Back to Scandinavia - Summer is over .. Winter awaits !

The summer of 2009 was my first summer here in Scandinavia. It was new, the way they work here. New but as I soon realized very convenient. Everything had a proper time and the work happened in that pace. In the general scheme of things eventually I started to enjoy my work here. That was the first time I truly enjoyed working on tour because everything had to be done alone.  Egypt ,Srilanka had happened before and the guide managed everything. But here my day started from the confines of my cozy bed the night earlier. When the tiny detail’s such as the distance of the Indian restaurant from the hotel had to be calculated or calling up the individual city guide to change the meeting point if necessary. It was fun … and very adventurous! Well any mistake and, I would have the people staring at me and talking behind my back. “you can make out its his first Scandinavia trip ,he will take time to learn, etc”

  I had enjoyed tours, places and the people in my travels before.. but in the summer of 2009 I was actually enjoying my work. I call it the Scandinavia model of work. In the last three years there have been additions to the places I would eventually take my people to. I have loved all of them. There is the charm of Turkey, the openness of Poland and the friendliness of Peru. But with the fun I have at all these countries, there is work involved at every step. I know I always have Scandinavia to look up to.

My summer here ends tomorrow and I go back to Mumbai for a 10-day stay before heading to the most far fledged journey (imagination wise) I have ever undertaken. I will write more about that at a later stage, now is the time to thank a few people, and the institutions.

If you ever travel to Norway or Sweden and are willing to spend on your stay then do not stay anywhere else but the RICA group of hotels. The smile of the lady behind the counter is for real even if she is checking in 3 groups at a time. The chef in the kitchen will most probably come and talk to you if you aren’t contended with what lies in front of you. The owner, I heard started by cleaning dishes. He sure did a good job and taught everyone too.. On his way up !

To all my guides, especially you Cornelia in Helsinki who at the start of the tour gives my people a reason to smile with your ‘once upon a time in Finland’. To you Appolonia in the Rica Bodo, who by just talking to the diners gives them a feeling as if they are eating at her house ! To Hans my driver in Lofoten Islands who distributes cookies every time he feels like no matter if you are hungry or not. To my unknown receptionists who adjust the rooms at the last moment so that two friends can stay as neighbors.

To Scandinavia.. for everything that you have taught me and continue to teach. I will come back in winter. 

Back to Scandinavia - Swedish Grandma's cuisine

All things small have their own charm. I actually wanted to write this one a week back as the girl behind the reception in my Lofoten hotel closed the reception and went home. “Sir this is the last order, would you like anything else. The kitchen is closing” I am sure everyone has heard that. But the reception closing !! Well this in a hotel where the Internet did not work and every room was differently planned. Yes that was it for many people the feeling of a personal touch, the rooms had names which spoke more than their numbers. The internet wasn’t working but I worked in the kitchen that evening instead of my notebook. There was just one chef in the kitchen and when she realized that there is nothing vegetarian on the main course then help was needed starting from chopping the carrots and the celery. Help, which she did not request, but I had to so that my people got the food on time.

It was like I was the co-worker there coz after everyone ate we even shared the dinner together. I have enjoyed talking to the staff in the hotels on my travels but never did share a meal ! I don’t need to tell you how it felt that evening in Lofoten.

I would shift from Norway a week back to Stockholm, today. There is a small market here, which in India we refer to as the delicatessen, it sells local produce and organic stuff. In the past I have gone and taken a stroll in the market, which sells everything from wine to fish and from cheese to strawberries. There is one little kitchen that has been of interest to me over the past years. It doesn’t have products lined up inside the shelf with a life , I guess that’s what makes it so lively. I found a stool amongst the 6  there. The menu was on a black board ,and when the chef told me it was a typical Swedish place ,meat balls and potatoes came to my mind. Just like when I wrote about hurry curry and the whole Indian and chicken tikka thing. But, the guy in his early 30’s and food written all over him recommended me to have a hen.

For the first time ,I was equally engrossed in the food and the conversation and was finding it difficult to concentrate on either. Swedish food ,he said just as my Grandma makes.  When I asked him how do you decide the menu, he said it depends on my mood. I love it when someone says that. That simply means he is not doing it for anyone else .. he is doing it coz he simply loves it and on that particular day he wouldn’t want to cook anything else but to stew a rabbit or slow cook a hen stock. Even if he has people eating a particular dish out of his hands earlier, he wont repeat it today coz he doesn’t feel like. What is being more true to your work !! We spoke all through the meal, it certainly changed my perspective about Swedish cuisine The last thing he said as I left was “the only person I am nervous to cook for is my grandma, coz she understands everything”. I wished I could stay there for a little bit ..

But then there is always a new day ,a new journey and a new grand ma’s dish waiting to be had !

There are things big and they are beautiful, but not intimate enough! Try staying in Bed and Breakfast the next time you travel. If you like it, you wouldn’t want to dial 9 for reception and certainly wouldn’t want your door to be knocked and to hear ‘room service’ from the other side. Coz the dinner which you have that night would mostly be like my 'Swedish grandma’s meal' 

Time off in Tallinn

This is my second time in Tallinn, Estonia.  The old town square in my first visit was the first of its kind I had seen anywhere. In 2009 the old buildings and the medieval architecture attracted me instantly, and so I was roaming the streets of Tallinn taking pictures like everyone around me. I even had the customary beer in a restaurant overlooking the town square with hundred’s of tourists like me with a camera in one hand and a map in another.

Today its different .I am staying away from the restaurants of the old town and eating at a place where the students of Tallinn eat. A beer here is for 2.50 and outside its 3.50 .but that’s really not the reason. Its good to go to a place where the locals go. Even though thanks to sites like Trip advisor ,even these places are coming on the tourist radar.

The not so touristy places are always a welcome respite from the crowded touristy sights. The restaurants displaying their menus in atleast 4 languages and one of their waiters standing out to call the tourists in. Just like the guys that in some markets stand outside their shops and invite you in to 'have a look'. 

 There is a difference between shopping and eating. Once you sit at a table you can window eat !! ,So the food is serious business ,once u enter a restaurant especially at lunch ,the food that u eat and the service that you get can make or break the rest of your tourist day. Good food and that too served at good prices can simply give your day a start up kick that your hotel breakfast couldn’t do.

Since 2009 I’ve been to many old town squares and still love being around them. The only thing that has changed however is that I eat out of them. I can understand the ambience and the fixation over sipping your drink and looking at people walk all around. But then that’s the advantage of travelling again and again to a place. You simply ask for more and attempt to get it. 

The Baltic countries of Lithuania ,Latvia and Estonia have always been of interest to me.  But unlike 2009 I am not only interested in their respective Capitals. I want something more out of them and one day I am sure I will be on the path of finding that !

I will be leaving Tallinn tommorow and starting with my last tour of this summer in Scandinavia from Helsinki ..
 I usually research on my travels mostly from the point of view of my 60 + yrs tourist. This time however I have no maps ,no schedule and certainly no one elses point of view ! 

Back to Scandinavia -- Hurry Curry in Stockholm - The Gangs of Wasseypur

Indian food out of India especially in Scandinavia is much like the Indian movies. The Indian Film Industry ,bollywood for many foreigners is still a lot to do with song and dance ,a lot of melo drama ,a super hero and a saree clad navel showing heroine. We in India know that our cinema is changing ,thank god for that but it will take time for the world to know it ! The world as they know our movies through its glitzy sets knows our food through the spicey chicken tikka masala. Well for all these years ,the only Indian food that you get out of India is the bloody heavy throat blocking north Indian ! I don’t mean to insult food but that’s how it is at most of the so called Indian restaurants around Scandinavia.

In Stockholm its funny .. Of all the ‘North Indian’ restaurants I have been to not a single one has a chef from India ,they are either from the west of India (Pakistan) or from the ex East Pakistan (Bangladesh) not that they make bad north Indian ,if only they knew what a good north Indian curry tastes like. But these restaurants have sprung up in all the corners of Stockholm each trying to spice it up for the customers. And just like our film makers add a scene or a dance for the people , the chef here makes his food more spicey coz that’s the way they love it here.

In all this north Indian food mess, there is a small little place called the ‘Hurry Curry’. I’ve been seeing it since 2009 right next to my hotel here in downtown Stockholm. It forms an extension of INDISKA ,that is Indian in Swedish, a retail clothes chain. The décor is charming ,the seating is rustic and the food ,well I never had an opportunity to taste the food until today.

My staple diet here in Scandinavia is Salmon. I usually have it for all my 3 meals. So I knew what I wanted when I saw the limited menu. By the way I really like the restaurants which have a limited menu. As the Salmon topped salad with a garlic mayo dip arrived ,my fork and knife went straight in. Half way through ,I realized that the salmon was a tandoori salmon. Can you imagine the spices were so subtle that the flavor only loosely reminded me of Indian food but did not over power my dish.

Guess who owns the place .. not an Indian and certainly not a Bangladeshi. This is owned by a Swede and the chefs ,well all of them are from India.

The crowd ,young hungry stomachs who after shopping are exhausted and are in a hurry to eat. Well the curry doesn’t disappoint them.

The Gangs of Wasseypur is a film that is currently running in Indian Cinemas ,Hurry Curry to Indian food in Stockholm is what Gangs of Wasseypur is to Indian Cinema in India.

A blessing !

Back to Scandinavia - Tram 3T in Helsinki !

What happens when you land at an airport in a foreign country for the first time ?  Well if your bags are in place on the belt and your pick up has been arranged (for the feeble hearted) or you know the bus / train / tram number that will take you to your hostel /hotel then you simply take the ride. Remember the first impression of the city ? The conversation that you have with yourself ? if you look at urself from a third persons point of view ,well I would say that you are excited ,a little nervous ,eager but mostly LOST !

Well guess what ?! ,its important to be lost !! Coz if you already know what to do how to do it and how much of it to do, then you rather sit at home .. Unless you are lost ,you cant find yourself in the city. The journey from Lost to found is what makes your travel worth it !

The reason I am saying this is because there are a number of ways you could find yourself in the city. You could just buy a one day ticket on a metro or a bus and move wild. Or take those boring hop on hop off busses , Or .. In cities like Helsinki take a tram 3T.

The 3T is a gift to Helsinki and all the eager travel minds that arrive here. A one hr ticket on the tram lets you loop Helsinki ,there is no running commentary like the one on a hop on hop off sightseeing bus ,and there is no need to run around like the metro in one day. Instead just find yourself a seat and watch the city ,its sights (that you don’t know yet) and the people, just go by.  

It’s a great way to get acquainted. Look at a passing market square ,a monument a charming café ,listen to them speak to you. If you hear them ,you better get down after an hour and head right there to extend the conversation. These little things will tell you more about the city ,and by sun down you wont be as lost as you were when you arrived. Talk to a local at a café ,chances are that he or she might be a tourist just like you. Talk to them about what to do next and where they had been in the city. For ,the people speak more than a guide book !

There must be a 3T in a lot of cities that you visit .. Find that 3T and board it without thinking. At the end of your trip ,you would come much closer to finding your place in the city !