minus 4 in Amsterdam!

landed in heavy fog, like you cant see the plane infront of you!
Its -4 here and bloody cold, too tired to write today, hopefully tomorrow.
cheers! and looks like a white christmas this time.

woke up at 7:30 AM!

It is our last morning here at Copenhagen before we head for other places in Europe. We are flying SAS to Amsterdam at 6:00PM but leave around 2:00 PM after a late check out. We will leave our 2 suitcases in the care of the hotel and leave with our backpacks ( now that is the holiday part!). Will be back on the 29th to pick them up before catching our flight back to Dubai.

B insisted that i have breakfast with him at least today!! So I woke up at an unearthly hour of 7:30 and went and had the horrible breakfast. I am not my best in the morning, most who know me will tell you that, i am actually like a sore gorrilla who you should stay away from. Actually it is not a horrible breakfast but having scrambled eggs , 10 days in a row is not my idea of a nice morning break! Apart from that there is this silly Christmas song they have been playing with lyrics including "ding! ding!" every 2 lines which was so silly that imagining Bobpsy listen to it every morning made me laugh :)

Came back after confirming a late check out. Am now considering if i should sleep a little more or not..Maybe , its not a bad idea!..see you later then..at the airport

Hasta la vista København...until the next time then

19th-20th December - Copenhagen

Well, I have been back in Copenhagen this week and mostly in the hotel in the day time and out with Bobpsy in the evening. Did all my research and updated all the writing so i have material to finish write ups later.

A typical DSB Train

Copenhagen Central Station

Inside a R - DSB train

Interiors of the S Train ( one we usually use daily)

Yesterday i took the S train to Lyngby, where B's office is. Walked past Cafe' Annie's ( a coffee shop i visited frequently during my summer stay, a year ago). Reached at 4 AFTER i messed up by missing the E train at Copenhagen, while i was looking at the wrong platform! Sometimes i amaze myself with my own stupidity! I got so excited when i realised that one could smoke on the platform that i quickly walked up to the TT and confirmed it was okay, meanwhile the train came and went, so i had to wait another whole 9 mnts!!. As i said, i love the rides on the Dane trains :).
The occasion was that, Henrik had invited us for dinner and we were to leave together from office.

Henrik has a lovely home, very few homes actually make me jealous, this is one of them!. I had seen their baby when he was a new born, but Simon is a shy 2 yr old and very tall. We chatted and had a typical Danish christmas dinner with them, Potatoes caramelised, pork and vegies with schnappes. We came back by 9, as dinners are usually early this side of the world.

Today has been spent mostly in packing and writing, as you can see, the last 3 posts were written today!!We will leave the main 2 large suitcases back at the hotel here and pick it up on 29th just before we head back for Dubai. We are looking forward to the Europe tour that starts day after with Amsterdam, then Madrid followed by Lyon ! Yeayy..i am already excited ! So we are all packed for now and the hotel room looks neat. Time to write my review on tripadvisor then ! will do so tomorrow.

Had a burger for lunch. I walked down to the station and got it from the Mc Donalds counter. I love the spicy chicken sandwich and the cheapo vanilla cone :)..some pleasures in life are so cheap!..Thank god for that!

We had dinner at Nam Thip again, but they had run out of red curry and i had green instead. As usual it was good and i stuffed myself! then we walked back to the hotel restaurant for coffee and dessert. B had cappuchino and i had a tea with an original Tiramisu, soaked in booze :). I tried to take off my sweater and as always my head got stuck and B had a laugh ( something he always does when im stuck in doing something silly ! ) pretty embarrassing & infuriating. We cam back to the room and he is working for a presentation tommorrow and i am, as you can say blogging !

I am a little sleepy now so will go to bed, its 1:40 AM here
Gnite, Shalom
~Me

Funny Photo on Facebook

I came across this on facebook and thought id put it up here :)

Sweden trip

There are such silly things i feel happy about ! I ACTUALLY found the lost glove next to the bus station ( the one the pick pocket had chucked ) !! hurrah...

I thank Jacob every morning at the hotel for lending me his electric kettle because i can now drink tea without room service! yippee...

Anyways lets talk about the Sweden trip...

When i was here in Denmark, a few years ago, Pashu suggested Sweden many times but at that time i think i was still not used to the cold and declined. I am glad this time i went, Pashu' old college mate Ajit Pandey was in Sweden at that time as he was on a project with IBM. His family also was with him. I had not met Ajit since our pre marriage days, on one such occasion, Ajit has gotten very drunk and irritated me a lot!! :)...doesn't sound a good enough a reason to meet does it ? ..but no i was looking forward to seeing them as well.

We woke up at about 12 noon and i was still nursing a hangover, so had a bath, popped some panadol and we went out for breakfast before we boarded the intercity train from central station. Pashu had been missing Shwarmas, so he convinced me to have one as well. I wasn't keen but went along. I need my tea when i wake up..they didn't serve any..and THAT alone labels them useless in my eyes.

Sculpture just before the townhall in central Copenhagen

It was a beautiful bright day with loads of sunshine..how weird is that ?!

A Carlsberg beer marketing stunt at a cafe in central station , which basically says " you don't have to drink alone " ! ..a lil girl very amused with it

So we walked to central station and took a little more time than we anticipated in getting the Malmo train tickets. We went to one of the many coffee shops and i finally got myself some tea and a cherry muffin :)

Munching on a muffin

We finished and headed for our platform and boarded the train, there was a real nice lady sitting on the next seat with a little dog in a bag. Makes me wish i could travel with my doggies...but then, my doggies are neither little , nor can they fit in a bag, in fact i think Phoebe would make quite a scene, if she was going on a train, i can imagine she'd be thrilled and friendly and take it on personally to meet and sniff each and every person in the compartment!! on this thought i gave up fancy visions of traveling with phoebes :)..Puddles on the other hand is better behaved. Not that Phoebe isn't a nice dog, she is my favourite..but she is too Human if you can believe it!

I love Danish trains, they are fast, spacious, on time and the rides are pretty, pretty much the fanciest local trains i have seen ANYWHERE in the world :). Having said that, we sat back and enjoyed the ride, past fancy neighborhoods of Copenhagen on the sea side! This is where the rich Scandinavians stay!

watching the world go by

As the train approached Helsingore, we could see Ferries and the coast and right across you could see Sweden.

Now the Ferry, isn't an ordinary ferry, so i have to write about it, for starters it is HUMONGOUS! I was expecting a launch ferry, like ones you see in the rest of the world, "Scandlines is one of the largest ferry operators in Northern Europe, transporting more than 20 million passengers each year. Operating 12 ferry lines between Germany, Denmark, Sweden and the Baltic states."


Some details on our ferry MS Aurora are here

Route	Helsing�r - Helsingborg
Building year	1992
Building yard	Langsten Slip & B�tbyggeri, Tomrafjord, Norway (#157)
Owner	Aurora 93 Trust
Operator	Scandlines AB (S)
Length	111,2 m
Breadth	28,22 m
Draft	5,0 m
GT	10.845
Machinery	4 * W�rtsil� 6R32E
Speed	14,9 kn.
Number of passengers	1.250
Number of beds	0
Number of cars	238
Lanemetres	535
Number of railway tracks	3
Length of railway tracks	266 m
Port of registry	Helsingborg
Flag	Sweden
Former names
Former owners	SweFerry (1992-1993)
Sister ships	Tycho Brahe
Notes	-

Forget about carrying 1200 people at a time, these buggers can ferry Buses full of people on the bottom deck! Comprising 6 decks, it has casinos, restaurants, shops, smoking aisles etc, brilliant. It was a great ride and we were the only 2 sillies, on the top open deck taking photos, i didn't mind, it was a beautiful day, full of sunshine :)

On the deck on the ferry from Denmark across to Sweden

Leaving the city of Helsinore in Denmark behind as we head to Sweden
Helsingore Castle, the summer home of the Royal Family in Denmark

We reached Helsingbore in 20 mnts, i was so surprised once inside the ferry that i actually asked Pashu, where the Ferry was, and he said, "you' re standing inside it" . The sea in this part is deep and treacherous, but as the ferry moved you could not even tell it was sailing! I'm sorry to be such a bore, but i get totally kicked about these things :)!!!

We reached inside the terminal and realised we were 20 mnts early and Pandey would not be around as yet, so we were lounging next to the escalator and Pashu spotted a familiar face coming up ..we made silly noises and finally Pandey recognised us. He hasn't changed at all..looks exactly the same and promptly reminded Pashu that HE did not look the same! ( i love this ...hee hee ). It was good to see him again.

Pandey & Pashu, meeting after a very very long time :)

City center in Helsingborg , Sweden right outside the main ferry station in Sweden

His place was a short walk and in the main area. We saw a few things on our way to his place. Helsingore, is the 6th largest city in Sweden with 118,000 Helsingorians..so i will leave the math there :). It was pretty and the sun was still out.

Ajit and Ritu' year old daughter Suheli

We met Pandey's wife Ritu and Daughter Suhali, Suhali is also called Paakhi ( means bird in bengali) so being a bengali, i was rather pleased. Most evening we guys chatted made egg curry and caught up. One of the strange things in Sweden is it is illegal to buy booze unless from a govt shop! as opposed to Denmark, where i wont be surprised if i saw vending machines in children' parks ! It being a Saturday and the shop being closed we stuck to cans of Tuborg. We chatted into late night and i wasn't up before 11 the next morning.

At the market in sweden

Probably one of our happiest photos, in front of the fort / castle in Helsingbore, Sweden
thanks Ajit!

We guys left home at 1 after a quick brunch and strolled in the main market square and saw the fort up close. The city is quaint with little shops and narrow streets. As we shopped and window shopped, it got pretty cold and we all ducked into this fancy Thai Restaurant. Over some wine and food, we all warmed up and finally headed home at 4. At 5 after tea, Ajit dropped us off at the ferry station. It had been so nice catching up with them that we didn't want to leave and he did not want to say good bye...anyhow all things do come to an end. We headed back on the ferry towards Denmark. We were back in the hotel in 50 mnts. Imagine that, crossed 2 countries on 3 diff modes of transport..in 50 minutes
..think about it :)

Click Here for the link to our Sweden trip pictures

The Christmas Party 14th dec 07 - Copenhagen

After shopping the whole afternoon in Stroget i struggled with bags and came back to the hotel and bathe and change for the Christmas dinner. Bobpsy came back shortly and we both got ready and ordered a taxi.

The taxi had no signs of arriving being weekend and it being busy, so we decided to walk out on the street and look for one. As we walked i realised my little purse was open, so closed it and funnily enough saw the guy in front of me chuck what looked like MY glove. Only later did realise that it was a pick pocket. My gloves were gone, so was my ticket pass for the train and my hotel card key! but thankfully there was no cash or my credit cards. This is the first time anything like this has happened to me anywhere.

We got taxi soon enough and listened to our Punjabi driver jabbering away in amusement!. The restaurant was in Nordhavn ( where we lived in when we first arrived in Denmark 3 yrs ago ). It was right in front of the water and looked pretty fancy. We later learnt that it was designed by Jørgen Utzon of THE Sydney Opera House fame and was called Paustian (website). The food was..interesting with dried cucumber for appetizers, but what i remembered the most the next morning was the fantastic wines!! they served almost 6 kind, and all were good and i had all of it, so you can imagine the rest!

Our Table with Karen, Peter, Bodil and Johanes

There was this dish that was served for Dessert that looked right out of the sci fi books. It looked like frozen ammonia! but it was icy and sweet and when you ate it, it gave out lots of smoke!!

Me surprised and Karen laughing as i tried the dessert

Finally we wrapped up and some colleagues decided to head to a bar afterwards downtown. I was pretty drunk already but went along, to "The Dubliners", i had seen it while shopping but this was the first time we went inside it. I stuck to water while others had some. Klaus got pretty plastered and when i confessed that i found him a stone face, he took it upon himself to prove otherwise. After endless banter i now stand corrected.. Klaus please to note if you read this!

Fredrik & Anna at Dubliners

Klaus plastered!

Proof of plastering :)

Anyways we were pretty tired and left in a bit and walked back to the hotel, i looked in vain for the glove i had seen being chucked earlier but could not find it. We wanted to rest as we were heading to Sweden to meet Pandey & family over the weekend.

contd...Copenhagen

Still in Copenhagen...
Yesterday i did not finish so here i am...

Well anyways, we went for dinner with Jacob and Diana on Thursday and some of Diana' colleagues also came along. We went to this interesting restaurant in Vesterbro which had Asian fusion food. Amongst talk of their India trip and general camaraderie the evening passed pleasantly.

Happy & Drunk..me..Aeloa baeola..3 cheers

The gang at the restaurant

Pashu & Jacob

While walking back i noticed little medical waste dustbins on the side of the road. Diana works in the health care department and explained that these were to dispose of syringes hygienically! The area is full of druggies and apparently the govt of Denmark although fines it as illegal, also accepts that this situation exists and believes in doing things this way rather than take risks of infected needles and such! Pretty strange huh? where else will you see stuff like this?

Drinks Menu, mine is right at the top

I had an interesting drink called Aoela Baeola..which was crushed apples, peppers and vodka...loved it..will remember to have it again.

Stroget, main shopping street

The next day i decided to go shopping in Stroget. went out at 11 and came back at 4..so you can imagine what i did! Bought jackets, clothes, shoes and raided the George Jensen Store.



George Jensen is a famous designer store for many years and every home in Scandinavia will have at least one product from this store. More info at www.georgejensen.com. It is horridly expensive but i love it :). Bought gifts here as well for friends back home. I also asked the store manager if my clock that i had bought a year so could be fixed as it wasn't working right and they asked me to simply bring it to them. I did the next week and voila! they just gave me a totally new one..no fuss.. no questions..brilliant..i like them even more and i think they were amused with the look of complete surprise on my face. That's what it is, these people are no nonsense and perfectly professional..another feather to their cap!.

The HM store here was really nice they had a totally different range of products than what they have in Dubai. The same evening, was the Christmas party at a real fancy restaurant, that was quite another thing, which i will write about in the next post. Right now i have to have a bath and get going to the central station as Henrik has invited us for dinner. Mind you at 4:00 PM, yip..that's dinner time here! God save these souls!
cheers!.. and so long..

13th-17th - Copenhagen - a small sum up

Its been a few days since i last wrote. That is because i have been out a lot and then have been too tired to sit down and write!

There is one thing i realised, its one thing to sit in and get out of the inertia to be out on winter day here, but once you do manage to jump that and get out, you really wonder what all the fuss was about?! I have to admit that the weather is one thing that has always confused me about this place as to why anyone would want to live in a place like this and on the other hand the weather is what makes the people here what they really are, tough, resistant and hard working. There really isnt any choice to do otherwise.

On Wednesday i pretty much stayed in and found out about Lyon and Amsterdam and doing some research about traveling there, so that took up most of my morning. In the evening we met Casper ( Pashu's colleague at work ) at Nørreport ( central shopping area ) and went for dinner. The place he had picked was closed so we strolled through Strøget ( busy market area ) and looked for a nice place.

Because it was Christmas time, things were really busy so we entered this chic place and waited for a table. It was fusion food but the Martini i ordered was really strange, so strange that we walked to a different pub later for drinks which was much better.

Casper is a fun, young & bright chap to chat with. He also had come to Dubai, just as we had moved to the Al Badaa place in Dubai so was part of the house warming celebrations. Casper blended really well as he has varied interests and is generaly fun to be with. The evening passed in general velaapandi ( pointless but nice... a colloquial Delhi term ).

The next day we were going to meet Jacob and Diana ( Pashu's colleague and his partner ) for dinner. They came down to the hotel and i made Jacob promise to bring me a water heating kettle ( so i could make tea in the room ). We went down to one of Copenhagen' tougher areas ( drugs, booze, women and etc etc ) Diana was to join us later.

I just got a shock, i logged into facebook and got to know that one of the most lively junior' from college died yesterday morning in a freak car accident. I am absolutely dumbstruck, he was 27 years old with a year old baby.

Some times life is so erratic!..dont feel like writing now..will continue later...

Sweden trip photos

View Album

Get your own

I can feel a writer's life! :)

Past few days i certainly have written more than i wrote the whole of last year! Something about the cold weather outside, the warm bulb and cool arm chair and a Sony VAIO..really makes you want to coop up , look out, dream and write :) doesn't it?

My thinking chair

My Writing Corner

Now i know how Hans Kristian Andersen could dream up 'Little Mermaid', you have to be in place like Copenhagen to do just that.
I was watching the world go by from my room today. I missed breakfast so walked down to a 7 - 11 store and picked up tea ( the store attendant was nice enough to assist me with a terribly complex looking vending machine, bless him!) For a change i was glad it was a huge cup, which meant that i could drink it for at least 1 hr. Bought some muffins and scones to eat from a Bakery and came back and sat on the window sill.

My fuel - muse, tea, wine, smokes & blue berry muffins!

The city from my window getting along, this evening shot is taken at 12:00 afternoon!

A sweet little Chinese lady came to clean up the room. I finished off the scones and finished some writing. We will be going for dinner to Norreport (another part of the city) with Casper.

Etisalat sent me a message about opening a new branch and saying "we are closer to you"..when my bloody phone refuses to operate and they keep telling me in Dansk that my local operator Etisalat is blocking my services ..closer..my arse!


Today is my best friend's bday. Uzma, i really miss chatting with her. One hardly makes close friends that easily now a days... i guess its part of the middle age crisis i talked about earlier! I hope she is doing well. She is quite a benevolent character, you have to meet her to know what i am talking about. We share birthdays one day after each other's so usually we used to party on 11th eve and through to 12th night :). Those were college days.

My in laws sent me an e card. Felt bad that they forgot my birthday..what to do..sometimes life is so insensitive. Darn, i keep thinking it doesn't matter but it does..why ?

Anyways gotta run and have a bath and then leave...more later.

Birthday Evening

Decided to dress Scandinavian today! except for skin that is brown !!! it was not that hard to do at all :), i wore my new clothes that i had picked up at Terranova in Dubai and waited till Pashu came back.

It was later than usual as he had got stuck at work. We looked for a Thai place close to the hotel that we could go to. Came up with this one called "Nam Thib" so we went out in the cold evening. Actually i think i used to feel much colder when i was here last because i was not dressing right. This time i am better prepared and handling it a lot better.


Nam Thib actually turned out to be a place we had eaten in before as well. We used to visit Vesterport ( Central Area / Downtown of Copenhagen ) as some Indian grocery shops used to be around here. On one such occasion we had stopped by at Nam Thib. It is a small little place and unless you go inside and actually get a table you keep wondering how on earth so many people could fit in!! It is a little like the Harry Potter room of requirements. Just a little more seems enough to fit in what is required! :). Anyways we got seated with some house wine and we waited for the order to be taken.

It took an eternity as only one lady was serving all tables! Pashu got so annoyed that he wanted to leave and just as we were about to, she came :) ! Just like that :). I noticed then that we were the only grumbly characters, all other Danes were patiently waiting their orders. This made me calm down and smile, what the heck.. no one is in tearing hurry and maybe living in the fast pace of a city like Dubai, we forget the smaller things and to appreciate it. We started relaxing and decided to enjoy ourselves. I was in tears when i was describing to pashu how i felt like such an idiot as i was trying to smoke outside the restaurant at breakfast time!. I had a tea cup in one hand and a smoke in the other and both were shaking so laterally in the cold that the Lady standing in track pants a mink coat & sunglasses on a cloudy day trying to smoke as well ( most likely a hotel guest like me ) seemed less ridiculous than me !! she smiled and i felt so daft! I gave up. This was one thing..in Copenhagen going for a cigarette is such a bloody ordeal

1. You can not smoke inside unless you want to burn the house down ( its all wood mostly ), so you go have to go out in the torturous weather
2. To go out you have to dress in a million layers and feel like an astronaut by the time you get out
3. Then you realise you forgot your gloves @#$%^&*& !!!! You kick yourself.
   
4. You go back but you're so large because of your coat that you cannot fit in the doorway anymore.
   
5. You take off your coat, which is an exercise in patience with the number of buttons and zips involved. (Apart from making coat wearing an event i don't know why they put so many in the first place!)
   
6. You get your gloves you put on your coat and go back out
7. Have you ever tried lighting a smoke with gloves on? Better still try getting a smoke out of the pack with gloves on...it is a challenge in dexterity and i am severely challenged on that account to say the least!! In simpler words... IT IS IMPOSSIBLE.
   
8. By the time you have done it - to manage to light the cigarette , you realise your lungs have lost all of its breathing capacity, as it is so freaking cold, making the whole act pretty futile!
9. But what are we? stupid ! ? what do we do?..try to smoke anyways.

I'm sure you see the humour in it!
Meanwhile B secretly produced a grey box which reminded me of my first bday present of designer earrings that B bought me from Megasin. He is a sweet heart! He remembered in the Air India fiasco when my jewellery got stolen, those ear rings were part of it , so he got me a nice aquamarine set. Its beautiful. So now i know why he got late in coming back.

We had a great dinner, the food was great , i had red curry and B had chicken in oyster sauce. The ladies on the next table offered us their remaining wine, but i was so taken aback with the ordinariness of it that i refused politely. Then i realised i had been stupid and wanted to ask back for it and B did not let me !!
Strangely the lady who was serving remembered us from our last visit, which was surprising as it had been nearly 3 years ago! We paid up and left, went to the room, i drank some wine, we downloaded photos and we went to sleep.

I am officially over the hill today!

Me at a Fort

Hmmm... Today i am officially 31 yrs old...which means i have crossed into the 30s. At one point of time I used to consider that "middle ages" !! ( you see one has to be careful what one "thinks" today even ... So here i am I never liked the term "middle" It means neither here nor there!! I never found my teens annoying at all, but this mid phase is truly the most confusing to be in .

You keep wondering along the lines ...

1. Shit! my hair is starting to Grey
2. Should I go into this club or is it for the younger people? but wait! i am not exactly old..so where does that put me ? - in A "crisis"
3. On a Y axis graph are you on the left or right of "old"
4. Are you successful enough? do you still have time to be successful?
5. I am still fit enough to wear minis but not young enough!
6. You're not young enough to be stupid and free but not old enough to be respected and heard!

Get the drift? basically some call it "mid life crisis", i call it the "shit phase" ... :). But like some people I am the eternal optimist and like i read in the Birbal stories..shit has a lot going for it! ..so Happy Birthday! Papia... enjoy it while it lasts :).
The day started with and at 3:00 AM! - "Royal Jordanian wishes you a Happy Birthday"..remind me to unsubscribe me from their frequent flyer programme please!
Then my BIL wished me by SMS at 6 in the morning, mum called at 7:30..and you can imagine the rest! On one hand i realise, so many people love me, but how many truly know me at least to leave me alone until 11 AM on my birthday!!
more later then...

Dinner at golden bamboo - Copenhagen

Bobpsy came back at around 6 in the evening. He was surprised i was so happy and uppitty..he didn't know i had helped myself to half a bottle of red wine apart from having done nothing even vaguely useful the whole day!.

I had Finally had a bath which stretched out to be quite an exercise as it took me 1 1/2 hrs/ Half an hr for the management to come and fix the bath as it wasn't filling up, 20 mnts to wash some clothes as we ran out of space and couldn't pack enough! 20 minutes to convince myself that i really needed one! and then i was done ...voila!

Dressed up and after a few glasses of wine we walked around in search of a restaurant. We saw a shwarama place close to the hotel, which we will check out another time, and settled in this Chinese restaurant called "golden bamboo" which looked pretty fancy. On going inside and checking out the menu and prices we realised that the fanciness came at a price!! Anyways the ambiance was nice and the waiter really pleasant. He even took a picture of ours to finish of the touristy bit. I guess he realised no one was silly enough to roam the streets and sit in such an exorbitant place on a Monday evening, other than dumb tourists!


We ate noodles and chicken and rice. The food was nice enough. We also caught up on talking to each other..something we do quite eloquently when we are both down wine and eating in fancy places on holidays! :) Times like these i realise we really are close and our bestest friends :) just kidding.



We walked back admiring the streets and came to the hotel and saw the 4 star sign..only confirming, something that always seems to puzzle me in Denmark! why? how? ridiculous... ..forget it!

The Grand Hotel from the streetOur Room

flying to Copenhagen 9-10 dec07

We almost packed until 3 am so hardly got any sleep when the alarm rang at 6 in the morning. Phoebe slept on the bed as she had seen the suitcases and we were feeling guilty as we hardly leave for this long a time usually. This is one thing i feel so guilty about when i travel Leaving Phoebe behind. Puddles does okay but Phoebe really gets into the dumps when I'm not around!

At the airport finally and having checked in we sat at the British pub and had breakfast. The PA announced " Announcing the delay of Emirates "ALL" Flights until 10:00 AM " it had been a pretty foggy morning as we drove to the airport so our hearts sank as plans of boarding soon dipped. luckily SAS did board on time and we left shortly after the scheduled time.
To my surprise! the flight was good and the service great, the crew was pleasant and smiled!!! unusual for SAS. But the leg room was miserable and my knees started troubling me after 3 hrs. I have to get it checked, it pains more now in one position. Couldn't sleep very well as my sinuses usually go berserk on a flight.
Landed in Copenhagen on time. Did not get to see my favourite sight of landing over a shimmering gold sea as the Kobenhavn isle comes to view, as the pilot announced that the weather was "fine" - much overcast, with drizzles at 6 degrees!!- George Carlin would say "fine" means ... "GREY" - bloody Cold & raining to top it all at 1:30 noon! grrrr fine weather i say!!
Much to my irritation, in the loo i realised i was down!! timing!! man #$%*@#$
Anyways was pleasantly surprised to find outside temperature pretty warm at 3 degrees, so we did not freeze our arses straight away as we pushed luggage into our taxi.

As we drove, i was wondering why i hated it in the winters so much when i was here before and Bobpsy promptly reminded me that i was getting mushy in the head because it was ten degrees warmer now than it is normally at this time of the year! As the taxi wove around familiar areas, we got to the hotel.It was right next to the central station and in the middle of it all with Tivoli on one side. We read online somewhere "Renovated in 1999, it has proven to be one of the most demanded hotels amongst many customers". Ha ha ha :) I don't know what system they really follow in Denmark for their star rating , bcoz its bullocks, compared to what we had stayed in before, this was luxury !! it actually had -

1. some staff
2. were very polite
3. room service
4. a restaurant
5. ...beat that :) !!!

Actually in Scandinavia most things are minimalist and the concept of luxury is totally absent. I saw some hotel ratings on tripadvisor.com .., poor tourists, they come expecting general standards and are disappointed. My thoughts as well.

But having been to a number of starred properties and having seen the lifestyle in Copenhagen, i think the hotels are fine. Danes firmly believe in doing most things themselves, are unassuming and are minimal. The hotels are basic but with most required amenities at your disposal. Property is expensive so space is limited as well. Under these circumstances, The Grand Hotel was decent and very well located. Close to the station and with most services. We ate a dinner of pizzas and burgers at the pizza joint right next door and i promptly went to sleep at 9:00 and slept on for 13 hrs!.

I woke up refreshed and had a great breakfast in room, neatened up and sat down to write. ( something i had missed doing for ages ) with a nice smoke on the window sill and an inexpensive glass of wine by my side. This is life :)...i had just this in mind as a holiday, as Copenhageners went by their routine life from the hotel window. Tivoli rides against a grey sky and the brightly lit and decorated christmassy shop windows glowing warm and welcoming.

Yippee! we are on holiday!!

We are off to Europe for 3 weeks so this space right here will some or lots of activities.!

Back on track

:) just 2 posts ago i was talking about being in a limbo and from then on life again seems to have taken a quick turn right into frenzied activity! I think it is relevant how one feels in the head themselves, the minute you feel like you ARE going to do something about your situation , aid comes from strange quarters.
It is so true that unless YOU want to do something, nothing can happen. I am glad things are moving again, and how! could not ask for more.
Sometimes i realise i have such a great family, a good hubby, loving pets, great work and appreciative clients. I am happy about how i look and feel, i feel confident about my work and i have happiness in my home and with friends who feel good when i am happy. I really should not crib. I have seen much worse and have in worse times really dipped to the bottom of the barrel.
Thank you..whoever is up there..for making me realise that i really DO have a decent and more than blessed life :)

Fortress of the Bundels

Capturing romance through a labyrinth of strategy.

There are only so many ways one can get to Orchha (catch a train into Jhansi and it’s a mere 20 minute road trip), but why this place in the middle of nowhere? One would wonder!

It’s stuff dreams are made of….. the tales which feed fantasies….. that’s why…

Orchha is on the road to Khajuraho from Jhansi. It’s a sleepy little town once the capital of the princely state of Bundelkhand, set amongst a wonderful complex of well-preserved palaces and temples. The most talked-about feature here is the Orchha Fort.

Founded in the 16th century by Rudra Pratap Singh, the first King of Orchha, the fort has still managed to keep its grandeur. Approached by a multi-arched bridge, it has three palaces set in an open quadrangle. The Jehangir Mahal, the Raj Mahal and the Rai Parveen Mahal. The fort was strategically built on a small island created by the Betwa river splitting into two narrow streams before rejoining. The river gave it automatic protection with the waters being guarded by crocodiles!

As the story goes Raja Rudrapratap wasn’t particularly interested in administering his kingdom in his youth. He was more involved in hunting and came upon Orchha accidentally during one of his sojourns. He was so captivated by its natural beauty, with rivers, forests and hills surrounding the land, that he called upon his ministers and announced that from then on he would give up hunting and make this place his capital. His ministers were given the job of thinking up a name for the new capital. Convinced of its strategic location the minister went around the land in search of a feature characteristic to the area to name the place after but gave up! On one side he found the forests stretching into the horizon and on the other end the river showed no sign of ending even as he rode on. When he mentioned his predicament to the Raja, the Raja asked his royal litterateurs to improvise on the two words ore and chhor (ore and chhor are terms in the local language denoting “beginning” and “end”). From then on the clever fusion of the two terms, Orchha, gave the place its name. Now how is that for a story ?

Jehangir Mahal was built by Raja Bir Singh Ju Deo in the 17th century to commemorate the visit of Emperor Jehangir to Orchha. Its strong lines are counterbalanced by delicate chhatris and trellis work, the whole conveying an effect of extraordinary richness. It is believed that it was an appeasement gift to Jehangir, so as to protect the state against any attacks by the Islamic empire. Seems like the trick worked. Orchha was the only Bundela state not subjugated to plunder in the 18th century. The fort has a fascinating mix of Hindu and Islamic architecture. The umbrella-like structure on the top, called Chhatris, are typically a mix of Islamic domes topped with the Hindu symbol of the lotus. Throughout you see tiles and paintwork in green and blue, each representing one of the religions.

Raj Mahal, situated to the west of the quadrangle, was built in the late 17th century by Raja Madhukar Shah, the deeply religious predecessor of Raja Bir Singh Ju Deo. The plain exteriors, crowned by chhatris, give way to interiors with exquisite murals having bold & colourful religious themes. The most notable amongst these are the ones in the Queen’s quarters depicting the various avatars of Lord Vishnu.

Incidentally, the Shah descendants are still very much active in the region through properties designed to host tourists. The Bundelkhand Riverside Resort boasts of heritage interiors, personalized service and a great location right next to the river with views of the chhatris.

Rai Parveen Mahal, on the other hand, is quite another story. Rai Parveen, an enigmatic poetess and musician, was also the beautiful paramour of Raja Indramani (1672-76). The much talked-about siren was sent to Delhi on the orders of Emperor Akbar who was also captivated by her. Some even say that she was offered as a gift, stories of her talent having traveled further than herself. She so impressed the Great Mughal with her wit that he returned her to Orchha with honour. The incident is that when the Emperor wanted her she chided him that a “used object” (of the Bundels) like her did not befit an Emperor!

Rai Parveen was fond of fruit trees and gardens. The palace built for her is a low, two-storeyed brick structure designed to match the height of the trees in the surrounding, beautifully landscaped gardens of Anand Mahal, with its octagonal flower beds and elaborate water supply system. Skillfully carved niches allow light into the Mahal which has a main hall and smaller chambers.

As I was looking down at Rai Parveen Mahal from Jehangir Mahal, I got eerily reminded of the character from Vrindavanlal Verma’s highly acclaimed novel “Mrignayani”. My guide, the resourceful Mr. Sanjay Yadav, immediately confirmed that Rai Parveen was the main source of inspiration for the author’s heroine!

It was 6:30 pm and the fort was closing. As the wind whipped my hair, standing at the entrance of the grand fort, I could not help but feel the ghost of Mrignayani. Floating in her beautiful dress of Chanderis, singing raags from the Gwalior Gharana…. echoing through the walls. The image that stays in your mind is of a woman with eyes like that of a doe (Mrignayani …Mrig meaning a doe and Nayan meaning eyes).

It was easy to imagine art romancing the sunset. But like so many love stories, the mirage shattered when I learnt that this enigmatic woman was always a part of the fort but still the king never married her. I do not know if I can convince you to visit Orchha because of Rudra Pratap’s legacy but I can assure you that Mrignayani’s romance will take shape in front of your eyes as the sunlight weaves stories untold. Everything else, however grand, pales in comparison to her haunting presence that is still so strong.

Written for Landscape magazine

Papia Hajra

( Edited by Pashupati Sah )