travel(ail)ogues

An Indian date with a Greek girl in Deutschland

2006-07-24T05:28:00.000-07:00

Sounds pretty international.Doesnt it?Well it is meant to be one

The story starts pretty early during the trip.I think it was my first time washing clothes in the washing room in the basement.Just as I entered there was this girl looking absolutely confused and bewildered.
"Ich nehme hilfe.tur nicht offnen"The door of the washing machine was not opening.Luckily I had a similar model back home and knew how it open it mechanically.I open the machine for her and she expresses her gratitude.
This is where the story took a different turn.Golu asked for an iron from her and subsequently invited her for dinner(a promise which was never fulfilled somehow)
I thought she was gone for good until destiny interfered.I was going shopping one day to the Alle center when i met her in the lift.Till now I was under the impression that she is Deutsch so I tried out my Deutsch not to very good effect though.And then I hear the magic words"Do you speak English"

We went to the shopping mall together with me getting to know that she is VICI from Greece and doing her masters here(Ever wonder why do I always end up with woman older than me?????????)Well our next meeting was more incidental.She was with her roommate Viera from Czech Republic.They were going to the stadium for a match but i had some work so I had to get off.

Mensa.I was sitting alone.I see vici near the counter and turn my head the other way(again?????????). But she nevertheless spots me and comes and sits in front of me.Ah what a pleasant surprise.So we do what I have done the entire summer-talk.and then out of the blue she asks me there is this russian restaurant which i really want to go to.Would you like to come along.And I look upto her with a look which says do you think i would say no.and then suddenly it hits me there is an indian party this weekend.So i tell her if she want s to come with me.she says a bit apprehensively though yeah sure.She gave me her phone no.and said send me a message or something.ab nayi museebat.message kahaan se bhejoon.and then i run into her again the next day at mensa.so we talk about when to go and then i screw up once more.i tell her 9 o clock only to realise that trams run only till 8:30.well when things are going right they usually go all the way.so i run into her the next day also and tell her to meet in the hostel at 8:15
The big day arrives and I am ready by 8:10.And when she opens the door I swear I couldnt take off my eyes for a moment or two.I mean she is not really beautiful or something but Man she was looking something that night.By friday viera had gone back to czech.so my plan of going out with two girls(with viera being one of the most beautiful I have ever seen in this trip)almost backfired.But I had told her that the party might be a bit boring for you so you can bring over a friend or something.So she invited Anna from Sweden.Nothing much to write about her.

The party went well.Atleast I think so.they didnt look bored though I think it was too hot in there.Had them taste Gulaab jamun(Viki said they have something similar in Greece).and then had viki apply henna to her arm.She was all excited about it.But i think the best part was when I taught them how to dance to Punjabi music-bhangra.Hahahaha.they seemed to learn quite quickly.I think I had them quite fascinated about India by then.It was 2 o clock when we returned.Everyone criticises me for doing nothing with her.but I didnt want to.atleast that night.She told me that since viera has left you can come over to my room the next night.she is a bit insomniac and doesnt sleep too well.and I have all the time in the world.so it wasnt a bad idea

so next night I rang her door bell at 9.ten seconds then twenty then thirty.no one opened the door.I thought once more it has been a case of cuts for me.But just as i was going down the stairs I hear the lift open and she shouts from behind.Oh believe me it was a big relief coz I had nothing else in mind for the night.

Just as we were entering her room she told me she had an interesting experience today.When I asked her to elaborate.She told me that she had gone swimming with a group of German girls and boys today. Oh before I go further I forgot to tell you that she is a national swimmer.That explains her nearly impossible figure.yeah now let me continue with her(my ) story.So when they reach the lake they see that almost everyone out there is nude.the Germans follow suit and tell Viki to do the same.But she says no I cant do that.Perhaps in Greece but not in a foreign land.and she told me how uncomfortable she felt all the time with nude men all around her.

As she entered the room she gave me the surprise of my life.She said it is pretty hot in here.You wont be uncomfortable if I take off my top.Ofcourse not.
Well after coming from my room her room looked like heaven.But she was still apologetic about the dirtiness in her room.Women sometimes amaze me.and as we settled down and began to talk.I dont know when the conversation drifted but soon we were talking about love,sex,relationships virginity and stuff.Soon she was telling me about her ex boyfriends and guiding me how to woo a girl.believe me it was quite helpful.I told her about Katja.and she said you didnt handle her very well.this is Germany.She said I as a principle dont believe in relationships based only on sex.I'd much rather prefer something which involoves emotions.But in your case you cant characterize her as bad.because she didnt want just sex.you were together for a considerable period of time.and the attraction was mutual.you must have disappointed her this way.of course now you cant go back to her.It sounds stupid

well i was surprised by the amount of tension she takes .small small stuff.what am I going to do tomm. What will happen when I go to Cyprus?she says it is part of her character and she cant change it.
So what happened next?She said you can stay over for the night.But I dont want to bad characterise you.whatever she meant by that.

I fixed a date for next Friday.And everyone screamed at me how can you keep on repeating the same mistake again and again.All night with a half naked interested girl and still like this.I dont have a reply to them

Mother of all coincidences

2006-07-10T01:19:00.000-07:00

I swear this blog almost did not make it on the net. I am not the one who is too keen to share his sorrows publicly. But hey as I told you before this blog is all I take back from this sojourn of mine.So I wont differentiate between the pleasant and sad memories.and go all out here.

I think this is going to be the last "incident related" blog of mine.coz with the world cup over so is the party.The blogs after this are going to be more general in nature with me also not really in the mood for any more anecdotes.But who knows.Miracles do happen.

Lets start.I didnt call up Nina on friday coz I didnt have a clue where would I take her on an afternoon with no match scheduled that day.Saturday me and Nishil had planned to go to Berlin for the final.But the last moment Nishil changed his mind.Now this was a big big setback.For one I had really wanted to be in Berlin for the final.but more disappointingly had I known abt this earlier i would have surely called Nina up and it would have been a perfect date with Germany winning that day convincingly.But sometimes the stars conspire against you.So I ended up friday not packing for berlin but instead reading Eric Segal's "Love Story"(Mallika Sherawat's khwaish is totally based on this)

Met A girl from Czech republic-Viera.if she was anything to go by then my dear czechmates would be having the time of their life.She was studying archaeology here in Leipzig.She was also going to watch the match but at some other place.So ...........

Final.France-italy.Sunday.Normal routine.Gurudwara in the afternoon.Back to hostel.French Tshirt. Back to Augustus platz.Another boring day in the offing.I cut down straight to the business.Half time.
Aahhhhhhhh look who is there..............>KATJA<."you were in Dresden??""you were in Berlin??"
and then i got to know what happened that day.It was not she who stood me up.infact it was I who had stood her up.She had called me to some club or something .i thought the invitation was for the night and not for the evening.so bit of misundersatnding.

As usual she was surrounded by these male sharks hunting out for blood(female blood).All kinds - deutsch , Italians,French(and of course an Indian).But how long could this inexperienced loser keep the sharks at bay.

We cheered like crazy for France.standing amongst the Italian crowd.and with every Italian play our eyes wouold go up in silent prayer.I was secretly hoping France loses.coz it would have been perfect for the sob scenario.meanwhile the advances of the other people on her kept on increasing.And I stared at one so hard that Katja had to tell me to relax"Dont worry simran they are all good people".Good people??bullshit.

To cut a long story short.France lost.I sat down there dejected and Katja along with me.really it was nice to be with someone at that moment.she ran her hands over my head and said almost the same things which I had told her a few days ago.

I think I overdid the sob story bit.Coz that is when the things went into an unstoppable downward spirl. An Italian stud(yeah real stud) comes up to Katja and engrosses her in a conversation .Well built good looking rich intelligent.Fuck I could go on for ever describing him but wont for the fear of being called gay. I mean he was better than me (much much better).

And if you thought my 25 sec smooch was long.then you should have seen them.3 mins 4 mins 5 mins their lips didnt part.and when they did.they found other body parts of each other.I dont know what I was doing at that moment.Standing like an idiot??sitting like a lunatic???dont know.

They made their way out and me thru the other way with my tail between my legs.and God can be cruel some days.as I went back to the tram station Lo Behold who is there-Katja and the fucking Italian.Still "engrossed'in each other.I tried not to get myself noticed.Was I successful or not?dont know.
I never thought I would see katja during the world cup.I had her number so I had thought I'll call her up some day.take her out for dinner and thank her for the lovely time she had given me.

U must have been wondering why i called this blog "Mother of all coincidences".By our second meeting Katja and I had opened up a lot.I mean we talked abt it all-gals,guys,sex,drugs,love.And the day Italy defeated Germany we were sitting there and she was saying Not italy not italy.and I told her that Italian men are suppossed to be the best.She said yes but only for sex.They dont make good husbands.But I guess that night it was only sex.

Katja had a fav line"Only the best will win".I say it with an absolute straight face that night the Italian(s) was(were) the best.

dil ke armaan aansoon mein beh gaye.......................

2006-07-06T08:07:00.000-07:00

Katja-the word had come to govern my life for the past few days.I think govern is the wrong word.Lets just say that she was an important part of my German sojourn.

Just couldnt wait for the next day (France match).poora din baith ke doston ke saath discuss kiya ki aaaj aisa karoonga vaisa karoonga.We had a party in the office that evening.I had told Katja about it and said that i wont be able to come to Augustus platz at 8 o'clock since I have to attend that party.I would be there by 9.The party was gr8 the food even better but I was getting impatient.Left the party at 8:10 and made my way to Augustusplatz.reached there by 8:30.

and disaster struck.Katja was nowhere to be seen at the fixed place.I thought perhaps she would come at 9 o clock.and kept on waiting and waiting.But no,she didnt come.What went wrong???I dont know.she doesnt have my no.to inform me about that.

And guess who I met that night-Sandarin.but I was so disappointed by that time that I just said a distant hello and made my way back to the hostel with my tail between my legs.

The world cup draws to an end.and I think with that the fun is also going to end.As for Katja.I dont know.I will definitely want to meet her atleast once before I go back.She has been too gr8 till now to give me the ditch like this.I do have her number.

The first casualty of this encounter is Nina and Claudia.I made up my mind not to call up Nina coz dont want a "heartbreak" again.

Just made me wonder Has time finally come a full circle for me.Back to square one........................

My first date in Europe

2006-07-05T03:23:00.000-07:00

I was very confused when choosing the title for this blog.There were quite a few in my mind."my first european girlfriend".OR "My longest smooch ever"

Well i didnt choose the first one coz if one has to have a European girlfriend then one has to also meet the European standards for the definition of a girlfriend. I mean we hangout together,drink and eat together, dance together party together flirt with each other and other things which i wont make public.But i guess to fulfill the European standards you have to add sleep togethter.and that is what we dont do.So no European girlfriend.The other title would have fetched a larger no.of hits but it sounded very arrogant and full of self- publicity.

Different people have different interpretations for a date.My definition is that it should nt be the first time you should be meeting the girl.you should hang out for some time.then dinner or lunch.then hand in hand roaming about and blah blah..................................................

Anyone can get a girl in europe anyone.to dance with,to get a photo clicked with,maybe a hug or kiss too.But I wanted to take someone out on a date my way.All my trysts with the girls had ended in single encounters.

Germany Italy semifinals.mein poore 8 ghante b4 the match ghar chala gaya tha.rested properly.sajh dhaj ke nikala.alone.not knowing what is in store for me.You can expect a crowd of 20-25,000 for a Germany match.so couldnt hope to see my punjabi friends.Just hoped that my luck continues.

Hanging out..........................

And it did and in what a spectacular manner.Just as I entered the arena I saw Katja.Fancy the chances in a crowd of 20000.But hey look at the shareef me.I didnt go upto her straightaway.Instead i positioned myself in such a way that she could see me and my back was turned towards her.Just wanted to see if she was really interested in me or not(one of my stupid tricks).and soon I feel a kick up my ass.Oh My God.Katja.Where in heaven's name did u land from?surprise surprise.

and today I was alone with her.or so I thought.ek german ne us pe fight maari thodi der.They start talking in German so cant do much about it.thodi der toh it was OK but then I came up with a plan. "Katja dont you think we should move forward.we will get a better view there".Tschuss(BYE) to the german.but aage ja rahe the toh nayi museebat.usko apna 15 saal puraana dost mil gaya who was with his girlfriend.shuru mein toh mere ko boht gusaa chada but i soon realized that this person is a messiah for me.Boht help ki usne.seedha hi poochta"so how do you find katja?Beautiful,isnt she??"and he was a real german stud.well built and relaxed and with a personality to die for.chalo chhodo I am not gay anyways.

the match starts and my hand starts finding interesting places.sometimes in katja's hands,sometimes shoulders sometimes waist,sometimes.....every time the ball reaches the german area she would close her eyes hold me in a tight embrace.Thank god Italy played so well that day[:D].I would try to keep her calm and relaxed but she was all excited...

118th min.She has her back to the screen eyes closed she in my arms.Italy scores.as usual she looks up at me but this time i dont have a smile on my face.A Weird expression.I am sorry and hold her in a tight embrace.2nd goal.She has her heart broken.She sits quitely for the next 15 mins.me alongside her. saying nothing.

Dinner....................

Then I pick her up and say lets go for dinner.My treat.Cheer up.Me with my arm across her waist and hers across mine go to a fast food restaurant.She says she wont eat anything.not in the mood for it.Ok then I will also have nothing.NO no dont do this.ok i will eat a little.we take our food and sit.Then comes the part I like the most- talking.telling each other about his/her life.She told me her love story and how it went bad and I told her mine.and we were like oh i am so sorry.In the midst of all this her mind would go back to Germany's defeat.I would try my level best to cheer her up.

Roaming about hand in hand............(and much more)

It was around 2o clock.We made a date for the next match(france)[;)].and then I walked her to her bicycle.Yeah nothing weird till now.It was the usual kiss on either cheek while saying goodbye and I dont know what happened but the next thing that i remember is my lips locked with hers and her tongue in my mouth(ugh....).It was the longest smooch of my life-25 seconds.I just didnt want to let go of her that night.Was totally out of breath by the time we finished the kiss.Said goodbye once more.And then I came back home wondering how is my life going so well these days...........

Cant wait for today's match.

It is getting better and hotter every day

2006-07-03T02:39:00.000-07:00

No I am not talking about the World Cup which indeed is also getting better.nor about my twisted ankle.
then what indeed?well read on till the end..............

Well after the wild night I was looking for something more subtle(a case of sour grapes???maybe)

France has proven lucky for me till now.Most of the readers of this blog know this by now.however living in germany it was kinda disappointing that nothing interesting ever happened to me even though I was always there wearing a german tshirt.and this time I decided not to wear the tshirt.two reasons .I was afraid that germany is going to lose the quarterfinal and also because that tshirt now bears a small hole courtesy some idiot's cigarette.

for the 5 pm match i was there at 3 pm itself.one because i dont have anything to do in the office and it is better to be amongst the crowd.and two because if u r late then baby you can forget getting an entry in there.

I was alone that day(as usual)and it is not easy spotting the Punjabi crowd amongst 15000 people.so I prepeared myself for one more boring day.esp with Katja in Dresden(I called her up and asked her if we could see the match together.unfortunately she was working in Dresden so hard luck for me)got a nice spot in front of the screen.

hmmm usually my tendency is to get a spot near a group of girls.so that atleast I dont get bored during the match and if i am lucky then perhaps a bit of more also than just plain eye candy.this time i knew i hardly stand a chance so preferred going to a spot where i could catch the action in the best possible way.I found myself next to a group of teenagers-4 boys and 2 girls. The boys were cheering for germany at their loudest but the girls(especially the taller one).Man I dont know how to describe their antics and actions.One girl would take out a candy and put it in the other's t-shirt.and she would take it out and eat it.I mean this is just one of the things they were doing. The taller one would look at me in a funny kinda way(she later told me the reason) and I would look back at her and give a smile but say nothing.this continued for a while...............

Ok just to show you I evolve with every blog I give out the girls' names in the beginning itself-Nina and Claudia.Nina being 5ft 11 very fair slim.Claudia was much shorter,a bit fatter but more cuter. As for their ages- I am going to get beaten up on this.Look i will be very frank on this.They looked like 19 or 20 that is why i took interest in them. They turned out to be just 16.Oops.well if i overestimated their age they reciprocated it.They were to later tell me that they also thought me to be 24 or 25(I am 19+) .Tit for tat

My worst fears were confirmed about their being not interested in football when the match started. Nina sat down(the rest of the crowd stands).hmmmm there was the regular eye contact( I prefer to call it aankh mataka)-flirting thru ur eyes.And then I said to myself just wait for the half time.phir baat karte hain.

Half time and tragedy.both took placce together.half time hua nahi ki yeh dono kahin kat li.me standing there with 4 guys.I used this opportunity to get to know the guys better.but helloooooo No English.

The girls come back and then disappear again after Argentina scores.And that is when the fire was lit.
I saw two stupid Italians with hats and all talking to them.As long as it is a German no fight.but Italians ............ no way.Andar se desh pyaar ki bhavna jaag uthi.India v/s Italy.the girls brought the italians along with them(More likely the Italians chep ho gaye).Now the game starts......

My first move was to block the way of italians so that they dont get too close to the girls.Claudia by this time had come behind me.Time for action."Oh can you see the screen."was???(German for what) ."Can you speak English."Yes a little bit(here comes the standard reply.All I asked was what is your name.Claudia she said.and the rest as they say is history

I wont reproduce the entire conversation but just as a reminder for myself it was full of half truths , blatant lies and absolute truths.

Germany would go on to beat argentina on penalties.Nina would leap on Claudia and it sent me thinking "Am I with lesbians??"(A fear which would prove itself wrong later).Now there was a gap of about 40 mins between the time I first started talking and the time the match finished.We 3 had chatted non stop since then.We danced like idiots(we = claudia and nina).There were hi5's all around.
Vaapis jaate hue Claudia ko utha ke poore gang ne paani mein phenk diya.she ran after us and slipped.hehehee it was all very funny.and then we went to McDonald's.i offered to give a treat.They wont hear a thing about that.and looked at me as if i was talking about something alien. By this time let's see what my accomplishments were- i had got nina interested in the sikh religion,claudia got to know about raj kapoor's johnny mera naam, I had got such nice friends.and this had led to a fight with one of tthe local Punjabis(details later).

All of them were not from Leipzig.They were from Zwicau(2.5 hrs away).so the problem of remaining in touch came up after this.They were from a village.So no email(surprising!!!!).Nina gave me her phone no.(Thank you Dear Lord)and we plan to meet up on Friday again.(shit why dont i have a mobile here,makes a helluva difference).While going it was the same routine- a hug and a kiss on the cheek (which i deliberately prolong[;)]).

After katja and Sandarin this......
Life in Germany is right now rocking and it is a sincere prayer to u God.keep it that way

"photo"electric effect

2006-06-29T02:29:00.000-07:00

Before any of you starts feeling I am going to start a Physics lecture let me clarify it is nothing like that.

But sometimes the jealousy of human mind amazes me.I know it better coz I think I am one of the most jealous guys you will ever meet and I say this with all sincerity.

After the last post everyone started asking for Katja's photo as proof .HAHAHAHAHA.I can stop annny stranger on the street get my photo clicked and say this is Katja.then what will you do??Probably start asking for her birth certificate or something.

Go thru the orkut profile of any IITian intern in Europe and you will find atleast one photo with a mem. Even I thought at times that I should do this but Hey I am not on a 2 month sojourn here.I have to live for 18 months here.I would much rather make friends out here than get my photos clicked.

There were two reasons I did not bring a camera along.I am from a middle class family which doesnt really swim in money and a digital camera could mean half the month's salary.I couldnt do that just to fulfill some fantasy.But the more important reason is that this trip is my dream.I want to live it for myself and not for someone else. and when u run after Kodak moments that can get ruined.

The night I almost lost my virginity not once but twice

2006-06-28T04:04:00.000-07:00

Ok so now that I have made u leap out of your seats with the title, I guess I wil have to deliver on the content part too.

Now that I am sure that not more than 10 people read this blog(even that much seems an exaggeration) I can get a bit raunchy out here.Hey I have warned you in advance.And I am sure that I will probably end up looking like a complete dumbo at the end but I did whatever I did after careful thought and in complete senses.

I perhaps mentioned before that I made friends with a lot of Punjabi people out here in Leipzig( i will soon write a post about them also). They would keep on talking about how they got this girl today and that girl.And I kept on wondering that this is not possible.No one can do stuff like that.we are all outsiders here.And they would especially tease me saying u r such a tall handsome guy who knows english well.U can have whoever u want.I remember a Pakistani's comment especially"Agar mein tere jinna sohna hunda na taan adhi leipzig diyan kudian da &&(*^&*(^*^*^*(*&*^^%%$^R^ kar chukya hunda." And even two of my companions here would go to discs and night clubs and return to tell incidents setting me even more on fire.

I began to think that there has to be something wrong with me only that I cant get a girl here.I'd say my insistence on the girl making the first move was the culprit.But i was not going back on that.Coz otherwise there is no fun in the game.

You perhaps remember the France Togo match.It was kinda relief for me from the bad mood I was in.
On tuesday there were two matches Brazil-Ghana and France-Spain.I left office early went home slept took a shower and came to watch the matches.Brazil's match had just reached half time when one of my Punjabi friends(Minta) came up and said let's go.boht aish karvata hai woh even though he himself is no rich man.We met two other guys and watched the match together.Chalo match khatam hua and Minta said he will come back here only for the 9 PM match.I said i will be here only.when I entered the arena (which was almost empty)I saw this attractive girl talking to two guys. I just thought in my mind Lucky bastards.I sat alone for some time and then three deutsch people said France will lose today( I was wearing a France tshirt today)and i said no it will win.they laughed and said let's see.they were joined by another man(an Iranian) who seemed more friendly he said hello and said "Du bist english"(are you english?)I said no and came to their table.and in my broken deutsch said france will win today. Meanwhile the girl I was talking about came to the table.and started speaking with the three germans. and then to the iranian(he spoke deutsch).and then she said something to me.my standard reply"Ich sprache nicht Deutsch".And she said "Oh" but do you speak english??and my eyes literally lit up.

Yes indeed I speak english.and I cant thank you enough if you also do.Oh she was a goddess.It was still an hour for the match to start. we talked about a lot of things-politics,caste system,Bush,Iraq(ok you can laugh but remember the one who laughs last laughs the longest)love,drugs,music.She said Spain is going to win today.I told her that I can bet that france is going to win.

bore ho rahe ho?should i switch over to the good stuff right away.well just one little detail.It rained that evening(it comes into the picture later).and for a moment I thought perhaps my hopes have also been washed away.

Ok france 1-0 down.she comes up to me I am sorry but ur team is going home today.and then france scores I instinctively give her a hug(too tight).half time rain starts again france scores again and this time it is no hug.We kiss each other.3rd goal and I am a bit more reserved and just give a hug.France wins. Viva La france.

This girl was hot.I saw atleast 4 other guys trying their luck with her.there was even one who asked her about the night and she politely said no.She was not young.she said 27 but looked like 32 to me.but great figure and beautiful dress.

Ok so what???well then we danced in the arena for some while and kissed again. it was my first time dancing with a girl hand in hand and i am really really bad at that. I cursed myself for that. the DJ wounded up and she said I want to give u a grand party.in the meanwhile a german had also come along . He said he also wanted to go.She said Ok.so we took a taxi to "LA PLAYA CLUB" which had a reggae and salsa night.she was crazy about reggae. but when we reached there all that was playing was salsa and i swear I could have gone to sleep in that music .she went up to the DJ and told him that this guy has come from France and where is the fucking reggae music?We left the club cursing them all the way.

No tram No taxi. we decided to hitch hike.and what a way to hitchhike.she would stand in the middle of the road tell us to hide and raise her dress a little.two cars stopped but when we appeared they sped away. she called up a taxi from her mobile and then she dropped the bombshell,"Look it is getting late.If you want you can come over to my home to sleep with me.I mean in my house.No sex just hospitality."

My friends in Leipzig had told me that girls would always invite u this way only to unleash themselves later.Hmmmm frankly she was so friendly and so jovial that I couldnt resist saying yes if only to get to spend more time with her.and then I committted a blunder I asked her are you sure it wont be a problem if I come home with you.This in front of the german(she had given the invitation when he had gone to piss)and the german started asking her what is he saying and she said nothing nothing.well the taxi didnt show up we went by tram to the main station and she asked me are you sure you will find your way back home I said yes.She went to the tram driver and enquired about my stop(HEHEHHE she didnt know I have been going by the same tram for past two months).she seemed genuinely concerned about me. She gave me her phone no.and said call me . I want to see you again. Then we kissed each other 4 times(yupp I was counting)and with a tear in the eye i said bye bye.had it not been for the bloody german I would have woken up in a girl's room

I am not too sure what I would have done if I had really gone there. I dont think i would have gone all the way with her no way.I might call her up one of these days and take her out or see another match with her(she paid for that evening). I remember one of her lines,"Money money honey it is not funny"
Oh I have this idiotic habit of giving the girl's name in the end - katja

ok the second chance was more direct and this time i myself turned it down(btw the second chance came before the first). we were dancing after the match and this girl comes up to me and asks me where are u from.India I say.and then she said one of the funniest lines I have ever heard," You look like Bob Marley."She was Sandarin from Hungary and man she was desparate that night.she started running her hands over my chest and said i want to dance with you. I took her aside and kissed her passionately she seemed to be begging for more and straight forward asked ," do you live with ur parents or friends" I said No I live alone.She started smiling and then it struck me what she was really asking. i danced with her kissed her once more and went back to Katja.Later I saw her going with one of the English fans(dont ask me what was an English fan doing in a France- spain match).I didnt like the looks of her.I dont mean she was ugly or something.on the other hand she was more beautiful than katja.it was her desparation which set the alarm bells ringing.

So I survived that night to tell you this story.and the sojourn continues............................

A 'distressful' post

2006-06-26T08:08:00.000-07:00

People keep wondering how come this bloody guy is having a ball out there.No crashes,no false starts,no nightmares.nothing.Simply because i believe that smile and the world smiles with you.cry and you cry alone.so apna rona dhona mein usually apne pass rakhta hoon.

But aah just to clear those misgivings I write this post.The past few days have been very tough for me(those who know me well know that I say this after every few days[;)]).

I lost my flight tickets and with that my entire savings went for a toss.Already my papers for the schol had gotten fucked up(my mistake) and I was clearly not born with the silver spoon in my mouth.I had to arrange for finance for France also considering that I have to stay there for atleast 10 months.I misplaced my entrance card to the institute.I sprained my ankle badly and could hardly walk for 2 days.
Very frankly I have not exactly hit it off with my companions here.There has been the occasional tiff and things are not exactly smooth like a cheese.It could be that I am entirely to blame.hardly have had a long term contact with any of the locals.and as for the mems.well I quote Muhammad Ali on this"Silence is golden when u dont know a good answer."

I could have taken all this in my stride.but the next blow was literally...................I dont know what.I dont have words for it.I just kicked one of the pillars of my life with whom I shared all my joys and sorrows.Why?I guess it had to be done sooner rather than later.You dont make a promise breaker your life's pillar do you?but me idiot searching for utopia.never realising that utopia is just what it is meant to be.A myth.Der aaye durust aaye.

This indecision of mine kills me sometime.Oh god! why cant i stick to one damn thing.Ok ok b4 I look like the most frustrated guy out there.let me tell you that is not exactly the case.I was down for some time but not now.

Guardian angel didnt exactly pull it off this time but just enough for me to survive for the next day.that night it was the France Togo match.I was in a very bad mood that day.Feeling alone and more dangerously a loser.Born loser so to say.Anyways.I positioned myself next to two girls in the vain hope perhaps they might talk.but nope.nothing till half time.I was wearing a French tshirt that day.so i said why not go into the france crowd.it was a do or die match for france and it hadnt scored till then.suddenly it scores.jubiliation all around.but for me none.in front of me was this group of 4-2 boys ,2 girls.one of the girl was really beautiful(if u people know alizee then i was reminded of alizee by her).still nothing.then this girl looks back and whispers into one of the guys ears something.i throw a questioning look.the other gal asks me "you are wearing an older version of the france tshirt"I say with 32 teeth flashing"It is the only one I could get my hands on"This is all I need to get into the groove.
watched the rest of the match with them.And do you know where that "alizee" was from?Lyon.and uf she is anything to go by then Lyon could spell either of two things for me-heaven or more despopana.
we took out a kinda victory parade after france won(and zizou got another chance).the story ends there(remember this is a distressful post).oops almost forgot a small detail.going by the names they gave me I am in for a torrid time trying to remember the names of French people

next day I was all set to make amends.but jab din gande hote hain toh sab kuch galat jaata hai.pehle open air disc mein gaya toh kisi ki cigarette se shirt jal gayi.it was the only german jersey i had.went back home to change(home is 35 mins. away).and i was all the more desparate this time.Socha ki jo marzi ho jaaye aaj i'll loose all control in the disc.well the best of the plans go awry.At my tram station I met Alexander.6 ft 8 inches and with a body to die for.I told u abt him a while ago.He was going to the supermarket.I told him I am going to see the match.He said Can I come along.i said sure.I can tell you very frankly he is one of the best guys I have ever met.Not even one shortcoming. happy, humourous, humble.In the tram there were these 2 young girls absolutely drunk.Swinging away like a pendulum. We made a lot of jokes(albeit harmless jokes) about them.So in the crowd we two stood out.

He helped me mix in with the crowd.Since both of us were standing together we were "centre of attraction."So these group of germans ask for his height.and then ask him where he comes from.Bulgaria he says.Und Ihr colleguen(and your collegue).India he says. Their eyeballs come out as they say"india.but the people from india are klein(small)".No you bloody bastards you have never heard of the region-Punjab.and then another comes up and says in perfect English hey arent you guys interested only in cricket.Nahi yaar aisa nahi hai.All in all I can say that I had finally found my first European friend.

I had a plan to go to a nightclub or a discotheque that night.but Mr.Alexander had an exam.when?2 weeks later.huh?and u start studying right away.yeah yeah i have not studied the whole semester.
Hmmm reminded me of Dixie.saale dixie it was our dream to go together someplace and rock the world but fate had something else in store.as for the other guys.Saini switzerland mein akela baitha bore ho raha hai.nahi lagva sakta tha kya schengen visa.teri bhi masti meri bhi. and chugh,talwar. what do i say about them. we are just 100 km from each other but neither of us can visit each other.

Hmmm despite my best intentions I couldnt bring out the emotions that i really wanted to. Why? coz by the time i got down to writing this post events had taken place which had completely reversed the mood and for the first time i began to feel Germany is wonderful.What happened?Well I guess you have to wait for the next post.And I assure you I am going to earn both brickbats and bouquets for that.
It is going to be awesome

a filler

2006-06-26T05:59:00.000-07:00

My habit of playing around with the words doesnt go easily.Well it would have irritated half the readers by now.Ok ok i must start b4 I irritate the others also.

A filler post.Definition-since i have not written for a long time i write this post just to clue you in on some of the very insignificant happenings.

Hmmm let's see where do we start.Aah yes.Mensa.Students' mess.we were 4 guys.So i found a place for 4 and the other 3 were a bit behind.a girl comes up and sits down.so woh teenon kahin aur kat lete hain.I think about saying "Guten Apettit" to her but I dont.and she picks up the fork and says ,"Excuse me but do Sikhs eat cows?"Me totally hakka bakka.Say hello to Andrea.She knew a helluva lot about India coz she had just married an Indian.We talk and we talk and we talk,and she offers me coffee but i dont have a cup.So she does the next best thing-gives me her phone no.and says come over for dinner.
Unfortunatley this doesnt have a very happy ending.I phone and her husband picks up.We talk and we talk and we talk.and he says come over on sunday.Heloooooooooooo sunday ko leipzig mein match hai france aur south korea ka.any other day perhaps.he said sure.but i guess things dont always work out as u want them to.

Ok so where next.oh yeah cricket field.No no not back home.Here in Leipzig.A group of Indians get together every weekend to play cricket.So we joined them the last sunday.and hello people guess who showed up-reporters from BBC English,BBC Hindi,Hindustan Times.Ok i will be modest here and just leave you with the link from HT.http://epaper.hindustantimes.com/artMailDisp.aspx?article=21_06_2006_020_013&typ=0&pub=264

what else.khaas nahi.next post is going to be a shocker.

a thank you mail for my guardian angel

2006-06-12T07:10:00.000-07:00

Was getting bored like shit in the office so time to write another blog.

Hmmmmm first of all a public clarification.I dont write for anyone.This blog is for me only.So all these people who keep on creating hue & cry abt me writing lies in this can go to hell coz I dont give a damn abt you.Secondly yes this blog is only abt the rosy side of my stay here.There are thorns (as always) attached with these roses and when they prick they hurt like anything.

And now for the mail.Why a mail?Well i guess there is no other way of saying thanks.Everytime I have felt down my guardian angel has always rigged up some concotion to cheer me up(well almost always). The day I met Jana I was low like hell and she brought me back to earth level atleast.and the same thing happened during my trip to Hamburg.

I dont know why I had been feeling low and lonely during the entire trip.5am.Sunday.St.plais hauptbahnhoff.In the group of 7 I was with Ashu(sleeping) while the rest were scattered at different places.This girl comes up along with another girl(almost half asleep).Thick rimmed specs.hair tied in a careless manner.but full of energy and vigour.The chirpy kind.and she barks out something in German pointing at my floaters.And i use my standard reply,"Ich sprache nicht Deutsch".and she says ,"Oh but you look like a german".And i was like,"really??".she was one of the best characters I have met in my stay here.humble,ambitious and intelligent.She was Navina.so when I told her I was from India the interest began to increase.she asked me what her name meant saying that it is supposed to be an Indian name.I told her it means new but she said that I have heard that it means something else also.and then suddenly it struck me.Nagina +naveen=Navina.a new diamond.and do you know what was her reply.diamond that toh I really am.Yeah i know this doesnt go with the humility thing but frankly diamond she was.Maybe I should have told her that.What maybe,I should have definitlely told her that but then not everything goes perfect.

We talked for just 10 mins and within those 10 mins. I got to know a lot about her life and vice versa also.We also had to travel by the same train as hers but Golu was not well so we had to postpone our journey[:(].We said our goodbyes.No kisses by the way.It was really great to see someone after such a long time laughing along with you and the bonhomie created was great.If I were to write the entire conversation probably everyone would not even bother to start with this blog.so i give that a miss.

I know what is going to be the general comment on this post.Bandi se baat kar li toh koi boht bada teer maar liya?Yaar mein yahaan teer maarne waale incidents nahi likhta.Just some new experiences some everyday happenings.some things i want to remember.some things i want by my side everytime.Baaki sab toh sirf ek experience ke liye kiya jaata hai.

Feeling a bit low even today.Guardian angel wherever you are don't disappoint me this time

the musings of an idler

2006-06-08T07:10:00.000-07:00

haan haan pata hai title thoda arbit hai.but itna toh seh sakte ho yaar.Otherwise initially the title was going to be "A dream come true and another gone sour"

Dresden-it was the first German city in which I or rather my plane stepped in and this sunday it was time to visit the place from where it all started.Ok now for the dream gone sour part.

one of the fantasies every guy has is to be surrounded by lots of beautiful girls.and yeah even i had this one.Nishil and Golu fell asleep during the rail journey.the compartment was empty so I shifted to a place which had 8 empty seats.35 minutes b4 the train was to reach its destination a group of firangs stepped into the compartment.14 girls 3 guys(ooh la la).aur seat thi mere pass khali 7.six girls and one guy.Thank you God(I never forget to say this).and it was obvious that they were not germans for their language sounded quite different.ab kya karoon.did the most logical thing.started chatting up the guy.romanians on a german trip.But that guy was one of the most unfriendly person I have met on this trip.replied only in monosyllables(shaayad darta tha mein bandiyon pe fight maar raha hoon :D).aur unke saath photo bhi khich gayi meri unke cam se (though it was unintentional) and then one of the girl said something in romanian(most probably a comment on the pic).dil toh kiya ki reply karoon but kya?
aur woh utar gayi next station par.Dream/Fantasy shattered

Dresden was completely destroyed in WorldWar2 and it is remarkable how it has been rebuilt from scratch.even the historical buildings have been restored.aah who cares.we are not here to talk such stuff right.

Volkswagen.this name has been concurrent with the Beatle .They have built a transparent factory which is now a tourist spot.Everything transparent(uh not the clothes sorry).Phaeton is the super luxury car built there.got a chance to sit in it and also (yes) got to drive it in a simulated road.280km/h.Dream come true.

Aaj another hard to believe incident.I was alone today while taking the tram.there is a playground in front of our apartments.Local school's kids were having some kinda competition there.and i was going along when suddenly I hear "OYE BALLE BALLE"There was this German girl in a group of three girls and she had shouted it out.She smiled i smiled back and my amazement was to such an extent that I didnt know what to do.

Next week hamburg

hey let me introduce u to some new people

2006-06-02T06:14:00.000-07:00

As a child when I watched movies I always used to wonder how can perfect strangers become friends .I always envied the people who had this quality.One of the main reasons for my desparation for this "EUROTRIP" was that I wanted to see whether I have this quality or not.

And frankly speaking I have been a bit disappointed in this aspect but part of the blame also goes to the lack of knowledge of English among Germans.So till now I have just made acquaintances and not friends.Well very frankly the beard and the turban makes people inquisitive(some might also say skeptical)This can work to your advantage and also your disadvantage

My first "friend" here (I am not going to use "" anymore but in this blog the meaning should be implied)was an Arab who has this restaurant where we used to go to have lunch(Hmmmm this friendship is economically also feasible).He insisted on not taking the payment for a chocolate but i didnt want to start a friendship like this so I insisted on paying back

another friend is a bulgarian(who thought that I didnt know the capital of Bulgaria).he is 4 inches taller than me 5 inches wider.Man what a build.Then there is JJ a yugosalavian who reads Bhagvad gita

Ok the most that I can tell you about is Jana.I was having lunch one day(today ;))and she comes up and asks whether there is place and I of course reply yes.and the chatting starts.Surprise surprise she knows English(though I dont know why Germans always answer "a little bit"when you ask them do you know English).so she is from Leipzig only and is studying art at the local art college.20 years old.with a nice smile and before I could continue with my flirting guess who shows up?Her dad Chris.Well just to show that I wasnt hitting on his girl(even though I was) I start a conversation with him too.Too bad the story ended there only.

Morality

2006-05-30T01:01:00.000-07:00

Well well well.My last blog has become a bit too controversial because of the last para.I want to make it clear that morality for me is something personal which cant be defined as such.for eg. I am a non veg which for some people is morally corrupt but for me no it is not.But for me drinking is a moral malice and when i say drinking i mean the phase when you become dependent on alcohol.

well guessing by the no.of comments each post has received it is easy to guess for a bollywood director what really sells.

My First Kiss

2006-05-26T02:49:00.000-07:00

OK Well I want to set the ground rules for this blog beforehand.Golu insists that a kiss is not a kiss until it is a French kiss.Yes if we go by this definition I am yet to have my first kiss.but I am myself not a believer in this definition.To me a kiss is a kiss.

Date 24.05.2006 Venue Moritzbastei(Yeah here comes that name again but this time with the correct spellings).Aneesh had just arrived from Gottingen.There was a dance till you drop party at moritzbastei and just hearing that made Aneesh's tiredness evaporate.We went straight there .The queue was even longer than before but the crowd seemed less(I can say that because I could atleast keep my foot down on the floor unlike the other day).After the tongue lashing that I received from people back home for my previous visit I had decided to be a bit more restrained(????) this time.0015 hrs It had been half an hour t and it was almost clear that tonight it is going to be my dry spell and very frankly speaking i wasnt dejected abt it. No it was not the case of sour grapes.the thrill and excitement of the first time cant be matched.Can it???

Ok and this is when out of the blue another "first time" happened. A group of 3 girls and one guy was dancing close to us.One of the girls stared at me and smiled and obviously I smiled back.She told the girl next to her that that guy is smiling at me(or atleast that is what I think she told her).She then told it to her 2nd friend who was standing closest to me.She waved at me and smiled.I went up to her gave a toothy smile [:D] and said I am Simran.She said Zimerad????I said no "Simran".She said "Zimeran".I gave up and said yes yes Zimeran.You could see her happiness on getting it right finally.She then said ," Hello Zimeran I am Irene". I was tempted to say "who Imran" but I guess better sense prevailed.All these conversations were happening in whispers.And then she came close to my face with me thinking that she wants to whisper something when suddenly muaaahh.A kiss.I though perhaps it was accidental.But when I looked up I saw that she was asking me to kiss her back.And this is how Deepak described my reaction," Simran(Zimeran) was shell shocked and his eyeballs widened up.His face had this expression which seemed to be asking"SERIOUSLY?????".Yeah I kissed her back(Wow a girl's skin andlips are really as soft as a child's) and said goodbye(Yes all you surprised people this is what I seriously did).All your life you wait for this moment and it is all over in 5 seconds.Amazing.

People I have received a lot of comments about me having forgotten my morality after coming here.There is nothing of that sort. I have not touched alcohol(even though all 4 of my companions drink) and neither do i plan to drink.All 3 -Sandra Anna and Irene- they were not drunk at all.Irene was charming good looking and interested but hey I didnt ask her out.Because yes Soul does come before body.

The beach

2006-05-26T02:27:00.000-07:00

Ok I agree the beach wasnt as fascinating as the one in Leonardo di caprio's 'The Beach'.But hey who cares.this one was a manmade one built at a place where there used to be mining pits.

Deepak had arrived from Cottbus and Aneesh from Gottingen.So we were a gang of five.I insisted on making it six(Varupi ;)).So we headed out to the "beach" around 4 pm.It was supposed to be men's day in Germany and this day everyone on the streets is drunk like the bewdas of India. Singing, shouting, dancing, flirting every man on the street turns into a hooligan.And yeah many women too. A football was arranged and a footie match ensued.I was on the beach after 2 years and this was my first time on a cold beach.The temperature was around 5 C and poor me and Aneesh were in Tshirts and shorts(needless to say I lost my voice the next day).Varupi is going on Sunday morning and i guess the delhi heat would be a relief for her.she didnt seem to be a winter person.Dressed to T.Anyways we said our goodbyes(one more time and even this time both of us were not sure whether it is the last time).But a piece of advice Germany mein beach pe jaana hai toh jackets umbrella chahiye and not shorts and sunglasses.but hey I have never enjoyed more than I did that day.

Things are beginning to get interesting

2006-05-22T00:49:00.000-07:00

The first thing that everyone asks from any guy who goes abroad is that how are the mems(chicks).Well I have been no exception and have been innundated with queries about the girls.

I have tried to be as frank as possible in this particular blog.No exaggerations no understatements.

The first site that I saw after landing on German soil at the airport was a German couple kissing passionately saying goodbye perhaps.So lets just say it was a precursor to what I was expecting from this trip.The first site i remember about my office was there was a bunch of ladies standing near the entrance.The secretary with whom I shall be associated for the next three months Antje Vandenberg was the first to greet me.Very charming and pleasant lady and thankfully english speaking.

there is this tradition in Germany that everyone greets you whenever they pass you.So hi's and morgen's toh totally common ho gaye the.And God swear I had been passed more smiles by girls in 2 days than in my entire 19 years and the truth is that even I had never passed so many smiles.

Ok now we get down to business.It had been 2 days and these hi's and hello's were getting boring.I knew a bit of German and believe me it comes in handy.I shed my introvert behaviour and decided to take things head on.The first interesting incident was when I was taking a snap of Golu and Nishil and there was this bunch of teenagers coming up.Nishil was a bit uptight abt something and I asked him to CHILL and a girl comes out of this group and whispers in my ear CHEESE.Man I was taken aback to such an extent that I couldnt think of anything to say back.

While going back home in the tram there were 3 absolutely drunk girls.Mein intentionally agle door se utra jahaan woh baithi thi.Ek ke saath baat shuru kar di and jab tak stop nahi aaya we were all laughing like idiots even though neither of us understood what the other was saying.

in the meantime we had come across some Indian girls and guys also.But what happened next is totally unbelievable and I wont fault you for not thinking this is true.nishil golu and me were roaming about on the Nikolaistrasse and this pretty young dame comes up and smiles.I thought I saw a look of recoginiton in her eyes but i couldnt recogonize her.She comes up flashes a smile says hello and starts chatting.All the while I am thinking who is this gal.In the midst of the conversation i mention that my name is Simran.She is like shocked out of her skin.She says,"You are simran I am looking for Harmeet".This is how I first met Varupi jain.This is what was actually supposed to happen.Varupi had lived in Leipzig for 8 months last year and was presently in Stuttgart. A friend of one of her friends Harmeet gets to know that she is in Leipzig and calls her to Nikolaistrasse and says that he is a sikh guy so she wont have problems recogonizing him and guess who lands up at Nikolaistrasse in his place.Yours truly.Well the list of coincidences doesnt end here.I was reading an article in Hindustan Times called Berlin Diary and you know who is supposed to be its author.You guessed it right .Varupi.So the first day we exchanged our numbers.I called her up the next day and we decided to meet the next day at Haupt Bahnoff.She was there albeit a bit late.She took us on a trip around the city and really we had a gala time.
Ok be ready for another surprise.There is a gurudwara in Leipzig.She took us there and believe me I have not seen golu this happy in the entire trip.Both he and Nishil finally got to have a satisfying indian meal after a long time.I could just see them licking their fingers.She is probably going to be here till thursday and I think we'd be going to a lake or something.

Mauritzbastei.I am going to remember this place for the rest of my life.It is an underground disc set up by students of Leipzig and it shall be remembered as the place where Simran rubbed his ass with 12-15 girls for the entire night.And man that place is heaven.I thank you Lord for telling me about this place before my first weekend itself because Varupi was telling me that Indians dont even get to know abt this place during the entire trip.We reached there around 11 pm and man you have got to see the size of the queue outside.Aur andar ja ke toh meri eyeballs bahar aa gayi.As if we had reached a sea of skin.I was not going to let go of this opportunity come what may.I am well known for having two left feet when it comes to dancing.I was afraid ki kahin this does not create mayhem in the disc.But man I really got to know I am not such a bad dancer after all.There were times when people were copying what I was doing.Well that is another story.Chicks chicks everywhere.Long short fat thin black white blonde brunette every kind.But the one that caught my attention was the one who was 6feet 3inch tall for obvious reasons.Back home in India she would have looked like an alien perhaps.But here she was the centre of attraction .everyone seemed to be hitting on her.she was in a group of 4 people.Golu challenged me to approach one of them.Aur challenge sun ke toh mera dimaag waise hi chakra jaata hia.I gave up all kind of hesitation went straight up and asked one of them Sprachen Sie English?
she said no aur meine suna di do chaar gaali.aur woh has padi .phir thodi der usne broken english mein aur meine broken german mein baat ki.the best part was that the music was so loud that you had to whisper everything in the ear and she was smelling like a goddess.thodi der nache and then it was time for hunting once more.Oops i almost forgot to tell you her name.Sandra.Thodi moti thi but cute bhi thi.
next was Anna.Us case mein it was just Hi I am Simran.Hi I am Anna.Handshake.do you speak English.No.Oh ok,bye then.

well kuch logon ko yeh padh ke lag raha hoga kaunse bade studape dikha diye.But mere liye this was like GODGIRI.

And yeah a footnote for someone.Someone who kept on saying ,"how am I going to spend the next 1.5 years without you"but actually didnt even remember when was I supposed to fly away.And this after all I had done for her.I deserved better.I could find more comfort and warmth in these strangers than in you.Where did I go wrong.Or was I really the one who went wrong.

first day

2006-05-17T02:58:00.000-07:00

I landed at the airport at 0935hrs and suddenly realised the complexity of the situation I have to face for the next few months.No one knows English and I dont know much of Deutsch.I made my way to the railway station and it was deserted like a hermit's hut.I made my way back to the airport(with a luggage of 30 kgs)and took a taxi and I am very proud to say that my entire conversation with the taxi driver was in German.It cost me 27 Euros and Oh by the way the car was a Merc.i reached the institute at around 11.I met the secy who would be taking good "care" of me for the next few months then I went to meet Nishil and Golu and then I was taken to my office.The office is the kind which in India I would have got only after 10 years of experience.My officemate is a chinese 35 yrs old not a very interesting one but nevertheless extremely hospitable.Another lady took me to my room where I would be staying for the next 3 months .it is about 30 minutes from my place of work.The room is actually the part of a flat which I am sharing with 3 other guys.It has 2 bathrooms a kitchen and 4 bedrooms.Didnot have lunch and went straight for my afternoon siesta.woke up at around 7 and my friends were still not back so I decided to explore the place on my own.Went to the supermarket and brought a can of milk and then went in the opposite direction.Met two Punjabis one from Nawanshahar and the other was a pakistani.Both of them were illegal immigrants doing menial jobs here.And yes all the stories about travel agents we hear back home are true.The guys were helpful and showed me around and also how to place a call.hey by the way if any of you interested in calling me up there are two numbers 00493419959540(1230-2030 IST) during weekdays and 0032484221128 at other times.Dinner was made with my own hands.I didnt know I am such a good cook but I guess this period is all about exploring uncharted territories within yourself

the flight

2006-05-17T02:39:00.000-07:00

it was not for the first time i was getting into a plane.I have been in and out of it umpteen times.But this was the first time I was all on my own.I met Manish a business man with offices in Rome and Milan and we instantly became friends.Coincidentally he was in the seat in front of me in the plane also.

The best part about the flight had to be the airhostesses especially one of them who I would pester for the rest of the flight.I had a window seat so the view was stunning.The initial thrust at the time of the takeoff sets the mood.The aircraft kept on taxiing on the runway for quite some time and I remember saying,"bas kinni ku race dayenga hun gear vi paa de".

The meal served was European and the taste of meat without any spices and undercooked would set the tone for the rest of this trip.The plane was a Boeing 737 and was full to capacity.

I remember the first sight I saw when I woke up in the morning was the horizon lit up with a palette of colours I had never seen before.It was a once in a lifetime moment.In the sky it feels as if you are gliding on a bed of cotton.The plane had two onboard cameras one offering a view down and the other a view ahead.The view ahead camera offered a marvellous site at the time of landing.I also watched Capote and Cats &Dogs

The flight landed at Vienna airport at 0610 local time and Manish and me went shopping at the duty free shops at the airport.He had an onward flight to rome while my flight was Leipzig.We exchanged our contact information and said our goodbyes.The plane to Leipzig was much much smaller and had the capacity for abt 50 persons.It had a stopover in Dresden and we finally reached Leipzig at 0935 local time.

It is for real

2006-05-16T02:38:00.000-07:00

For all those who give a damn about me and for those who dont, here is Simran reporting in one piece from Germany.I have always been fascinated with the idea of blogging and the idea of keeping an online diary about my time in Europe sounded irresistible so here we go

Well this was Simran going away so U have got to start expecting the unexpected.Late by one complete hour at the airport with sweat pouting out of pores I didnt even know existed before.Made it to the flight somehow.But advise this is Delhi airport, reach atleast 3 hours in advance.Saini was there but he had already checked in so all we could do was say our goodbyes through a glass window.And then out of nowhere Dosi shows up.Chat maari thodi der and then it was time to say goodbye.