Back to Scandinavia - The Magic of 'The Lofoten Islands' - Norway

When I talk about the Lofoten Islands in Mumbai this is what I say .. “A road connects the islands ,It is a road on which when u drive ,it is difficult to decide in which direction to look at”. A road which is only 140 kms in its most scenic section but which takes 5 hours to cover with stops that are governed by where the bus can find parking.  So to do justice with it one has to cycle through it. Cycle, and stop where your heart tells you to and not where the parking sign is. Stop to take in the crisp air and what lies in front of you. Don’t have an itinerary in mind ! Don’t have a time line to follow.. Just follow your instinct. I assure you this will be the best drive you’ve ever undertaken.  

The E 10 as it is known is dotted with beautiful fishing villages. Fishing the cods is big here. It is so big that the fishermen here were partly responsible for Norway not joining the EU. Now aren’t they glad about it ..

Coming back to the E10 ,There are detours that you can make on smaller roads that lead to still pretty settlements. On clearer sunny days when the bay waters are still ,the house by the sea speaks through its reflection on the water. When I look at it ,I hear the words ‘this is where I want to be, now and forever’ .. Well I think the same thing about the people here. Fishermen folk ,whose children sometimes wander off elsewhere in the world in search of a better life, but come back one day ,come back because the life that they lead here can only be described as pure ! Norway calls them home as it does to a wanderer in me. 

If Norway is on the top of the world .. The lofoten Islands top Norway in Summer. I say summer because in winter there is Tromso that takes over due to its close proximity to viewing the Northern Lights. Well ,winter is far and Summer is at its full ..

It was amazing to see my tourists wearing sun glasses at 0030 hrs and take pictures against the midnight sun.  It feels humbled when they thank me for bringing them to this part of Norway.  Scandinavia is so much different than the continental Europe they say. And when they don’t say anything ,they are looking out of the window .. looking at the Lofoten Islands !

Today I leave from Bodo ,the first big town above the Arctic circle in Norway and the last train station of the Norwegian Railways to the North. I head to Bergen ,the salmon capital of the world. Bergen is beautiful ,with its port and a line of wooden houses lined by the sea. But when the guy at the reception smiles as I check in and asks me “ from where are you coming today” .. Even he is happy to hear the words .. Lofoten Islands !

Back to Scandinavia - 66.33 Deg North to 66.33 Deg South and nothing in between !!

Hurtigruten is a Norwegian cruise company which combines leisure cruises with expedition and adventure. On their website www.hurtigruten.com I was checking the expedition cruise to Antarctica this afternoon. These are the exact words that they wrote about the expedition cruise crossing the 66.33 Deg South Latitude which happens to be the Antarctic Circle..

'Roaming as far south as the Antarctic Circle is a privilege only to be enjoyed on this particular voyage. Located at 66˚ 33’ south you will find yourself in an area of sublime beauty. The avid explorers joining us on this adventure will experience an area of Antarctica few others have laid their eyes on'.

For me, at present ,Antarctica is something that I know I will experience. When and how I am not aware of. Maybe with Hurtigruten or any other cruise liner. Maybe in 2013 or later ..

Some journeys stand apart.. No museum ,palace ,theme park or any man made structure can come close to the scenery nature has to offer. The scenery that one sees indeed belongs to a privileged few. Be it under 66.33 south or 66.33 north. Yes I am talking about the Arctic Circle.

The first time I went above the Arctic circle I understood why Norway is considered what it is. I wont say much other than ,it’s a once in a lifetime journey for you to take .. be it for the mid night sun in summer or the northern lights in winter. With the sun or without it ,the view around is maaeeed !

The arctic circle and everything above ,will give u a high ,you can never fully recover from.

I feel privileged to have gone above in both the seasons. In all my travels I’ve never seen anything quiet like Norway above the Arctic circle. I am sure Antarctica would be as spell binding ,but that has to wait as tomorrow once again I will take a flight to where Scandinavia belongs .. The Arctic circle!

Back to Scandinavia - In Stockholm then and now !

Somewhere in the spring of 2009

It was my first day in Stockholm, my Hostel was somewhere ,in Gamla Stan ,that’s how they refer to the old town here. I had taken a coach to get to the centre and then walk from there to my hostel. As I walked I looked at the restaurants and stopped occasionally to look at the menus. The air still had a hint of cold though the sun ensured that the people sat out and their crockery glittered under the green of the lettuce ,the white of the mayo ,the pink of the salmon and the red of the steak.

I was already starving from two days on the travel as I had a budget to match. I felt like the kid coming back from school with a pocket money that barely just ensures the mid day meal sold at reduced prices in the school canteen. So the walk home via a sweet shop or an ice cream cart is always painful.

The menus were marked in SEK ,the Swedish kroner ,and it took me 300 mtrs and some math on my phone to realize that Stockholm is more expensive than Helsinki !!. And there I was ,hoping in Helsinki that if I save today I may eat in Stockholm at least one square meal.

The thing about backpacking is not that you don’t have the money to splurge but the Euro to Indian Rupee conversion and the whole idea of staying true to the idea of backpacking doesn’t allow you to spend.

As I entered my hostel dorm I realized tonight will be yet another cold night. Not in terms of only the weather but also the food that I had. There was some ham left over and the bread was the least I could spend on. So there it was again .. ham and bread for Dinner on day 1 ,2 and 3.

Midsummer 2012

Yesterday again I spent my first day in Helsinki. Dinner was huge .. but where lunch was just a distant thought in 2009 ,it was Salmon and garlic mayo in 2012. So yes the situation is better now. As I slept in my inside cabin with the view of my thoughts to give me company I thanked god in a way to get me where I am today. I was basking in the sun this morning as I had an espresso and a piece of chocolate cake in a cafeteria of a museum. I even tipped the lady driver 100 SEK and I never tip drivers who have just driven for 3 hrs. But she carried 4 bags in a her hand as she helped me unload the luggage from the bus. Money was not an issue until .. I realized that the dinner on a mid summer night in Stockholm is a tough task. Everything is closed and the town bears a look of curfew.

When I plan the costing of a tour there is food budget that I have to take as a reference. In Stockholm it is around 17 – 18 Euros.

Well, I thought to myself, what can happen most .. I will have to shell out a few Euros more for the dinner and offer them food in the Hotel restaurant. But Indian travelers above the age of 50 are conservative and vegetarian. I am sorry to have both these together but its true. Every vegetarian is not a conservative ,but every conservative is a veggie. So I went up to the counter and asked them for a dinner reservation for 24 people.

“We are full sir “ was the reply. I tried calling a few Indian restaurant’s, but had similar answers from all of them, the answering machine answered in Swedish and the only word I understood was ‘mid summer’ Well right .. I know its mid summer !!!

So I walk up to the receptionist once again and she gives me a contact of a nearby restaurant. Now from the onset this looks classy. I am wondering what will my over 60 guys do here .. how will the place smell when one of them open’s Garlic chutney to go with a mushroom risotto. Or ,what will a green chilly pickle do to a vegetable grill. Most of all how much of an evacuation is needed to ensure that others in the restaurant don’t loose their appetite bcoz of my group. I don’t intend to sound cynic but yes ,the menu for tonight is A tomato and basil soup with herb cream , grilled veggies with goat cheese, Mushroom and herb risotto and finally an apple pie with vanilla cream. I bet you love the sound of it .. but then I go back to 2009 and my need to eat something warm. That was my first time here as it is for my people today. They need something spicy .. and they will make every attempt to add the spices if they don’t find them on the dish. So on and so forth ..

Did I mention the price I am going to pay for this .. well the very kind man at the counter said. You are paying around 26 Eur per head just for the food. Drinks are separate.. I ,after recovering from the shock said .. but they would only drink water. He smiled and said ,well that’s charged too .. I am talking tap water guys !!!

Ha Ha Ha .. I laughed at myself ,as I walked back to the hotel and finally to my room after 3 hours of restaurant searching. I try to convince myself ,that its ok .. but I know its not about the money .. its like this is the only place that is open and serves veg. So its not that I have any option. But look at it this way .. what if you take your 70 year old grand mother to eat sushi at the Wasabi in the Taj Mahal, Mumbai ??!!

Get my point !

Hey .. but this is work and there are always highs and lows in terms of the budget ,the important thing to remember on a tour is that no matter what .. the tourists should always be on a high ! Coz if not for them there wouldn’t be a 2009 and certainly not a 2012 !!

Back to Scandinavia - Finland

Through the 'Back to Scandinavia' blogs .. I wish to thank this land for all the things it has given me knowingly and otherwise. 

Scandinavia – Finland ,Sweden ,Norway.

I will not speak about Denmark coz I no longer go there.  A distant region for us Indians as is our country for the Northerners. People ask me ‘where is it that you are going next’ and I have never seen a single word draw more excitement than ‘Scandinavia’. When I came here first in 2009 , I was not impressed ,neither was I charmed. I was just happy. Yes happy that I got to come here. This region with its lifestyle and it is really expensive, blows the regular backpacking traveler like I was  blown on my first trip. It also lets you understand that everything ,right from the things in the hotel room to those on a city street has its own place and that nothing here is out of place.  Organized but not mechanized is how I would like to describe this region.

I started by thinking I would write about Finland ,but really this cannot be perceived with just a country outlook. Scandinavia as a whole works its magic around you. I remember just 2 weeks back at the Mumbai airport a group of Danes were trying to talk to the lady on the pre paid taxi counter about why she wont accept a credit card. Everything in Scandinavia is payed in plastic mostly. When I paid for their cab ,I simply told them ,You guys are from Scandinavia ! I know they did not understand what I meant. But I owe it to Scandinavia and its people. The work culture in Norway ,the clean thinking ,and the on your face attitude, without being rude is where I get my inspiration for rational thinking when I work.

For outsiders, Nokia is Finland but its been years since the last factory that made Nokia cell phones got shut and I think in the same year Nokia opened its 5^th Manufacturing unit in China. But the brain is still here in Finland. 

The Finnish language is crazy they say ,even the Norwegians and Swedes cant understand it .. Well for me I just understand the one word that I want to say to Scandinavia .. Kittos ! Thanks in Finnish !

At the Helsinki airport today the luggage of some of my tourists  and some other Indian travelers got in late. Its mad ,when you have just arrived after a 15 hr flight and you have no clue of where your luggage is. So when I went to one lonely counter at the end of the arrival hall, the lady simply said ,' I handle only Finnair queries, for Turkish airlines you have to wait' and got back to what she was doing. There were some Indian ladies who saw this and murmured ,'come to India and you will know what hospitality is'.  i dont want to be cynic ,but at home they make us wait with a smile. The wait very frequently gets endless. 

Here in Scandinavia .. They don’t try to please you or comfort you .. all they speak is the truth and truth sometimes does hurt but its for the good. Coz one atleast knows there is no hope and its time to think of something else. 

Said enough . now need to sleep ! I am glad .. summer starts today .. in Scandinavia !

Budapest .. Personal

Budapest .. A city I still cant figure out. One ,because I simply haven’t spent quality hours there and two ,I really don’t know. It’s a city I feel incomplete about ,not in it but in me. It’s a city where I always long for more. I cant explain this ,as I really don’t know what I feel about Budapest. But whatever it is ,it is enchanting.

After Vienna which is just 4 hrs away ,Krakow which is 6 hrs away and mostly after visiting Prague ,for everyone Budapest seems like a little let down at the start. Much like the Europeans who land in Mumbai for the first time. I mean the buildings are not as grand as Vienna ,the central sq is not even there forget it being as huge as Krakow. The old world charm of Prague exists in corners. You would check in your hotel and wonder what you would do for 2 – 3 days which would be different, than what you’ve already done in the neighbouring countries. 

Day one ,is a little dazed. It is only on the afternoon of day 2 that you start to get a glimpse out of it. It has to be the central market with the paprika and the sausages hanging. Not to mention the cheap beer flowing .. It is an instant hit in a traveler's mind. It’s a reminder that you are in Budapest. To end it ,there has to be the Danube .the wonder river of East Europe. All the things in between are  a personal choice.

It is much like meeting a person for the first time when he is not exactly what you think is his best, but then he is always like this ,suddenly you realize it,  that you always wanted to meet someone like this one.   Then parting ways on a good note. It is personal .. Budapest is personal for me and I believe it is for the many that arrive here.

The locals have something in their smile. Even this I cant explain.. Sometimes its nice that one cant explain coz to just feel is enough .. and to feel is lucky !

Budapest would leave you with a feeling .. It wont hit you .. but will stay with you !

The Slovenian Air ..

To sit in the balcony of a hotel, overlooking a scenery and have a cup of coffee ,in the morning ! Or a glass of wine in the later part of the day .. I wouldn’t do both ! Infact I have never sat in a balcony before ! But today I had to just sit here to feel this place for one last time. Writing is not what I would ideally like to do from here ,but then to voice the thoughts about Slovenia in general as I leave it today was what I had in my mind since I wrote about Vienna.

In the tourism world, when the place is beautiful and accessible likewise ,it doesn’t take long for hoards of people to arrive and spoil its serenity. Lake Bled is one such place. With a population of just over six thousand inhabitants ,and double the number of people visiting ,every week, it should’ve lost its charm over the years. But then I would’nt be sitting in the balcony if it did.

Slovenians are friendly ,the most friendly I have met in this part of the world. I usually interact more with receptionists ,waiters ,the old woman at the ticket window etc. Here I have spoken to the shoe maker ,the fruit seller and the honey vendor to name a few and they all talk with the same warmth and friendly attitude. A country where the language Slovene is always hard fought to be spoken ,first under the German’s ,then under the former Yugoslavia ,where everyone had to learn Serbo – Croatian and would be punished if not spoken in Government institutions, English comes quiet naturally to the guy on the road.

The cream cake is the most famous export of Bled and even today the guys who invented it are proud to serve it to every person that’s comes in. When the conversation extends beyond just a cup of espresso ,then the talk about Slovenia joins the recipe for the cake. ‘You can make the cake home’ he says but you can never feel the same at home as you feel here by the lake in this air.

Yes .. the air ! That’s what I was looking for. The air in Slovenia is different .. The air is inviting ! Travel to Slovenia once in your life time and you would understand what I am talking about .. 

Vienna .. auf wiedersehen

Ahmed, my Egyptian contact told me once when he heard me speaking, broken Arabic in an Egyptian accent, “if you stay here for a month more , you will speak like a local”  ..the love for a language can make the toughest of them all, easy to learn and a country or a place is no different.

Austria and the city of Vienna is one such place. No I mean in the opposite. No matter how beautiful a city is ,if you cant get yourself to love it ,it simple doesn’t work.

I came here to Vienna first in 2009. When I arrived at the train station it seemed like a regular European station ,when I stepped out and walked on its streets ,the buildings were just so beautiful ,each of them seemed like a palace. Renaissance style was invented in Italy but it seemed it was fully adapted by this city. On my first night ,I remember I felt nothing ,this night in Vienna felt flat after Krakow.

The next morning I just stared at the beauty of this city ,whether in its buildings or its parks. I tried to fall in love with it ,atlast it came from similar quarters ,when I went to a wine growing region nearby got drunk on cheap wine. Cheap and Vienna don’t match but there they served wine in a steel jug. Can you imagine the cost of wine in a jug was less than that of a glass in the city 4 star hotel. Well all those buildings and their shining façade and after all my trips  (this being the fifth time) .. All I remember of this city, is the sun shining on that steel jug that day.

Vienna has a museum quarter a booming restaurant scene and lots of opera houses .. it all seems like a beautiful woman whom you never connect with.  I am glad I am moving out of here. Tonight is my last, here in Vienna and I dunno if I would ever come back again(we are quitting on Vienna and putting in Croatia for our Autumn 2012 onward tours).

I thought I would feel a little about this city on this last night here. But all I can say is auf wiedersehen .. thats 'bye' in german for you ..