Viking Diaries #2 - Of Street Parties, beans and pulses..

Ok the previous post sounded all rosy and ideal. Wrong. The law of averages makes sure it is. Never is. I mean, its just the light we see it in, or the mood we are in. And not that my mood right now is very different now compared to previously, but just that it’s a different take on this still wonderful city.

For starters, its the most diverse cities I’ve known or seen. Its so very multicultural, that from what I’ve seen, there’s no clear majority. And one major thing is the tolerance to each of these cultures. This part of it is very heartening, and something I’d love to see all over the globe.

On  a personal front, there’s a small little mix in my hostel itself. 6 Chinese(duh!), 5 Indians, two Iranians, a Russian, a Mexican and an Israeli guy. That’s 16 people, and 6 different backgrounds. And we Indians will just increase that count! And even when you’re traveling, observing the passers-by in itself a tour of its own. Diversity is clearly the mantra here. Apart from that, there was Quarnevalen at KTH, which was basically a rally through the streets of Stockholm on a lazy Saturday, just as a fun expo.

Anything on wheels, modified with a pinch of humour, sauteed in creativity and simmering with enthusiasm. That basically Quarnevalen for you. Preparations are on for a couple of months, and at the end is a promise of a crazy party. And the week leading to it, a beer tent is set up with local Swedish bands, as a motivation for the people, and to attract crowds. All for fun! I’m beginning to like the Swedish idea of fun! It was wonderful on the whole, often reaching out to the funny bone. Some  snaps from the event –

 EthanolBus - an ecofriendly option - basically its a cycle, and all guys on the vehicle are "driven" by Ethanol!

 This one can't pass

 Super Mario. A new take!

Taking a dig at the iPhone

Followed by this was a street party – Mosquito – with a rag and flag theme. Images again, speak for themselves. This was high energy, high enthu stuff. Brilliant again. This guy was the leader of the party, and in simple terms, its jumping around with a piece of cloth grooving to some nice music.

Mosquito Street party - Stockholm's Rag and Flag Day

Being a vegetarian is like the stupidest thing to do in Sweden. One of the locals told me about how she saw a carrot for the first time at the age of 15. Yeah! And the options at restaurants and eateries outside are so minimal that  it makes a chaat shop menu look elaborate! Examples, McDonalds, the only thing I can choose is fries. I’m not kidding. Fries, and coke/icecream. Done. Burger King goes one better. Nothing edible. SO yeah, its basically a tough life on the sustenance front. This spells one thing – cook your own food. Now that runs two risks – a lotta hard work, and more, the risk of eating food cooked by you. Well I’m no pro, and it isn’t the best to start the experiment here. After twenty years, in a place where people haven’t heard of beans and pulses. Add to that packing your lunch daily, because surprisingly, there is no proper canteen/food court of sorts on campus that you can rely on. (The profs here bring their own lunch. Its that bad.) That just makes it worse for me. But all the same, a wonderful experience. Cooking is slowly becoming simpler and more mechanical. Still, a pain right down there.

Again I’m telling you this, but this city is so beautiful in the summer. Even if I pass by the same place everyday, each day I feel like clicking a pic or two. Somehow the water all over the city adds to the beauty. Or maybe it’s the humdrum of the concrete jungles of Bangalore or  the boring layout of Surathkal that’s made my point of view this way. Still, beauty lies in the eyes of the behold. Or beerholder for that matter. Sorry. Ripped off joke.

Post is getting long again. Hope you had a good time reading, though this is a very personal opinion, might differ for sure, and written at one go. I shall update soon, on more interesting topics. Till then, adios!

Viking Diaries #1 : Bieber there, Done that

I landed up in Stockholm right after my 2^nd year endsems, a horrendous week of exams, ending with an Machine Drawing anticlimax. But glad to run away from all that torture, here I was! Unknown land, not a single familiar face, clutching two heavy bags at the Arlanda Airport. The land of the Vikings. Sverige. 

It was thankfully all smooth in the airport. Come out of it, and a breeze hit me so hard, that I actually dropped one of the strolleys. I froze. Both in awe and cold. In front of me, World Trade Center, a majestic building, and in sight was road traffic as well behaved as I’ve ever seen. I actually stood there for a couple of minutes, regardless of the cold.

From here on, it was a quest on my own, or so I thought to myself. Little did I know how damn helpful these Swedes were. It was a wonderful start in itself, at the accommodation center at KTH, my to-be university. It barely took 20 seconds to track my file, hand over keys, and a couple of words of advice. Wow. Here I was, already feeling at home!

My prof did guide me around a bit, helping me to learn the intricate, yet simple public transport system. They have buses, trains, commuter trains, metro, trams and boats. Complex as it sounds, its simpler than a BMTC network! 

My first week was spent in getting to know the suburb I was living in. The hostel, the shops nearby, etc. It was all as quiet as anything ever. Ok one thing, there might be a lot of “firsts” or “as anything seen before”, forgive me for the clichés, but trust me its all true. Even now I can clearly hear myself type out every word loud and clear, and I hadn’t heard my first human voice till I went looking. Whatta change!

Move over, week 1. Settling into the university, again for some reason it felt good. Much better than back home. Maybe its all the hype around Europe, or plainly my feel-good factor about it all, but every step seemed better. The university looked stunning, and the labs better. Settling into the rigor of university did take some while, especially the part where I’d to pack lunch!

 
My first weekend, I went to the old part of Stockholm city, Gamla Stan. Finally, a place where I felt the desi buildings had come out trumps. I mean, this was the most exquisite part of Stockholm architecture it seems. Bah. We’ve better to offer back home! Still, not taking anything away from it, it was a wonderful street of buildings, lined with souvenir shops (which openly rip tourists off), I’ve seen only a third of this old part of the city. Still more surprises to come.
That evening, at the end of the Gamla Stan street, I can swear it'll happen nowhere else. Ok save Canada, or some dirty part of the US. Here were 50 odd thirteen year olds, at the heart of the world’s finest cities, staging a rally. In support of Justin Bieber. KMN. I took videos, pics, because I realized this was a phenomenon. BIEBER COME TO SWEDEN. JUSTIN WE LOVE YOU. Ok let the pics talk now.

It felt really funny. If you had two bullets with Osama, Saddam and Justin, who’d you shoot? Justin. Twice. These were the kind of jokes earlier, and here I was. WOW. Life has funny things to offer.

Other pics from Gamla Stan, and the shops. The backdrop of this blog right now is at one of these shops.

 I shall wrap up now. It’s the beginning of this journey, and a lot more to come. I shall update, for sure, as often as possible. Thanks for reading!