So, I am finally back in India! Mumbai! IITB! This, along with laziness, explains the large delay in me updating my blog.

I’ve spent the last couple of days re-adjusting to life back home. No driving on the right hand side of the road, no converting prices into euros and exclaiming how cheap stuff is (I will be broke soon if I continue to do that!) and no smiling in a friendly manner whenever a girl walks by (I shall suffer physical damage soon if I continue to do that!).

A couple of things I noted during this intern. They are in no particular order, and I may add stuff later as I remember more.

• The German word ‘kraft’ means force, energy and power. Go tell a physicist that!
• Spaniards, especially those on an Erasmus exchange program in south-west Germany, are always late for appointments.
• Introvert Peruvians who don’t talk at all, often turn out to be awesome dancers.
• Germans organise the best parties in the world.
• ‘Johnson’ is Valencian slang for a doper.
• Germans never share their food with others. At restaurants and even at lunch in the mess, it’s every person for him or herself. This attitude felt very alien to me, being an Indian, and especially being an IITian.
• When you’re travelling at 300 kmph in a thunderstorm, in a train, you can’t help but marvel at German engineering.
• The informal German word for ‘Goodbye” … Tschüss is very funny.
• Only the Spanish can take a dead pig, slap some salt on it and dump it in a cave for three years. And then consider it to be a delicacy. (Actually jamón isn’t bad, it’s pretty good …)

Have tried my hand out at cooking recently. Have had to in fact. I had assumed before coming here that I could survive by eating in the mess for lunch and eating out for dinner everyday. But the prices in the restaurants here soon put an end to that fantasy. Necessity being the mother of invention, I am now proud to say that I can cook to save my life.

My first pasta.

My second pasta. (Which was brilliant by the way … pesto mit basilikum is awesome.)

Yet, laziness dictates that I usually end up eating frozen dinners . (And yes, you can probably make out that I like Orange Juice )

I stand corrected. Stuttgart is not the best city in the world. This is not to say that it isn’t brilliant. I would still love to stay there. It feels right, which is important in a place where one stays. It’s just that a lot of the things that I find really cool — are turning out to be quite commonplace here. Neat gardens and interesting city centres and beautiful landscapes seem to be everywhere in Germany! Which hurts a bit … there are so many small things in which Mumbai could be so much nicer. I hate to sound like a typical NRI — always cribbing about India, and how bad it is, and how the West is much better and all that. My only defence is that I sincerely do like Mumbai!

PS: This post has been been lying unpublished ever since I went to Munich and Vienna. However it was inspired by Munich, and definitely not by Vienna. Vienna is a dead city on a Sunday morning. I don’t care if Catherine considers me odd to have expected life in a European capital on a Sunday morning. I guess I am just spoilt by living in Mumbai and India .

A couple of pics to end the post …

Marienplatz — A typical Bavarian parade. Yet, I don’t know if they were heading off to war or to the nearest pub. They were marching with both swords and beer mugs

The Englisher Garten — A pretty amazing African music troupe kept me entertained.

The Austrian Parliament — Yup, that’s a house on top of the Parliament building.

Vienna fanzone — The stewards sure know how to have fun!

I had never heard of Marcus Brigstocke, but I came across this video of his a couple of days ago. Sheer brilliance. He takes on the three Abrahamic religions in an awesome rant that sounds neither too angry, nor too preachy, and that has just the right amount of humour in it. You really should listen to it.

Some gems from the video

• “… have a cup of tea, put on a Cat Stevens record, and chill out!”
• “… have another go as a worm!”
• “… the Transformers film!”
• “… get married like the rest of us.”
• “… truth has given up and gone to the pub for a pint.”
• And finally, an awesome quip to end it “… a cure for James Blunt!”

Religion honestly has to be the most pointless reason for fighting one another. And yet most of the killing and fighting around the world is driven by religious hate. The Middle East, Northern Ireland, the Al Qaida movement, the Godhra riots, the Bombay riots, whatever — it really sucks.

I gave up my religion a long time ago. After I saw the mindless violence — and the even more mindless support of it from people I thought were sane — that was called the Godhra riots, I could not stay a Hindu. And I am glad I did it. All I believe in now is God as a manifestation of all that we do not know. Science and rationality above all else.

This is probably a controversial statement to make — but I still think that most Hindus in India, and in Gujarat especially, still think that the Godhra riots were justified. Or maybe this is not such a controversial statement after all — if they think it’s justified, they won’t get offended by me saying so.

A lot of my friends are religious. As long as you’ve chosen to be part of a religion, and you’re not blindly following it just because your parents are from that faith — I respect your choice. All I ask from you, in return, is that you respect mine.

This is a morbid topic to be blogging about so early in the morning. I am off to Munich, and the Vienna! España vs Italia!! Goooo España!!!

Had a very unpleasant experience today. Went to the bank to pay my rent, and I figured out that my account had 200 euros less in it than I reckoned. So this is what it feels like to be on a budget!

Nevertheless … this weekend Vienna and the Euros! Fooooooooooooootball!!!

The top 5 reasons why I think Stuttgart is the best city I’ve ever seen.

1. The Mercedes Benz Museum, and it’s race simulator — When I grow up I need to have one of those simulators in my living room. Now that that’s decided, all I have to do is put together a couple of million euros …
2. The amazing landscape – There seem to be an infinite number of hills in Stuttgart, and every now and then, one sees a building poking out of a forest of trees. Brilliant. The elves would approve.
3. It is so easy to get around. Cycles are everywhere, and the public transport doesn’t suck. Pune this ain’t.
4. The cars – every other car is a merc or a porsche. The stallion in Porsche’s and Ferrari’s logos actually comes from Stuttgart. The place oozes tech.
5. ‘Cause I said so!

Seriously though, the sheer number of things to do and explore in the city overwhelmed me. A several storeyed bookstore to explore, random people performing with parrots, nice classical music being played live in the background — it was fun! The atmosphere in the magnificent public park that was once a part of the castle and now dominates the city centre was fantastic. There were loads of Spaniards and a couple of Swedes supporting their teams and we had a lot of fun. I was there only for a day, and so I couldn’t see any of the cultural attractions or the nightlife, but they are supposed to be pretty good as well.

Everyone tells me that Munich is the best city in Germany, a class apart … and if that’s true I can’t wait till next weekend. Surely it can’t beat this!