After so much fanfare the movie ended up being a disappointment. As the movie started I had this feeling (which I seem to get regularly while watching Hindi movies nowadays) that I have seen all this somewhere before. After some hard thinking, it turned out that the starting plot of the movie was eerily similar to Woody Allen’s ‘Match Point’. But somewhere on the way it started deviating from that plot and merged into the plot of Quentin Tarantino’s ‘True Romance’. Bollywood script writers are getting smart these days. Blending and mixing. If only they knew how to do it better! The last 15 minutes were the worst! It was slower than watching paint dry. You knew what was going to happen, and the director seemed to be bent on killing you softly while unveiling his masala melodrama. Ouch!

Outside after the show, it was raining heavily. And that ended up making me totally over the moon with nostalgia. That regular routine we had almost every other evening after college – dropping off my friends at their homes, the lonely 10km drive to my house, the sound of the rain drops and the perfect old mallu songs on the radio. Atleast the movie gave me a chance to do all that once again. The saving grace!

A Mahindra Bolero screeched to a stand-still on the other side of the road. As we got out of the vehicle, I could see 2 burly guys in white shirts holding something that looked like a hockey stick. My skin went pale and I could feel a cold chill pass through my spine. Scared to death, but the first thing I thought of? ‘Finally, the “blog” incident I needed for this trip!’

Two days earlier…

This was going to be my third Goa trip in 6 months. But I was always thrilled by Goa’s atmosphere, moreover we were driving and it was my first chance to try the Scorpio. So I could safely say that I was all excited in anticipation.

For the onward journey, we had taken a rather unconventional route from Bangalore, via Belgaum into Maharashtra (Sawantwadi) and then to Goa. The roads were narrow and mountainous after we crossed the Maharashtra border. But it was decently maintained and had low traffic with the added plus of a scenic drive through the villages and mountains. We reached Goa by about 10. The next two days was spent on experiencing the things that you come to Goa for – the beaches and the booze! My co-travelers were also much luckier than me with the casinos and managed to win around 5k!

But the real adventure started after we left Goa. We took the more standard route back, via Karwar and Hubli. Somewhere on the forest roads towards Hubli, after Yellapur, our headlights started to dim out. We first thought the battery had gone weak and then realized that the alternator had burnt out. The electrical systems in the car started failing one by one and finally our headlights were gone and we were left with just one feeble park-light. There were no big settlements before reaching Hubli, which was still around 50-60 kms away. It was already 11PM and our best chance would have been to get to Hubli somehow and find a mechanic there. So we stuck to the first truck we could find with a proper enough backlight and tailed along with it, with no lights of our own at all.

After a few kilometers of tagging along, the truck driver in front of us stopped as he realized that we were in trouble. He came to have a look but there was nothing he could fix. Hubli was still 25 km away and the driver told us to keep following him, and that he’ll guide us to Hubli. So we went along. 10 km ahead and our engine cut off. There was not enough power to even drive the control unit of the engine. :( Tough luck. The same technology that is bread and butter for me via Bosch, made us get stuck in the middle of nowhere.

We asked the truck driver to carry on, since there was nothing more he could do. We pushed the car to the side of the road and tried in vain to reach everyone (the limited few) whom we knew of, in Hubli. We called up the Hubli traffic police and informed them of our situation. But they couldn’t do anything either till morning. We couldn’t even lock the car, because the battery didn’t have enough power to roll the car windows back up. We were basically stuck; without food or water till morning which was still 8 hours away. So we set up camp inside the car. The mood was still ok, with everyone joking about all that happened. Then came the Bolero; just after 2 o’clock while we were still sitting and chatting.

…

The two big guys rushed towards us and asked me something in Kannada. I told him I don’t understand the language very well. He gave me a cold stare, and then proceeded to go through all of our luggage. We (atleast me) were still scared to speak much. Suddenly as the Bolero moved to cross the road into our side, I noticed a green board with the lettering ‘Police’. I breathed a big sigh of relief! They asked us a lot of questions and still looked very intimidating. They told us that the road is not very safe, but what could we do – we cannot abandon the car there and go. They told us to stay there at our own risk and then get a mechanic in the morning. Then they took away 3 bottles of port wine that we had bought in Goa telling that it wasn’t legal (my @#%#)! But loosing a bit of wine was way better than what I had thought would happen initially; so it wasn’t that bad ;). We were terribly disappointed by the attitude they showed to us; though. Not even showing a hint of helpfulness.

After this incident I guess we all started to get tense. Only then we started to realize how much of a risk we were taking staying at that place. There were too many what-ifs running through my mind. What if the an overtaking truck knock us off the highway? What if a group of thugs come and beat us up? etc etc. I couldn’t sleep for even a bit, till the sun came back out.

Morning came as a relief of all of us. Ranjith suggested that we push start the vehicle. It didn’t seem a great idea to me; since the engine could cut off while running at any moment the battery dies out. But we decided to try and then limp ahead to Hubli some 15 more kilometers ahead. We pulled out all the equipment that could take away even a milliamp of power – the horn, the music system, the brake-light, the indicators – everything, leaving the engine control unit all the bits of power it could get to make the engine running for atleast 30 minutes. We push started the car and went as fast as we could to Hubli. And we made it! 8.30 am and we were finally back in civilization and in the Hubli railway station parking lot. We got a mechanic to repair our alternator. It took us 5 or 6 more hours; but finally we had the car repaired; all roaring to go. No worries left, we reached Bangalore, just before midnight.

All’s well that ends well! :)

Map of the route we took. Marker ‘F’ is approximately the place we got stuck.

Goa photos coming soon!

We started off from Bangalore in the evening; a bit apprehensive about the road conditions and driving at night. However almost everything went along smoothly except for some stretches of bad roads in between and some scary maneuvering by ‘some’ of the drivers just to make sure that the ABS works ;) We had begun a round of betting in the car as to when we would reach Goa. Bids ranged from 4.30 AM to 8.30 AM, but Rakesh got it perfect at 8. Once in Goa we had a brilliant government guest house to host us; courtesy Mr. Mathew. Along with an A/C room; a complimentary breakfast all for the price of Rs 40 per head. Now that’s what I call value for money!

After dozing off till evening; we were ready for our first (mis)adventure. We went to the Casino! I know you would be already guessing as to where this story is heading to… and yeah you are right! We went all-in and we returned all-out! But as we consoled ourselves after the fiasco; it was indeed a different experience. Now we can say that we have tasted sweet victory in a casino despite the bigger bite of bitterness in the end. Next destination was Baga beach. The shack restaurants on the beach were awesome. The atmosphere with the IPL matches going on in one place and karaoke in another one with people dancing all around was amazing. We had initially planned to go to a disc and even got entry into one (using Mr. Mathew’s influence off course). But then we were so comfortable at the shacks that we decided to drop out on that. The other reason could also be interpreted as the lack in willingness to go in a disc as a stag and drool over the hot chicks while they were dancing with other guys.. ahh.. no .. we didn’t want to look like losers! :p So we stayed at the shack very late into the night and finally came back to Panaji (were our guesthouse was) and crashed into bed.

Next day was quite the same pattern with us sleeping most of the day. Afternoon we went up to Wagathore beach where Aamir Khan and his buddies had done their gig in ‘Dil Chahtha He’. It was a short trek up to a fort near the beach. The view from there was spectacular; covered on three sides with the sea and nice looking beaches. After a few photos we headed back down. The scorching sun sucked all the energy out of us and at one point it seemed that it was impossible to move a muscle! But we overcame that and headed towards Condolim beach to do some water sports. But it was way too expensive there; so we headed to Calangute were the prices were much better. We did a round of parasailing (which is awesome; you should try it once) and also a trip on the water scooters (which is not so great; unless you convince the guy to let you drive the scooter). After that we crashed back to Baga which was not that far away.

We stayed on at the shack long into the night and then after we were convinced that we were drunk enough we headed back to Panaji. On reaching Panaji; Gummy and Mathew wanted to go back. Now that wouldn’t have been a crazy idea if Baga wasn’t 25 km away and it was already 2.30 am. But anyway I was game for it too; and Gummy, Mathew and I went back. We were caught by the police thrice; and I’m really impressed with the user-friendliness of the Goa Police. They just asked me for my driving license and when I produced it; one guy just quipped whether I was sure that it’s my photo in the DL (it was taken 6 or 7 years back you see). But that was it! They just waved us off. Cool! The trip back was really worth it and a feast to our eyes. The carnival atmosphere was still going strong even at 4′o clock in the morning! After a satisfying and ‘educational’ trip we headed back home.

Next day was our last in Goa and after filling up the car with the legal amount of liquor we were allowed to carry back we returned back to a mostly uneventful drive back. On the way we also had a short stopover at Old Goa were we visited the church of St. Francis Xavier. I had heard of this person in a Social Studies lesson in third standard and always wanted to visit his grave; where his body still lies preserved after 500 years. One more tick in my checklist. The guys also put on some temporary tattoos on their hands; I wasn’t that wild enough to do that; even though I should have tried something like that.

That was it. Our Goa trip. And in the end I can say that Goa is simply awesome. Don’t ever miss a chance to go there! If somebody asks you to arrange a self-drive car to go to Goa; always say Yes!

1. Presence Honking
This particular type of honk is usually of short amplitude and used with high frequency. It is a very polite way of telling the others on the road that you are ‘there’. It is kind of like an animal marking his or her territory. The meaning of it varies with the size of the vehicle too. If it is a bus that is using it, it means – if you cross my path you are dead. If its a motorbike – if you cross my path I am dead. All other variants come in between.

2. What-the-****-are-you-doing Honking
This is a rather impolite but effective way of abusing your fellow road users. It is second in frequency only to Presence honking. Using it always gives a boost to your ego, declaring it yourself to the people around you, that you know everything there is to know, when it comes to driving. This is best done in short bursts of very high loudness and honk-length.

3. Traffic-Light Honking
This is used in many different scenarios at the traffic light. One use is when you think that the person in front of you is blind and has not started moving yet when there is only 5 seconds to go for the light to turn green. Another is rather supernatural or spiritual. It is based on the belief that if you honk a few times, the red light will turn to green faster. It doesn’t harm you to try it does it?

4. The Enquiry Honk
This is even more polite than variant 1. A very polite way to enquire whether you get the right of way. It is used while you try to overtake or is not sure who has the right of way in an intersection. The answers you get and the manner in which you get them can be very varied. You must have the presence of mind to choose the appropriate path of action very quickly or alas you are again dead.

5. The Pointless Honk
Ok, this happens usually when you are annoyed with your boss, or had a quarrel with your wife. You use this horn to vent out your inner troubles. But be very careful as to when you use this. If timing is wrong this type of honking can be easily mistaken for any of the above four variants and cause unexpected page faults. (sorry had to put in a Com. Sci. PJ in somewhere :D )

Yup, that would have prepared you a bit to take on the roads in India. Now all you need is quite a huge amount of courage and a lot of luck. All the best!

PS: Hell.. they should start giving out PhDs for driving in India. It has so much of science and art in it! :D

Bad luck didn’t seem to end with the traffic though. It was around 5am now and I had been driving for around 3hrs and thinking about handing over the wheel to Hazer. But then the roads became suddenly better and I thought maybe a little bit more. Well bad judgement! As we were cruising along the superb roads, suddenly a huge gutter appeared from nowhere and before anything could be done, the car was in it with a huge thud. I knew something was wrong then and there as the steering suddenly had a jerk. We had to stop and luckily the town of Hassan was just 4 km away. We decided to limp on till there and get help. But that would mean another 3 or 4 more hours lost because the earliest of the earliest workshop guy would open shop max at 9. So we decided to do a gamble and change the front tyres because we had a feeling that the problem was that the wheel-rim was bent. Bad luck didn’t end there either, we did not have a lifting jack in the car to prop it up and change tyres. A good lorry driver lent us one though and we managed to do it and bingo problem solved! :(

The road from Hassan to Chikmagalur was awesome and picturesque. We stopped over at the town, had our breakfast, still having no clue as to what to do next. We called up Kurians friend and he told us about a few worthwhile places around. So we set off to the first one in the list – ‘Kemmangundi’. The road was all kaput, but the spectacular vistas made up for it more than enough. It took us a lot of time to traverse the 50 km to the place, but I would say it was great to be forced to drive slow as we could soak in the brilliant atmosphere around. We booked a place to stay there and head off to a place called ‘Point Z’. The road was motorable only for a little bit and after that you have to trek. I went along for a while but seeing the steepness of the mountains to climb I chickened out and went back to the car while the others continued. It wasn’t much of a miss though, since the peak was covered with mist. The one hour I spent waiting in the car was a totally different experience! It was mystical, alone in the forest, no access to mobile networks, knowing the nearest human is at least 5km away. I tried to soak in the experience as much as I could before my tiredness got the better off me and pushed me to sleep.

The night was spent in a dilapidated cottage playing cards and gossiping. Two years on and we still had something about college to talk about! The food was not that great and damn expensive – but that didn’t stop us from spending close to a thousand bucks there! The other major incident was the fight against the leeches. Each time somebody removes one from his leg, the next guy would start yelling ‘Leech!’ It seemed to go on endlessly. After a lot of blood and a lot of salt we managed to win the battle (it seemed).

Next day morning the plan was laid to go off to Kudremukh. We stopped over again at Chikmagalur town to have lunch and continued on to the next leg of the trip. We ended up driving most of the day, but again the roads were good and the surroundings smashtacular! At Kudremukh we went to this place called as Gangamoola which is the place were the mighty Tungabhadra river starts. It was again a nice place, but with more leeches. This time we were more careful and didn’t let too many of the slimy little things to prey on us. The only place to stay in Kudremukh is a forest department dormitory unless you are an employee of the iron ore company there. It was a very cheap option and also had the added thrill of staying right in the middle of the forest, though nothing noteworthy really happened there.

Next day was an early start since the guys had to reach back in Calicut by atleast 8PM before dropping us in Mysore. The roads again were beautiful by all means. We were able to do 200 km easily in 2-2.5 hours. By lunch time we had reached Mysore, had food at a mallu hotel there and it was time for us to split. Being totally unplanned we weren’t able to enjoy all the places to the fullest. We calculated that out of the 84 hours of the trip, around 50 was spent driving! But I’m not complaining at all! :) All the places we went to had a lot more to offer and I’m sure we’ll be back, well prepared next time!

Album @ Picasa

Bachu, Kurian and I started off from Bangalore towards Kozhikode on a rainy night. There we were joined by Ranjith, Hazer, Anand bhai and Bose from such far away lands as Chennai, Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram ;) The plan was to rent a car and drive into Wyanad and as usual do what we do best – go where the roads take us. Using the deep rooted network of Bachu (the king of Kozhikode) we managed to rent a Toyota Innova without driver at a very cheap rate.

First day we started off with the goal set to Kuruva islands, but on the way after some typical spontaneous (in)decision making, we shifted target to Chembra peak. The route to Chembra is through a private estate and you need to pay a 20 rupee gate pass to take your vehicle through. We could travel only up to the end of tea estate and from there began the long 5Km (estimated) trek. It was incidentally Bose’s birthday that day and we gave him a grand celebration he will not forget, atop a small forest guards’ watch tower on the way to the peak. Half way through the path to the peak, yours truly lost all his stamina and decided to wait, while others tried for glory. It was a big miss though, and from the photos they took the peak was an amazing place with a small reservoir on top of it! Anyway Chembra is definitely in the must-visit list for Wyanad.

By evening we left Chembra for Thirunelly. The drive through the forest in the night was fun. The major attraction in Thirunelly was an ancient Vishnu temple there, and in another first for our trips, this was the first spiritual destination in all of the 16 trips we have had. We only just had time to have a quick darshan just before the temple closed at 8PM. That night we stayed at a decent government owned lodge there costing us merely 40 bucks per head.

After visiting Lord Vishnu again the next morning, we headed down towards the Kuruva islands. En route, I managed to put the car into a small gutter resulting in some annoyed looks from the co-passengers. Shrugging off their looks I continued on and 100 metres ahead as I looked into my rear view mirror, I could see a tyre lying on the road behind us! And yeah you guessed right, it was one of ours! Shocked, my first reaction was “Oh my god! Am I driving on 3 wheels?” Well that couldn’t be.. it was only our spare tyre that somehow slipped from under the chassis. Hazer the master took to the task and in no time we had the tyre back up. It was an experience especially since all this happened right in the middle of the forest and we had seen 2 or 3 boards saying ‘Do not stop your vehicle’ and ‘Do not leave your vehicle’. ;)

We did’nt find Kuruva island that interesting, but probably because we expected more because of a lot of hype surrounding it. Anyway crossing the river by walking across it to reach the island was not that bad. We left the place by afternoon in search of a lesser known destination Meenmutty waterfalls near the Tamil Nadu border. This is one thing you should not miss! I do not know how to explain the adrenalin, the nature, the greenery in words. You have to be there to believe it. The place requires a 5KM walk of which 4KM is a treacherous climb down through non-existent paths. It was the most thrilling experience I have ever had. For every small step you take, you need to convince your brain that you are not going to die. Seriously!

It was an early start to Sunday as we headed towards the Muthanga wild life reserve. Though we were early, we were unlucky and couldn’t see too many animals except for some deers, foxes and peacocks. Hard luck! But anyway the forest experience was enjoyable indeed. By afternoon after a brief stop over at Banasurasagar dam, it was time to head back home. The journey back again was another adventure. We had to stand all the way from Kalpetta to Mysore in a KSRTC FP and just about got seats in the last non-stop bus from Mysore to B’lore, reaching home somewhere around 2AM.

It was tiring but brilliant fun! So glad that these trips keep on going.. on and on… Lesson for the day? When you need a break, go back to nature, its well worth the effort :)

The Route:

Kozhikode – Kalpetta – Meppadi – Chembra
Chembra – Meppadi – Panamaram – Thirunelly
Thirunelly – Kattikulam – Kuruvadweep
Kuruwadweep – Meenangadi – towards TN Border – Meenmutti
Meenmutti – Sultan’s Battery – Muthanga
Muthanga – Sultan’s Battery – Ambalavayal – Banasurasagar Dam
Banasurasagar Dam – Kalpatta – Sultan’s Battery – Gundalpet – Nanjancode – Mysore – Bangalore

Tips:

• Petrol pumps are few and far between, so ensure that your tanks are filled at the major towns.
• Keep your base as Kalpetta or Sulthan Bathery and then plan as it is difficult to get acco. at other places, unless you are looking at expensive resorts.
• Have some salt handy as leech attacks are possible in the forest.
• When going into the forest, do visit the nearest forest department office as they might have important information and some places do require a written permission from the department to travel into (which is free of cost).
• English is more or less understood but don’t always bet on it especially in the more remote areas, so it is always better to do your homework and plan if you do not have someone with knowledge of Malayalam with you.
• Enjoy the forest and don’t complain too much about inconveniences, because the whole point of going to the forest is that it is a Forest… away from civilization! :)

I was in Bangalore for a week and in Trivandrum for another. Bangalore, every where I turn, there is something new. Trivandrum has a few things changed here and there, but overall it is just that same old city! Everybody was also apprehensive of me driving, to say the truth even I was, a bit. But it was not the least difficult. Ok, first few minutes I tried to do things “right” but very soon my Indian instincts took over and lo I was honking, not stopping at pedestrian crossings, not following lanes.. hehe.. it was smooth from then on! One thing that changed regarding driving in Trivandrum is the number of FM stations available. When I left, there was just one.. now I turn the radio on and there seems to be a channel every other frequency – Big FM, SFM, Club FM .. what not! Then I see that there *are* traffic symbols posted neatly in India, just that before I never noticed them before and even if I did, never knew what they meant. Enough of blaming the government, our road culture is the first problem, nothings gonna change without improving that!

Most of the week in Trivandrum was spent visiting & being visited by friends and family. I even cooked for them. The shock on my mother’s face when she saw me cooking (‘Chicken Trivandrum’ ;) ) was a priceless moment. Nobody thought I had it in me to cook :D Well, not any more dear ones.. Even I can cook! Many evenings were spent idling away in the city.. brought back many flashes of nostalgia. I even managed to go to a cultural show organized by some department of my old college in the amazingly beautiful Kanakakunnu palace grounds. Sat there for hours with my college buddies… it was the best feeling ever! :D

It was a not a totally smooth transition, but not as difficult as I expected. Things seem changed, and I look at things differently than before.. But I am so happy being back :)

So what did I find different? The people, the attitudes, the landscape, everything is different, sometimes better, sometimes worse. The most important thing I learned is that if the attitudes are right, and everybody does what they are supposed to do, the whole setup just works. The foundations are similar and it is not impossible to make the setup work even in India, just that nobody is willing to make the change. Ok, I am not going to start preaching… And definitely not everything was perfect here and in a lot of things India has done much better, we just dont realize it.

On to the less serious matters… As you can see from the blog, I did travel a lot and had a lot of experiences. I had a lot of fun. Here I present my ‘Top 10′ (yeah, I can see some of you laughing ;) ) experiences in Europe…

1. Driving in the autobahn
2. Formula 1 at Nuerburgring
3. Ocktoberfest
4. The 5 days spent driving around Norway & Sweden
5. Venice – absolutely beautiful
6. Neuchwanstein – the fairy tale castle
7. Berlin on a rainy day
8. Vfb Stuffgart vs Wolfsburg – the football match live!
9. Trekking in Oberstdorf
10. Europa park

I was also very lucky to have a few of my close friends here with me during the whole time. Having them here, the time spent with them & the trips with them, ranks above all. What would I have done without you guys!

When this gets posted and if everything goes right, I would have already left Germany…

Auf wiedersehen, Deutschland!

Trier claims to be the oldest German city and is famous for its ancient roman architecture mostly in ruins now. It was once the capital of roman prefecture of Gaul (remember Asterix anyone?). We started off with Porta Nigra a large city gate now also standing in as the office of the Trier tourism department. It is a nice old building with a good view of the city. After exploring this old structure we walked through the Marktplatz where a friendly German lady offered us some tips and directions to the worth-seeing attractions in the area. Our first stop was Constantine Basilica adjoining the grand Trier palace. Nothing special of note here, except for the sight of some young kids showing off their skateboarding skills in the area around the church.

Our next stops really had that Roman touch. The “Roman Bath” was amazing. An underground network of tunnels which the romans supposedly used as their spas. Hmm.. Why they would ever want to have a bath in a dark spooky place like that is beyond me! Well.. the things the Romans do! ;) We did have our fun though, playing a bit of hide-and-seek & peek-a-boo like little kids and also scaring the hell out of Renu! Next after a long winding walk up some street we reached the ruins of the Amphitheater. It totally reminded me of Russel Crowe and Gladiator and they did indeed have events like that held over heremthousands of years ago. In ruins and still so magnificent! I stayed wondering, how it would have been with the crowds cheering the gladiators along… hmmm.. that would have been an experience indeed! :D We came back to Marktplatz and the whole area was filled with people now. There was another huge Christmas market here, the countless ones I have seen already, but still filled with wonder for me.

After that, we drove in Luxembourg. In 15 minutes we were in a different country! I guess this one is so small that we could have driven through all the roads in the country in a day if we wanted to! Instead we parked in a side street and walked around, seeing what we could. It was all over in an hour and a half. Well that was the shortest visit to any country I have ever done :) We drove back into Frankfurt before night fell and then had the fun of our lives finding a parking spot. Unfortunately our hostel was located right next to the busiest railway station in Germany and had no parking facilities. We drove round and round, until we found a little bit of space just enough to fit a Mercedes C220. With precise instructions from Ginu and Sandeep I somehow managed to fit in the car in that space. The proudest moment in my “parking” career especially after a gang of Germans in a smaller car taunted us shouting that we will never be able to fit the car in there.. ha.. take that!! :D

Next day we left to a quiet suburb to meet Anu in her cousins home. After a while of chit-chatting and a delicious desi-lunch, we set off with Anu to drop her off at the Frankfurt station. Dropping her and the others off there, I thought I would try my luck with finding a parking spot again. Hmmm.. Lets just say I know the surrounding area of the Frankfurt station pretty well now. Who wouldn’t after driving around the same area 5 times!!

Anyway this was my last day before my driving license became invalid in Germany and I decided to enjoy it to the last bit. We skipped the autobahn and decided to take the country roads. Oh boy! This was great… empty winding roads on a Mercedes C class… well it was a dream come true.. :)

Last but not the least the trip in which I touched my personal land speed record… 243 Km/Hr.. yeah, you have seen the videos! :)

Though they say there never is a bad time to visit Berlin, we certainly did find one :) . It was raining quite bad and we had to shorten our visit to just over a day and a half, due to both bad weather and bad planning. Anyway what we saw was pretty good. We left in the early morning on a Toyota Avensis, a big but comfy car, and managed to avoid most of the early morning traffic somehow. We reached Berlin quite early in the morning and checked in to a youth hostel in the Eastern part of the city. We began our journey from the Prenzlauer Allee railway station. Our first destination was off course Alexanderplatz. It is a very nice open area, right in the middle of the city. Some attractions around were the Fernsehturm (the TV tower) and Marienkirche. We walked around the place and along the boulevard Unter dem Linden with a lot of beautiful buildings all around.

The end of a long walk lead us to a park (I forgot the name) with two huge statues of the founders of Communism – Karl Marx and Frederick Engels. Spending some time there we headed towards Bebelplatz. It was Christmas time and the place was lovely with a big Christmas market. We continued our walk through Friedrichstrasse and finally reached Checkpoint Charlie. The whole place spoke of a lot of history. This was the dividing line between East and West Berlin. It is well preserved for everyone to see, including the sandbags for the soldiers and signs warning that “You are about to enter the American Zone”. It is unbelievable that this city was divided between two countries just around 15 years ago.

Tired legs told us to take the train and we reached the most famous landmark in Berlin – The Brandenburger Tor. It is a magnificent piece of art, I must say and naturally it was time for the cameras to click! We then moved to the Reichstag – the German parliament. The sun was already fading and it was getting really cold, so we had to call it a day and went back to the comfort of our hostel.

Next day it started raining, so after a stroll through the not-so-spectacular park built by the Soviets (again my memory fails me to name it) we decided to leave Berlin. We then drove to the famous Magdeburg water bridge, we had seen only in email forwards. It was not so easy finding the place, but for once our navigation system was a great one and we did manage to reach the place, though not after getting misled several times, but I blame human error for this one :) The bridge is a great engineering marvel to say the least. Walking on it was a different experience altogether, fighting off the strong and cold gusts of wind, blowing from all directions. The town of Magdeburg was beautiful too and as Renu quipped, every street in town did have a story to tell.

Well the other highlight of the trip was off course the blitz through the autobahn on the Avensis! Another great trip despite the weather…