Posts

Showing posts from 2014

Yearly wrap - up

As months pass by, its time I realize the year spins off so fast as an arrow.  2014 New Year's eve was our first as a couple - and we had an amazing time in Vienna, at their  Volkfest.  I have a picture of me and S with all of our friends - and me wearing a bunny-ears-hairband with lights flickering. Absolute fun. It feels just now that we celebrated our first Love- Anniv, and then our official Anniv, went to Prague , had my in-laws here, drove to  Norway ,  Rügen  - watched leaves spring, bloom, fade and die off -

Salami - Ishq

First crush. First love. First school. First Anniversary. First Birthday. First Car. First Abroad country. The firsts is always special.  And so is the first food I ever had in Germany. I din't have to wait for an auspicious day/ get the time to research online and then order a typical German dish. My first food that I ate in Germany was at Frankfurt Airport itself - while waiting for our ICE Train towards home. It was ein Stück Salami Pizza - a piece of Salami pizza. That was also my first 'Pork-eating' day. It was hot, spicy with tomato sauce as the base and the classic salami taste - it was salty ( No it din't stink) . Absolutely loved it. Ever since then, Salami Pizza is one crazy dish I order every once in a while - Like on Saturday's dinner this weekend.  Humm .. I have this weird habit of experimenting strangely-packaged / new snacks and dishes in the supermarket. Some times it ended up finding things very similar to the ones we get in India, li

Water buses and Venice

Image
One of my biggest attraction I find living in Germany is the connectivity. Yes, you heard it right. I don't have to travel 7 hours or so, just to reach one part of the same country. In just 4 hours, I find myself in a completely different country, who speak, dress and eat different than the Germans! The best of all - most of the dream locations of any Indian - are closeby or atleast reachable - Switzerland for example - even a layman knows of Swiss beauty.  And the World Wonders. There's Eiffel Tower, Leaning Tower of Pisa ( still, it was a World wonder na?) Y eah ofcourse there ' s dazzling Taj Mahal back home in India. <Brags> Duh, why're you giving such an essay? Come to the point. So yeah, I had a Bucket List of places to visit - mostly inspired from Foreign-location songs in Indian movies. The first of the list was of course Venice! and Swiss.  This May, my fil and mil had come to Germany for a 18-day vacation.  It turned out to be such a fun

Welcome Mr.Grey

In just a blink of an eye, the weather has changed - and so have the Jackets.  All you see around you, and above you, is the black and white shade palette.  As I scroll down my own blog, it feels so refreshing to recollect  Summer  and  Fall . All of a sudden, as you speak - smoke (fog) comes out of your mouth.  And my nose becomes super cold - weird. The Sun shines as a surprise guest, but the clouds win. With the spine-chilling gush

My first 365 days away

Its 365 days already. This November 11th marks my one year anniversary - of staying away from home. And seeing my parents and sis. Yes, seeing them. ( Skype never really works, does it?)  Duh,   skype is almost always horrible - killing the first fifteen mins with 'can you see?', 'lower the camera', 'keep mic a little farther', 'stand in a place and talk' etc etc., Damn.  Time Flies: Oki, so uhmm, I recollect the day I started off to India. With Diwali celebrations just two days before my departure, I had absolutely no plans of what to do in India ( But I did have a list of to-eat itsems, lol ).  It was when S could no longer come after the check-in counter, I realized

Things I miss from India - Diwali Version

I could not resist writing a post on this label, on this day. It is Deepavali, or Diwali today! Happyy Diwallliiiiii !!! * puts a sweet into your mouth For those of you who don't know, Diwali is India's best-loved Festival and famously called 'Festival Of Lights'. The festival gets its name from rows (avali) of lamps (diya/deepa) that Indians light outside their homes - to symbolize the inner light that protects us from the outside spiritual darkness. The festival is as important to Hindus, as Christmas is for Christians. There are different stories , that narrate the origin and celebration reasons of Diwali. It is not just the festive mood, or the fact that you get to eat yummy sweets, or that you would meet friends and family, there is simple happiness everywhere in the air.  Festivals in India, are always filled with friends and family greeting each other, beautiful Rangoli , new clothes, and special TV programs. On a Diwali Night,

Rügen - Serene waters and yum Fish Brötchen

Image
.... It was a long weekend - which means Friday, Saturday and Sunday are off and people get excited the Thursday afternoon. The long-awaited October 3rd -  The German Re-Unification Day . S and I had planned to go to a beach location,  never worked out in the entire Summer - Next year maybe,  and so we thought we would stay at home only. And then suddenly all of our friends pitched in for a trip in the long weekend ( thats'y I vanished Saturday.. hehe) . It was on a very short notice - absolutely no time to even Google search where to go, let alone the bookings.

Sneak Peek of the next Post

Heya everyone ! After eight months of German, German and more German, I am taking my B1 German Certificate Exam this Saturday.  I have absolutely no time for anything at all.   B1?  There's basically levels for the language based on how good you are in it - as in the communication skills, grammar, day-to-day talks etc., This B1 comes after A1 and A2. I have to clear off the exam (reading, writing, speaking and hearing) - secretly wanting to score more than 90/100 in all departments.  But then I know how it feels when, your favorite show you watch on television doesn't air on the slot without notice -  Dont worry, I have cursed them too.  Hopefully you, my reader will understand and wish me all the very best! If possible, do pray for me that the computer which scans my answer sheet, does it without errors. Brainless machines.  Oho, I do not want to just like that neglect you, so here's a sneak peek of my next post. Happy Reading! And stay with me :) .... It was a long

The Orkut shuts down - blues

I happened to suddenly see a video today. Curious - I clicked it on it. It was a video of students opening their deeply-buried Orkut profile- one last time. It has been quite a while since this 'Orkut is shutting down' thing going around. However, it is now officially shutting down this September 30th ( handkerchief please - *sniff* ). To be frank, this news never really meant anything, just until I opened my profile ( after N number of attempts to recover username and then the password ).

Fall begins

Image
You know the Fall begins when -  the blue skies, chirpy birds, buzzing insects, colorful flowers are all still just like how it was two months back - just that you need to wear your hoodie. Yes, the winds kill you as hell with the chills running own your spine.  Sometimes I feel: maybe it is more because I'm an Indian. No, seriously.

Cycling in Germany

Image
Cycle-warming : My Bicycle "You can have a look at the bicycle and take it if you like - My address is ..... " came an SMS to one of our E-bay short-listings. I was anxiously waiting for the  Termin. The destination was not far. It happened to be just a 4-min walk from our house. We went near the yellow car  as he had stated and waited. He came 5 mins late (Of course we were there - on the clock). He led us directly to the cellar and there it was!

Learn from Germans

There is always two sides of a coin. Just saying. Same way, I have found myself profoundly attracted to certain 'German' attributes. In the initial days of me coming here, I dint like any of what the Germans did. Be it their hostility, their only-German signboards, TV channels, No-I-don't speak-English attitude, extremely expensive food and clothes, etc etc., Oh I forgot - their timing! In India, its always around eleven, 'bus will come at six thirty', 'we'll meet around 4' and so on, but never ever- 'train is at 06:06'!! It was because of this, I had to have a digitized watch - I never needed one before.  And the clocks were in 24 hr system - we have similar ones in India too, but no one uses it. It is more of a am-pm system. I still subtract 12 in the afternoons just to make sure. Anyway, over time, I somehow have developed a liking towards 'German ways'.

Things I miss from India #3

3. Making friends right away: Back home, you have so many friends - I mean not just your colleagues, school and college friends: The flower girl who comes every evening to sell you flowers, the milkman, your apartment's watchman (who was a nuisance bringing you useless posts hurriedly just because it was delivered to him), your daily auto- wala , the beauticians and barbers you visit every month, the chai bhaiya who gives you an extra-strong ginger tea, the sales girls of boutiques who show you latest collections based on your likes and dislikes, your regular restaurant owner who serves you discounted food, the medical shop boys who home-deliver medicines right after a phone call, your acquainted tailor who sews perfect clothes for you, etc etc., The list is simply endless. I never realized they would even matter - when I was back in India  or so I thought  ...  making friends comes easily in India. Once you are outside, you understand that it is not so in other countries

Have you been to this P city? No, not Paris

Image
We all know Paris is obviously the most romantic destination; but there's another P city which gives a tight competition to France's capital: Prague. I haven't been to Paris yet, so this was supposedly my 'First romantic destination'. So, what does this 'romantic city' literally mean? There should be a justification. Wonder what.  We, along with our group of friends (9 of us) decided to go to Prague this April. Firstly, it is a must-go place and secondly it is just 450 km from my place.  It was the first trip for our friends by car - so they were hyper-excited.  Enjoying every minute of it.

Travel cheap - Travel modern

People here, have a very interesting mode of travel experience. There is the normal car-rental service, where you can rent a car for a limited period of time, or distance and fill the tank (or not) while you return. There is also Mitfahrgelegenheit  (I simply call it Mitfahr ).  For those who of you who don't know what this long M word means: ( even I couldn't spell it out at first )

Fatigued Weekend

Image
Ahh.. Finally am back - fresh as a leaf. The weekend started way before Saturday this week. No I was not partying.   This  can lead you to my plight.  It looks much easier than said, I should admit.  It really is tough, though.  I wanted this year to make it bigger, more because I think I grow every day - so its high time I start not-finding excuses.  I was totally drained making the filling, and the next day the outer part and the next day again - for friends. All these dint matter to me, when I saw the look in S's face, when he ate the first of it. He simply loved it!  Its been more than 5 years since he ate it, itseems. Oh yes, it should be hard for you to picturise or understand a word - unless you know what this kandhulo looks like. So, here are my pretty darlings. The white ones are kandulos.  They are meant to be Lord Ganesha's favorite, ours too.  It has an inner filling made of palm sugar, coconut and channa dal. Some like it just with coconut or just with dal,

Busy-bee with Vinaay

I absolutely have no time this week. It is Vinaay this Friday - Also known as Vinayagar Chathurthi or Pillayar Chathurthi in the place I live in India. I don't know, since when this was celebrated, but history dates back to Emperor Shivaji's reign (1630- 1680). It is a Hindu festival celebrated all over India, in praise of Lord Ganesha - the elephant-headed God worshiped for all beginnings and wisdom.  Hyperactive Me: Last year was my first Vinaay after marriage. By customs, I should have gone to my mom's place with my husband as a newly-wedded couple. It would have been our first festival after marriage. My husband should have had to have got me a gift (Anything - My dad had got mom a mixie for their first Vinaay itseems - those days it was  very expensive and new!) It will be a pride to the girl's family. But yeah, since we were here, it missed off. So whichever year we will be in India for Vinaay next, will be our first..  hehe .

My First Little Place

Image
The next morning (Read: One more night for precap) I was all excited. My first day in Germany. I could not believe I will be running a house on my own. Especially not in two weeks after wedding. It maybe weird to you, but that's how it is in India. Or atleast in my place.  We are used to being in joint families ( I mean in the initial stages, and later they move as the families grow; and some others stay in joint families forever ). We, in India, live in a family, where the we are answerable to the mother-in-law, and in her absence the first daughter-in-law and then the second daughter-in-law and so on. We abide by the decisions of the elder bhoundi (daughter-in-law)   and the sasu (mother-in-law) ( I am so used this way. Really ).

Ice bucket challenge

My Facebook News-feed is filled with Ice bucket challenge footage. So would yours, I guess.  For those of you, who haven't known of it lately: Here are the rules of the challenge. The participants are to record a video of themselves, pouring ice into a bucket of water. This bucket is then to be lifted and poured over their head - within 24 hours of being challenged. And they are to challenge other persons at the end of their challenge. Too many times the word 'challenge' is used. Simple and cold: In just few weeks, the 'ALS Ice Bucket Challenge' has swooped

Night-night in the Fjords

Image
Hallo everyone. I am back from Norway. It was such a stunning, magnificent country. Be it the crystal-clear waters, or the glaciers or the winds, or the sun, or the sheer landscape - simply wow. Everywhere was like a HD desktop wallpaper. And my first time camping. I was never fond of the whole idea of "camping" when he first told me of it. As always , he spoke me into it (No wonder he gets his debating genes from his advocate pa rents! - lol) .

One more night

After the 9-hour flight, we took a train and another train and finally get down at our destination.   Hoefingen.  ICE, RE - the differences in trains never actually was clear to me then. He had told me our house was on a hill-top and it would be so romantic. I was thrilled to see the house in Germany. Actually MY house. It kind of felt special. Especially the fact that you will be running your own chores, at your own pace.  Women will know how it feels.  After the train left, all I could see was a huge mountain,   a hill maybe  right infront !  But the reality hadn't struck me until I actually was at the moment. It was 11:45 pm. And pitch-dark. Oh yes, our baggage from India. We had total 46+ 46 kg, and  two cabins pushing through the 20 degree inclination. Ah, it made hell a lot of noise - seriously.  With a laptop bag on my back, my passport pouch along my waist, my handbag in my arm and my DSLR hanging around my neck - it dint weigh much, but still they were dangling in all

Things I miss from India #2

#2 The sounds of Life : I always remember the once irritating (now seemingly musical!) call of the vegetable seller, the paper-wala (he comes to collect read-papers and pays back cash for it based on weight- Its a just blue container here - no person, no words! ) and numerous other vendors who know exactly your nap time and yell down the street. The maids zooming in and out of the house, the 5 pm flower-girl who sells flowers right at your doorstep ( Ah how well the flowers used to smell.. some oriental, some musky, some mesmerizing and some others 'romantic' ), the every hour Church bell that rings its hour with a distinct verse, gatherings with a speaker shouting on top of his voice on a totally useless theme ( Yes, he sure will have audience - they, apparently are too bored to do anything else! ) the hooting, screeching and vrooming of the vehicles, stopping at the adjacent street, the distant-yet-so-audible-temple bells, the street-fight of ladies, current popular so

Absent Note

As you read this, I will be on my way to Norway ( Yayyy) . Norway -  Is it not in the Arctic region? Do people even live there? Maybe I will see some Polar Bears . And then I Google searched for its images. Wow. It simple looks spectacular.   The Oslo shopping street, Medieval Fortess, Opera house and ofcourse The Fjords! Norway has always been a must-go place for him. It was one of the few places which never happened, when he was a student in Germany. Sometimes it was the weather and some othertimes the sheer fact that Norway is one of the most expensive countries in the World. Either way, I am lucky enough to have Norway as maiden voyage for both of us. Its a five-day trip - wherein we will be going on a flight, car and in ferry too. I am looking forward for some beautiful clear skies, snow-capped blue mountains, misty waters and a pleasant chill that brushes through us.  After the first Swiss Alps in the first year of our marriage, this year it is the Norwegian Fjords!

Diary-confused

Thank you so much for the support, readers. For a newbie such as me, it means a lot. No sarcasm. Really.  I ,however, thought it would be easier to follow my blog, if I show you the path. This is for those of you, who are new to blog-reading. If not, you could as well jump this post :) In the right side, you see 'Labels'. Those are the categories of my posts. You can choose one of the labels, and continue reading all my posts related to it. And - 'My Diary' comes with two taglines : 2013 and 2014. It is mix of past and present. You can travel along with me, this year - Or, choose to dig up my past. If you liked reading but in a hurry to go - you can always read it later, right at your fingertips. Maybe like a bed-time story? Why not?  Just submit your e-mail address (It sure is secure, no password-asking business - you just have to confirm that you would like to have my posts in your Inbox)  and you get an update as and when I update my posts. You can also f

Every Summer has a story

I have always wondered why Europeans are crazy over SUN. Whenever I say, 'I come from India'. Most of them  are excited, which.. makes me really proud. No. Really. 'You come from  India? - very beautiful it is'; 'There's plenty of Sun for you'; 'I love Indian food - curry is my favorite' ( I always wonder what a 'curry' means in India - well, atleast I dint know anything of that sort o.O );   'Ohhhhh Indiaa -   and they pose a Namaste' ; ' Ah haan.. Shah rukh Khan, Kajol' ( They really are famous isnt it?)  While some others have left me in a weird position :  'Ahh.. I thought you are from Iran'; 'Are you not from Afghanistan?'; 'India? ... Why is your skin and hair not black then?'   First Summer: My realization as to why Europeans so love Summer- dawned this year. Its also our first Summer in this new house - which is also our first house that we stayed more than five months. So many firsts.

Talking Parrots

Image
Recently, I happened to get to know a few women who are 'talkative'. Well, it dint seem so unusual, as I was 'also' involved in the conversation. Soon I found myself just nodding my head, feeling uncomfortable to remain inclined in the chat. Realization soon dawned to me - there's a difference - you talk, you talk a lot and then there's you talk non-stop.  My God.

Rhine Falls - where no fish except eels could climb

Image
Have you been to Rhine Falls? Hehe.. Me neither! I had no idea of any foreign Waterfalls, except Niagara until I was in India. So when my bf and I were on the way to Zurich ( Its a city in Switzerland, not the capital!) , we put Rhine Falls into our itinerary. The largest Waterafalls in Europe was just one hour away from Zurich? Oh, we so had to go there. ( Atleast to brag.. <grins>) Statistically, it is 45ft wide and 75ft high.. Huge. We reached the Rhine Falls pretty easily by car. There were large pay-parking lots on either sides of the Falls. The weather was cloudy, as we disembarked from our car.

Things I miss from India #1

In a foreign land, starting a new life amidst different culture, different skin tones, new language, new social norms and discipline is way too hard to adjust to. Especially in Germany, <where do I start..> Hmm .. From the sign boards which are written in a language I don't understand? Vielleicht..  Although I have started to like the way certain things are, there are always differences that have left me baffled.

Off I fly - 5000 kms away

It was the last weekend of April 2013. My first flight to Germany. My parents and in-laws had both come to send us off at the airport that morning. I was wearing a yellow sleeveless top with a black overcoat, and a blue jean. I wore my wedding thilak on my forehead and metti  in my toe just like the rest of days. I still was in a wedding-bliss-mode.

Wander Bliss - Pep talk

Its been more than a year, since I came to Germany. It was also the first year after my marriage. In India, wedding is not just an event, but a whole life-changer. Overnight you are plunged into a whole new family, acquaintances together with a fresh bunch of responsibilities over your shoulders. And in my case, it was much more than that. ( We are so accustomed with 'arranged marriage' customs, so yes, my 'arranged+love' marriage was a huge leap! - More on it later) It so happened that I celebrated not just my first few days, but 365 days of my first year of wedding! ( I still do!)  Looking back now, I cant believe I have visited almost a new country/ new city every Month!  A million voices shout in my head - Hey are you going to write about your wedding which was the most-happening wedding in your family? What about first Swiss?  the first Sommer fest?  the German style Mitfahrer? Potzdam? Holi fest? your first pooja ? Denmark? Christmas? New Year? .. Enough..

Look up from your phone - Result

Ta ta daa.. Hallo...!! Surprise Evening Meetup ; Hey, sorry for the delay. I had to go for an Evening get-together with my classmates all of a sudden! The planing and excuting never works for us, wonder why.. and so when a spontaneous 'Are you coming?, Do you have time?' ,'Oh yes I am coming' works..Yohoo I jumped in too ! And I made sure, I reduce my usage/looking into my smartphone as much as possible. Trust me..it felt sooo good!

Look up from your phone

Yet I'm lonely. I recently happened to see a video, and I thought I really wanted to share with you, like NOW. The video starts with I have 422 friends yet I'm lonely. Guess most of you would have seen it, or if not you sure will want to, at the end of this. It is a spoken word film that runs for 4:59 mins. At the beginning, you get curious and laugh at the coincidences the video and you meet up. However,

Road to Weltmeister

Image
OMG !! OMG ! I cant wait to narrate the World cup Finale this Sunday Evening. Its Cricket, which has always been the most talked about/ watched game in India. So I never really had 'seen' Football ( FuBball as in German - I kinda like it that way somehow, sounds better na? Fussball - its pronounced, just in case you are curious)  can make people go crazy. Weltmeister Goodies: Goodies = Display of creativity. Every cup is different, and so are the goodies. This year, the one which I was so drawn to, were the stickers you can paste in cars, along the rear mirror , bonnet and also on cycles. I happened to see a kid (3 years or so) having a flag attached to her cycle and pushing alongside her dad (Walking on both legs with her head gear in 'the cycle path' was cycling for her, so adorable !) . For women it was

World Cup Semi Finale 2014

Its World Cup season everywhere, as per Germans its the 'Weltmeister' or WM. Its more of a festive season, much like Cricket World cup, with posters, goodies, flags, public viewing etc. There's one thing which surprised me though -> People honking their cars, shouting DEUTSCHLANNNNDDDD unusually displaying their patriotism with flags everywhere. haan .. ( weird, that they will unite this way again only for the next Euro cup/ Worldcup). Whatsoever, the enthusiasm and happiness does pulls you too to dress up with German goodies for the next match ! ( Yeah, I did go for WM Shopping :D) Well, they are favorites for so many people around the World, let's hope they win, so I can party and have my part of celebration too !

Willkommen bei Deutschland

The excitement of seeing the 'so-long-only-heard' of Germany ( from my BOYFRIEND who did his Masters in Aachen - yeah yeah, he is the one who is my husband now :D ; yet I somehow find referring him bf better ) and leaving MY HOME far far away was such a mixed feeling you know?

My story

Image
Aski thengo Namaskar, Vanakkam, Namaste and Welcome ! Okie, so Hey ever yone! I am the twenty-something girl from India, currently living in VW-Town. After my Masters in Nanotechnology, I moved to Germany with my high school-boyfriend-turned-husband.  The reason for this blog is simple - I look back at my life, travel, food, trouble-times and crazy moments that I laughed, indulged, giggled and relished ever since I came to Germany. Here you will find my experiences in getting accustomed to 'Western' Culture, Travel across the world, Guidelines and Must-go places, Insights , Indian delicacies, daily diary and lots more !  I also .. well, am good in photography, henna designing, glass painting, dancing , pencil drawing and writing ( obviously !) . I hope Indian Girl in Germany captures the sense of awe that I have for the European cities and convey my little knowledge to you, the reader.  It's a fresh year every year , and along with it comes a fresh look