Two Lords...in a day...

Tried understanding the peerage - not too clear on what is what - and more importantly, why? Well, an important day in the Gurukul programme today. Have seminars by two of them in a day: Lord Meghnad Desai with his wiggy hair....and the newest minted Lord, Nicholas Stern.


Stern is very much in the news, and does seem to be very hot property days after his climate economics report. Have his session this afternoon. Stern is also the Academic Patron of the Gurukul programme, and Lord Desai was one of the prime movers of this scholarship at the inception stage.

Not bad...had lots of Sirs, now two Lords....

Hostelling at Van Gogh & Goutam's Musings

Our third hostel so far was a real charm. Combined the full efficiency of the Swiss hostel, as well as the backpacker charms from our Edinburgh experience. The rooms were immaculate – we found ourselves in a four seater, all to ourselves. All fitted with a wash basin ( useful for drinking water, if nothing else). Dorms were mixed, and the place was packed to capacity. This was supposed to be the offseason remember? Breakfasts were hearty – cornflakes, juice, bread ( whole wheat & white ) , hot chocolate or tea and coffee. The kitchen was spotless – but we did not need to use it. The in-house bar and the lounge area ( complete with a pool table, cane chairs and big windows) were the real great add-ons. The staff were very helpful- and knowledgeable too…the tips and directions were precise, well thought through. And everyone speaks excellent English. Lugging our big suitcase up three flights of steps was not a picnic though. The luggage storage facilities were excellent too. The Turkish town is next door.

Highly recommended. Stay here if you are in Brussels ( the age rules seem to restrict it to 18-35 yrs- thankfully, they do not seem to be implementing it!).

PS: Van Gogh lived and worked in these premises. And he died a pauper – the greatness recognised well after is death. Goutam is still in a daze on hearing this about the great man!

Mystery of the Missing Man...

The strange case of Mr Syed!

Syedbhai, our civil servant course mate from Pakistan, who joined us a little late was missing in action! He was with us for our meanderings around town till late Friday night, but come Saturday morning- he was nowhere to be found! Where is Syedbhai? Where is Syedbhai? The mobile is off. His luggage is missing. No note for any of us. Kept us worried all day – when were in Brugges. I returned late at night, to find him still missing. And we set out on a mission to search him out….what happened then? Alas, can’t put it on this blog…

To put all at rest, he is back with us in London, and back in the classroom.

In KC's Honour...

Beer is well, almost a national obsession. Antwerp is supposed to have a pub which serves nearly a 1000 varieties. The canned/ bottled ones do not even count as beer....it has to be fresh - and often fruity.

Peter, an old associate of Howard, took us around to a pub/bar named Sudden Death ( or the equivalent in Belgian) for an evening of sampling some exotic Belgian stuff - all served in different glasses, often with stems. A bustling place, great atmosphere.

One of the highpoints was to smell waffles in the air – in a way, it does seem to a national food in Belgium. Did justice to it a few time – varying prices, but uniformly good quality. But the sight of the fresh waffles stalls is heart warming. Am carrying some back.

This is what the official tourism website has to say:

"Aside from the delicious recipe, the authentic Belgian waffle is unique because of the special waffle irons used to bake them. These waffle irons are only available in Belgium and give Belgian waffles their signature crunchy-golden outside and fluffy inside.

In Belgium there are two types of waffles (or gauffres as we like to call them): the Brussels and the Liege waffle. The Brussels is rectangular in shape with a golden-brown exterior, deep divots and is usually eaten with a knife and fork. Brussels waffles are served with a variety of toppings such as powdered sugar, whipped cream, ice cream, strawberries and chocolate. The Liege waffle is golden-yellow, more dense in texture and has a burned sugar coating on the outside giving it a lightly sweet flavor. This hand-held waffle is sold by street vendors all over Belgium."

Am no fan of fries- or potato chips or whatever you call it. Very McDonaldish I would say. But it does have a flavour of difference. Served coolly in paper cones, with a dollop of a range of sauces- meat sauce was one interesting one, as was kamikaze. Couple this with the chilly breeze, and perhaps a drizzle – and it the right eat for the day. Fairly cheap I would say, with about a euro or half for a nice serving. Have frites at frietkots - and you're half Belgian.

In the land of Tintin & Poirot

Comics….

Missed seeing something that was very high on my list of things to do – a visit to the comics museum. But the feel is there all over the country. You see cartoons even in public signages – and am excluding the graffiti content for the moment. Tintin, the character and comic most easily recognisable by me, is clearly huge. Perhaps for the tourist potential, but clearly big in the Belgian psyche as well. There are Tintin shops all over, the wall paintings have him and Captain Haddock featured prominently. Nostalgic. Refer Soumya’s blog of a few days back with trivia and his musings on this (http://sc218.blogspot.com/2006/07/16-tintin-100.html )

Souvenier are innovative, and market friendly. Something for everyone- a big kick for he enthusiast, amusing for the average guy – bit lots of money for the trade in any case. Win-Win!

Tushar has bought a not so little Snowy for his Tintin mad sis!

Time Travel in Brugges....

Brugges ( pronounced Broo-jze, but spelt in three different ways in differing languages ) was not on my radar at all. Indeed I had not heard of it at all. And was a little zapped when I came to know that it was amongst the most touristed places in Europe – 3 million a year, I read somewhere! That is quite a bit. Well, it was on Richa’s agenda, and a very important part of it a that. So that is where comes into my agenda.

The agenda for Brussels, made possible by the study visit to the EU headquarters and the NATO office was a little iffy – after the official part of the programme got over on a late Friday evening. The weather forecast had not been too promising – cold and rain were what had been forecast. Amsterdam was contemplated – and dropped finally. It would have been too hectic, and not doing justice to either Belgium or Amsterdam. The ladies headed off to Amsterdam. The men stayed on.

A little bit on Belgium: had read about it being a failed nation-state, and a seminar had shed some light on that. Flemish, Flanders, French – and some Dutch all jumbled in added to the chaos. Howard tipped us off that it is safer sticking to English: the Flemish are not too happy being chatted up in French ( not that I was going to attempt it at all!).

Anyway, that Saturday we decided to head off to Brugges ( B). A short but cold walk to the Brussels Central station ( there at least major termini in the city), armed with the town maps picked up at the hostel ( and an outstanding, user friendly map come highlights booklet, rather innovatively put together with more than a dash of humour). The return tickets were for 12.80 Euros, a half price offer for the weekend. Happy with it. The trains are silent, efficient – but the stations are not really squeaky clean like the English stations. But they do have a fairly exciting graffiti culture.

B station did not give a flavour of what we were to expect, apart from the train emptying out with tourists. The busy road crossed, and suddenly one was time travelling…..it is indeed maintained very well as tourist city. In parts corny (the horse carts trotting around town, with their drivers on the mobile!), but it just fits in so well. There is a fair bit of history, but more than take it too seriously, the charm is in just soaking in the atmosphere….sitting at the foot of the belfry, watching the world and having the chimes in the background!

With cobbled streets, pedestrian bridges , the supermarkets hidden away from public view ( it makes for hugely inexpensive food sourcing!), B manages to re-create very well what it sets out to do. The youngsters map was a boon- and the tips priceless. Engaging old style eateries, hidden away beer bars with happy hours at just Euro 1 – places which are really there for the locals. Quiet, relaxed charming….something I’ll be very happy with!

Is there a Mc Donalds there? Yes, but it is best to ignore where it is….

Won’t write more…..the summers will have long days, but a lot of tourists. The days are shorter, but fewer tourists..enjoy the after dark time and the lighting around town!

Don't Cry for Me Edinburgh..

A delightful town , and a bit of a city split very neatly in to two parts by the railways station. The old town, and the new one. Both World heritage sites. Now, is that not an honour?

Edinburgh, though at the extreme south of Scotland, revels in being Scotlands capital. Scottishness is felt, as you walk through in any part of the town. Tourists visit – so the town is geared up for them. Hop on , hop off buses, souvenier shops filled with tartan pieces, kilts and the like. The two big festivals are in August ( The Edinburgh Festival) and Hogmanay (new years) – traditionally, the Scots worked on Christmas and had their holidays in the New Year, where apparently Edinburgh transforms into one huge street party.

Our first night was at the Parliament House hotel, an old world hotel. Remarkable was the 70 year + night porter who single handedly takes care of the hotel all through the night shift….cleaning, wake up calls, attending the door etc etc. Breakfast had an option of haggis for the cooked part – and I tried it out. Strong smelling and tasting, but well worth it. Black Pudding will have to wait for a while?

Could not visit the Castle, or more importantly the whisky trail. The castle looms over the city – especially when all lit up at night, so you cannot really miss it. The Royal Mile stretches from the castle up the hill all the way to the Hollyrood Palace ( the residence of the UK monarch). The heart of the old town, it has any number of Wynds, Closes and other old English words. Good ny day, suitably mysterious by night.

The part of Edinburgh that seems to be a little off the tourist circuit but is priceless is the Hollyrood Park. With crags, moors, meadows, lochs, mountain paths – and any other geographic feature that you can care to think of , it is fabulous experience well within the city. Our last morning there, in the clear weather was an enchanted one.

Scotch Whisky? But where is it? All over Edinburgh, but at the same expensive prices as elsewhere. American Jack Daniel’s is surprisingly popular, or very aggressively promoted!! The one sneaky experience was to sniff out the free sampling in a few stores, and quaff down some single malt of unheard of distilleries…..

Loved the Scottish ties – replaced my much loved one that M had got almost a decade ago.

Yup, Edinburgh…you are on my list of cities that I will be visiting again…..