The Great European Escape!!!

Is it possible to pull off a 25 day holiday in the midst of busy season especially if you are not getting married or attending any unavoidable events (and especially if you’re a Chartered Accountant working with the big 4)- Most of you would not even bother to try for the leave just for fear of rejection. However to all the naysayers, I just pulled off the coup of all coups last year and two things is all it took- putting in a leave request three months in advance and high levels of efficiency to ensure all work is completed before you disappear. And when you have a 25 day Euro trip planned- I can assure you the motivation and efficiency levels skyrocket.

This trip was by far- the coolest thing I have done for myself. A completely self sponsored pampering holiday. There were friends who were green with envy that their honeymoons had not lasted as long as my proposed holiday. And to travel without your father’s credit card and explore new places, people and languages with friends is just an incredible experience every person should live through before they get married or totally screwed at work.

And its impossible to talk about the trip without mentioning the phases:-
Phase 1: An idea is born
Growing up, Bunty (my rakhi brother) , Neha (best bud) and me made a pact that no matter where each one of us would be , we would make it to each other’s weddings. Of course at age 15 you really don’t envision that one of you would get married in Scandinavia. Nevertheless, a pact is a pact and you have to honour it. Hence, Lasse (Neha’s Danish boyfriend) proposed to Neha in February 2011 and ever since then I was after his life to decide the wedding dates.

March 2011- The thought of deciding a wedding date soon after the engagement was alien to a Dane but nonetheless he came through and the date was set for 6 August 2011. Bunty and me then sat to task to wonder how to budget the trip and which other countries we should cover other than Denmark. We also had to fathom how we would tolerate each other the entire trip which was when we decided to make it a month long trip and invite a couple of friends.
April 2011- The destinations were decided- London, Berlin, Budapest, Prague, Paris, Amsterdam and Denmark (the wedding location). Then , followed the huge task of convincing Bunty and my parents to allow us to blow up cash on such an extravagant trip. Also- we had to pacify the bride-to-be that we would be in Denmark for atleast five days (so much for claiming that the main focus of the Euro trip was her wedding)

May 2011- Nirav (Bunty’s best friend ) and me were completely immersed in our hectic schedules at work putting all the onus of planning the trip on my unwilling but unemployed brother. Hence, an Excel sheet was conceptualized and implemented- complete with a color scheme for every city, must cover spots courtesy ‘trip advisor.com’, mode of travel, type of hostel and the whole nine yards. Our credit card numbers were handed over to Bunty as he would complete the online hostel bookings and it was not rare that I would be sitting in a meeting with a message flashing on my phone-Rs 25,000 debited!!! Of course- my brother didn’t consider it necessary to inform me before using my card.

June 2011- The Visa process.
The most annoying bit of holding an Indian passport is the tedious visa procedures you are subjected to. Since, I was flying to London as well as Europe unlike the others- I had the UK Visa process to deal with which I assure you is about as easy as getting found in the Bermuda Triangle. My all knowing friend Ivan- shared his top summary sheet he prepared for the UK Embassy which pretty much encompassed everything they would want to know- purpose of visit, who I would be visiting (my sister), how much money I had in my bank account, all my investments, proof of being a law abiding tax return filing citizen, duration of stay, whether my sister was a law abiding citizen….. phew!!! I even went a step further and gave references of backup documents attached complete with post-its. And you would think- this would be enough- but no-they advised me that before sending the papers, it would be best if I also attached my sister’s employment contract. (Apparently, the work permit and the sponsor letter on her company letterhead does not suffice as proof that she is not an illegal immigrant). Anyway, the day after I submitted my papers to the UK embassy – there was a report in the papers about how the embassy had started taking longer time to process the visas- almost 5 weeks up from 3 weeks. Due to this factor being non-existent at the time of planning- this meant 5 weeks would mean the day I was supposed to fly out!!! And to make things better- my agent had advised me to get the UK Visa before applying for the Schengen….oh darn!!!! However, the British came through for me and my visa arrived within 3 weeks saving me from a medically fatal situation. My Schengen too arrived 5 days before my travel date.

The verdict-

London was exciting and with an infectious buzz that encapsulates you. I escaped the riotous side of it by three weeks (what brilliant timing!). What I got to witness was fabulous English summer weather, the river Thames cruise, the Bank of England sports day, brilliant stand -up comedy, over the top musicals, Shakespearean plays at the Globe, shopping at a time when everything and a sock is on 65-70% reductions (those numbers are plain music to a girl’s ears), delicious fish and chips at traditional British pubs, travelling through the amazingly well connected underground i.e the tube, the vintage old taxis, traditional big red sightseeing buses and the well known sights around the city.

Berlin was sleepy by day but very aptly christened as Europe’s party capital. There were serpentine lines outside nightclubs and each club had a designated dress code which had to be followed to the tee. There were clubs that had a strict casual dress code and anyone in heels or too much make up was thrown out (which means most of the people anyway). Berliners are a creative lot and the city is full of graffiti sprayed all across. We visited beer gardens and did sightseeing on a cycle. The beer (Guiness, Rahler,etc)was one of the best and where else do you get to a club to party at 1 am and leave post breakfast (Pune Commissioner of Police- can we do away with the 11.30p.m deadline)!!!
Prague and Budapest – the poorer cousins by virtue of being in Eastern Europe and not having an economy strong enough for the Euro. Both countries were gorgeous and their architectural beauty -unparalleled. The brilliance of the cities - Towering castles which made me feel like I had been transported into a Hans Christen Anderson fairytale, quaint cobbled streets , busy squares in the middle of town, cheap casinos, pub crawls, overpowering bascilicos and cathedrals, appetizing goulash, drunken favourites like the Becherovka and Abscinth and the rightly famous medicinal Turkish hot spring baths.
We stayed in a party hostel in Budapest which was very conveniently located by my brother. The rules of a party hostel are as follows:-you do not need to worry about where to party as the hostel manager decides the activities for the evening and the right spots to hit. The evening’s schedule was listed out on a blackboard in the middle of the hostel and the gang left at sharp 8 pm daily. I admit that I was a tad bit scandalized on seeing women completely passed out in their negligees when we arrived at 7 am for checking in. The guys were of course thrilled at this lovely welcoming sight! Hmph!!
Our Prague hostel – the Mosaic House on the other hand was better than a 5 star hotel in India. For under 40 euros a night- this place was the best bargain we got on our entire trip. The rooms were so beautifully done up in passionate red and candles with the only down side being I was sharing it with my brother.

Paris- the romantic city. I conclude that the Eiffel Tower is definitely not overrated. (The tiny Mona Lisa most definitely is) It is pure magic to watch the Eiffel by night in all its illumination and see it sparkle every hour and to watch hopeless romantics propose to their loved ones all around you. Love is in the air and that’s where you feel it the most. Other than the Eiffel , the Louvre and Napoleon’s Tomb, the Sacre Couer, the cathedral located on the highest point of Paris has a breathtaking view of Paris and attending its Sunday mass and hearing the church choir is not to be missed. Paris had its share of quaint artsy villages with caricaturists , sketch artists and various other craftsmen and street performers. Word of caution though, the city is expensive as hell and the size of our hostel room resembled a slum in Dharavi. With our heights varying in the range of 5’10 to 6’3- the three of us could not be standing at any point of time together. Thus, one person was always assigned to the bunk bed to enable free mobility.

Amsterdam- The city of Heinekin beer, ‘coffee’shops and casinos, this place impressed with its canals and parks and incredible food. Best explored on a cycle, the sights were many. Contrary to the image I had in mind, Amsterdam had a lot of family tourists. The red light district was a novelty and photography is strictly prohibited anywhere in the area. The coffee shops are for the adventurous. Yours truly tried the space brownie from the famed Bulldog café but sadly- there was no impact. I even did the Anne Frank House tour for two hours post the brownie.

Denmark- The thumb rule of Scandinavia- the closer you get to Scandinavian countries, the more expensive everything gets. This is true of Denmark- atrociously expensive and affordable to only those who earn a living there. This was our final destination and since my brother had blown up 200 Euros at the Amsterdam casino- we were on a shoestring budget for the last five days of our trip. As if financial constraints were not tough, Bunty and me even missed our connecting flight to Aarhus from Copenhagen (this being our most expensive flight ticket-Rs 10,000 approximately). What followed was- dramatic pleas with the airport management who refused to budge saying it was not their fault that the terminal gates were so far away, exchanging our last precious Euros and getting a piddly rate in Kroner, getting onto a train journey that was three hours long with no money for food or water. We finally reached our destination at 6 pm (instead of 1 pm) and pounced upon the Indian meal prepared by Aunty like ravenous pigs. From then on, we got busy with wedding preparations and what a wedding it was- tasteful, classy, lots of alcohol and wine, 4 course meal, a live band, just 60 guests (which by Danish standards is a big wedding) and dancing till 4 am. And with this- my trip came to a close.

Key Elements of Understanding based on my Euro trip
- Its not a backpacking trip unless you book yourself in youth hostels ( some of them even better than 4 star hotels in India) and do not be lazy and use a travel agent. Do bookings online.
- Try all forms of travel – do the Euro rail, the Euro lines (bus), rent a car and drive around the countryside, fly the internal cheap airlines (that fleece you on baggage check in and printing of boarding passes) and be ready for loads of walking.
- Carry all medicines with you as even Strepsils cost almost Rs 500!! But you can never carry enough medicines (yours truly battled a sty in Amsterdam ) In such cases, you just render yourself to Murphy.
- You will be mistaken for Brazilian/Columbian/ Spanish (everything but an Indian) and no one will be able to pronounce your name unless your Catholic. To make it easier, my name for all local purposes became Bianca.
- Do not over plan or over think. Perfect trips are no fun. Hence, I look past missing my most expensive flight (Copenhagen to Aarhus) despite being at the airport but wrong gate, shelling out 100 pounds for 5 kilos of excess baggage from London to Berlin (after fighting with a mule of an attendant), missing breakfast time and surviving till lunch on chips and yogurt, gambling unsuccessfully and losing 100 euros in a sitting, losing my friends for over an hour at Champs de Elysses, Paris, Lufthansa misplacing my baggage amongst other things.


However, this is the stuff that great memories and great trips are made of.