Tour of Germany – a mixed adventure, divine grace intervenes throughout…..
The first
time we applied for the visa to Germany in April 2017 it was rejected saying
that the purpose of our visit was not clear and there was no certainty that we
would return to India. We were really shocked as all our papers were absolutely
clear and we had booked non-refundable Air France return tickets in January
2017 itself thinking that our visa was a sure-shot thing. Just goes to show how
paranoid Europe has become over the refugee crises!! We got the visa rejection
letter on May 3 and thereafter Vallari’s exams were to start and get over on
May 25. Vallari said we could take appointment with VSF for the 23rd
as her last practical was on 25th, which we did. The line this time
was much shorter (first attempt we were in visa office from noon to 4.30pm
though our appointment was for 12.15pm). After we filed our application, we got
an sms the very next day that the application had been processed – this was due
to the mail sent by a sadhika’s husband who is a member of parliament in
Germany. Pallavi went on Friday to collect the passports and messaged us saying
that we had got the visas.
After the
first rejection, I had got the Guru-karya of taking His Holiness Swamiji to
Nariman Point for His early morning walk. On Friday when Shaswatiji joined us
and we discussed our visa rejection, I asked Swamiji whether we should re-apply
for the visa, Swamiji looked at me then looked away and did not say anything. I
had got my hint, but if I had said - let us not apply, my family would have
probably kicked me in the butt!!
We had only
two days to prepare and on 29th I had to go to Navsari for the
Acharya Sammellan. On Tuesday, 30th I went to office for half a day
and on returning packed my bag. Arati had been stressing on carrying spare set
of clothes in the hand bag as bags tend to not arrive – this she had been
repeating for a couple of days. On 30th night, 31st early
morning we boarded Air France for Paris, our port of entry for the Schengen
visa. Our plane landed at terminal K from where after a security check for hand
baggage we were taken to terminal G which was a 20-minute bus ride. After we
reached the other terminal for catching our connecting flight, Pallavi went to
immigration for showing her documents. The police officer started some intense
grilling, at which point I said I had all my documents in the satchel and would
just go and show it the lady. Whoa! Where was my satchel?? Then I went mentally
back to the security check and saw that Pallavi had taken my laptop from the
bag and also my satchel and placed it along with the laptop in the same tray
for x-raying. I just had my passport and boarding pass in my hands. After the
screening, I collected the bigger bags and left, as I saw Pallavi picking up
the laptop, I mentally assumed she had picked up the satchel too. In the flight
Arati had given me a water bottle to put in the satchel, and most likely the
security staff removed the satchel because of the bottle. In our hurry, we all
forgot about the satchel! Now this satchel had my wallet, travel documents,
cell phone etc. Arati then told me to go back because once I crossed over after
immigration, I would not be allowed to go back. So I returned to the entrance
to the terminal while the rest of the family went through immigration and
crossed over to the other side – it appeared like a border crossing with me
stuck on the wrong side. I went and spoke with the security officer and in half
sign language and half broken English I told him what had happened. Luckily
Arati had a very similar satchel and I told Arati to show it to him, once the
officer got the image in his mind, he started asking every bus which came in
whether there was a satchel in the bus. After 4-5 such incidents I realised
that he thought I had forgotten it in the bus though I had told him that it
would be at the place where I had undergone the security check! I again
explained to him and then he called security at terminal K and told them about
the blue satchel! He told me to sit down and they will call back. Now all the
ladies on the other side of the ‘border’ were getting stressed (obviously).
After ten minutes a call came through saying that the bag was found and that it
will come in ten minutes in a small car. I told the family that the bag was
found. They also relaxed. Our flight was at 10am and it was only 8.30am and we
had a lot of time. I could do nothing but wait, and as I sat I was chanting
mentally and was quite relaxed in the complete knowledge that nothing can go
wrong with us. Time kept ticking by, 9, 9.15, 9.30 and the ladies on the other
side were panicking as our connecting flight to Frankfurt would leave in half
an hour – in the meanwhile the security guard changed and the new person
appeared not to be too helpful. In the meanwhile he asked me where I was from
and I told him India. He said, “India, the land of Shah Rukh Khan” and then he
became very friendly. After some time, I told him I needed to speak with my
family as they were getting really stressed. So, he allowed Arati to come from
the other side and speak with me across the netted screen separating the two
sides. As we were discussing options, (time 9.40am) I heard a ‘Hallo’ and the
Shah Rukh Khan fan came laughing with the satchel to me. I was just taking it
and thanking when he said please open and check. I opened the satchel and found
nothing missing, I thanked both the gentlemen and blessed them. I breezed
through the immigration and we went up for taking the connecting flight. An
attendant said that the flight was not listed for boarding as yet. So, the
ladies went to the washroom as I waited with the hand baggage. After they
returned it was around 9.50 and the indicator board showed the time as 10.10
for our flight. It did not show whether the flight was boarding, nor was there
any announcement. The ladies went to the duty-free shops for window shopping
and I also casually roamed around and came out and glanced at the board, and
now it showed the flight was boarding and final call for passengers. I called
the ladies and we ran – we were the last four passengers to board the aircraft!
Whooosshhhh – and our holiday had not yet started!!
The 1.5
hour flight to Frankfurt was uneventful. We landed and went straight through as
we realised that no more immigration formalities as we had completed the same
in Paris. We went to the belt to collect our checked in baggage. The kids bag
and my bag came through and as we waited for Arati’s bag we realised that the
belt was now empty. We went and filed a missing bag complaint and they told us
they will deliver the bag to the hotel either on 31st or on the
morning of June 1.
Vallari had
done meticulous planning through research on the internet and planned the trips
in such a way that we would be in Frankfurt upto the3rd. In Frankfurt, we spoke
to Mayur who was very busy and had a tight schedule – he was to leave for Italy
on office work and return on the 6th of June. On 31st we
walked and explored Frankfurt trying to find the railway station to book the
rail pass. Mayur guided us through whatsapp. We reached Frankfurt Hauptbanhoff
and tried booking tickets. Unlike India there were only machines and language
was a big barrier. Again, Mayur came to our help and with whatsapp images
guided us to the place where the booking for a rail pass was done. We booked a
five-day group rail pass which could be used across all rail companies with
unlimited trips a day on any five days within a 30 day period. That was our
first mission accomplished!
The next
day, June 1, we visited the Main Tower in Frankfurt and enjoyed the 360-degree
view of Frankfurt from the tower. We had booked a Rhine valley river cruise
from 3.30pm onwards to return by 9pm which included dinner and wine tasting. I
paid for the tour and realised that the cash on my travel card was exhausted
and in the meanwhile Arati’s travelcard was not yet activated. Calls to my
relationship manager followed and said they will activate shortly. Ultimately
the card got activated just before we reached Voigtsdorf. The weather was warm
and wonderful as we were driven in a Mercedes van from Frankfurt to the town of
Rudesheim. The entire stretch is extremely beautiful and is dotted with
medieval castles on the right. On the left were beautiful vineyards and our
wonderful guide Adrian told us that because the weather changes every 4-5
kilometres the wine from each vineyard is different and that there are 1500
such brands in Germany – most of them family owned and given the family names.
None of these are known outside Germany as they are consumed in Germany itself.
The cleanliness and lack of people plus the beautiful shades of green on both
sides of the river with a sky which was shining blue in colour left a very
deeply wonderful impact on the mind. We had dinner at a very quaint restaurant
full of artifacts collected by the owner from vineyards which closed down, as
explained by Adrian. This restaurant was more of a museum.
Video of view from Main Tower, Frankfurt
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| Dinner in an enchanting restaurant post Rhine River Tour |
The next
day was June 2 – bag had not arrived as we left for Ringsheim by train and from
there to Europa Park by bus. We got off at the wrong bus stop as Pallavi in her
excitement read Europa Park (after that was Resort which she missed). We then
had a long 20-minute walk through verdant greenery on both sides to Europa
Park. We enjoyed 4 huge rides before the chill and heavy rain started falling.
All our winter wear and rainwear were in Arati’s bag. Our trip to Europa Park
was cut short because of the rain and we returned to Frankfurt after buying
ponchos to protect us from the rain. The wind chill factor was high and Vallari
was literally curled up as we waited for the train to Frankfurt at Ringsheim.
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| Europa Park |
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| Europa Park |
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| Europa Park |
Vallari
had downloaded some App and was using her smartphone to check on the train
time-table. We reached the hotel at around 6pm and checked for the bag – no bag
and when we called Air France or shall we say Air Chance said they had not yet
located the bag. We then logged into the Air France website and changed the
delivery address to Mayur’s friends address – which Mayur had provided - as we
left Frankfurt for Voigtsdorf the next day. Our train left from Frankfurt to
Dresden and then we had a connecting train to Freiburg. Our train reached
Dresden on time and the train which was to leave for Freiburg could not leave
as the maintenance staff found something wrong with the train. We were told to
go to another platform and catch a train from there, we ran to that platform
with our luggage and got onto the train. I called Johannes to tell him that we
will reach at 5.25pm instead of 4.25pm due to the mechanical failure. He said
ok, and came to pick us up at Freiburg. He took us directly to a shopping mall
so that Arati could shop for clothes – after shopping for clothes, the cashier
said Arati’s travel card was not being accepted (VISA) and they needed a local
card or cash. Ultimately, we scrounged around and came up with the required cash!
As we left the mall, the rain really started falling and Johannes and I ran to
get the car. We brought the car around as the ladies got into the car and then
Johannes took us down an enchanting 20-minute drive to his village of
Voigtsdorf. There was slight rain as we drove down from Freiburg to Voigstdorf
the entire surroundings were a lush green as the car moved on a meandering road
and into the village and then to Samarpan Bhavan. We got down from the car with
a slight drizzle tickling us as we took the bags inside the house. Heiki was
waiting with a huge smile on her face with a welcome drink in her hands as the
introductions took place. After the welcome drinks and some fun and laughter we
were shown to our rooms and as the ladies relaxed I was taken to the meditation
hall for evening meditation. The hall is filled with divine energy and sitting
for meditation over there transported you into another world almost instantly.
It was truly divine.
After
meditation, we went for dinner to a pizza place close by which was patronized
by big bike riders, you could see many massive 1000cc+ motorbikes parked there.
It was raining quite heavily now as we got down from the car and entered the
restaurant. We waited for about ten minutes for Johannes to turn up, but I
guessed he did not have an umbrella and stayed put in the car. I took the
umbrella from Heiki and said I will go and bring him. He was busy checking his
WhatsApp messages when I reached the car, I got him out and we came half
running to the restaurant. The pizzas in variety with a thin crust were
wonderful and we were informed that the owners had gone down to Italy to learn
how to make the pizzas and they were the best available. They were really
delicious. We returned to the house by around 9.45 and it was still daylight
with rain falling. We retired for the night and I woke up early for morning
meditation and quietly went and sat down at around 4am. My eyes must have
opened around 5am. After breakfast Arati and Pallavi decided to do a painting
class with Heiki while Johannes and I were busy discussing matters related to
the Online Meditation event for Guinness World Records. We were shown around
the Samarpan House grounds, the Yagna Kund has been made in the exact design as
we find in our Ashrams, same colour combination. The ground has a little stream
running through it and the sound of birds chirping is incessantly musical. The
place has a charm of its own, a serenity which is beyond words. A peace and
silence which envelops you with an energy which makes you also go silent and
inwards. Later Pallavi and Arati joined the painting class conducted by Heiki
along with a 9-year old German girl, while Johannes and I worked on some
administrative and legal requirements for the online meditation event to be
held on June 21.
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| Wooden Motorbike, Pizza place, Voigtsdorf |
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| Enchanting Voigtsdorf |
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| Students with teacher! |
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| Breakfast at Samarpan Hause |
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| Freezing at Freiburg station |
We subsequently had a photo session with all the proud artists
and teacher. Heiki had prepared soup made of ‘dal’ and we had bread and a
variety of cheese as accompaniments. The dal-bread-cheese combination was very
tasty and we relished it very much. As we had to leave for Frieberg to catch
the 3.31pm train to Berlin we went to pack our bags. We requested Johannes for
a small bag if he could spare one, and he said of course he could, and he gave
a bag which Mahesh had gifted to him. We filled all the purchased clothes into
that bag. I told him we will return it to him in India. After packing our bags
and bringing them down to the entrance we sat chatting for some time. Johannes
dropped us off at Freiberg station where a chill wind was blowing. The kids
were literally freezing as there were still ten minutes for the train to
arrive. We had left early thinking that we could get into Frieburg market and
buy some coffee which Heiki had recommended. As this would have made things
very tight, we decided to try and get the coffee powder in Berlin and preferred
to go directly to the station instead. Johannes was sweet enough to wait till
we boarded the train which arrived bang on time.
At around
5.30pm I got a message from Aarti to get off at Berlin Spandau, the next
station after Berlin HBF, as it would be closer to their house. I subsequently
got a message from Aarti saying that Mahesh will come to pick us up and that I
should message her as soon as we reach Berlin Hauptbahnhoff, as it took ten
minutes from Hbf to Berlin Spandau. As we got off at Spandau, we were looking
to see where to exit from, when we spotted Mahesh coming towards us. It was 7
in the evening and it was nice and bright, and when I remarked about it Mahesh
said that the sun sets at around 10pm. After very heavy snacks which had been
prepared for us by Aarti and her mother, we went out for a long walk in the
nearby hills. There was greenery all round with sheep grazing on the grounds.
Each of the grounds had fencing and the sheep were probably geo-tagged to
identify the ownership. We walked for a long while as we saw the setting sun
giving us some wonderful photo-ops. We returned around 9ish and had a light
dinner and retired around 10.15pm or so. Aarti and Mahesh gave up their bedroom
for us, as their younger daughter wanted to play in the other bedroom and
Supriya gave up her room for the Pallavi and Vallari, which was so nice of
them!
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| Geo-tagged sheep grazing near Mahesh's house, Berlin |
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| Victory column, Berlin |
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| Brandenburg gate |
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| Parliament building |
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| Holocaust Memorial, Berlin |
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| Check Point Charlie, Berlin |
I woke up
early morning and sat for meditation and found that Aarti’s dad was already in
meditation. After meditation, I went back upstairs (first floor of the villa)
and caught up with my office mail and the online meditation messages and mails.
It was the 5th of June and luckily for us a holiday in Germany. I
went down again for tea and biscuits at around 6am – again it was nice and
bright so early in the morning. In fact, day broke at just before 5am – so
nights were really short in spring time! At around 10am we left for seeing
Berlin city and a visit to two museums – Pergamon and Jewish museums. As we
went to the museum, a festival was going on, on the road with a stage built and
students performing dances on the stage. We watched for some time and walked on
towards the museum while taking in the sight of beautiful architecture on the
way. The entire city reeked of history, but somehow the energy was not as
vibrant as in Frankfurt and Voigstdorf. The Pergamon museum was wonderful with
bits of historical artifacts from all over the world on display, including a
huge carpet from the Taj Mahal. After about 3+ hours at the museum, we had a
very late lunch at an Indian restaurant from 4-5pm. After lunch, we went to see
the Jewish museum. On the way, we saw the Holocaust memorial which has multiple
structures shaped as coffins on a huge ground in memory of Jews murdered during
World War II. The Jewish Museum had stories of the brave who gave up their
lives to save other Jews, plus letters and other memorabilia. This museum was
very depressing and brought me on to the verge of tears quite a few times – as
this showcased very starkly man’s inhumanity and brutality to fellow human
beings. Such cruelty should never again be seen on Earth! After the museum
visit we walked past Check Point Charlie, reading bits of history about the
Berlin Wall which was posted on a replica of the wall lining the footpath for
the tourists. At a model of Check Point Charlie there were a couple of actors
dressed as soldiers with whom tourists were being permitted to take
photographs. After this, we left for home – it must have been around 9pm but it
was nice and bright with the Sun still out. After the late lunch, we had
requested Aartiji not to make too heavy a dinner. After reaching ‘home’ and
freshening up we had a light, very tasty dinner and after chatting for some
time retired for the night at around 10.30pm.
The next
morning, 6th June, I again woke up at my normal time and after
having a bath went down to the hall for meditation – it must have been around
4.30am and Aartiji’s mom and dad were already sitting in meditation. I joined
them without making any noise and by the time I was done with meditation around
5.30am nobody was in the hall. I quietly went up and started working on my
laptop to look through both Samarpan as well as office mails. At 6.30 or so I
went down for tea and biscuits. As one of our bags had not come – all the
winter wear was in that bag – Aartiji helped out by giving winter jackets,
gloves and all such paraphernalia for the visit to Bavarian Alps. She said that
everyone was supposed to meet in Munich and Mayur will take it with him - we
should just hand it over to him. After all this was settled, Mahesh mentioned
that today he would not be able to accompany us as he had a Samarpan
introduction session lined up in office. Later on, at breakfast Vallari joined
Arati and me at the breakfast table. Aartiji’s mother was narrating her
experiences in Samarpan and then she said why don’t you narrate some of yours
as you have received Swamiji’s proximity. I said ok, and I had just begun
narrating the experience when Pallavi came and asked when is our flight to
Munich and I said 7th morning; she said, the ticket says 6th
morning and our flight has gone! I said what! We all started looking for
alternative flights, but all of them were very expensive (last minute) coming
upwards of US$ 1500 for four people. Best part of it was that none of us lost
our cool or got upset or angry. We just got down to the business of looking for
alternatives with both Mahesh and Aartiji joining in the search. In the
meanwhile, I finished narrating the experience with breaks in between. As we
were discussing options – I think it was Aartiji who said that you have a rail
pass isn’t it? Why don’t you travel from Berlin to Munich by train, which is a
7 hour journey and you won’t have to pay anything. One day you could utilise
for that and buy a day group pass for the trip from Munich to the Bavarian
Alps. The group pass cost us just 40 euros as opposed to the USD 1500 we would
have had to pay. Not only that, we had actually booked the hotel at Munich for
2 nights – 6th and 7th as our arrival by flight was very
early and check-in was at 2pm, so we had fortuitously decided to book a day
early so that we could check-in as soon as our flight landed. After this
in-principle decision we all relaxed and Vallari checked the trains to Berlin
and found that an ICE train left at 4.10pm and reached at 11pm. This was the
fastest train and still gave us a lot of time in Berlin. Mahesh and Aarti along
with our 3 ladies chalked out the programme for the day. A visit to the mall
for some shopping was on the agenda and while they shopped Mahesh and I went to
book the underground tour in English which would take us around the World War
II bomb shelters which were now converted into Nuclear bomb shelters. After
booking the tickets we had called and asked the ladies to come to the Subway
shop where sandwiches for everybody had been ordered. It was 12.55 and our tour
was to start at 1pm. We rushed with the sandwiches upstairs and on to the road.
The girls were eating their sandwiches, I put Arati’s and my sandwich into the
bag and decided to eat it once we boarded the train. As Mahesh transferred all
the stuff the ladies had bought into the pram as he had to go to office and we
were to go straight home and pick our bags and rush to the station! Mahesh then
left for his office and Aartiji was to wait in the mall while she completed her
shopping, while Supriya joined us for the underground tour. The underground
bunker tour showed us how the survival plans were made and the guide was full
of humour as she explained how these bunkers would actually not work in case of
an actual attack. They were apparently more psychological than utilitarian! We
enjoyed the tour and returned exactly at 2.30pm. Aartiji was waiting for us and
as we started picking up all the shopping, Vallari asked where her camera was?
I said I did not have it and Supriya said she handed it over to Vallari when
Vallari went from the last row to the middle row in the van. I told Vallari she
must have forgotten it in the car. Now there was really no time to lose, I
called Mahesh and asked him to check whether the camera was there in the car
and he said he will do so. Aartiji told us to rush to the house and asked Supriya
to accompany us and speak in German to the taxi driver and give directions,
while she took a train to Mahesh’s office. She said she will return by 4pm and
we should return in the same taxi. We actually did that with Supriya giving
perfect directions to the driver. We reached at around 3.20pm and I ran
upstairs to bring all the bags (which had already been packed in the morning
with all the extra winter wear) down. The taxi driver brought the taxi into the
driveway and we put all the bags in the dicky and sat in the car. Just as we
were reaching the station I got a Whatsapp message from Aartiji that she had
the camera and she will reach the station by 4pm. She asked for our location, I
told her we were just reaching the station and would message her the platform
and location once we reached. We paid of the taxi driver and reached Berlin
Spandau station at 3.55pm. We had 15 minutes before the train arrived. I called
Aartiji and she told me to stay where I was, else it would cause more confusion
if I went looking for her. She came with the pram and camera at exactly 4.02pm
and handed over the camera to a much relieved Vallari! We thanked her profusely
for going out of the way to help us out. We really would have loved to stay the
day and were disappointed that our stay was cut short because of the missed
flight! As the train came we said our goodbyes to Supriya and Aartiji with lots
of thank yous and Jai Baba Swamis!! The train was crowded and we got separate
seats. The trick was to look whether the red light was on above the seats which
indicated seats reserved. We did not realise that the train gets empty at
Berlin Hauptbahnhoff and when it did we managed to get 4 seats facing each
other with a table in between. We put all our luggage in place and sat down for
the long comfortable journey to Munich! After all the excitement, we sat down
and ate our subway sandwich, which had become really soggy! I then called the
hotel in Munich and informed him that we were coming by train from Berlin and
should check in by 11-11.30pm. He politely told me to enjoy the train journey
and he would be ready for us. We took a taxi to the hotel and reached in ten
minutes. Next day we realised that it is just a five-minute walk from the
station! This hotel did not have an elevator and I had to lug the heavy bags up
two floors to our rooms. After getting fresh we retired for the night. We
decided to leave the hotel for the Bavarian Alps by 9.30am after breakfast and
take the train to Garmisch-Partenkirchem.
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| On a snow peak in Zugspitze |
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| On a snow peak in Zugspitze |
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| Zugspitze |
Once we
reached Garmisch-Partenkirchem, we went and booked our tickets to go to the
highest peak in Germany – Zugspitze in the Bavarian Alps at a height of 9718
feet. As the cable car was not working our journey up the mountain was by train
which took about an hour to reach the top through some amazingly beautiful
forests and lakes. The scenery was beautiful with the various shades of green
shining in the spring sunshine – a sight for sore city eyes! The weather was
beautiful, nice and bright and sunny and we head the feeling that we were
literally going up into heavenly surroundings! The train passed through a
tunnel which took about 20-25 minutes to pass through and on coming out we
could see the snow-capped peaks closer to us. We went up and out into the open
– the sun was out and the glare from the snow was fierce, lucky my glasses were
photochromatic, the breeze blowing was really chill – temperature may be around
2-3 degrees Celsius! For some time, the sun went behind the clouds and it
started snowing lightly, it was freezing with a chill breeze blowing and I did
not have any gloves nor shoes. I was taking photos as the ladies were snug in
their winter wear! It was now around 1.15pm and we decided to go and get
something to eat. We went into the restaurant as it was quite chilly outside
and ordered something to eat and something hot to drink! After lunch and a
filled stomach, we ventured out again and then into the cable car for a
ten-minute ride which took us to the peak. At the peak as we entered the lobby
we saw tourists carrying skis and hiring skis from the shop. We were right at
the top and you could see the marvel of German engineering with workers doing
maintenance work in the chill on some huge structures. The mountain was full of
snow as I walked out in my all-weather rubber sandals and took in the
mesmerizing view from the viewing deck. The deck had information on all the
peaks in the Bavarian Alps and we spent some time reading the info. After some
time as the ladies were busy taking photos I walked around and explored the
peak a bit. There was a huge twenty odd foot mound of snow on which I saw some
tourists climbing for photo ops. It was a good spot so I too ran up the snow
with Arati protesting as I did not have shoes. I just went up and requested
Vallari to take some snaps! After the snaps, I came running down and after
exploring the view from all the sides and taking lots of photos, we decided to
call it a day and return. From the peak, the Eibsee lake looked amazingly
pretty and serene with shades of blue and green. It was around 3.30pm when we
left and took the cable and then the train down to Eibsee lake. Eibsee is a
lake in Bavaria, Germany, 9 km southwest of Garmisch-Partenkirchen and roughly
100 km southwest of Munich.
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| Eibsee Lake |
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| Eibsee Lake |
We got off the train at Eibsee and walked down to
the lake to spend some time on the banks of the lake. It was very serene,
silent and peaceful – the energy was captivating and as the girls went berserk
with their cameras, I sat down to meditate. My eyes shut and I must have gone
for about 20-30 minutes. When my eyes opened there was a very cute duck sitting
and watching me from about two feet away. I took some photos and then the
ladies called me for a group photo. After requesting a gentleman to take our
photos we started walking back to the station as our train to Munich was at
6.05pm. I took a video as Arati trudged up the slope to the station with
Vallari encouraging her along the way. We reached the station at around 5.50pm
and waited for the train. The train came bang on time and we got in and found
seats for ourselves. We reached Munich at 7.30pm and walked down to the hotel.
We got fresh and decided to go out and try and get dinner at one of the many
eating joints around. As we stepped out on the main road and walked a bit, it
appeared that we were walking on a road where the night life started. The
walkway appeared a bit shady as we tried to look for an Asian restaurant,
unfortunately the GPS took us around in circles and after about half an hour of
looking we got into an Italian Pizza joint. We ate different variety of pasta
with coke and then walked back to the hotel at around 9pm. We asked the desk
manager how to get to the BMW museum as we had to go the next day. The
gentleman was very sweet and he told us to take tram number 27 and we had to
get off at the last stop which was Olympiapark and he told us to walk
thereafter to the museum as the walkway was very pleasant. After taking the
directions and a tram route map, we went to our rooms to retire for the night.
The next
morning was the 8th of June and technically the last day of our trip
as we were to leave for Frankfurt by train in the evening and fly to Mumbai
early on the 9th. As our
train to Frankfurt was at 4.41pm and we only had the BMW museum to see, we
decided to check out as late as possible. We checked out of the hotel at
10.30am after breakfast and kept all our luggage in the luggage cabinet in the
lobby. We then walked down as per directions given and took the tram as
directed. We did not have tickets and get a tram day group pass meant battling
with the ticket dispensing machine. We with great effort succeeded and luckily
for us we had the loose coins to pay for the ticket! The tram took us through
Munich and we reached Olympiapark at around 11.15am. We then walked down as per
directions given by the hotel manager and also clarified our doubts by asking
an elderly German lady who was talking with her neighbor on the road. They told
us we were on the right path and as we walked to the end of the road and took a
right at the signal, we could see the BMW Tower on the right and the factory on
the left. The walkway was very pretty with a small stream gurgling along its
way. We were probably the only people walking on that road with an occasional cyclist
passing us by! We reached the BMW building and purchased our tickets to view
the museum. We were asked to put our backpacks in the lockers which were
available for hire for 1 Euro in the basement. Vallari, Pallavi and I went down
and put both the backpacks in one locker and returned. The museum was amazing
narrating BMW’s rise as an automobile engineering company from an aircraft
engine manufacturing company. The cars on display, the technology, the work
philosophy on display was worth the visit. My brother, Paresh, kept telling me
to go to Stuttgart and see the museum there rather than this one. But within the
given timeframe we had no choice. Nevertheless, this museum visit was unforgettable,
specially the innovation and design display (you can see the video on FB).
We left the
museum and returned by the same tram to the hotel. We had lunch at one of the
restaurants and by the time we reached the hotel it was about 4.15pm. As we had
more than half an hour we freshened up at the hotel and then left for the
station. The train was pretty crowded and with lots of reservations done, we
could not get a seat together. The ladies sat together and I got a seat at the
other end of the compartment next to a very large lady. She got off a couple of
stations later and then the journey to Frankfurt became far more comfortable.
Earlier,
Arati’s missing bag had been delivered to Mayur’s friend in Frankfurt on June ¾
when we were in Voigstdorf. Once we were settled in the train, I messaged Mayur
saying that we reach Frankfurt around 8pm and he could drop in at the Holiday
Inn by 8.30pm. We reached the hotel by 8.15pm, checked in and went to our
rooms. It was 9pm, and Mayur had still not come, so I called him and he said he
was walking down with the bag. I was a little disturbed, as I did not want him
to be so inconvenienced; anyways I told Arati I going down to meet Mayur as he
is walking with the bag, I went down and was waiting for him, I saw him coming
at around 9.15pm pulling Arati’s bag. I took the bag from him and apologised
for putting him through this inconvenience – he was very gracious about it and
said it is no big deal. We went up to the room where all the reshuffling of
baggage was being done so that the weight got distributed in the hand bags and
we needed to check-in only the two big bags. All the packing had been completed
till the Mayur came with Arati’s bag. We told Mayur to sit as we opened that
bag and handed out the gifts to be given to all those who helped with the trip.
We also took one of the big shopping bags and put all of the Gangarapu family
winterwear into it. Once that was done we left by taxi for Shravana Bhavan near
the Hauptbahnhoff to eat genuine South Indian food. We had a sumptuous home-tasting
meal with Mayur on the last day and then took leave of Mayur with lots of thank
yous for everything he had done, who was going back to his office as he had
some late software delivery to complete. We took a cab back to the hotel and
finished our packing. The ladies took a bath while I went to sleep as I was
totally bushed and had to wake up by 3.30am to leave for the airport by 4.30am.
I woke up at 3.30am took a bath and went down to settle the bill. We received a
call from the reception at exactly 4.30am saying that the taxi had come and we
told him we were just coming down. We gave the room keys at the reception and
left by taxi. We reached the airport in about 20 minutes, checked in the two
big bags and went for security check. Arati tried speaking to Air France
customer service, but they were absolutely of no help and said we should check
in Paris. The rest of the trip was uneventful and once we landed in Paris, we
were gain told by Customer Service that there is nothing they can do and such
complaints have to be filed online! So, we left it at that and waited for our
flight to Mumbai. We boarded and took our seats for the long flight home. I did
not sleep at all and watched three movies and two serials during the journey.
Our flight landed in Mumbai at 11.30pm on the dot. We were informed our baggage
will be on Belt 9 and we headed towards the exit – a long 20-minute walk. We
reached Belt 9 and it showed some other flights. I asked one of the attendants
and he said Air France bags will be on Belt 7. I went there and the belt was
loaded with bags of two flights which had already landed, and I wondered how
our bags would come out in that mess. Luckily one bag was removed by one of the
attendants who was trying to help some old people with their luggage – this was
Arati’s bad and I recognised it because of the number of ribbons on its handle.
The other bag did not come for a very long time and I was getting a feeling of déjà
vu! I even did a complete round of the conveyor belt as the last bag from Air
France started flashing. Luckily Vallari spotted the bag which was on the third
layer of bags and I pulled it down – it was 1.30am. We then left for
immigration and you won’t believe the number of people that were there – 46 counters
open to let them through. I don’t think I saw this many people during our
entire trip in Germany! Well that’s that – we got through and reached home by
2.30am.
All in all,
I felt massive karmic cleansing went on during this trip – a true test of our
patience and we all came out on top and enjoyed the whole vacation in spite of
the obstacles which we had to overcome. God Bless my Samarpan family in Germany
for being so helpful, loving and kind during the entire stay there. Waiting for
a chance to reciprocate during their visit to India.
Jai Baba
Swami
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