In Leuven, the week goes fast and weekend? Well, only faster!!! Honestly, those who find Leuven boring must have nothing to do in their life :-) Being at the center of Europe, it's a very convenient place to plan trips all over and I have followed two simple rules to entertain myself:
Rule No. 2. Every weekend is a long weekend :-)
And the fall out of these rules has been some incredible trips to very spectacular spots in and around Europe and when you are in such a travel hungry mode, many a times you do not have adequate planning* to back you up but all you do is just pack your bags and set out for a predetermined venue. Most of the prominent place have Tourist information centers and all things fall in place leading to a very fruitful stay. It's really that simple and here are a few words about some International participants who believed in the philosophy and decided to pack their bags on this unplanned trip to Garmisch-Partenkirchen on a real long 21-24th May '09 weekend:
Amir (The Schumaker): The usual Chai partner from Iran turned Schumaker - the mercurial driver for all of us. Although others had valid licenses to drive in our respective
countries, none of us has an European license eligible to drive in Europe. While all of us could only tender our moral support, Amir had to bear all the load to drive upon himself. With sleeping Guru (can sleep anytime anywhere) and red bull for his company he drove us all through Belgium, Germany, Austria and Luxembourg on the way back. "Recalculating! Recalculating!!!", the irritating words of the GPS lady could hardly piss him off and in all seriousness, we would not have moved an inch without our Messiah during the entire stretch of 2200kms. But, most striking fact was that after all the driving effort, he was invariably the first to wake us all up early in the morning to gear up for the day and meet our schedule.
Hari (The Travel Giant): Here is a Singaporean^ who motivates me for all the travel I am
doing in and around Leuven. Imagine, this travel giant has been to 26-27 countries, probably even more than his age and with the passion he inculcates it's difficult if not impossible to beat him. I have already given up my chase :-( What strikes me the most though is not the number but the choice of places he travels to. He already has made his effort to witness Northen Polar Lights, the world wonder Aurora Borealis in Scandinavia. has set his foot steps in Latvia and Lithuania and also smallish Lichtenstein. has wondered around Egypt exploring Pyramids and temples. But probably the best of all has been to an exotic trip to Iceland and after all the planning he took all of us to another exotic place Canary Islands...
Lei (The Summa-cum-Laude): "I like...I like...", Lei kept on displaying her interests one
after the other. "Flowers... I like, I like... lakes... I like, I like... Snow... I like, I like...."and the list goes on and on and on... "Is there anything that she does not like?", you start to wonder looking at an ever effervescent Lei. As you keep wondering, probably she keeps pondering about the assignment to be submitted/presentation to be prepared for the next week/month/year. Always focussed on things at hand, I did not take long to admire and appreciate why she is the Summa-cum-Laude of the class, a stupendous achievement indeed. For those who have more or less believed and obeyed minting the midnight Oil ahead of most of the exams, staying focussed all through the semester is an unknown virtue. But then some guys pass the course while others learn through the course and that's the key difference. Lei, to me, genuinely creates this difference in a positive way...
Amir (The Schumaker): The usual Chai partner from Iran turned Schumaker - the mercurial driver for all of us. Although others had valid licenses to drive in our respective
countries, none of us has an European license eligible to drive in Europe. While all of us could only tender our moral support, Amir had to bear all the load to drive upon himself. With sleeping Guru (can sleep anytime anywhere) and red bull for his company he drove us all through Belgium, Germany, Austria and Luxembourg on the way back. "Recalculating! Recalculating!!!", the irritating words of the GPS lady could hardly piss him off and in all seriousness, we would not have moved an inch without our Messiah during the entire stretch of 2200kms. But, most striking fact was that after all the driving effort, he was invariably the first to wake us all up early in the morning to gear up for the day and meet our schedule.Hari (The Travel Giant): Here is a Singaporean^ who motivates me for all the travel I am
doing in and around Leuven. Imagine, this travel giant has been to 26-27 countries, probably even more than his age and with the passion he inculcates it's difficult if not impossible to beat him. I have already given up my chase :-( What strikes me the most though is not the number but the choice of places he travels to. He already has made his effort to witness Northen Polar Lights, the world wonder Aurora Borealis in Scandinavia. has set his foot steps in Latvia and Lithuania and also smallish Lichtenstein. has wondered around Egypt exploring Pyramids and temples. But probably the best of all has been to an exotic trip to Iceland and after all the planning he took all of us to another exotic place Canary Islands...Lei (The Summa-cum-Laude): "I like...I like...", Lei kept on displaying her interests one
after the other. "Flowers... I like, I like... lakes... I like, I like... Snow... I like, I like...."and the list goes on and on and on... "Is there anything that she does not like?", you start to wonder looking at an ever effervescent Lei. As you keep wondering, probably she keeps pondering about the assignment to be submitted/presentation to be prepared for the next week/month/year. Always focussed on things at hand, I did not take long to admire and appreciate why she is the Summa-cum-Laude of the class, a stupendous achievement indeed. For those who have more or less believed and obeyed minting the midnight Oil ahead of most of the exams, staying focussed all through the semester is an unknown virtue. But then some guys pass the course while others learn through the course and that's the key difference. Lei, to me, genuinely creates this difference in a positive way...
Group Picture in a Bedroom De RoyaleSuch an enthusiastic group meant the entire trip would be memorable for sure. Garmisch Partenkirchen is indeed one of the most exotic destinations on the German Austrian Border. Three castles (Herrenchiemsee, Frauenchiemsee and the famous Disney castle Neuschwanstein) built by (a mad) King Ludwig and the highest peak in Germany Zugspitze were the destinations of attraction. Catch more about sightseeing in this beautiful part of the world in the next part-II...
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* The city centers at the railway stations or city centers all over Europe have a Tourist Information Office and you can always plan your trip after reaching the venue. In my experience, I have not missed much on the way. Moreover, planning could be done sacrificing your work time and I am deadly against it. Work I believe has its own importance to maintain the equilibrium in life and I love to maintain it this way.
^ I call him Singaporean here only to give a true International flavor to the trip. He vehemently resisted it when I called him Singaporean for the first time. After knowing him for a while now, I have to take my words back. But then I soon realized that he calls himself Fifty-Fifty :-)
^ I call him Singaporean here only to give a true International flavor to the trip. He vehemently resisted it when I called him Singaporean for the first time. After knowing him for a while now, I have to take my words back. But then I soon realized that he calls himself Fifty-Fifty :-)
5 comments:
Sounds like an ideal bunch to travel with.
LOL! If rule no.1 was prudent, rule no.2 threw me off the chair! Damn funny! :-)
Before checking your blog, I wanted to ask you to prioritize canary islands first, while it is still fresh in our minds! :-)
Mridula:
Although the bunch is individually engrossed in varied PhD research topics, we all have a common PhD Goal. LoL :-)
It was a stellar international group to travel with. Just fantastic!!! It's a pity that I could not blog this trip because of time constraints earlier and I am yet to blog the 2nd part :-( You will see it soon.
All Participants: My sincere apologies...
Hari: Lots on the plate man. I have not yet blogged a)Spain; b)London; c)Scotland. For the moment, planning Scandinavia is the top most priority. But there is hell a lot to blog about Canary Islands and I will do it for sure. It's a promise. Only request is time.
Awesome Guru, I have been traveling in kerala (Wayanad)!
-Gattz
Gattz:
In the God's Own Country, Superb!!! Enjoy the back waters :-)
Guru
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