Prabhu n Ferrari

Day 1

Copenhagen – Denmark

This was the first trip I was making outside Sweden. I could have gone earlier too, but then I was waiting for my camera. Copenhagen is very close to Göteborg. By train it takes only 3 hrs 57 min. There are buses too, at cheaper rates. But then I wanted to travel by train as always I reached the station at 9 itself, though my train was only at 9.40 AM. I went to the empty platforms and was taking photographs of the various engines and empty wagons. At that moment, I met a guy from Norway. It seems he was also a train fan like me. And add to it, he was joining a Swedish railway company :)After chatting for a while I boarded my train. The seats were broad and very comfortable. I had booked a window seat. I was rubbing by hands in glee, anticipating a green and scenic train journey. To say I wasn’t disappointed would be an understatement. Before I realized, 3 hours had passed by and the train reached Malmö. Malmö is at the southern most tip of Sweden. After that, the train travels on a bridge above the sea Its like this. There is a 2 floor bridge. On the 2nd floor is the highway for road transport. On the 1st floor is the rail track. Below it the sea Both sides are covered by concrete railings, so that the train doesn’t fall into the sea in case there is heavy wind. The train reached Copenhagen at 13.37 sharp. Not a second late. Wow!

Moment I got down from Copenhagen, I went to the tourist information centre. The tourist information centre is amazing. There are around 10 to 15 computers, with touch screen facility. You can book hotels, taxis etc and also get to know about sight seeing. Then there are counters, where people announce your queries in English  I got a single room at the centre of the city for just 300 Danish Krones, and also the map of the city. By the time I reached my room and settled down it was 3.30 in the afternoon. It was a 2 bedroom house and the landlord had rented out 1 bedroom for tourists. He was very friendly, and suggested me on what I should be doing in Copenhagen. The room was neat, with a single bed, reading table and a TV with DVD player. It was on the 7th floor, and when I opened the window I could look at the lovely skyline of Copenhagen. The place I was staying was very close to the city square.

At around 4 I set out for the new harbour called Nyhavl. There were canal tours from there. I took a canal ride for 1 hour. It costed me 60 DKK and there was a guide on the boat. Needless to say the ride was very scenic. I saved lots of time, by visiting many places through the boat itself. Oh yes, I got to see the little mermaid. It seems the little mermaid was a gift by Carlsberg( The beer company) to Copenhagen. Carlsberg is closely associated with Copenhagen. We saw a huge building, which the guide informed us as the brewery used by the kingdom for brewing beer to the royal family and navy. Carlsberg is using it now. And many more similar buildings with mention of Carlsberg this, Carlsberg that etc. Got to see the opera house, which costed around 33 million pounds it seems. After an hours time, we reached back Nyvahl. I clicked as much pictures as I can

Right from the moment I reached Copenhagen I saw lots of army trucks decorated with flowers and leaves. And there were teenagers on it, screaming, singing and dancing. All of them sported the sailor caps. When I asked a local guy about it, he gave me an interesting answer. It seems that was the last day of school. And tradition in Copenhagen was that, students went around the city in such trucks to celebrate. And they end the celebration by circling around the city square, form a human chain and dance. Ofcourse whilst drinking Carlsberg beer  It was a sight to watch.

I reached home, showered, changed and went to an amusement park called Tivoli Gardens. I can write a whole post on Tivoli gardens. Its such an amazing place. Its in the heart of the city, and so huge. There are lots of rides like the slides, free fall etc. But the best part was the music. There were around 4 stages and at regular intervals there was a concert. There was jazz, rock and many more I don’t know. But the best of the lot(Ofcourse according to me) was the instrumental. They played the theme music of MI2, James Bond and many more popular movies. The crowd was highly appreciative too. There were huge roars of applause when they start playing the song and at the end. The biggest cheer of the day(evening?) was reserved for the godfather theme music. It was heavenly.

It was a different experience altogether to go on all the rides all alone. I befriended an English couple with a very cute baby, and I went along with them. The baby was very friendly and she was playing with me. I gave my bag to them and went on as many rides as possible. The best of the lot was freefall. They take you slowly to some 100 or 200 feet and suddenly drop you. WOW. I was wondering whether I was in denmark or in an air deccan flight. Mindblowing. Everything happens so fast, it takes time to realize what you have been through.

After the rides, I was watching a jazz show for some time. I love the way these guys play with trumpet and many other instruments, which I don’t know the name of. I could recognize violin and cello. But then there was an instrument like a violin, just that it was atleast 10 times bigger than the violin. Woo hoo. The amusement park was open till 00.30. By 21.40 the sun set and the area became even more scenic with colorful lights and lovely ambience. I had a great time. Let me tell you this guys, if at all you are planning to visit Copenhagen do visit Tivoli gardens. The memories will remain with you for a life time. It doesn’t matter you are 6 or 69, married or single, Tivoli has something in store for you. Except for vegetarian food

After Tivoli gardens closed, I roamed around the main city area called as stroget. A long road with shops on either sides. It was 01.00 in the morning, and all the shops were closed. Still, there was a huge crowd since lots of night clubs are around that area. It was like a festive atmosphere. By the time I reached home, it was 03.00 in the morning. I literally crawled into my bed and slept. This, brings to an end the account of my first day at denmark

I think some tourists, look at scenic places through their camera than with their eyes. They move fast to a place, quickly observe the surroundings, click, click and gone. I dont see them really enjoy the surroundings and capture it with their naked eye. They are more curious about the lens eye. Having spent money and time, isnt it important that you enjoy the place first, before taking a snap? I love taking photos, only after I have enjoyed the surroundings

England is damn lucky. When all other teams are really sweating it out, england is having a fun ride(ofcourse struggling even with lesser known teams) in the world cup!
Thanks to all the travelling, I missed the weekend action. Hope to see matches this weekend, and would love to see England kicked out. But then, as luck would have it portugal has many players suspended for next match. And C Ronaldo ruled out. Lucky England. Damn!
But then looking at form of argentina, spain, germany, italy and aregntina I wish someone beats the hell out of the english team. It will be a sight to watch and the whole world except one corner will celebrate in joy!

Yesterday while coming back from denmark by train I observed something interesting. There was a girl next to me(Yes yes, she was beautiful. But thats not the interesting thing). After a while another person came there and said that she was in his seat. After checking both the tickets, it was known that the girl had a ticket for the previous day and not for yesterday. She had committed a mistake while booking the ticket. I thought she will panic since the train had already started. She was cool and said she will wait in the ticketless lounge. The what? I became instantly curious and followed her. She went to the place near the door, where there were seats. Many people were there already.
Within 10 minutes the ticket checker arrived. This girl mentioned her situation to the ticket collector. The ticket collector looked at her old ticket and asked her to pay 200 SEK. Now came the interesting part. This girl didnt have that much money. Immediately she picked her credit card and gave to the checker. He just scanned it in his wireless device. Thats all. She had a ticket. The wireless credit card reader is really cool.
I came to know that in connex trains in sweden, you can buy the ticket after boarding the train. The difference in fare is 50 SEK only and they accept cards. And in case you dont get a seat, you can travel in the lounge till you get a seat. The lounge is not at all bad. Comfortable seats with cup holders, and you can take along your cycles/pets etc.
Lovely facility. So even in last minute if you wish to travel, you can just hop in the train, without any reservation or even an unreserved ticket. Every coach/wagon has a ticketless lounge. On both the sides. Good, no?
What facilities these people enjoy?

Chelsea face Manchester City in the opener. The premier league schedule is out. I think I will try to get the tickets for Chelsea-Charlton game at Stamford Bridge I would have preferred a much better match, but then I can visit UK only by that time I guess!

I have already mentioned about driving in right, in Sweden. One another thing I observed is, the way pedestrians are given the priority. Maybe it’s the same all over Europe and somewhere else. But whenever a pedestrian is about to cross the road, all vehicles come to a stop and allow the pedestrian to cross. And I have seen Swedish people nod at the driver and smile, everytime someone stops their vehicle. Being a good mannered person(Ahem), I tried to follow suit. But then old habits die hard. I look at the driver, and invariably end up looking at the co-passenger since the driver sits here on the left side of the car. And most of the times, it happens to be a girl. So it is like this. Driver stops the vehicle, I cross the road and then smile at the girl sitting next to the driver. Poor driver. What he must be thinking of me? ‘Saala! I stopped the vehicle for you and you smile at the girl next to me. Hmph!’

He calls She
She: Hello
He: Sollu. What matter?
She: Nee innum 3 weeks la vare dhaane? Reception shopping appo vachukalaama?
He: Last week nee pudavai shopping mudichaachu sonniye?
She: Aaamam. Muhurtham, janvasam, koora pudavai ellam vaangiyaachu. Reception kku dhaan vaanganum
He: Adhayum vaangi irukkalaame?
She: Pch! I thought you will come along with me. reNdu perum serndhu polaam nenachen. Nee vara maatiya? reNdu peroda dress combination match aaRa madhiri edukkalam
He: Nee maroon color la blouse poattupe. Naan matching aa andha color la trouser poattukatuma?
She: chee. Adha vidu. Nee reception la enna poattuka pore. Coat suit aa?
He: Ayye. Coat suit, kazhuthula maalai. Kai la cauliflower. No way!! Adhuvum madras veyyil la. Indha madhiri aaLunga marriage hall vittu veLila poga sollen. Road la irukkara naai ellam thurathindu varum.
She: Adhu cauli flower illai. Anyways. Kurta pyjama va?
He: Aaamam. Kurta pyjama poattundu gudhirai la varen. reNdu perum serndhu ottagatha kattiko paatukku dance aadalaam
She: ayyo. Paduthaadhe. Nee inniki semma mood la irukke theriyum.
He: I would prefer a corduroy trouser and a Chinese collar shirt. Maybe elakkai maalai. No cauliflower please.
She: Hey!!It would look odd. Naan avlo dressed up aa iruppen. Nee en PA madhiri iruppe pakkathula
(Telling this she giggles)
He: Best sollatuma. Veshti. And nalla shirt.
She: maama madhiri iruppe
He: kaarthala kalyanathu bodhu mattum enna? Bermudas aa poattukaren?
She: Inniku unakku enna aachunu theriyalai. Full form la irukkiyo?
He: Un kooda pesacha indha form ellam thaana varum
She: poarum vazhinjadhu. Sollu. Short kurta try panriya?
He: aamaam. Videographer pakkathula irukkara flash pudikkara payyan madhiri iruppen appuram
She: Ippo enna panRadhu
He: Free ya vidu. Coat suit ey poattukaren. But elakkai maalai. No cauliflower
She: Idhukku dhaan ivlo build up koduthiya!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have never been a big fan of chocolates. Even when I used to visit corner house in Bangalore, I always had strawberries. The only association I had with chocolate was milkshake. That too once in a blue moon when am forced to meet someone in the coffee shops (I don’t like meeting people at coffee shops). But then things changed after coming here. Couple of weeks back, I saw a nice looking chocolate here at a supermarket. The packing looked good and it wasn’t that costly also. Just for the heck of it, I bought it. And I happily forgot too. Few days back, when I was raiding the fridge, I found this at one remote corner. Thought of trying it and opened the pack. Since everything was in Swedish, I didn’t know what chocolate it was.

The moment I put it in my mouth, it started melting. And it was fruit and nut flavor. It was the best chocolate I had ever had. My mouth is watering now, when am just mentioning that chocolate. Wait. Let me take it out from my bag and have a small bite. Yeah. Where was I? Chocolates. I finished the entire pack in one go.

From then on, everytime I used to visit the supermarket, I picked up a different flavor of the chocolate. I have really fallen in love with these chocolates. Not just that. You get ice creams at dead cheap prices here. Vanilla 2 ltr pack comes for 10 or 12 SEK. So almost twice in a week, I have this vanilla ice cream with hot chocolate sauce. Ofcourse, I do dress it up at the end with cashewnuts and dry grapes. It is yummy!!! Cant resist more. Will finish the chocolate pack now

If you think this post was to tease you, change your opinion fast. I could have actually taken the photograph and posted it you see

There are 25 of us from my company in Goteborg. Yesterday, we all went on an one day picnic to a place called Dalsland in west sweden. It was around 3 hrs from Goteborg. We left by around 7 in morning and returned by around 11 at night. We went to a camping spot and had good fun there. We played cricket, football and some other games for a while. Enjoyed the lake, and many many other lovely picnic spots. Water water everywhere.

In the middle we stopped at a place where the ferry, train route and roads meet. It was very scenic. And best part was the ferry route. Actually the ferry comes from a low lying area to a place of higher altitude. But the stretch is narrow too. Hence huge powerful ferries cannot climb. They have come up with a neat idea. Picture this. Level 1, level 2 and level 3. Equate them with ground first and second floor. When the ferry reaches level 1, they close a gate. And then flood that area with water. Slowly the ferry rises along with water level and reaches level 2 They repeat the same process and you reach level 3. And then the ferry goes farther. After that they release the water, and it is back to level 1,2 and 3 again Neat right?

It was a wonderful day. Just that am a bit stiff now after all the action :D. Will update the post sometime tomorrow with the links of the places I visited.

He: Hello?
She: hi
He: mail paNNen reply pannave illai. Busy aa?
She: Hmmm
He: something wrong?
She: Nothing!
He: Hey come on. Sollu
She: Mail la oru poNNu pathi ezhudhi irundhiye. Ava eppadi irukkaa?
He: avaLukkena magaraani. You know what. She has become very friendly with me
She: Hmm
He: Daily naan office la irundhu varacha ava keezha iruppa. Ennai paatha udane vandhuduvaa. I will take her home. Semmaya pozhudhu poRadhu iva irukkaradhu naala
She: Cha! Vekkama illai. Naanum paarthunde irukken. Ooru vittu ooru poi ippadi oru china poNNu kooda koothadikariye. And adhukku mela en kittaye vandhu solre. Cha!
He: Hello madam. Yaar adhu china poNNu?
She: Enakku eppadi theriyum. Nee anuppina mail paaru. See what you have written. Innum enna enna panriyo?
He quickly checks the sent items
He: Ada kadavuLe. Ellam outlook pannina sadhi. Spelling auto correct turn on panni irundhen. It automatically corrected it. Adhu china poNNu illai, chinna poNNu. 3 vayasu kozhandhai. Kashtam. Neeyum irukkiye
She:!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks to Maverick, else I wouldnt have known about this song. He has put this song as caller tune. And everytime I call him from landline, I get to listen to this. But if I call from mobile, that dog has set a vijayakanth song Amul Baby

Anyways, coming back to the song. After a long time(Last Kamal movie in which music was good was Thenali) a nice romantic song for Kamalhassan. Nalla paatu. Nice lyrics. BTW it seems padhaagai means anxiety, according to my friend. Before listening to this song, I didnt know of this word. idhukku dhaan aga400 padikkanumgradhu

paartha mudhal naaLe
unnai partha mudhal naaLe
kaatchi pizhai poale
uNarndhen kaatchi pizhai poale

Oralaiyaai vandhe enai adithaai
kadalaai maaRi pin enai izhuthai
en padhaagai thaangiya un mugam un mugam endrum maRayadhe

kaatti kodugiradhe kaNNe kaatti kodukkiradhe
kaadhal vazhigiRadhe kaNNil kaadhal vazhigiradhe
un vizhiyil vazhiyum piriyangaLai
paarthen kadandhen pagal iravai
un alaadhi anbinil nanaindhapin nanaindhapin naanum mazhaiyaanen

kaalai ezhunthathum en kangaL mudhalil thaedi pidippathu undhan mugame
thookam varugayil kaN paarkum kaN paarkum kadaisi kaatchikkuL niRpathu un mugame

enai patri enakkae theriyatha palavum nee aRindhu nadappadhai viyappen
unai yaethum kaetkaamal unadhaasai anaithum niRaivetra vendum endru thavippen

pogindren ena nee pala nooRu muRaigaL vidai petrum pogaamal iruppaai
sari endru sari endru unai poga solli
kadhovoaram naanum niRka siriththaai
kadhovoaram naanum niRka siriththaai

kaatti kodugiradhe kaNNe kaatti kodukkiradhe
kaadhal vazhigiRadhe kaNNil kaadhal vazhigiradhe

oralaiyaai vandhe enai adithaai
kadalaai maaRi pin enai izhuthai
un alaathi anbinil nanainthapin nanainthapin naanum mazhaiyaanen

unnai maRandhu nee thookathil sirithaai thoongamal adhai kaNdu rasithen
thookkam maRandhu naan unnai paarkum kaatchi kanavaaga vanthathu endru ninaithen

yaarum maanidare illadha idathil siRu veedu katti koLLa thondrum
neeyum naanum ange vaazhgindra vaazhvai maram thoaRum sethukkida veNdum

kaN paarthu kathaikka mudiyamal naanum thavikkindra oru pennum neethan
kaN kotta mudiyaamal mudiyaamal paarkum
salikkatha oru pennum neethan
salikkatha oru pennum neethan

(paartha)

P.S. Indha paatu vachi oru He-She ezhudhalaam pola irukku. Lots of scope

Whenever someone mentions ‘Gentleman’ I am reminded of that stupid producer minor kunjumon. After a long time I checked dinamalar site today and off all the news items, I find one piece where they mention this fellow is sentenced for 1 year imprisonment. I think he should be sentenced for 1 more year for misusing the name ‘Gentleman’. Minor kunjumona yaaravadhu suttudunga paa!