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

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