Overwhelming Oslo

When in school I read about the “Land of the Midnight sun”, I was fascinated by the thought of the Sun glowing at twelve in the night! Little did I know that I will be lucky enough to experience it!

After an exciting tour of Stockholm, it was time to visit Norway and its capital; Oslo. A five hour train ride from Goteburg central station got us to Oslo. We headed straight to our hostel. The hostel room was a small three-bedded enclosure with a television and a refrigerator. This was the first hostel, of all the hostels I have visited, which had a television and a refrigerator for a room. After a change of clothes, we hit the beautiful streets of Oslo. The Scandinavian cities have almost the same attire. When taking a stroll along the streets, one is unable to strike out any plausible difference. The cobbled streets, shops of all kinds on both sides of the streets, musicians playing, chairs laid out of the restaurants with people sipping coffee and chatting, the smell of delicious food, artists performing, the Red Indian band playing some great music from the Latin Americas, gives one a feeling of Déjà vu. The first place of interest we visited was the Akershus fortress, which is an old castle and was built to protect the city of Oslo. The Akersus fortress is a military Area and houses the Norwegian armed forces museum and the Norwegian resistance museum. The majority of us voted against spending (time and money) on the museums and instead walking around the fortress turned out to be a fun affair. We walked to the barracks on which a couple of old canons stood tall, then climbed one of the towers from were we got an eye catching view of the sea with boats and ships steaming across . In front of us stood a big cruise liner, in all its glitzy form. Looking at it one can only sense the excitement when cruising these gigantic cities on water. After a two hour stroll it was time to head to one of the islands which houses the great Viking ship museum.

Entering the museum, we were greeted by a huge Viking ship, standing in the centre of the museum. The Oseberg ship was built in 820 AD and excavated in 1904-05. From a layman’s point of view, this ship looked like any other ship, flat bellied with a simple bow and stern. However a closer look at the ship brought many exciting features to the fore. These ships although simple, where one of the strongest ships at sea in their era, and made Vikings the greatest conquerors they are known for today. The Viking ships were made of wood and had fine carvings across the hull. They were scientifically designed which made them weather the most dangerous of storms. The oar holes (15 pairs in Oseberg) were designed as such, so that they could be closed numerically to give stability to the ship. The more interesting part of these ships is they were used as graves once they were old. The bigger and grander the ship, the more prominent the grave it sheltered. The graves were filled with all types of jewelry, clothes and household things the person was attached to during his/her lifetime. A heap of wheat, fruits and the like were left on the grave, credence being the body would need it post death. The Oseberg carried the grave of one of the Viking queens’ whose body was found adorned in layers of fine blue silk, a symbol of great wealth and prominent personality. There were two other ships - the Tune and the Gokstad.

There is also an interesting fact on how the Oseberg ship was carried over from the site of its excavation to the museum. The ship when excavated was very fragile and torn, however extraordinarily heavy. It took hundreds of men to move the ship. Special stretch of rail tracks were laid out (around 100 meters in length) and once the ship had moved to the end of the rail another was brought and the ship dragged on to it. The ship was moved right through Oslo city which attracted large number of crowds. It almost took 90 days to move the ship to the museum. A sequential part by part movement of the ship is portrayed on the walls of the museum. This event is also famous for its ingenuity with which the ship was moved at that time without the modern tools available today. The museum also houses Viking artifacts, Viking clothes and other Viking memorabilia, most important of them being the sledges, which were used to carry the goods into the ships from the land, also know for its mechanics and carvings.

After a hefty Viking dose we went to the Vigeland sculpture park which houses 212 bronze and granite sculptures created by Gustav Vigeland. These sculptures stand along an 850 metres stretch and is divided into six sections: The main gate, the bridge, the children’s playground, the fountain, the monolith plateau and the wheel of life. The naked sculptures resemble humans in various ages, shapes and sizes and are open for an individual’s interpretation. As we walked along the 850 metres stretch, we could see a sculpture of a father and a son, mother feeding her son, grandfather playing with his grandsons, two women looking at each other, young girls flocking at something, two old women, two men fighting and a whole lot of other statues. Our favorite was a young angry bald boy with his arms slightly folded hanging an inch above his waist, one foot five inches above ground bent at the joint and the lips making a perfect ‘O’ in anger. And yes eyes wide open with eye balls popping out. The statues depict people engaging in various typically human pursuits such as running, wrestling, dancing, hugging, holding hands etc. In the centre is the Monolith, which is the most popular sculpture. It is around 15 metres high and comprises of 121 human figures knitted into one sculpture. The official theme of the monolith is ‘man’s desire to become closer with the spiritual and divine’ however I interpreted the monolith as ‘human values accepting child is at the top’. Crazy interpretation but this is what I could come up with. Words may not do justice to the sculptures but it provides a humorous artistic tour.

After this extraordinary sculpture tour we retired to a doze of a Bollywood flick ‘No enrty’.

Sightful Stockholm

Scandinavia had been in our radar for a long time and the thought of exploring the land of Vikings was always an exciting proposition. Although not the best time to visit Scandinavia (mid-September), Anoop, Shubhada and me embarked on a one week tour to know more about the beautiful cities of Stockholm, Oslo and Bergen.

The geographical location of Gotenberg makes it an ideal base for taking trains to Stockholm and Oslo. These cities are almost equidistant from Gotenberg. We took a morning train from Gotenberg to Stockholm. After a scenic five hour train journey, we reached Stockholm central station. Anoop, having been to Stockholm before, took the onus of becoming our unofficial guide. First stop was the City Hall. Stockholm City Hall is the building for municipal council of the city of Stockholm. It is made of red bricks and makes for a beautiful sight. It is also used as the banquet hall, which is held after the Nobel Prize award ceremony. After taking some pictures on the steps leading to the hall and at the beautiful courtyard following the hall, overseeing the sea, we moved to our next attraction, the Royal Palace. The Royal palace is the official residence of the Royal family of Sweden. It is one of the largest palaces in the world and consists of four main rows: western, southern, eastern and northern. The president of Brazil was visiting and we were able to catch a glimpse of his convoy. After making a couple of souvenir purchases from the Royal museum, we moved on to a restaurant for some lunch. On the way we spotted the Nobel Museum, a small building with nothing spectacular from the outside. As we had only a day for Stockholm, we skipped visiting the museum.

The Royal palace and the Nobel Prize museum are situated in the old town of Stockholm , which is

also famously known as Gamla Stan (the Old city). This town dates back to 13th century and consists of beautiful medieval architecture, cobbled streets and large alleys. It also houses the Stockholm Stock exchange building and is surrounded by old merchant’s houses. Little souvenir shops eloquently hosting Viking artefacts, chocolate shops, poster outlets and restaurants, gives a nice cosy feel to Gamla Stan and makes for a pleasurable walk in a medieval setting. By the time we finished walking along the streets of Gamla Stan, it was evening and time for us to take our train back to Gotenberg. Pausing at the National Museum, which is the national gallery of Sweden, for a brief moment, we made our way to the Central station.

On our way back, we talked of the famous Vasa museum we missed seeing and the more famous Stockholm archipelago, which consists of 24,000 islands. 10 hours is no justice to beautiful Stockholm, but we made the best of what Stockholm city had to offer.

Marvelous Madrid

When I arrived at Barajas airport at eleven in the night, I was expecting calm and quiet Madrid streets and a lonely tram ride to my hostel, considering it was a Thursday night. But surprise was in store for me, as I stood astounded on the bustling streets of Madrid. On my way to the hostel, I saw more people than I had seen in the entire stretch of my stay in Copenhagen. Music was in the air and I suddenly felt rejuvenation gushing into my veins and thoughts of a memorable holiday flashed before me. And a memorable holiday it was!

To be fresh for the next day, I called it a night. Next day the bright sun, which I have sorely missed seeing for the last month, literally injected life into some of my dead body cells. In anticipation of a good and healthy start to the trip (and this was the only day I did this), I went for a small jog. Somewhere, in a travelogue magazine, I had read, that the best way to explore a city was to go running in the morning, when the traffic is minimum and the air fresh.

Madrid is different from the Northern European countries I have visited. The typical tenacity of the classic European buildings which can be seen in Paris, Copenhagen, Rome etc were missing and in front of me stood modern high-rises, with wide streets, bustling in the early hours. Gone was the melancholic feeling, which one can get sometimes, when things are too systematic and everything is perfect. The streets of Madrid provided a refreshing change form the world which I have been living and which was too organized.

The afternoon was spent making a couple of trips to the airport (different story), however the night proved to be a perfect start to the trip. A couple of tour companies provide a pub crawl experience, where a group of tourists assemble and then hit a string of pubs and discos. It provides a good opportunity for people to get to know each other and there are discounts offered at the pubs. We started at nine and ended at four in the morning. In between, we had a couple of shots, numerous beers, some Martini's and danced quite a lot. At one of the pubs, people were dressed as cows. The nightlife in Madrid starts at one in the morning and when the night is at an end, pub tables become breakfast tables. When it struck four in the morning, our legs finally gave way and we made our way back to the hostel. The sheer number of people on the streets and in the pubs only authenticated Madrid's colourful nightlife.

Next morning we visited Santiago Bernabau (home of Real Madrid) stadium. The lit up faces of Sidharth and Anoop (Soccer fans) at the sight of the stadium was worth noticing. For Sidharth it was like the site of a holy pilgrimage. I was awed by the sheer magnitude of the ground and its stands. We made a round of the Real Madrid museum and learned some history of the Real Madrid team and the stadium itself. Having seen a couple of matches on television, I could just sense, what a pulsating moment it would be, to be one among the 80,400 spectators making Mexican waves and swearing at the top of one's voice.

Next stop was Puerta del Sol; also called as 'Kilometre Zero'. As the Spainards say, this is the Centre of Madrid and all directions start from here. It is one of the main squares of Madrid. Here also stands the famous statue of a Bear with a strawberry tree. From there, we walked to Parque del Retiro (Madrid's Central Park) and passed by a couple of Museums. It was time for dinner and so we inquired after an authentic Spanish restaurant. We found "Madrid Madrid" where we tried assorted Tapas (starters), some Sangria (Spanish drink made of red wine and fruit juice; highly recommended) and Bocadillo (Spanish sandwiches).

The phrase in the television advertisements ‘Madrid only happens in Madrid’ sounded so true!

And it starts with Beautiful Berlin!! (December 22 – 26)

Expatriating to Denmark brought a lot of goodies with it. The obvious weather change from the hot 35 degrees of Cochin to cool 8 degrees of Copenhagen, the pleasant walks across tranquil neighbourhoods and not to mention GATEWAY to beautiful and historic cities of Europe.

Coming to Copenhagen I had decided to explore each and every opportunity of staying at a place from where world would be much closer than it was, and the Christmas holidays gave me the required heads up!!

Me and my friend Kirti were sitting and making some Indian dinner when we starting planning our Christmas holidays. That is when we decided on travelling to a new city instead of sitting at home. This led to a little bit of googleing and then Berlin was zeroed in!! We booked our flights on Sterling.DK (they have some really cheap flights) and accommodation at Pegasus Hostel (can be found on Hostelbookers.com or hostelworld.com) and we were set for Deutschland.

Debouching from the Alt Tempelhof airport at 2130 hrs we picked up a map from the tourist information counter and stepped in Deutschland. Our hostel was located in Parisar Kommune which meant we had to take a metro till Ostbahnhof. The train system in Germany is simple with two types of metro’s called the S-Bahn and U- Bahn (http://s-bahn-berlin.de/) with tracks divided into different lines distinguished by different colours. Navigation is easy as these lines have different start and end destinations with interchange at various stations.

We reached Pegasus Hostel (www.pegasushostel.de) and were surprised to see a big building decorated with lights. The hostel was clean and the dormitories were spacious with comfy beds and clean baths. It had free internet and a kitchen were we could try our culinary skills. This was more than what we had asked for. The hostel also offered a free walking tour around the City and was a point of pick up for major guided tours. Having a Falafel for dinner in a nearby Turkish restaurant we planned our next day and set ourselves to explore the city with a brutal yet intriguing history.

Day One started with a bit of breakfast shopping at the nearby supermarket. We were surprised to see Maggi (you can call it noodles for Indians) and couldn’t hold ourselves from going straight to the hostel kitchen and cook some of it. After a nice breakfast we stood at the reception for our tour guide to pick us for an eventful day. The guide arrived on time and we accompanied her to Unter Den Linden - meeting point for other tourists taking the guided tour. The guided tour which we took is being operated by a tour company called Newberlin (www.newberlintours.com). Newberlin offers a free walking tour around the city and the guides generally work on tips. They also provide selected tours to Sachsenhausen – One of the concentration camps, pub crawl- a late night pub hopping in Berlin and other selected tours for reasonable prices.

Kirti and myself had initially planned to take the free walking tour on the first day and Sachsenhausen the next day. But call it luck we happened to ask our guide on the best days to visit Sachsenhausen and we were told that today was the only day Sachsenhausen was open during Christmas. So we narrowly missed not seeing one of the places which was one of Hitler’s machinations of Death.

Sachsenhausen is situated to the North of Berlin and we had to take the S1 line from Unter Den Linden towards Oranienburg which is also the station where we had to alight for Sachsenhausen. From Oranienburg it is a fifteen minute walk to Sachsenhausen. It was a cold and windy day, so instead of walking we took a bus to get us to our destination with our sweet tour guide Penn from Australia.

Sachsenhausen was a concentration camp operating between 1936 and April 1945. It was named after the Sachsenhausen quarter part of the town of Oranienburg. This concentration camp was the brain child of Heinrick Himmler- the right hand man of Adolf Hitler and the leader of the SS (Schutzstaffel – Protective Squadron) army. Sachsenhausen was mainly a concentration camp where later a part was added for execution. On the front entrance of the gates of Sachsenhausen is written ‘ Arbeit Macht Frei (Work makes you free). So this camp was basically built for slave labour where the Jews, political prisoners, homosexuals, the Juhava’s witnesses and many more were tortured and made to work in the most dreadful conditions. It was in April 20-21, 1945 when the allied forces had occupied most of Berlin and were heading towards the camp when Heinrick Himmler sent a dictum to the camp supervisor “Gather all your stock and head westward”. Stock was meant for the camp detainees. At that very moment some 33,000 detainees who were exhausted from malnutrition and beastly treatment were gathered and made to march - also called as the Death March. The weak and the frail were shot as they were slowing the others. After 13 days when the allied forces were able to catch up with these prisoners, more than three quarters were already dead and the bodies were lying all along the path. The Nazi guards accompanying the prisoners had abandoned them and fled.

After receiving this pre-entrance doze of history from Penn we entered the gates of Sachsenhausen through which some 200,000 prisoners had made entry but less the five percent had made exit. Argus-eyed I looked at a big compound where some blocks and structures could be seen. These blocks and buildings are a part of the reconstruction effort as most of this camp was bombed by the allied forces in 1945. Sachsenhausen was made on a theory called ‘Geometry of control’ which was based on the idea of controlling maximum prisoners with minimum number of guards. The camp was made in the shape of a triangle and the tip of the triangle was a building which housed a machine gun which could point to each and every Barrack(blocks where the prisoners resided). With this one machine gun literally the whole camp could be monitored. The prisoners were given different coloured triangles to be worn at all the times. This triangles were to distinguish the types and kinds of prisoners (like Jews, political prisoners etc). The barracks were the residence for the prisoners and each barrack housed some 700-800 prisoners with a block elder acting as the supervisor for that Barrack. Each and every morning the prisoners were lined up for roll calls and until and unless each and every prisoner was counted for, everyone had to stay. Then the prisoners were given there work details for the day. Legend has it - the longest a roll call went, was for seventeen hours and in the famous words of Pen ‘Just imagine what it would be standing in 2 degrees without a thermal underwear and vest , wearing a garment made of thick cloth!!’ and true we couldn’t imagine it as wearing a fleece and a long overcoat with a thermal cap and gloves – I was still shivering from the cold and that day the temperature was around 5 degrees!!

Moving from the entrance we passed through the reconstruction of barracks, the shooting place where the shooting squad performed their activities, the gallows, the tower which has been built in memory of those who lost their lives in this place, to station Z which was built to execute the prisoners in different ways, to the jails which were built for the notorious prisoners, to the site where Stalin’s oldest son was kept as a prisoner and later lost his life , to the small hospital where brutal medical experiments were carried on and finally the block where the bodies were kept to be sent to the furnace. A prisoner’s journey in Sachsenhausen started from Station A and ended at Station Z which resembled journey from the roll calls to the gallows.

History also has it that Hitler’s chief officer of the SS army was captured by the Russian forces and Stalin’s oldest son (a lieutenant in the Russian army) was a prisoner at Sachsenhausen. So Hitler wanted to trade Stalin’s oldest son for his officer. In the famous words - Stalin replied; ‘ I would not trade a lieutenant for an officer’.

Call it an irony but as Germany was getting ready to host the 1936 Olympics, at this northern side of Berlin a place for mass torture was being built in 1936. Sachsenhausen provided a model for all the modern concentration camps and was the control centre for a lot of concentration camps. Coming out of the gates of Sachsenhausen we were told by Pen – Genocides have been happening from ages and still continues , Hitler only added the word ‘Technology’ to it!!

Trying to be impassive we walked out for Oranienburg station for Unter Den Linden. Alighting at Unter Den Linden and coming to the streets decorated with Christmas lights helped me to unwind myself from the walk in history and return to the present. We went around the dazzling lights and beautiful decorations on the roads to the lively Christmas markets offering irresistible candies.

After spending two hours on the streets of Unter Den Linden, I walked back to Pegasus hostel wondering what Berlin had in offer for Day Two and the valuable history lessons I would take back as memories.