally to Rothenburg ob der Tauber! By the time we reached Rothenburg, it was already past 2 PM but there was nary a sign of tiredness. The journey was very pleasant, speedy, convenient and most enjoyable with the scenery outside. As mentioned in the earlier post, Amsterdam-Frankfurt (M) Flughafen was little less than four hours. We could notice the change in the landscape. Amsterdam while beautiful was not as enchanting as sections past Köln. We got to see the Kölner Dom (Cologne Cathedral) from the train, as it crossed the Rhine. The landscape changed considerably as we approached Würzburg, the beginning of the Romantic Road. The fields, dotted with alternate yellow and green patches, small houses, roads, sometimes Autobahns running parallel trying to keep up with our train, solar-panel covered roofs, cows grazing in the meadows – all of it was enchanting!

From Steinach bei Rothenburg, there is a service to Rothenburg ob der Tauber every hour. The train takes about 15 minutes to reach Rothenburg odT. It goes through some sections of no population at all. There are actually two halts between the two stations, but the train takes it only if someone requests it! There is a stop button similar to the one found in many buses in Chicago, which rings a bell for the driver indicating a stop has been requested!

When we reached Rothenburg, the air was chilly. A small drizzle welcomed us to this place of past, but were we prepared to find what was inside the walled city? Stay tuned for the part 2.

ICE ICE Baby

One of the charms riding an ICE is the feeling of flying. The ICE is build using very sophisticated technology to cover long distances in short times. The Köln-Frankfurt section is 177 km and ICE covers it in 70 minutes. So is the Nurnberg-München section which is 171 km and covered in 65 minutes. Not only is the train comfortable but also built so well that you don’t feel the speed inside it. The tracks are designed for 300 km/h speed. And the technology is called Third Generation Intercity Express. You can read more about it here:
Köln-Frankfurt High Speed Rail Line
Nuremberg-Munich High Speed Railway

Although, some sections are specifically designed for speeds upwards of the 250 km/h, the overall train travel is very fast. We covered Amsterdam-Frankfurt (M) Flughafen in less than 4 hours. A similar distance, Mumbai-Vadodara, though still takes 7 hours.

What more: The ICE has crew similar to a plane. There are conductors and members of the Bordbistro ever ready to help you. Traveling first class, after all, has some advantages! The only disadvantage is if you are in a point-and-shoot mode, you may miss the shot!

Railathon

You can’t walk always. Sometimes you have to take a train. Europe conjures the image of train service and ease of travel across countries by train very easily. It is convenient and a great way to travel from one place to another.

Here are some tips about the trains and the EuRail Pass.

1. You cannot buy EuRail Pass in Europe. It has to be bought in your home country. It is not an e-Ticket, but a paper based ticket which comes to your home address in a snail-mail. So, allow enough time for the pass to get to you.
2. You do not get a second class pass unless you are 26 years or less (Youth Saver Pass). But second class tends to be crowded and if you are travelling with luggage, there is no place for the luggage there.
3. At the time you buy your pass, you can opt for the number of days. While counting the number of days, count your travel days, not those of your stay. If you are hopping from one city to another, then it is a travel day. It is also a travel day if you are going to do a longish day trip, e.g. München-Salzburg and back; count this as a travel day. But if you are going to explore the city locally or just laze around for a day then don’t count it as travel day. This will help you to not lose any days for which you have already paid money. However, it is not possible to add a day to the pass, if your plan changes. You will have to buy separate tickets for that.
4. Some goodies that might actually help planning your trip are not told beforehand, e.g. if you buy a pass for Germany, a Munich-Salzburg trip is free; you don’t have to buy a pass for Austria in that case. Some other minor things are discounts on S-Bahn or free trip from CDG Airport to Paris Gare Du Nord etc.
5. There is no restriction on how many times a day you can use the pass. But be sure to read about the rules on how to count the days if your journey involves overnight travel in a City Night Line Express.
6. For some trains reservations are compulsory. On these routes, you may not be allowed entry to the train without a reservation. Even if reservations are not compulsory someone may still have it, so don’t be surprised if someone comes over and says “das ist mein Platz!”.
7. Cost of reservations is not included in the pass; it is extra. It varies depending on the train company. You may pay as much as EUR 41 on Paris-Brussels Midi section traveling Thalys. Almost all TGV routes are reservation compulsory. DB-ICE may charge up to €5.00 per reservation.
8. Always validate your pass before boarding the train, even if you have a reservation. Our conductor in Paris insisted that if we board the train without entering our journey date, he will fine us €50.00.
9. In First Class, snacks/coffee etc. can be ordered on your seat, you don’t have to go to the Board Bistro. But it is usually a paid service. On some routes, it may be a free service or included in your “reservation charges”.
10. On international trains, expect Passport Control. It is not as organized as it is at the Airports. So, it might even happen multiple times. On Paris-Amsterdam train, we were asked to show the Passport twice, at Paris Gare du Nord station. But no major questions or anything to worry about. In Munich-Innsbruck section, a Police Officer did the round of all coaches checking passports. On all other international trains, there was no passport control at all.
11. Many stations, especially if you are taking a trip to a non-conventional spot, do not have escalators. So, pack light; otherwise, you have to haul big luggage on the staircase while changing trains.
12. The EuRail site has information on trains including the planned platform and it is more or less correct; so even if there are only five minutes to change trains, they are usually sufficient. In ICE trains, there are leaflets kept that explain the Reiseplan. The Reiseplan has information on all the stops the train is going to take, scheduled arrival and departure times and connecting trains from the stations. In case the train is delayed and you realize that you are going to miss the connection, speak to the conductor and he/she will be able to guide you about the next train.
13. The timetable that comes to you with the pass is not complete. There may be alternate or faster trains available on the route you choose. If in doubt, check with the Service Point or the website. The stations display boards of arrival and departure information, hour wise.

EuRail is very comfortable and easy to travel. The journey is also enjoyable as the nature outside can be very enchanting. The trains travel at a good speed, sometimes popping your ears! Except for one train, none was delayed, so on-time arrival/departures are more or less guaranteed. If you account for luggage check-in time, security, travel to the airport, both at the port of departure and arrival, overall, railway is faster and hassle free. We were first apprehensive about the compulsory first class pass. The very first encounter of costly reservations from Paris was also a cause of concern. But there are enough facilities that make up for everything and the pass turns out much cheaper than individual tickets. There are enough trains to take you places at any time of the day and even if EuRail seems costly, looking at the extent to which we used it, and how convenient it was, it was certainly paisa vasool.

There is a lot that Indian Railways can take from EuRail to make passengers comfortable and to make it an enjoyable experience, only if they can come out of their red taped mindset.

Walkathon

Panchita and I walk. When I mean walk, I really mean walk. In the eight days in Europe, we just walked and walked. So much that in the end every muscle, ligament, tendon and bone of our legs were aching. We walked to the Basilica of Sacré-Cœur from the metro station exploring garment and wool shops and hairdressers and toupees! We took a wrong road to the Palace in Amsterdam making it a longer route, but then we discovered different tram routes and a cheap souvenir shop! After having done the Neuschwanstein hike, we still walked from Karlsplatz to Marienplatz and in addition to that, Sonnenstraβe and area around it. In Salzburg, we did not take any public transport. Rothenburg ob der Tauber would probably be tired of our gloating on the walk thing…but we still enjoyed it very much!

But why walk? We believe that it takes us into neighborhoods that we would otherwise not discover. Did you know people who live in La Defense area like flowering plants more than people who live around Canal St. Martin? That’s based on our unscientific observations of the two areas. Did you know eateries in Amsterdam can lure you by cheap prices, but with a fine print that your choice is not part of it? And who would have thought that the Germans really close their shops at 6 PM on a Saturday, unless it is selling beer? In addition, we know where to buy Indian groceries in Paris on account of being lost in the 10th arrondissement.

We plan to keep walking and discovering more!

Europe 2

I never got around writing anything about our first trip to Europe. Well, it was not a trip really…may be that’s why!

But before we knew it, we were planning for a return! Paris the second time was a charm! And this time, the itinerary included Amsterdam, Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Munich, Neuschwanstein Castle, Innsbruck/Wattens and Salzburg. And all of this in just eight days! It was tiring but a very refreshing break.

May be a Pet Peeve

Much to my annoyance, Office 2007 drew a blue squiggly line, when I typed, “may be”. It wanted me to change that to “maybe”. Last I knew, the two are better placed as different words and not as single word. Call me old fashioned if you will, but I dread to think that some day, it will become acceptable to use words like “infact” and “atleast”.

And as I was typing this, I was presented a similar predicament on “some day” versus “someday”. Here’s the difference between the two - http://www.bartleby.com/64/C003/0272.html and then, here’s the difference between “maybe” and “may be” http://www.english-test.net/forum/ftopic23039.html

कुठे गेली नऊवारी साडी?

कुठे सण समारंभाला गेल की माझी नजर ऊगाच भिरी-भिरी फिरत असते. कुठे तरी साळकाया-माळकायांच्या घोळक्यात एखादी आजी दिसेल, मग त्यासगळ्या बयकांच्या प्युवर-सिल्कच्या सड्य़ांमध्ये तिची एकटीचीच ठेवणीतली, खास आजच्या समारंभासाठी काढलेली सुती नऊवारी साडी ऊठून दिसेल! हातावर, चेहऱ्यावर सुरकुत्या असतील, डोक्यावर अंबाडा, आजोबा हयात असतील तर कपळावर ठसठशीत कुंकू असेल...

पुर्वी मला वाटायच, बायका म्हाताऱ्या झाल्या की नऊवारी नेसतात. पुढे कधीतरी हा गैरसमज दूर झाला. संस्क्रुती-भाषा मरायला लागली यावर माझा विश्वास नाही, पण नऊवारी साड्या घालून, दसरा मिरवणूक, पाडवा मिरवणूक नी सहित्य दिंडीमध्ये सहभागी होणऱ्या बायकांपेक्षा किंवा म्रुणाल कुलकर्णीच्या रमाबाई पेशव्यांपेक्षा नऊवारी नेसावी तर एखाद्या आजीनेच!

The Medieval Maratha Country

My love affair with the Maratha History continues with another addition to the collection on that subject. This time with a book by one A. R. Kulkarni titled The Medieval Maratha Country. The book was pointed out fondly by Panchita, even when she knew it will be an attention hog! The book contains a collection of essays that talk about Proselytization in Goa, the condition of women, fort structure and hierarchy of a fort administration, revenue and wealth of the fledgling empire, foreign relations – especially with the European powers etc. It largely revolves around Shivaji and his period with only little mention to the latter period of the polity dominated by the Peshwas. I have already started reading it…hopefully will do a good job at finishing off the book.

After this one, there are two books lined up already. And these days, Panchita is busy reading the old copy of the Marathi translation of Not Without My Daughter.