Viking Diaries #3 - Working Title.

Well, almost a month over according to the blog timeline. In reality, well over one. Hooray!

Firstly, wishing everyone a Happy Environment Day! Though I’m sure it did not affect any of our lifestyles one bit, its good to see that atleast some people remember that it exists. And now its beyond a point where people keep shouting “Save the Environment”, and tis high time it came from within. Very much so because, well all my posts have to contain a cliché, so here goes this one, you can only take a horse to the pond, not make it drink the water. So here’s hoping we all do our bit to save the environment!

Europe in general seems very proactive on that front. Littering is a strict no-no, and more so, there are dustbins every 100m, literally. And the maintenance is first class as well! Apart from that, all events, concerts, festivals etc. need to get a green signal, literally so, as in a certification that it’s environment friendly from a bunch of people, so that on paper atleast is very impressive. Add to that all shops putting bags at a price. As you bill, you have to BUY your carry bags. Paper ones and plastic ones. I can proudly say that I’ve stuck to paper ones so far, irrespective of how very little load they support in comparison to plastic bags, very much unlike some friends of mine. My bit. Yay!
Other thing noteworthy is the public transport system. Astonishing. Easily, the best in the world. Mainly because it is so very user friendly, noob friendly, and yet reaches every part of the city. So very easy to understand, and I reiterate, you just can’t get lost. And the modes are metro, commuter trains, buses, boats and trams. Yet simple as A-B-C. Well, almost. And a simple mantra, if lost, reach the city central. Bingo! Just as a comparison, lets see, Stockholm vs Munich vs ..well Tokyo?

Here goes Munich,

 Followed by Tokyo

And finally Stockholm.

Note - All are from the official sites. No photoshoping. Well, who in the right mind would even think of PS-ing stuff like this?!

On a personal front, it is a bit of a damper. The place I stay in is like 10 km from the college. So that includes three modes of transport = 50-60 mins to get there. Including a bus, commuter train and metro. Interesting at first, decreasing interest post the first few times.

That apart, this ain’t the ideal time to come, and yet is. Well Stockholm is a place full of hypocrisy. Its ideal because of the weather. Again I talk about beauty, sorry for being a bore, but yeah! And more so because the winters are horrible and lifeless, so it makes it all the more sweeter in the summer.

As the temperatures rise, so do the hemlines.

Not so ideal because students are busy initially, and then not so. May is the month of exams, projects and assignments. As soon as that’s done, off they head home, or on a loooong vacation, all over Europe. And as for July, its like these people just catapult themselves to some other part of the world, literally. And all the potential energy is stored up through the torrid winters, btw. So that’s a slight bummer.

More in the next post. There is a lot to write about this place, except that I think it will get boring and over informative in one post. Some sort of data management? Till next post, Hej da!

P.S. The backdrop is from atop one of the buildings. Fate I guess, but even this falls into the “best” rainbow category!