DAY 65 – 19 August 2014; In Den Haag

While planning the journey I had identified Almaty and Amsterdam as the locations where the car would be serviced on the basis that I estimated 10,000 kms from Cochin to Almaty and a similar distance from there to Amsterdam. The first leg was almost bang on target and Almaty is where the first oil change and attention to the car was given, except for a check up in the Ford Service Centre in Kathmandu. I had asked Musthafa to check if the car could be serviced at the Ford dealership in Den Haag. He found out that the dealership would not be free for another month to do the servicing! However, they wanted to see the car that had been driven into the city from India! I was not too keen to indulge their curiosity and requested Musthafa to locate a private garage where a check up and oil changes could be done. Accordingly Musthafa arranged to have the car attended to in Garage Archipel, owned and operated by Erik Jankie, a Surinamese Dutch of Indian origin. I took the car there after breakfast and explained what had to be done. Erik was more than willing to get all the checks done and requested an hour and half for oil change, change of brake pads, wipers and filters as well as topping up coolant and brake fluid. When I got the car back somewhat later than had been originally thought possible Erik had also topped up air pressure. He had done a thorough job and it cost Euro 245 for materials and labour. He also gave me a special gift, on behalf of his business, as I was leaving.

Bernie Chettan and Kamalamma Chechi had come to the hotel with Rajesh to pick us up. Rajesh works as a scientist in Holland, and so does his wife. He was going to be with us for the day to take us around the sights of Dan Haag and Amsterdam. The six of us fitted quite comfortably into Rajesh’s Ford Galaxy. He drives a manual transmission since it gives him better control and involvement in the driving process, he said. Musthafa had booked online for a tour of the Peace Palace last evening. Since we had come to Den Haag late we missed the appointment. So today we visited the Peace Palace, but to be seen only from the outside. The Peace Palace was born out of the shared value that justice leads to peace and peace leads to justice. This value forms the essence of the two courts that function from the Palace: The International Court of Justice and the Permanent Council of Arbitration. Over more than 100 years the Peace Palace has become a universal symbol for peace through justice. While armed violence in many parts of the world is reality conflicts are resolved peacefully in the Palace too. Just outside the Palace is the World Peace Flame, which was created in July 1999 from seven flames from five Continents. The World Peace Pathway around it was created in April 2004 by the cooperation and solidarity of 196 countries, a list of them is engraved in copper and set on the edge of the pathway. The Palace also houses the largest library on International Law, where International Law knowledge is not only collected but also disseminated among students all over the globe.

The street which houses the Museum Beedlen Aan Zee has interesting and vivid sculptures displayed. Despite the heavy and cold drizzle Lal and I ventured a walk to appreciate them. The colourful leaning strawberry cake, man feeding seagull, headbutting Zidane and many pieces of modern art are displayed in the open and are exposed to the elements.

Den Haag (The Hague) is the seat of government, Legislature, Supreme Court and the State Council of Holland. It is the administrative capital of the country but, constitutionally, the country’s capital is Amsterdam.  Den Haag is the third most populous city of Holland, with Amsterdam and Rotterdam being the other two. Den Haag is home to more than 150 embassies and international organisations such as Europol (European Police Office), International Criminal Court and European Patent Office. The King has his residence in Den Haag. The city also has an impressive array of modern, but aesthetically designed high rise buildings.

By 2 pm we were suitably hungry and keen to have lunch. Musthafa suggested a place close to where the car was parked. The restaurant was busy and hence, we moved in search of another. Not far from there was the Seleraku restaurant that specialised in Indonesian food. Te pleasant lady explained the various rice dishes over a couple of beers. I had the Nasi SeleraKu Special, which had steamed rice with chicken, stir fired greens, satay and some curry. It was wholesome. After lunch it was decide that we would drive to Amsterdam. On the way Chechi and Chettan were dropped off at the Schipol airport, from where they would take a train to Hengelo. Being with them for 3 days gave me the comfort of family away from home. The informal and loving couple, who first came into my life in 1995, have remained steadfast in my heart over the past 20 years.

The Zaanse Schans is one of the highlights of Holland, which is situated just outside the City of Amsterdam. Musthafa guided us to the Museum on our way to Amsterdam. It just so happened that we fell in love with the Heritage and spent more time than was scheduled at the place. One can be a part of the vibrant and stunning living and working community that dates to the 18^th and 19^th centuries. The Heritage village is packed with wooden windmills, barns, houses, museums, which were built in the typically Dutch wooden architectural style and relocated to this site piece by piece since 1961. A visit to the site requires at least half a day to appreciate the traditional clog, cheese and chocolate making. By the time we had dodged the intermittent rain, ogled at the diamond clog and sampled the many varieties of cheese and chocolate and reached the windmills they had all closed for the day. That was mighty disappointing. The Dutch watch museum was open and the keeper of the place shared with me what is generally said in Holland: While the Dutch have clocks, Belgians have all the time!

We reached Amsterdam in pouring rain. When Rajesh parked the car in the public garage he advised us to carry all valuables with us. Car brake ins in garages are common, lamenting after the fact does not help! Lugging a leather bad in heavy drizzle is not a pleasant experience. It was cold too. However, in a quick one hour walk I experienced the famous Damstraat, which pulls thousands of tourists to her every year, the Canal Street with its famous Red District (on the wane with active government support), Peep shows and Marijuana bars (there is a Cannabis College too!), Grand Central railway station and the Amstel River. I had been to the City in 1996 and 1999; the city had changed so much since then – it had become more congested. I remember buying a ticket for a train to Maastricht in 1996 with the pass available for railway staff from other countries. I waited outside the designated train on the platform. A minute to departure the gates closed and soon the train accelerated off the platform. I was left with my jaws agape for I had expected some commotion like it happens on Indian platforms prior to departure of a train – loud announcements, people frantically running to get to their compartments and the Guard waving a flag. None of that happened and I was left standing all alone on the platform. The counter clerk understood my predicament and changed the ticket for a later train without any charge. The city had, I do not know if it persists, a tradition of the Heineken horse drawn carriage going around every day at a designated time of the day. During my stay in the city in 1996 I followed the cart and landed up at the erstwhile Heineken factory, which was then a museum. A 2 Guilder entrance fee gave me an insight into beer making and, most importantly, unlimited beer, cheese and crackers for as long as I could drink or till the museum closed.

Rajesh drove me back to the Novotel Hotel en route to his home in Eindhoven. He gave me interesting insights into the working environment in Holland, which he was thoroughly enjoying. Lal stayed back with Musthafa in Amsterdam for some more time since Lal was visiting the city for the first time and wanted to experience the Canal Cruise. I was keen to meet the deadline with my cot at 9.30 pm!

DAY 64 – 18 August 2014; Hengelo to Den Haag

I had gone to bed the previous night with the intention of getting up early to update the posts on the blog. It was done as intended over the many cups of coffee that Chechi made for me. When we get to the house of a friend or family we look to get clothes washed in the washing machine. When I get two days in a place I use shampoo and the wash basin of the hotel room and hang them to dry either in the bathroom or the window sill. It is tricky using the window sill. In Kaunas one such effort landed up in the balcony downstairs. The receptionist could not quite understand when I explained how it landed there, but she helped me retrieve it! Lal and I had accumulated a sizable number of soiled clothes and the previous evening Chechi had helped us get through with them in the machine. In the morning I folded them for the backpack.

Chettan had mentioned that we could leave after 9 am for Giethoorn, once the gardener had been given suitable instructions. Another condition was the weather. Though it was drizzling and overcast we decided to set course for Giethoorn. Prior to departure two families in the neighbourhood came and wished us well. The bags were loaded in the car, the house locked and we left after keying in the address in the Navigator. While getting out of Hengelo we did discard the suggestions given by the Navigator. Once we hit the highway we followed the ‘lady’ like a lamb.

In a couple of hours we were in Giethoorn. It rained heavily on the way and heavy drizzle continued to dodge an otherwise pleasant day. Giethoorn is referred to as the “Venice of the North” or “Venice of Netherlands”. In the past the village was free of cars for it had no roads. The large network of canals and over 180 bridges made the village famous, especially after the 1958 comedy film, “Fanfare”. It is said that the canals were formed by unearthing peat. The opening and closing of the canal bridges itself is an act to appreciate – the precision and smooth operation with least inconvenience and hold up to either the road user of the water user. The canals are kept absolutely clean and non-polluting. Only battery operated boats can operate in the waters there; charging points are provided at designated locations. The village was founded around the mid 13^th century by fugitives from the Mediterranean region, the locals recollect. The name of the village comes from the large number of goat horns found by early settlers of the village, perhaps the aftermath of a 10^th century flood.

The best way to appreciate the canal system and the life around the place is by a canal cruise or a boat hired from one of the many canal-side restaurants. The cruise was meant to start at 12.15 pm. One had got used to the punctuality of Europe, but in the instant case the cruise operator delayed departure till they were able to get a decent ‘population’ of tourists on board. The covered wooden boat was comfortable and a cup of coffee was included in the fare, as it was advertised. The ride was thoroughly enjoyable; it was peaceful because the boats glided along the waters much like the ducks and swans in it – they are called ‘whisper boats’. The only ‘noise’ was the commentary of the guide. The narrow canals, low wooden bridges, thatched houses, small pretty gardens and the healthy environment could be appreciated during the cruise. Even now many houses in the village can be reached only by boat.

Intermittent heavy rain robbed us of the opportunity to explore the fascinating village any more than the canal cruise. In heavy rain we left for Den Haag. Musthafa, Lal’s friend, was in constant contact with us over the past month. It was through him that Chettan and Chechi had come to know of the journey. He is based in Rijswijk, near Den Haag. We reached his house for an evening lunch! Musthafa, his wife Shihana, son Aditya and friend Rouf received us with a bouquet of flowers. Before we partook of the excellent Biriyani lunch – Musthafa’s passion is cooking – the two families helped affix green stickers on Holland, which signified that we had just 4 more countries to go.

Musthafa had organised a get together of the Indian Diaspora at the Gandhi Centre of the Indian Embassy. We reached the Centre by 6.30 pm and met the Director of the Centre, Mr Vinay Choubey. The Centre operates from an erstwhile church building. After a cup of tea and snacks the formal part of the evening got underway. The session was highly interactive with participants very keen to know details of the journey. I took them through some of our experiences and shared the planning process. Many in the group expressed keenness to undertake such road adventures. Photo sessions were many and so were small group interactions after closure of the formal meeting. It was interesting to know that the country is home to over 250,000 Surinamese, who are basically of Indian origin. When the former Dutch colony won Independence more than half the population opeted to relocate to Holland! Similar was the case with Indonesia.

Musthafa had arranged accommodation in the Novotel Hotel in Den Haag. Chettan, Chechi, Musthafa and his family and Rouf accompanied us to the Hotel. After checking in we walked to a nearby Italian restaurant for dinner. Over a couple of beers I had a huge portion of spaghetti with ham and cheese. I reconnected with the spaghetti dinner Fr had made us in Benefeld – the taste of the sauce he had made still lingers on the palate. I was showing signs of a mild allergy through dinner. I came back to the room, had a strong anti-allergy tablet and hit the sack without any care in the world.

DAY 63 – 17 August 2014; Aarhus to Hengelo

As usual the condition of the road from Aarhus to Hengelo was excellent. In these parts of the world a pot hole on the road is not something they are familiar with. Besides, for the speeds permitted will not permit the road to be badly maintained. Therefore, the construction and maintenance of the infrastructure has to be given due importance; deviations from top quality specs should not be permitted. The speed with which infrastructure is created in Europe and even in many parts of Asia is also amazing. Speed does not, however, compromise quality. Just after we left Aarhus at 8 am it started raining. It rained almost right through the drive. But the heaviest was till we reached Bremen. The downpour was heavy and visibility was greatly impacted. However, the condition of the road and lane discipline made sure that traffic kept going at speeds above 110 kmph. Once the rains eased up the road congestion in Germany slowed down traffic to a crawl in many places. Obviously it was on account of holiday makers returning home after a fun weekend; schools and universities were scheduled to open in a few days. Considering the condition of the road I should have covered the 650 kms in 5 hours and some according to the Navigator. It took me 8 hours with stoppages for fuelling, snacks, lunch and the traffic snarls. In the time we traversed from Denmark to Germany and then to The Netherlands – the 23^rd country in our journey.

One of the stand out features in Denmark is the windmills which leverage the extremely windy conditions in the country. I was given to understand that Denmark generates 28% of its energy requirements from wind power and there is a major ongoing programme to increase its share to 50% by 2020. This makes Denmark the World’s Wind Power Hub. The vision is to make Denmark free of fossil fuel dependent energy generation by 2050! The vision is based on availability, sustainability and economics. The clean energy is also an export earner for Denmark.

I came to know Kamalamma Chechi and Bernie Chettan, both Doctors, when I was at the London School of Economics in 1995-96. Chechi is a senior cousin and my mother had given me the contact when I was leaving India for London. The family ties are so strong that from the first call to them I felt as if I had known them all my life. Later I met them in Cambridge, where Chettan’s nephew was studying, and came to know them better. Chettan sent me a muffler for 1995 Christmas that remained an inalienable companion till a good friend lost it in Germany a few years later. When I was deputed by Container Corporation of India in 1999 for a training course to Nijmegan, The Netherlands my wife and I stayed for a day with Chettan and Chechi in their lovely home in Hengelo. It was to this home we were going to spend the night. Hengelo is a small town in the east of Holland within 30 kms of the German border in Bad Bentheim. The city acquired importance after the establishment of the railways in the early 1900s and became a centre of the Industrial Revolution. The important railway junction and its contribution to the armaments industry saw the city centre almost completely destroyed in the bombings during WWII. The railway line runs just behind the home of Bernie Chettan and the station is not far away.

Through a light drizzle Bernie Chettan took us to the Basilica of Saint Lambert in the city centre. The neo-Gothic structure is impressive from the outside. We were not hopeful of the Church being open, but it was. A lovely Pieta welcomed us as we got into the Church.  There was no one else in the Church. We were fortunate to be there at the time for in a short while the Sacristan arrived to close it down for the day. The Church of Our Lady had a tribute to abused children at the entrance of the Church. One of the greatest gifts in the journey has been the innumerable churches we have been to and the opportunity to offer prayers in them.

Then we went to the Twente University which was established in 1961. It  is the youngest among the three technical Universities in The Netherlands, the others being Delft and Eindhoven. The University has a large campus with tutorial, research, residential and recreational facilities spread over 140 hectares in Enschede. It offers graduate and research programs in 6 departments of social and behavioural sciences and Engineering.

Chettan is a connoisseur of wine and Lal decided to sample some of the collection, with Chettan providing technical inputs about them. Anil, their younger son, is an orthopaedic surgeon in Hengelo. He joined us for a chat before dinner, which was a rich fare of Kerala food. Chappatis and rice were polished off with excellent preparations of beef and fish. Green salad, spinach, thoran, beans, etc filled the table and in due course our stomachs too. Discussion about Kerala, society, films and plans for the morrow kept us at the dining table for a long time. The Calicut halwa was an excellent after dinner accompaniment. 

DAY 62 – 16 August 2014; Oslo to Aarhus

Color Lines, the ferry company, operate two services between Larvik, in Norway and Hirtshals in Denmark. Larvik is located 132 kms away from Oslo. The Larvik-Hirtshals route is a important freight corridor between the Norwegian Capital City and Jutland of Denmark. In a lighter vein, Shaiju had mentioned that the Norwegians and Swedes shop in Denmark, the Danes in Germany and the Germans in Poland! The Larvik-Hirtshals route is also frequented by the sun seeking and outdoor loving Norwegians.

We left before 5.30 am from the Scandic Solli Hotel to meet the deadline to report at the ferry terminal one hour before the ferry crossing at 8 am. Prior to leaving the city, the driving test in the garage was extreme. It mustered all my skills and patience and the directorial passion of Lal to exit the hotel garage through the narrow passage. The route out of the city was fairly uncomplicated and in fine weather set course for Larvik. While nearing Larvik some areas had low hanging, but thin, mist. We reached Larvik before 7 am and joined the queue for boarding after obtaining the passes at the drive-through gate. The checked in cars and freight vehicles were asked to join one of the twelve lanes that were organised on the basis of vehicle type and size. Thus, there were different queues for freight trailers, another for cars with trailers, and so on. By 7.30 am a lady got into a forklift and expertly removed the barriers between the vehicles and the ferry. Thereafter, she guided the vehicles to the various decks on the ferry. The boarding was done in less than 15 minutes. This has to be seen in the perspective of the fact that the ferry, SuperSpeed 2 can carry 1900 passengers and 764 passenger cars, and the ferry was full! It is a powerful modern catamaran built for year around operations.

I parked the car and moved to the passenger deck of the ferry, which has many restaurants, cafes and tax free shops, letting you into the secret that Norway is not part of the European Union! We had chosen the economy lounge rather than the Business Class for the crossing. The lounges are equipped with chairs, TV screens and entertainment like Casino, pinball machines and a children’s play area. I was told that Internet has to be paid for if you are in Economy; the lady at the counter told me that the connection is not worth the price! We found a table with a porthole view and had breakfast of ham and cheese sandwich with coffee. The remaining NOK was, thus, best used. I had another NOK 43 on me after paying for breakfast and I discovered a ‘Coffee Deal’ which tagged a big bar of Milk Chocolate with a cup of coffee. I marked it for sometime into the journey.

The crossing time of the ferry is 3 hours and 45 minutes. Intent of sleeping the better part of the crossing I did not take the computer to the passenger deck. After breakfast I roamed the ferry to appreciate the facilities in them and on the open deck to catch the Sun and views of the blue-green water. Despite many attempts to sleep I could not do so. Then I went down the decks to try and retrieve the computer from the car. I found all the hatches closed and was told that they would open only 10 minutes before the landing in Hirtshals. I was condemned to aimlessness for the next two hours and more. I then spent time on the open deck watching a lady throwing up, young couples expressing affection, and maybe even pledging eternal love, young boys using the deck to expend their energies and girls posing for photographs. The most poignant sight was that of an old couple, the lady had some difficulty walking, sitting together and holding each other’s hands through their rest of the deck. They did not exchange a word in the hour that I observed them. To me it looked as if they were silently evaluating the challenges they had met together and readying themselves for those ahead.

Before noon we got off the ferry and got on to the highway for Aarhus, which was more than 180 kms away. 50 kms short of Aarhus I stopped at a wayside restaurant for lunch. While waiting to decide what to have a kind gentleman offered his service to place the order, which consisted of chicken fillet and potato fritters. What we revelled in there was the availability of free WiFi! The Navigator expertly guided us to the Hotel Zleep in Aarhus, which had free parking; the young receptionist gave me a free parking ticket to be displayed on the window of the car. After a while of documentation in the room a sleep hurricane overcame my resolve to complete the blog post of the previous day.

When we woke up it was past 6.30 pm but it was still bright outside. The reception desk told us that the City Centre would, perhaps, be the best place to experience in the short time that we had. We took a long walk that helped us appreciate the buildings, some of them nearly 125 years old, the architecture and the busy railway station. Closer to the City Hall we got into a pub to enjoy some local beer. Sigurd, the bartender, helped us choose the Pilsner ahead of the rest of the draughts. The pub had many old photos of the railway sation and steam engines. Into the second drink I asked Sigurd to suggest a restaurant in the vicinity that would help us flavour local cuisine. He and his friend, Michael, suggested the Raadhuus Kafeens near the City Hall. Sigurd even suggested the menu and warned that it may not be light on the pocket. Both Sigurd and Michael wished us well for the rest of the journey once we had settled the bar bill.

It was not difficult getting to the suggested diner, which we reached after stopping on the way to appreciate sculptures and the Music School. We met Gert Hauge, the owner, at the entrance of the restaurant. When I told him that we have come there highly recommended he asked, mockingly of course, “Which fool did that?” I replied that it was a sober bartender who had perhaps made the mistake! The order was taken by Dorthe Jensen, Gert’s daughter, who was also the Chef of the restaurant. When I asked if Sigurd’s suggestion was okay she responded positively. So, it was to be the house favourite of Raadhuus Gryde, a pork and beef dish with mashed potatoes and Stegt Flesk, fried bacon with potatoes and sauce. We were having a Carlsberg when the mountainous portions of the order arrived. Dorthe placed it with a lot of care on the table and explained the dishes and how to savour them. The bacon dish was extremely salty and the sauce was meant to temper it. We struggled through the two dishes but did justice to them the pork and sausage dish was yummy. For dessert Dorthe suggested a pancake with chocolate filling with ice cream and strawberry sauce. Heavenly, is the word for the dessert; sinful, could be another! Dorthe took our photos to put them on their FB page and called us a taxi to return to the hotel.

Zied from Tunisia was the taxi driver. He has been living in Denmark for over 20 years and is married to a local. He shared his experiences with us and almost stopped the car when we told him that we have driven to Aarhus all the way from Cochin. Even though the ride was a short one we enjoyed each other’s company and exchanged information to stay in touch, Experiences such as these enhance the quality of the journey and make me believe that every journey is a means to meet fellow souls that travel with you through time and space. Else, how can one explain the meetings with Sigurd and Michael, Gert and Dorthe and Zied? The experiences were not all over. When we got to the hotel reception the two girls who we had met prior to leaving for the walk were still there. We shared our experiences with them when one of them asked if Indian and Nepalese are alike in customs and traditions. It transpired that she was dating a Nepali and was getting ready to go to Nepal to meet his parents. Lal suggested that she could win their hearts if she touched their feet and sought their blessings when she first met the elders. She was already well versed with the Namasthe!

DAY 61 – 15 August 2014; In Oslo

August 15 is special to every Indian as the country celebrates its Independence Day. It is special to me in another manner too, with respect to this journey. It was the Independence Day celebrations in 1997 that had sparked my interest in travelling to London by road. I had detailed that in the first part of this series of posts. Thus, after 17 years of dreaming, planning and executing I am close to the fructification of the epic project. Along the way I have received many a helping hand from the most unexpected quarters, made friends in countries that I had never expected to travel to, debated issues of national and international issues across borders, enjoyed the food and culture of lands unfamiliar to me in the past, been motivated and egged on by well-wishers and friends, criticised by the Press and Media and courted controversy and abuse. But, most importantly, I have enjoyed every bit of the 2 month journey, through 22 countries in 2 Continents and 21000 kms. Every day of the journey I have realised that I am doing what few only dream of doing. My hands are folded in gratitude and my knees bent in supplication.

Murugan had agreed to be in the hotel by 10 am with his son to complete the rest of the sightseeing. However, he turned up close to noon, which gave me time to complete the blog posts and upload them on the site. I became current with the blogs, documentation and the expense account statement. An interesting piece of data that emerged is that nearly 2625 litres of fuel has been consumed to cover 21000 kms – an average of 8 kmpl; this is quite an improvement from the 6 kmpl I used to get in Cochin!

I got Shaiju, Murugan and his son, Manu, together and requested them to come with us to the garage, where the car was parked. After Murugan and Manu converted the red dot against Norway on one side Shaiju did it on the other. I keep telling people who affix the sticker that in case any portion of the red is visible after the green sticker is stuck they have to pay for the fuel upto the next country! So far none of them has obliged me. Both of them also signed the campaign poster and helped attest the log sheets. Then Shaiju let us in on a well kept secret. The Scandic Solli hotel has underground rooms and tunnels belonging to WWII era. Shaiju told us that German officers in civvies checked into the hotel one night and came down in their uniforms the next day and took command of the hotel. Thereafter they built radio room, torture chambers, confinement rooms and tunnels that extended underground to the Aker Byrgge. It was eerie walking around the confinedhaiju told us that many locals do not know about the existence of the spaces and tunnels and it is only the King who has access to the area. Thanks, Shaiju, for the privileged visit.

Shaiju had done online booking of the ferry from Larvik to Hirtshals for the 16^th. He was able to get us the best rate possible by giving exact measurement of the car and getting the rate reduced from NOK 1249 to NOK 1049. On my enquiry he suggested that I go the Post Office to exchange currency. On the way to the Vigeland Park Murugan took me to the ‘Postaan’. The kindly lady told me to go to the DNB bank in case I wanted a reduced commission charge! The bank was close by. I waited my turn and another elderly lady exchanged USD for NOK at the day’s rate of 5.9445 with a commission of NOK 50 for the transaction. Next we went to a cornet shop and bought two day passes for travel in the city. Each pass cost NOK 90, which was steep even by Europe standards. Using a combination of bus, tram and the Metro we got to the Veigland Park. At the edge of the entrance is a huge area with many tennis courts. Coaching and competitive matches were going on. I was told that the infrastructure is built by the state machinery but the corporate partners chip in to maintain them through sponsorship.

The Vigeland Park is the largest sculpture Park in the world made by a single artist spread out over 80 acres. The Park contains 212 sculptures in bronze, granite and wrought iron by Gustav Vigeland. He was also in charge of the design and layout of the Park. Most of the works of Vigeland are placed in five units along a 850 meter axis, which are the Main Gate, The Bridge, The Fountain, The Monolith Plateau and the Wheel of Life. The Bridge contains over 50 sculptures displaying relationships between man and woman and between adults and children. The Angry Boy is the most famous among the sculptures on the Bridge. The fountain and the monolith have human forms in various states of action and emotional stages.

After a luxurious walk in the Park it was time to get back closer to the Hotel. We took the Metro and tram and returned to the Nobel Institute where we sauntered around in the area areas that had free access, including the souvenir shop. After that we walked across to the place where the Mela festival was on to grab some lunch. Food from Morocco, Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan, Greece, Thailand, etc was available. We sampled some Pakistani and Iranian food. It was passable. Later we had some delightful kulfis and returned to the Hotel for some rest.

Late in the evening, once Shaiju got free from work, we went with him, his colleague at work, Victor, Murugan and Seby, from Chalkudy, to the Holmenkollen, which boasts of the steepest ski jump in the world and has spectator capacity for 30000. The magnificent venue has hosted the winter Olympics in 1952 and many ski championships over the years. The view of Oslo from the hill is fantastic. Later I went with Shaiju and Victor to a bar near the Hotel, where I started with an Akvavit shot. Akvavit is a flavoured spirit of herbs and spices. Over a couple of beers I had one of the finest conversations I have had during the journey learning more and more about Norwegian and Swedish life and culture. I have to thank Shaiju and Victor for the interesting conversation and the informative discussions. I was told why the Norwegian Parliament is called Storting – Viking for ‘big gathering’; why it was Yule for the Vikings and not Christmas, and many such. Victor told me that there were Swedish politicians campaigning in Oslo for the impending elections in Sweden – Swedes in Oslo number over 60,000! With that the stay in another country came to a close. But the sojourn was replete with friends like Shaiju, Murugan, Seby and Victor.

DAY 60 – 14 August 2014; Gothenburg to Oslo

Hotel Kusten offered something that was not there in any of the hotels we had stayed in during the journey. It had a reception area with plenty of seating that was open 24 hours. It also had coffee and water stocked for those wanted them. I gravitated to the reception area at 3 am to write the blog posts of the past two days. It was peaceful without any disturbance at that time of the morning and the hot cup of coffee helped start the thinking and writing process. It took me more than three hours to finish the documentation. However, I was unable to upload the posts to the site since the WiFi was down. All the hard work done and the last mile connectivity gone!

We had planned to leave by 8 am and hence, were down for the breakfast buffet a half hour before that. I took a bowl of muesli and looked around for cold milk. I found a carton that seemed to contain milk; I found out it was yogurt when I poured it into the bowl. I wondered if it was the start of a curdled day for the forecast was for rain and more rain! Soon I located the right carton and the rest of the meal was done in quick time. At the reception I completed the check out and sought directions from the receptionist. It sounded fairly simple and I trusted the Navigator to second the suggestion. The garage had a simple door opening device. At the exit door hung a chain that had to be given a light tug to lift the garage door. That done, I turned right and right again and found the sign which said Oslo, just as the receptionist had said. The Navigator too, after finding the GPS on exit from the garage, seconded the route I was on!

I encountered heavy rain en route on E6 to Oslo; the dark clouds on the horizon refused to blow away. Lal and I resigned ourselves to being confined indoors in Oslo. The rains were intermittent but heavy. Even when the sky was blue rain would suddenly come down in buckets. It was about 170 kms to the border with Norway, which was covered in about 2 hours. Fuelling at the last post in Sweden cost us about Euro 2 per litre, the costliest fuelling done in the journey thus far. As we entered the territory of Norway we were diverted to the Customs station. We could see that some officials were making a few checks on the vehicles ahead of us, including opening the boot of the car. I was sure that we would be detained for thorough inspection since it had a non-EU registration. We were waived down for a lady officer to inspect. She was taken aback initially by the right hand drive. Then she came around to my side and asked why we were there. I gave her a synopsis of the journey when she asked me to take the breathalyser test. It was different from what I was used to in Kerala. I had to blow hard into a small tube that was attached to a handheld equipment. The lady officer showed me the result – 0.00. I told her that we didn’t have enough money to buy liquor for all of it was spent buying fuel for the car! She laughed and wished us well for the rest of the journey. We were in the 22^nd country with 5 more to go.

It was plain vanilla landscape all through to Oslo with rains appearing now and then. The hotel reservation in Oslo had been done courtesy a friend in Bangalore. I was not sure of the street name where the hotel was located. Calls to the hotel went into an electronic machine that spoke a foreign tongue. Quite close to the entry to the Oslo City Centrum I parked the car with hazard lights on and tried to get the Navigator to recognise the address. After many tries I succeeded. The fact of the matter is that I had not understood the address correctly, in the first place! After that it was smooth sailing all the way to the hotel. Many narrow lanes and streets later I was parked in front of the Scandic Hotel on Parkveien Road.

I asked Lal to be in the car and went to the hotel reception to confirm the reservation and parking for the car. What happened thereafter was straight from some yet to be done movie script. A smart young man stepped forward to take my queries and I took him to be from Sri Lanka. He confirmed the room reservation and said that the hotel garage parking would cost NOK 225 per day, which he also said would be the best deal in town. I told him that we were in town from India and in a while unearthed our common roots in Kerala. And it turned out that he was a huge fan of Lal Jose! Shaiju, the Front Office Assistant Manager, not only waived the garage fee but also upgraded the room status to make us more comfortable. He did comment that I looked fresh despite the 21000 kms we had travelled in 2 months from Kerala! Later he sent a bottle of Champagne in a bucket of ice with two flute glasses as a mark of his respect for the inimitable film maker from his homeland.

We decided to keep the Champagne for the evening after the day’s walking had been done. Shaiju suggested the Olivia restaurant at the Aker Byrgge waterfront, which was just a short walk from the hotel. The Aker Byrgge is part of the Oslofjord. Fjords are almost always identified with Norway. A fjord is a long and narrow inlet from the sea between slopes of mountainous coasts. They occur when ater from the sea flow into valleys formed by glacial action near the coast. The Oslofjord links the North Sea to the Baltic Sea. the views from the Aker Byrgge were glorious in the noon sun – the rain had ceased and it was pleasant walking around the water mouths. We wlaked to the Olivia restaurant and waited for a while to be seated. Lal was in a mood to have something ‘fishy’ and the waitress at the Olivia told us that they did not have any dishes with fish. So we moved on and found that most of the waterfront restaurants were priced so heavily that a bottle of water would cost more than a litre of fuel! Then we chanced on the Rorbua restaurant and ordered a fish and chicken dish, the former for Lal. I walked around for a while when the order was being done and discovered many sculptures and stone carvings near the restaurant. It was an excellent place to explore. When the dishes arrived we thought that we were condemned to a full day there. The portions were more than what two people could eat. Lal’s plate overflowed with shrimps and I had three huge pieces of chicken stuck into two sandwiches! Moreover, there were leaves and greens to get through too. We shared each other’s order and with some extra effort we managed to finish most of it. We walked around the waterfront a bit to work some of the calories off. Then it was sleep and rest for a while till the contact provided by Shaiju arrived to conduct us around the city in the evening.

Murugan had checked the weather forecast before he arrived after 5 pm in the hotel. He said that the rest of the day would be fine and better weather was forecast for the next day. That was good news. Murugan had come to Oslo 8 years ago with his Norwegian wife, who he met and married in Varkala, Kerala. His wife had worked for three years in the International School in Trivandrum before they moved to Oslo. They have a 7 year old son, Manu, who will go into Class2 when school reopens. The different manner of bringing up children in Norway was brought rather dramatically with the arrest and incarceration of the Indian couple in Oslo. Murugan took us on a long and interesting walk of the city. We first went to the Norwegian Nobel Institute near the Aker Byrgge. The administration of the Nobel Foundation was from this building. It was built to as a residence but by the turn of the 20^th century became home of the Nobel Institute. The place was closed for the day. We decided to come back for a visit again the next day. The City Hall is a large red brick building near the Oslo harbour. It was built in 1950 to commemorate the 950^th anniversary of the city’s founding. In front of the City Hall is a large recreation centre that was getting decked up for the ‘Mela Festival’ that was organised by immigrant Pakistanis. A lot of Asian food, handicrafts and music were up to be appreciated. Murugan gave me to understand that Pakistanis are the single largest immigrant community in Norway. Sri Lankans too, there are in plenty. Norway, in the recent years, has also been experiencing immigration of Swedes in search of jobs.

We walked through many quays, some of which had old military ships and wooden ships anchored as museums. The Oslo cruise terminal and the customs offices were also at the quay we walked by. The walk took us by the side of the Akershus Castle that had been built in the medieval times to protect Oslo. The fortification was also used as a prison. It now has three major functions, namely, state representation, public activities and housing the headquarters of the Armed Forces. It is open to the public during the day. I visited the Stena Lines terminal to find out if they had a service that could link me to Aarhus. They didn’t and I was also put off by a service agent looking me up and down and saying, “It costs a lot, you know”.

After that all that I had eyes for was the Opera House. It dominates the Oslofjord. The massive modern building has more than 1100 rooms, spread over 400,000 square feet, and is home to the Norwegian National Opera and Ballet. The building has a roof that gently slopes up and invites visitors to take the walk up to see commanding views of the city and the harbour. The fully white granite surface has been so done as to be slip resistant. The reception of the Opera House, which can be visited without ticket, is jaw dropping. The aesthetics cannot be described. Even the toilets have been done such that I did not want to move out of it in a hurry. The pot is a square cascade of gently flowing water. The tile tones and lighting provide serenity in case the visit is an emergency!

The National Theatre is one of the most prominent venues in Norway for performing arts. The statues of famous theatre personalities and playwrights greet you at the entrance to the theatre, which came into existence in 1899. Ibsen’s plays have found full expression at the National Theatre. The Parliament building of Norway is in central Oslo. The majestic structure has been in use as the legislature complex since 1866. To the left of the yellow brick building is the Grand Hotel, where the Nobel Peace Prize winner is hosted annually. The hotel is where the famous playwright used to dine frequently and Roald Dahl wrote his autobiographical work. As I was walking down to the Palace I came across two lady police persons on horseback. Murugan told me that they would pose for photographs if requested. They did that without any hesitation when I approached them. Right down the promenade and where it ends is the Royal Palace, the official residence of the Norwegian Monarch. The massive Palace reportedly has 170 plus rooms.

I had arranged with Shaiju to book online for the ferry from Larvik to Hirtshals on the 16^th for the crossing to Denmark. He got it done for the best rate possible. When we got back to the hotel Lal and I spent little time in polishing off the Champagne. Later we went down to the restaurant and had a lovely dinner of chicken and fish. The bread served with garlic butter and chopped olives were so delightful that we asked for a second helping of it. It was such a coincidence to find out from the waitress that her live in was a Keralite; she did not from where in Kerala, though.

We decided to sleep late, for the programme for the morrow was set for 10 am. It was also the intention to go to the Indian Embassy, if possible, to attend the Independence Day flag hoisting ceremony. 60 days had gone by with travel to 22 countries over 21000 kms. The end of the journey was almost visible.

DAY 59 – 13 August 2014; Copenhagen to Gothenburg

Getting up early is a habit. Even with nothing in particular to do I woke up as usual and used the available time to take back ups and fill out the log sheets. We had targeted to leave by 8 am so that we could be in Gothenburg by lunch time. Breakfast consisted of Upma and banana. After loading the luggage Fr and Liya signed the campaign poster wishing us well for the rest of the journey. The goodbyes had to be made fast, lest we break down. It had been an emotional stopover, filled with affection and care. Two more friends we had acquired on the journey, two more good souls who were helping us fulfil what we had set out to do.

The Navigator had been primed to set me on the route to Helsingor, from where we were to take ferry to Helsingborg. I was also sure that I would not have a problem since I had done the route the previous evening. Manoj had mentioned in Warsaw that Preetha could lose her way on a straight road. I had not accepted it then, but the same applied to me too. It happened this day. The road to Helsingor was signposted well and I was set for that when suddenly the Navigator played truant and I took the road to Copenhagen Centrum. I realised the mistake in a split second. But the damage had been done. I had to toe the line to the Centrum and the traffic was heavy. Mercifully the Navigator regained consciousness and after a delay of more than 30 minutes I was firmly set on the road to Helsingor.

It was only a 40 minute drive to the ferry terminal from Copenhagen. The ferry was about to load as I reached the ticket counter and paid for it. The ticket for the car with two passengers cost SEK 395, about Euro 54; very steep indeed for a 20 minute crossing. Between Helsingor and Helsingborg there are 70 crossings a day, with a departure every 20 minutes! The loading of the ferry operated by Scandlines – there are four ferries in the link - was done in an orderly manner and was completed quickly. By the time I had parked the car and bought us a cup of coffee each the ferry had sailed. I soon clambered up the sun deck to see the shore of Denmark receding fast. The Kronburg Castle stood out magnificently on the Danish coast. I was given to understand that ferries have been in operation between the two coasts across the Oresund since the days of the Vikings. Proper ferries, however, were introduced only in 1888 by DSB, the Danish rail company. I had to hurry with the coffee because the Swedish coast was fast approaching and I wanted a ringside view of the docking from the deck where the car was parked. I dumped the cup and ran down the deck stairway and was in time to view the vessel getting docked.

Once again the orderly disembarking was a joy to experience. We were driving into the 21^st country and there were absolutely no checks or papers asked for. The boundaries are indeed seamless. Just before we hit the highway there was a board indicating that the maximum speed is 110 kmph. Such boards are displayed at all the Schengen country borders. It is a great help since the restrictions are varied across countries. I set the car on the road to Gothenburg without too much of trouble. It started pouring heavily but driving was not too bothersome. However, I wished my wiper blades were more efficient.

The hotel booking in Gothenburg, as in many other cities, had been done by Mirus, the Travel Agent in Delhi. They have been a tremendous support right through the journey and their constant assistance has helped us out of what could have been tricky situations. The Navigator, now an indispensible part of our journey thanks to Manoj in Warsaw, recognised the street where the Hotel Kusten was located. I did take the wrong turn once, but not with any severe consequence and reached the hotel with slight delay en route. I parked the car at the side of the hotel and walked in for the check in. A buffet was on and a kind lady directed me to the first floor of the hotel to complete the check in, which was done quickly enough. We had a twin share room on the 1^st floor, for a steep price of SEK 820; SEK 7.2 to a Euro, I was told at the reception. I was waiting with bated breath to know the garage arrangement and what the charges would be. Fortunately, the hotel had garage arrangements in the basement and was free for hotel guests. Thank God for small mercies. The young man at the reception gave me a room key card with a small ring attached to it. He said that the ring would help open the garage door, which it did. The narrow and steeply winding passage led to a rather commodious parking lot. There was enough space to choose from.

Once the luggage was safely deposited in the room we went down for the buffet. The salads were already arranged in the buffet. The choice of main course was chicken, fish and vegetarian. Lal and I chose the fish dish. In the meanwhile we helped ourselves to the fish soup and a huge helping from the salad bar. The soup was delightful – it resembled the Fish Moilee of Kerala in taste and look. In fact the soup and salad had filled us up by the time the main course arrived. The huge chunk of Cod with a bland sauce was tasty too, once it was peppered up a bit – the buffet counter had Tellicherry Pepper. It had to be siesta after the heavy repast.

Venunath Vikraman, or Venu in short, had been in touch with Lal during our journey from Copenhagen. He was based about 180 kms east of Gothenburg and had wanted to meet up with us in the afternoon. Venu, in his 20s, was venturing into a commercial deal with the release of Lal’s latest hit film, Vikramadityan, in Sweden. The young man was doing his Master’s programme as well as supporting his mother who is on dialysis in Kerala. He had lost his father a few years back and had inherited a few financial liabilities too. When I hear such experiences I wonder why we complain when we go through much less. HE has given Venu the strength of character and fortitude to survive the cards that life has dealt him. He has been doing consistently well in the programme, the result of which has been tuition waiver initiated by his Professor. Besides, he works part-time to send money home for his mother’s treatment. During vacation time, as it is now, he works at a store from 8 pm to 5 am and then spends a few more hours in the morning distributing newspapers. It is people like him that are the right role models for youngsters. I am sure that his hard work and dedication will stand him in good stead in the years to come. We have met a few such individuals on the journey. May their journeys be fulfilling and successful, is all we can wish.

The receptionist suggested that we take a canal cruise to appreciate Gothenburg. Venu drove to a parking lot near the departure of Paddan Tours. The rain had played spoil sport during the previous tour, we understood, and therefore, we expected the worst too. Fortunately, the skies held up and we had a wonderful tour. Ellen, the vivacious guide, was the highlight of the tour. She was so expressive, especially when introducing the ‘handsomest captain’ on board! She kept up the commentary in Swedish and English narrating the development of the area since the 1600s, wars between Sweden and Denmark, sailors and their capers, fisherfolk and their women, architecture and culture, restaurants and bars, etc. at two places we had to bend real low in the boat to get through the low bridges. In fact, one of the bridges is aptly called “The Hairdresser”! The shipyard of Gothenburg is out of business and is likely to shut down leading to loss of jobs. Swedes have been migrating in large numbers to neighbouring countries like Norway in search of jobs.

After the canal cruise Venu took leave of us as he had to get to his town before the start of his work at 8 pm. Lal and I walked around the main street of Gotheburg, the Kungsportsavenyen, the happening place in the City. We were charmed by the street performers who gave a carnival touch to the City. Thus, the comedian who collected a large audience around him, musicians from Ecuador, hip hop dancing competition, food courts from across Europe, etc consumed much of our left over time in Gothenburg. Every city has its own charms, as does Gothenburg. We decided to have dinner at an American boutique restaurant. The place was busy and the draught beer and steaks were good too. Then we hired a taxi to the hotel. The driver was Ali Raza from Iran, who gave us interesting insights to the life in Gothenburg. He aspires to take a sabbatical from work and study for a couple years so that he can land a better job thereafter. It drizzled a bit as we got off the taxi at the hotel. I was grateful that the weather had held up for us to have a decent round of the city.