With
numerous options to explore various cultures, Europe would have been a great
place to cover during my nomadic days (when I was traveling to a place to stay
for at least a few months) – didn’t happen. But, as fate would have it, on my
first business trip after taking up a new role, I ended
up in....Rotterdam, Netherlands! A typical short business trip hardly gives any
time to look around and explore, but luckily for me the schedules worked in
such a way that I got a free weekend in Rotterdam – enough opening for me to
make the trip memorable outside work as well!
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| Sight seeing in 4 cities in a week long work tip - not too shabby! |
On
a Saturday morning armed with a map of the city in hand, I landed in Amsterdam
Central station. After taking a guided canal tour in a boat to get a feel for
the place, I started my waking expedition to cover the city. Seven hours of picking target destinations on the map, following the road signs and map direction
with absolute no help from technology, getting lost, finding my way again,
aimlessly following the crowd, talking with random fellow tourists...made it more
than a satisfactory excursionist day! Though a bit tired form all Amsterdam walk, Sunday was the day to explore Antwerp (Belgium)! As I tuned out I spend another 7-8 hours walking with a map in my hand exploring the beauty of the city. While returning back to Rotterdam with sore
feet, looking back at the fantastic weekend, I realized that I did not really enter any museum during the entire weekend!! Achievement or failure?
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| Ommegang in Brussels |
My
return to NY was on a weekend morning from Brussels, in order to give me enough
time to get to the airport I had booked a hotel in Brussels for the night
before. Immediately after arriving at the hotel....I ventured out again – at the
history square of the city, Grand Palace, I was greeted by hundreds of people huddling
up trying to catch a glimpse of something. Enquiring around I understood that
it was one of the nights of 'Ommegang', an annual historic parade, part of the Brussels
oldest town-events. Witnessing 1400 performers helping you relive history was
just the climax I needed to make the trip unforgettable!
The Indian Nexus
One
of the best things about traveling for me has always been opportunity to meet different
people and listen to their stories and experiences. How some
people connect to my motherland, India, astonishes me every now and then.
On
my first day at Rotterdam while having breakfast I was doing my usual routine
of inquiring about vegetarian options, when the chef overheard the conversation
and decided to help me personally. As I enjoyed the breakfast and a
conversation with him, I learned that he had his descendance from....India! His great
grandparents were among the many others who, hundreds of years ago, were moved
to Suriname (currently an independent country in northern South America) - at that
time it was a colony of British Empire and was later captured by the Dutch.
When the country gained independence for Kingdom of Netherlands in 1974, his
family moved to Rotterdam. He gleefully reveled that though he has no know
family ties, he still visits the country every year.
On
one of my flights I met a Russian American. As we were talking, I noticed she
kept shuffling some sort of flash cards in her hand. On closer look, I was amazed as I recognized
that the cards actually had extracts from a Indian holy book. Apparently, she was returning after spending 6 months teaching
yoga in India. She claimed that, she was a dancer who due to an accident was handicapped
enough to be unable to pursue a career in dancing. To overcome the frustration she
took over yoga a few years back and was so pleased with the results that she
decided to become an instructor. Now she travels around the world – including India – teaching yoga
to help people!
