As arranged Christo and Mohammed
arrived at the hotel as I was having breakfast. After they had had their coffee
and juice we left for the parking lot with the luggage. The parking lot
attendant had got the car cleaned as promised and she was looking bright and
smart for the rest of Europe. The payment of nearly Euro 50 for parking and 490
Korunas for cleaning were paid and we were authorised to move out of the
garage. After the luggage was put in and the windshield cleaned we had Christo
and Mohammed affixing the green stickers on Czech Republic. The two were to
guide us without any hassle on to the highway. In fact, we did roam around
quite a bit, 90 minutes in the city including fuelling, before we safely hit
the highway to Brno. Time went by quickly with pleasant chatter with the two
new companions on the drive. En route we stopped at a McDonald’s outlet for
Christo and Mohammed to have breakfast while Lal and I settled for a coffee. However,
I was soon tempted by a cheese cake and had that with the coffee. Soon we were
back on the highway and Brno was reached soon enough. Mohammed guided us to a
shopping mall from where would say our goodbyes. It is not easy in such moments
and is difficult to hold back emotions and tears. The swelling of the former in
the mind found expression in the large drops that wet the cheeks. I do wonder in
such times as to when I will meet these good souls again, and if ever will. And
what did I do to deserve such good friends and their hospitality?
Anticipating that fuel in Austria
would be expensive I tanked up in the last fuel station of the Czech Republic
near the border. After crossing over to Austria I stopped at a fuel station
near the border and bought the Toll Card. The weather was bright and sunny and
the roads were made to transit responsibly fast. I connected up with the
telephone service provider in Austria and stayed in regular touch with Thomas,
with who we were to stay in Vienna. The Navigator was tasked with leading us to
the house of Thomas on Kliviengasse in Vienna. I am most thankful to Manoj in
Warsaw to have insisted that we carry the equipment with us. Thomas had asked
me to let him know when I was nearing Vienna so that he could guide us from the
highway to his house. But, the Navigator did a star turn – it led us directly
to the door step of Thomas without any hassle. He too was quite surprised to
see us there without having to micro manage our passage to his house. I parked
the car inside the house compound and we offloaded the required luggage to the
rooms provided for us. Thomas has been in Vienna for nearly three decades and
works with the International Atomic Energy Agency of the UN. His wife Ancamma
has been working in a hospital near their house for nearly three decades. Both of
them made us feel completely at home in a short while and cooked us a hot steak
meal, which we feasted on as if there would be no tomorrow! I decided on a
short snooze before venturing out for a driving tour of the City.
Thomas had coordinated a meeting
with Malayalees at the Prosi store at 7.30 pm. To keep that appointment we had
about three hours at our disposal. Thomas had been requested to get the car
along to the Prosi store. So we did the city driving in her too. The railway
station from where deportees were sent to concentration camps from Vienna is
very close to Thomas’ house. After having been to Auschwitz the sight of the
railway station made me imagine what it would have looked like in 1940-42.
The assassination of Archduke
Franz Ferdinand and his wife had set off WWI. We were in Vienna on the 100th
anniversary of the sad event. The drive through the City brought home the might
of the Hapsburgs. The Hapsburgs moved their base to the Duchy of Austria in the
13th century. Till the 18th century the Hapsburgs ruled
and continuously expanded their base through ‘convenient’ marriage alliances
and annexations. To understand the influence they had over the centuries it
must be known that they ruled Austria, Germany, the Holy Roman Empire, Sicily,
Naples, Hungary, Croatia, Spain, Bohemia, Portugal, Empire of Mexico and many
other smaller principalities. It was their might that saw the passage of
history for over 600 years in Europe. Vienna is one of the principal places of
that influence. In the short time that we had we could just flavour what would
require at least a week of intense visit to cover. We did a whirlwind tour of
the Hofburg, which was the Hapsburg Monarch’s Palace. Thomas explained to us
very vividly the story of the sculpture of the horse and the horseman, which had
to be corrected after it was cast to be placed where it is now. Thereafter we
walked through the colonnaded archway to the Art History Museum and the Museum
of Natural History. The Michaeler Platz fascinated me and I could have stayed
there for the rest of the evening. The fountains, buildings, horse drawn
carriages and the Roman ruins that were excavated in 1990 all lent their charm
to wonderful Platz. We headed to Zanoni for the special Viennese ice cream. It was
every bit as delicious as it was said to be. The St Stephen’s Cathedral was awe
inspiring and is the seat of the Archbishop of Vienna. Its history spans over 800
years. The brilliant spires and towers magnify the surrounding landscape. After
that we just had enough time to take the inner ring road and pass the Parliament,
Rathaus (the Governor’s Palace) and the City Park. Neither the Danube nor the
Schonbrun Palace could be enjoyed. Well, some things have to wait for another
visit.
By time we reached Prosi a fair gathering
of Malayalees had collected. The next half hour was consumed by photographs and
affixing of the sticker for Austria, which was done by Thmas and Prince. The latter,
as his name aptly suggests, is an extremely flourishing businessman in Austria
and their CSR activities span Continents. He and two of his brothers, of whom
Sirosh is an influential politician too (he is President of the Oversees Indian
Congress), have built up the business brick by brick over the years and still
is in the process of expansion. I was most moved by their efforts to build shelters
for the disadvantaged all over the world. The felicitation function was grandly
organised over a meal of tapioca, chicken curry, yam and an African dish that
had dried fish and meat (yummy). Rosogollas were also at hand to wind up the
meal sweetly. The goodbyes took some time and it was quite late by the time we
got back home. Elbin and Glory had returned home by the time we reached there.
Elbin had been to help a friend shift home. Glory is doing her graduate studies
in Civil Engineering. We chatted for a while before calling it a day and promised
to celebrate Glory’s birthday the next morning.
Lovely Descriptions!! I miss you...
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