An English countryside weekend: Bath and Cotswold

P.S. This will be a photo heavy article thanks to the sunny English weekend:)

I spent a recent summer and sunny weekend enjoying a leisurely pace of life in the English countryside. We drove to Bath, where we had tea at the Pump Room, relaxed at the Thermae Bath Spa and experienced the English summer life. And the next day, we drove across a couple of Cotswold villages, soaking in the beauty. It was a very relaxed weekend with more walking in the sun than driving, and just perfect for a weekend getaway from London.

Bath

Now that I have (finally!) got my UK driving license, I can more easily visit the UK countryside. It has been on the cards for a long time but not much happened till last weekend:). We finally found a sunny weekend to get out of London and visit the town of Bath and the villages of Cotswold, both of which are less than 2 hours away. Both places are amazing, as I know from my previous visits there. But the experience gets even better if you are lucky to get the British summer:). As we did that weekend!

It started out with being very tough to rent a car - it looked like everyone was renting that weekend and the only cars available were either too huge or lot more expensive than normal. Anyways we finally found something which worked and off we went, Saturday morning. The drive was usual - sunny and warm, all the way on the M4. We crossed the town of Bath to get to the village of Saltford where our Airbnb was located. It was quite a lucky find - reasonably priced and barely 10 mins drive from Bath. We were staying with a couple in their newly setup house on a fancy street with a pretty view outside! It was a sign of how the next two days would be - warm, pretty and relaxing:)!

There was a park and ride option from our village into the city which was quite comfortable - you can park your car outside town for free, and hop onto a bus to the city centre, to avoid the hassle of parking and driving in the crowded city. We however didn't do that and took our car in. Parking wasn't too expensive, about £8 for 12 hours.

River Avon in Bath

Once we got to the Bath town centre, we don't know how the rest of the day went. Everything had become beautiful and slow and relaxing in the hot sun, which was a welcome change from London. For one the town was not really huge. You could get to any place in the City Centre within 20 mins. And then there were loads of people around, just walking around on a day off. The whole setting was perfect to unwind!

Bath Parade Gardens

The whole of Bath seems to be built of the same brown stone. All buildings are similar and look well maintained and rich. The main City Centre is very small - it comprises of the Roman Baths, Pump Room, Bath Abbey and loads of boutique shops and cafes. On one end is the Avon river and a couple of green spaces. And then all around the City Centre are houses up along the green hills looking all pretty and smug sitting there among the greenery. The undulating landscape provides Bath with a stylishness not seen in a lot of the other towns on UK. Also it seems like there are no industries and companies in Bath. Its mostly older people on the verge of retirement who come and settle in Bath. Hence the whole idyllic vibe.

Bath Royal Crescent

We first walked towards the Royal Crescent which is a crescent shaped building with gated access, wide roads and a huge garden in front - Victoria gardens. I haven't figured out why this place is so sought after, its pretty that's all. Anyways we had the local Marshfield Farm Icecream here (sourced from the local farms) and thereafter we went to the City Centre area where we hung out till very late in the evening.

Roman Baths (from outside)

We started with the Roman Baths which are remnants of the time the Romans were in UK. The Baths contain the original hot water springs frequented by the Romans and Celts, as well as the remains of an ancient Roman temple. I have already been to the Baths, so I did not go inside. Instead I walked around the town, just taking in the sights and experiences.

Musician in the
Bath Abbey Square

First I went to the Bath Abbey, which was like any other church. Next to it is a square where all day artists come and entertain the numerous tourists sitting around. I sat there for sometime listening to an artist playing the guitar. We also walked a bit around the river Avon, with the Parade Gardens full of sunbathers and people on both sides of the river ambling along.

Bath Abbey

Pump room entrance

After the walk around, we went to the Pump Room which was the "Gossip Room" in the times of Jane Austen. It is located right next to the Roman Baths and is open for food all day. There was a band of three playing live music the whole time. Within the Pump Room, you can also taste the water from the Springs through a fountain. The water was warm and I hope clean:).

Afternoon tea in
the Pump Room

You can have lunch there in the afternoon or tea till evening, which is am impressive meal by itself. We went in for an afternoon tea (£22) which included multiple tea options, scones, pastries and the likes. Having tea, I could almost imagine the world of Jane Austen, idyllic and gossipy...






And then came the highpoint of the whole trip for me - the visit to the Thermae Bath Spa. It was the first time I had visited such a huge spa and I was very impressed. The Thermae Welcome Package costs £37 and gives you access to two of their spring pools and the steam rooms for 2 hours. And it was totally worth it. One, the quality of the spa was amazing - very clean, convenient and luxurious. And the amenities were amazing. When I got in, I had expected to be out in less than the 2 hours. But I could have stayed in for much longer for sure. A totally worth it experience.

Crossbaths

There were about 4-5 floors with a lot of options. You can start at the underground level where you have the Minerva pool with a jacuzzi and lazy river to enjoy the warm spring waters coming in. The second floor has four huge steam rooms with 4 different scents - lemon and ginger, lotus flower, sandalwood and elderflower, all with very different qualities. It was very relaxing to just sit there and you had to be conscious to get out before you became totally relaxed!

And then on the top most floor was another pool with water from the second spring. This pool also had a jacuzzi as well as an open roof. Swimming in warm waters in the open sky, with the sun setting on one side and the skyline of Bath all around, surrounded by the little hills with houses peeping through them, sea gulls flying above you and warm water jets around you! It was total luxury and I found it an amazing place to spend the evening...

Bath City Center (with crowds)

After I got out of the spa, I did not feel like doing anything at all. By this time, the crowds of the day had also gone away, and the town looked quieter and slimmer:). It felt nice to see it in all its splendour and beauty, without people blocking the view:).

Bath City Center (without crowds)

After some more lazing around, we went out looking for dinner and it turned out all the popular places we knew of were already booked! Anyways we had got lazy by then and when we saw a nice Thai restaurant (Salathai) next to the river, we stopped looking and had a nice and spicy meal to end the day.

We had had a busy day and I had never realised Bath had so much to offer. There were a couple of other activities too which we did not get time to experience, like Bath walking tours, Jane Austen tours, visit to Jane Austen centre, boating in the river and visit to a couple of museums. Some other day maybe...!

Rainy view outside Airbnb

The next morning when we woke up, it looked like a rainy and cloudy day and we did not feel like getting up at all. Anyways, after a quick breakfast at our Airbnb we left for Cotswold expecting it to be a rainy and cloudy day but things turned around in the afternoon. And we again had a glorious, sunny and warm day to enjoy the yellow villages of Cotswold.

Cotswold is the name of a large area in the North-West of London which is made up of picturesque villages made of yellow stones and still continuing some of their life like they used to lead it many years ago. Its proximity to London makes it a popular getaway location and the high number of golf courses, resorts and spas are proof of that.

Random trout farm in Cotswold

I have been to Cotswold twice, always to the same village of Bourton-on-the-Water and this time we drove to different villages. The drives were all picturesque, through roads covered with green trees, yellow fields with cut crops, moors and green hills dotted with sheep and cows, driving through small yellow villages and inns and pubs on the way - the typical UK countryside. We drove to around 4-5 villages on the way, all similar in some and unsimilar in other ways.

Street of Castle Combe

Our first stop was the village of Castle Combe, a small little village with limited road access but one of the prettiest we saw during the day. We walked next to the river, along the houses, to the church, the local garden, the local hotel and the local golf course- just taking in the village ambience. There is not much to write about to be honest, just what we felt. Its a nice place to just sit and read a book. And very convenient too - there was even a parking lot in this small village!

Traffic jam

On our way to the next village, we got stuck in a traffic jam in the village of Sherston! And this was the jam - there were about 5-6 old English carriages which had been hired by the local club of old people, to dress up on the day and take the carriage from one village to another one far off and have a party! They were lucky with the weather that their costume clothes were not wet and humid! Also, this made us realise how much free time and money people have in the developed world. Imagine people in Indian villages ever being able to do this?

Traffic jam

Arboretum at Westonwirt

After this pretty sight, our next stop was the National Arboretum of Westonwirt - a huge parkland filled with trees from across the world. To be honest, I was not even keen to visit it, thinking - what could be interesting about a collection of trees? But I must say, I was very very wrong! The place was amazing - with trees from across the world set out so beautifully that we totally loved it.

Arboretum at Westonwirt

And as we were walking around, checking out the names of the trees, we were able to put a picture to a lot of trees which we had heard of but never seen before. Cedar, Oak, Spruce, Fir, Beech, Chestnut and so on - all tree names we had read but never seen. It was a learning experience for me, to know more about trees as such and learn to name them. And strange as it may sound, I would recommend this place to anyone who is keen on learning. Or has children. Its good to see the real world rather than just read about it in books. We spent two hours there and easily could have spent some more. And apparently it gets even prettier in fall when the trees start changing colours. I am definitely going back to the Arboretum soon.

After the two hour walk in the Arboretum, we tried looking for a place to eat in Westonwirt but turned out the village was only a couple of houses and an elite school and golf club:). It had nothing on offer to eat for mere tourists:).

Tetbury

So we drove towards the third village of Tetbury which was a lot bigger than the others we had visited. It had been a market town for local wool produce for many years and hence always had a lot more money than neighbouring villages. We had lunch at the first restaurant we came across, called the Zucchini Bar. They has a very eclectic decoration, with a small little garden outside on the backside. The food was nothing much to write about but the ambience definitely was:).

400 year old marketplace

After lunch we idled around in the village and walked into the central marketplace which was about 400 years old! And we ended up buying lot of stuff - sheepskin shoes, sheepskin rugs and other stuff which though available in London looks more authentic buying in the village;-). They also had a Highgrove shop, selling produce from Prince Charles house in the Cotswold called Highgrove. Defintely a market place:).

Parish Church in Tetbury

We then walked into the old St Mary's Parish Church which also apparently had a history and a tour of its own:). It was an old church which was rebuilt in the 1700s with the bricks of the older one. So the bricks must be at least 500-600 years old! Apparently at some point, the government had started charging citizens rent for using the church and so a new church was built in town which had started getting more visitors. But this one picked up when the rent rule was removed and is still important.

Parish Church in Tetbury

We walked around the church and there were lots of gravestones from the 1500s and 1600s all around. I felt its nice to have a long history at the same place. Imagine seeing the place of your great-great-great-...-great grandfather and mother. Wouldn't that be a different feeling? Of course its not possible in India as we don't bury our ancestors. Following the Gita's message of breaking all attachments after death I guess:).

Bibury

Our next and last stop was the village of Bibury which was a big disappointment! I had seen its name in lists of 30 prettiest villages in Europe and so on. Looks like everyone had read that:). There were three tourist buses already in the village when we reached there. And turns out the picturesque street was a row of 10 houses where there were at least 100 people:(. So neither did it feel pretty nor could we even get a good picture of the place.

Bibury

I did see the potential though - there was a pretty Swan hotel next to a well landscaped trout farm. And a row of the yellow houses with a small little stream running through the greens. And the Arlington Row will pretty little houses. But I think it was the crowds which spoilt it all for me.

Bibury without crowds

Anyways after this low point, we drove back to London, which instead of the 2 hours it should have taken took us 3 hours as everyone was returning back. But the calmness and pure oxygen of the weekend stayed a lot longer:). I don't think I am going back to these places soon, but would definitely recommend to anyone looking to experience the relaxed side of UK life!

Back to nature: Fjords of Norway (1)

Snapshots from Norway

This May, I spent a long weekend exploring the north-west part of Norway, around the Andalsnes and Geiranger area. It was 4 days of essentially driving through picturesque mountains and greenery, trekking the green mountains, taking scenic train rides, boating in the fjords and just enjoying the natural beauty of Norway. The weather was warm and sunny the entire period we were there, which added to our already perfect experience. We covered a lot of ground through all modes of transport, and have got a good feel for what Norway is about. We of course could not explore close to what all this vast country has to offer, but got a good peek into it for sure.

We were there for 4 days and our itinerary was as follows:

Day 0 - Land at Trondheim from London
Day 1 - Travel from Trondheim to Andalsnes by scenic train route. After reaching there, drive to Trollstigen (Troll Road) and Trollveggen (Troll Wall)
Day 2- Drive towards Atlantic Ocean Road in morning and Rampestreken trek to Andalsnes viewpoint in the evening
Day 3 - Drive from Andalsnes to Geiranger, sightseeing on the way. Bike down from Batsnibba to Geiranger and boating in Geiranger fjords in evening.
Day 4 - Boating in Geiranger fjords again in the morning, drive from Geiranger to Alesund. Return flight from Alesund to London

To start with, I had no part to play in planning this vacation. A group of friends were already going and I decided to tag along. I now realise the benefit of letting other people plan trips for you:). Its easier and more comfortable that way. And if their planning is as good as my fellow travellers', there can be nothing better than that!

Trondheim

We started our vacation with a delayed flight to Trondheim which finally landed after midnight. I think that was the only thing in the whole trip which did not go as planned:). Rest was as smooth as it gets. The last part of the flight was over snow covered mountains interspersed with water bodies, which looked pretty from the top.

After we landed, we got to see the midnight sun though, it was quite un-dark when we got out of the airport. We took the local bus to the city centre and also got a discount on the bus ticket, 1 free ticket with 8 tickets bought. So a good start to the trip:). The way to town was all green with mountains and water bodies all around. And the horizon was orange throughout, with light from the sun in multiple hues.

Trondheim canal

Trondheim is a small little town on the North West coast of Norway. We were staying at the Scandic hotel in town which was close to the train station and the cathedral. We could not see anything at night as we were very tired and crashed as soon as we reached the hotel. I did go out for a quick walk around in the morning after breakfast, along the coloured houses next to the canals but couldn't explore enough. I also got a sneak peek from afar of the cathedral but not much after that.

The first day we took the Rauma scenic train to Andalsnes, and then drove around nearby to Trollstigen and Trollveggen. We had an early start from Trondheim, as we had to take an 8 am train. It was a 10 min walk to the local train station and we barely made it, given how late we had slept at night. While leaving the city on the train, I realised that the town was quite spread out and not as small as I assumed. It just looked smaller because its not congested:).

The train we took dropped us at the village of Drombas where we waited an hour for the Rauma scenic train to Andalsnes. The route up to there also felt scenic to me:), we went through green hills with wooden houses and lots of water bodies in between. And then the landscape got dry, with trees with no leaves and still lakes. We then passed by red wooden houses with reindeer horns in front, am guessing all Norwegian houses have those? We also saw some elk (or reindeer?) running along the train on the way but not many.

We had a nice time at the village of Drombas as we had an hour to kill and so walked down the hill to the village, noticing the farmers getting their fields ready for sowing in the summer. There were barely 10 houses there which is the usual for Norwegian country side I would think. But even with the few houses, they had a helipad to help during medical emergencies!

Rauma scenic view

The scenic route was about 1.5 hours one way, the train was very comfortable and had panoramic windows on both sides to take in the views on both sides. The train goes down from 5000 mts to the valley floor at 100 m above sea level along the ride. It slows down when it comes to touristy places but was not slow enough for us to take pictures:). It was more enjoyable just taking in the scenes. As the train took us across lush green mountains and wild yellow flowers; next to the Rauma river and small streams and big waterfalls; through small villages and old historical sites; and over bridges which were feats of engineering to build.

The one I remember though is the 360 degrees turn the train took inside the mountain to land at a place just below where it had entered! I had seen something like this in Banff in Canada but not gone through it. You don’t realise what's happening till you are out of the hill. In the end, we cross the Troll Wall where we would drive later in the day anyways.

Andalsnes

Andalsnes railway station

Once we arrived in Andalsnes, it was bliss. This is the view of the train station, in between high mountains on all sides and the sea coming in as a fjord in between. The snow on the mountains, the green on the hills, the blue of the water and the bright blue sky with the shining sun - all colours were at their resplendent best and this was a standard fare for the rest of our 4 days in the country.

We had rented a car from Hertz (I think) and the car rental served as the local petrol station too. Am guessing given how small the town was, people had to multi-task ;-). We also found two grocery stores nearby itself with convenient opening hours and we were all set for food if we did not find vegetarian options in the town.

View from our villa

We had taken an Airbnb apartment near the village of Isfjorden. It was a 20 mins drive from Andalsnes and a beautiful villa located in the middle of nowhere. It has a picturesque view outside the window, of snow covered mountains with lush green trees in front. There were also lots of ponies and sheep on the way to the accommodation, which felt quite picture perfect. We quickly checked in there and then took off on our explorations.

We first drove up the serpentine Trollstigen road, which goes up one of the famous mountains of the area - the Trollsveggen (or the Troll Wall). It is the tallest rock-face in Europe, and towers 1,000 m above the ground. We had seen the Wall face from the Rauma scenic train and now were driving up the other side.

Trollstigen road

The views while driving up and from the top were quite magnificent. You can see the road zig-zagging all the way up. And picturesque bridges and waterfalls on the way. There was also a lot of snow on top unlike the sunny plains we had left behind. Within 30 mins it had gone from sunny and warm to cool and breezy. We stopped a bit at the viewpoint on top which gives a panoramic view of the road up. We also stocked up our water bottles with fresh water from the streams (it was very fresh and tasted awesome). We kept doing this all along our trip and I am sure we drank more minerals than what the typical bottled water bottle provides:).

After Trollstigen we went back for a quick stop to see the front of the mountain, where we stopped for a short time. It seemed like a popular place for people to camp, under the shadow of the huge mountain. Thereafter we went out looking for food. (One downside of being in Norway in summer was that it was light till 11, so you lose track of time. You can be out till late and not realise how late you are for dinner)

Anyways we were lucky with food our whole time in Norway. Given how small the town was, we were not too hopeful of finding tasty vegetarian food at all. But we got a good surprise when we were served a tasty and hearty Italian meal at the Piccola Mama Rosas in the city centre.

The second day, we all drove to the Atlantic Ocean Road and in the evening did the Rampestreken trek which was the first highlight of the trip for me. Some of our group did more than that though - the two most adventurous ones went for cycling up the Trollstigen. It was a couple of hours and quite tough apparently, but totally worth it. I was happy though to drive around in the car:).

Snapshots of Norway

We had a very tasty home cooked breakfast, and then left for the Atlantic Ocean Road which was about 2 hours drive away from Andalsnes. The drive till there was along the sea and the typical Norwegian drive with magnificent views all along - green lush forests dotted with yellow and purple wild flowers, snow on the mountain peaks, streams and waterfalls on both sides of the road, wooden colourful huts dotting the plains, very few people, fjords every two minutes, crossing them in ferries (Solsnes ferry), bright blue skies and fresh air everywhere. We crossed many tunnels through the mountains also on the way. Every turn in the road felt like a picnic spot. To be honest, it felt so natural after a point that we stopped noticing it also:). But I miss it a lot now when I think back on those 4 days.

Snapshots from Norway

The drive was very comfortable and the road and infrastructure amazing. We jumped from one to another island, driving through Molde and Bolsoya, mostly along the sea. We saw lots of houses all along the way and it felt that the density of population was a lot higher than I would have assumed. But we did not see as many people. It could be because a lot of those houses are vacation cabins and vacant most of the times. Or just that this area of Norway was more densely populated than the others.

Storseisundet Bridge

The Atlantic Ocean Road is about 8 kms, runs from Bud and Kristiansund, and connects multiple small islands through a series of bridges over the sea. This whole drive was spectacular with photo spots every two minutes. I don’t even remember how many places we stopped and how many pictures we would have clicked when we were there. The mountain landscape, the dark blue of the water, the seagulls in the air, the fishes and jellyfishes in the sea, a fresh breeze blowing, the sun shining - and there, life is beautiful:). Norway I think is one of those places where you can sit anywhere in the vast countryside and enjoy just sitting there, staring at the calm and peace around. It was amazing to lie down on one of the rocks at one of the stops, and go to sleep. Nirvana?

Storseisundet bridge

One of the most photographed bridge on this route was the Storseisundet bridge. Just next to it was a cafe where we took a quick snack break. On this trip, we had planned ahead and were carrying enough cash for the trip. But when we tried paying at the cafe in cash, they were quite surprised to see it! Apparently no one uses cash in Norway anymore, even at a remote location:). On our way back to Andalsnes, we also stopped at a fishing village (now converted to a hotel) for some time. It was nice sitting in the sun and spotting fish on the way. It would be great to stay in a remote place like this, wouldn't it?

Viewpoint on the top

Once in Andalsnes, we did the Rampestreken trek up from the City Centre to a view point which has a panoramic view of the valley below. It was a red in difficulty and took about 2.5 hours to go up and come down. The length of the trek was about 2 km in length and a total ascend of 500 mts. There are markings every few 100 mts of height gained which is very helpful:). The path is through forested areas, all the way straight up; you will need to jump over tree roots and stone steps on the way. It was quite a tough trek and took a lot of effort going up.

View from the top

But the viewpoint on top was totally worth it, one of the high point on this trip. Once on top, there is a protrusion out in the open which gives you a 180 degrees view of the Trollstigen road, the fjord, Andalsnes and beyond. It was a mind-blowing view and I loved standing at the place, though I must say it felt a bit scary too! I also realised that Andalsnes was quite an industrial town and had lot of the ugly looking steel buildings. The view from the top though was beautiful in every sense. As I said the trek was totally worth it, but did not stop us complaining all the way on why we had come on such a difficult trek:).

Again we did not realise how late we were, we had started the trek at 7 and finished at 10. By that time, we were all ready to call it a day, cooked a very tasty maggi dinner at our airbnb and crashed soon after.

View from the ferry

The third day again we had an early start: we drove till Geiranger, cycled down a mountain and then went for boating in the fjord (pretty hectic day, but as I said days in Norway are very very long). The drive till Geiranger was again through very picturesque locations. We had to take many ferries on the way, to get from one island to another and not have to drive along the fjords. But by this time as I said, stunning views had become a daily occurrence and no more a novelty:).


Back to nature: Fjords of Norway (2)

Back to nature: Fjords of Norway (2)

Back to nature: Fjords of Norway (1)

Geiranger

First view of Geiranger fjord

Our first view of the Geiranger fjord was from a viewpoint on the way and it looked stunning. To see this huge water body coming in with mountains on both side was very enchanting. And you need to see the ferry coming in the fjord to realise the scale and size of the fjord. And I must say now itself, I totally enjoyed the two days I spent there. Geiranger felt a lot more isolated from the rest of the world, with the only way of coming in through the narrow fjords and not that easy to get out of either. The kind of place you would expect in Lord of the Rings and the likes:).

Closer view of the town and fjord

The town of Geiranger was right at the mouth of the fjord and at a very captivating location. We were staying at the Hotel Geiranger which was right in the middle of the 100 houses in Geiranger:). Just next to the fjord, the local waterfall and the high street of the town:). It is apparently one of the oldest buildings in town. Also apparently the whole town shuts down in winter and most people leave. So this hotel would have been the perfect location of the hotel in Shining;-).There are only 220 actual residents in town, rest are all tourists and people looking to make money off tourists:).

Frozen lake on the top

Anyways, once we checked in, we immediately left for a mountain biking tour that we had booked already. It was the ‘Sky to Fjord Downhill Bike Tour’ with Geiranger Adventure located in the local high street. They took us in vans to the top of the Dalsnibba mountain, gave us the mountain bikes and left us on our own. The place where they dropped us was all snow covered, and there was also a frozen lake on top.

Valley view while cycling down

And then we started cycling down the mountain. This experience was the second high point for me of the trip (the other two were the viewpoint in Andalsnes mentioned above and the boating we did later). Imagine going down a green mountain, fresh breeze blowing on your face, greeted with spectacular views at every turn - of valleys and mountains and waterfalls on the way. And not having to cycle at all, as it was all downhill.

View while cycling down

We just had to control not going down too fast and letting it all finish too fast. I buzzed past the whole distance and just enjoyed the whole feeling it gave me of flying free. I wish the route had been longer. I wish I could have cycled downhill like this for hours, but alas that always takes going up first:(.

Local waterfall

We lazily came down in about an hour, stopping on the way. There was a viewpoint giving a good view of the fjord. And we also passed some wooden huts which were used by agriculturists many years ago. But as I said, it all finished too fast:(

For the evening activity, we split up into two groups. One went for a trek, a beautiful one which takes you behind a waterfall. The second of which I was a part of, had had enough of physical activity the previous day and chose the lazy option of boating. (You can also take the official cruise which takes you along the fjord but as we later realised, the boating is better:) ). We rented a 25 KW speedboat from a hotel about 15-20 mins from our hotel and off we went, the 5 of us. It was a new experience for us to steer the boat ourselves. Initially we rode slowly to each of the waterfalls around (including the famous Seven Sisters one), enjoying the cold brush of air and water splashing on our faces.

And then we discovered speed! Then there was no stopping us. The last half an hour of the rental, we started driving at top speeds and swerving at the last minute to get cheap thrills. We were splashing water on everyone, going too close to the mountains and totally rocking it! It was so much fun that we decided to come back again in the morning:). It also tempted me to get a boating license and take up boating as a hobby, given my love for water anyways:).

The rest of the day we spent in the small pedestrian high street in the town with cute little shops. We had chocolate at the local chocolate place which has the most amazing spread of chocolate options. They were making their own fresh chocolate in their basement factory. There were a couple of troll figures also dotted everywhere (man-made, not real;-) ) and were good photo opportunities:).

Given how small Geiranger was, we were not expecting to find proper food options and went to at least 3 restaurants. Finally we did decide on Olebuda and it turned out to be AWESOME. One of the best gourmet meals I have ever had - the dishes made using a mix of unusual ingredients, were so yummy - one of my most enjoyable meals in the trip. I do think though our loud Indian group did scare away some of the quiet Norwegians who were eating there, but some things can’t be helped, can they:)? If any of you is going to Geiranger, I would recommend definitely eating at Olebusa, even if you are vegetarian. It is totally worth it.

View from Batsnibba point

The fourth and the last day, a couple of us went up the Batsnibba point and to the frozen lake nearby, and then we all went boating again before heading back to Alesund for our flight back. From the top, you can get a grander view of the places around.

Local waterfall and view of fjord

In the morning, I went for a walk along the waterfall path (the town had a huge waterfall flowing through it ) and just enjoyed the walk around. Geiranger is a popular destination among the cruises that come to Norway. So when we woke up in the morning, there were already two huge cruises who had come in that day and were moored in the fjord. And because of that, there were loads more people walking around than the previous day. I earlier thought that the cruises would spoil the view around, but surprisingly they blended in effortlessly with the colours around.

I also learnt that the mountains on both sides of the fjord will at some time break and fall down, as they have cracks in them. Such a happening would trigger a tsunami, therefore scientists track the cracks in the mountains the whole time. Also I noticed a lot of Indians travelling there, which was a surprise for me. I would assume Geiranger is too remote to be on a typical itinerary but clearly was wrong. We also ran into a group of 10 families visiting from Calcutta RBI and staying in our hotel. They were not too impressed by the place though, and thought the rest of Europe was definitely better :D.

After the walk, we again went for a boat ride in the fjord but this time could only got a 15 KW boat. And surprisingly, the boating was even better than the previous day (as if it could!). I steered the boat for that hour and loved every moment of it. We were very focussed and rode at top speed out of the fjord. We went up to the town of Hellesylt where we started experiencing the waves from the sea. The first time we encountered them, they were huge and it felt that we could overturn. We had to shut off the engine and still it felt scary!

When we felt that the boat might almost turn over, was when we decided to turn back. I had mastered manoeuvring the boat by then, so did a lot of sharp turns on the way back, splashing water on all of us. It was a fun and exhilarating time for me and I totally loved it. I seriously think I should go boating more often and take up a course to get a licence:).

Snapshots of Norway

The high point was also almost the end of the trip for us. Once back from the boating, it was almost time to head back. Our flight was from Alesund, so we drove towards there taking a couple of ferries on the way. We were quite tired by this time and so slept most of the way. Our flight was from Alesund to Oslo and then back to rainy and cloudy London:).

People

We barely interacted with any Norwegians during our entire stay. The few we met spoke good English, which is always helpful. And we saw lots of immigrants everywhere - apparently, 15% of the population there are immigrants. The population density also felt a lot higher than I would have expected. We barely passed areas which were not inhabited. There were always some houses around (though rarely any people). This was so unlike all my drives in Kashmir and Arunachal - where sometimes for hours you don't see any population.

Eating

We had a good experience eating (even vegetarian food) in Norway, again quite unlike what we had expected. Our first dinner was in the Italian restaurant, Piccola Mama Rosas where the pizza was yum and had a masala to put onto it to add to the spicy flavour. The second meal outside was the cafe on Atlantic Ocean Road which was average. But we had a stock of theplas to keep us going there:).

The third was at Olebuda which was out of this world. And the last was in Systra cafe in a random town, Strojolt on the way to Alesund, which was again tasty. The rest of the time we cooked at home (and loved) the maggi and the masala baked beans.

Accommodation

The hotel at Trondheim, Scandic was located in the city centre next to the canal. But we barely slept there 4 hours, so don’t know much about it. The villa we had rented was pretty and comfortable. And that is where we realised, in Norway, there is light 24 hours of the day. So you need very dark curtains if you want to get any sleep. And lastly, Hotel Geiranger in Geiranger was also perfectly located, right in the middle of the town, with a good view of the fjord from everywhere.

Tips

There are not many tips to give actually, because my friends planned it all and it went so well. Overall, it felt like a comfortable and convenient place to travel. Just one tip I can think of - Norway is very expensive, even more than London (if thats possible!). A pack of crisps costed the equivalent of 7 GBP at the airport. So you should plan on saving money all the way; pre-booking activities and hotels will definitely help.

Driving

Driving was again convenient - great and empty roads, barely any cars and good views to keep you entertained. We had a huge mini bus given there were 9 of us. All in all, fun and convenient.

Map



I felt that Norway is one of the loveliest and close to nature places I have visited, and the calm of Norway would be difficult to find anywhere. I totally loved and enjoyed the trip, and it is definitely a country I would love to come back to.

Hola! Madrid

My blog on Madrid is going to be very different than the usual ones I write. I spent about 4 days in the city, the first two on work and then the weekend was spent chilling. I did not do the usual touristy stuff at all. In fact I was living more like a local and enjoying the feel of the city, than being a tourist. I took very few pictures too for the same reason. It happened because I was just hanging out with a couple of Spanish friends and again I reiterate - knowing locals is the best way to see any place as compared to reading on trip advisor or following guide books.

Since I went in June, the weather was already very hot. When you are landing, the land looks all dry and yellow all around. And you can almost feel the heat outside from the air itself. I must also mention my experience at the Madrid airport - it was huge. It took me half an hour just to get to the immigration and baggage area!

As I said, the first two days were work, as I was attending a conference. I was staying in the popular area of Castellano, in Hotel Hesperia and absolutely loved the city from Day 1. The temperatures were hot during the day (up to 35 degrees) and lower in the evenings (late 20s), which was perfect for feeling comfortable, relaxed and having a great time.

The first evening started with dinner at Luzi Bonbon, a 10-min walk from the hotel. And by then I had already started enjoying the city:). The second day was a full day conference at one of the TV studios outside the city - the studio for the weekly show, La Sexta Noche. It was great to be inside a TV studio for the first time and see how they record such shows. The light systems seemed very complex and the sound systems were also working well. We had all our meals in the studio itself, and it was good to be inside:). As it was quite a hot day, even the little bit we were outside made us all very tired very quickly.

Casino de Madrid

In the evening, we had dinner at a roof top terrace restaurant called Casino de Madrid. It was a great location for dinner - enjoying the cool breeze on top of a building, with the view of the old city on one side and the TV playing a Euro Cup football match on the other:).

The third day we had a couple of work sessions in the morning and by afternoon I was free to start exploring the city. However, that is when I realised how hot Madrid was and decided to work the whole afternoon, and get out of the hotel only after 5pm! And so the next three days were spent mostly taking siestas in the afternoon, and getting out of the hotel only in the evenings:).

Traffic jam at midnight!

And then it would be time for a long and extended dinner. As a lot of you might know, the Spanish eat dinner late. But I did not realise it was this late! They start around 10, so most restaurants serve dinner from 10-1. And then people go to bars which open from 1-3 serving drinks, and then the clubs open from 3-7. Quite messed up timings I must say. Therefore the peak traffic in Madrid is not at 5 pm as in normal cities, but at 2 am on a Friday night. I saw it myself too, this was the traffic outside my hotel at 12 midnight on Friday!

One of the reasons for the late dinners is the late time zone in Spain which affects the people’s lifestyles. And apparently the cause for that was that Franco, the Spanish dictator had aligned with Hitler, and he wanted to have the same time zone as Germany. One man’s folly once is making the country suffer forever.

Madrid City Hall

In terms of touristy stuff, I did not do much over the next three days. We walked around in the old part of town mostly and crossed a couple of places like the Colon square, the City Hall, the Library, the Post Office and a couple of museums. There are loads of the usual imperial huge stone buildings with extravagant facades all around the old town. The City Hall had the rainbow flag in support of the Pride Parade being held on the weekend (the previous week, it had a flag saying ‘ We welcome all refugees’ when the total number of refugees taken in by Spain is 19:) as per anecdotal numbers!).

Gay Pride Parade

Then we spent an hour and a half at the Pride Parade which was being held in Madrid that weekend. We could see only the first part of the Parade, with a couple of groups of people walking in costumes and some playing the drums. Looking at some of the people walking in the parade, I could see the ‘pride’ in them while walking and realised then why these parades are called what they are.

We did not see the famous carriages with the drag queens as we had left by then. But we saw enough people dressed up and planning to have fun. It looked like the whole city was out in the sun to party. The whole environment was like a huge fiesta, with a lot of people dressing up in random costumes just for fun:).

Buen Retiro Park

After the parade, I went to the San Jeronimo church right next to Prado museum and then walked in the Buen Retiro Park next to it. It is the main park of Madrid, and is about 1.4 sq km. I walked around inside a bit, apparently it has a lake and lot of landscaped gardens and places to explore. Seemed like a good place to spend time during the mid-day heat. It was also fun walking through the park in the warm weather, without needing a jacket, which is something I miss in London.

San Jeronimo church

And last of all, I spent about two hours on the last day in the Prado museum, exploring some of the most famous paintings of Spain. The most popular paintings here are of Goya, Rembrandt, Rubens and Velazquez. It felt quite like the National Gallery in London and was impressive. Couple of tips for visiting Prado museum given how huge it is, is to buy tickets online to avoid the lines, or to go to the museum at 4pm when entry is free. Also you should get a map of the museum, which includes where the top 40 masterpieces are located. And if short of time, just visit them - that itself will take you 2 hours.

Other than these few places, I spent most of my time shopping. The summer sale had started on the Saturday and Zara/Mango etc. were on huge discounts. Even with the drop in value of pound in the last few weeks (thanks to Brexit), shopping was still a steal! We shopped mostly around the Gran Via, which is the main shopping street of the city. The flagship Zara store there was 5 floors high and full of people given the sale. Apparently, Michele Obama and her daughters had come to shop there the previous day!

I also walked a bit on the Serrano street which was the route from my hotel to the Old Town. It was again filled with high-end shops. I also shopped at the Zara on that street:). The Zara store there still retained the old part of the facade on the inside and the outside, as per regulations. But other than the facade, the whole building had been renovated from inside.

The owner of Zara is quite famous in Spain, as you would expect. He is the third richest person in the world and his daughter is the second richest person in Spain, his ex-wife being the third! Looks like he alone has been responsible for a lot of wealth creation in the country:). And its a good successful model, I think half the women I saw around in Madrid felt like they were wearing Zara!

Even though I did not do enough touristy stuff, I learnt a lot about Spain and Madrid from the time I spent there. First of all, it has an amazing weather. And that bestows a very welcoming and warm feeling to the city. I felt so at home just because it was so easy to walk around and enjoy it totally.

Entrance to Buen Retiro

Most of the streets of the city looked very very wide, with lots of green trees planted all around. And the houses were mostly squarish, made of light brown coloured stones. Most of the city felt pretty new and modern, though the old part of the city did have loads of old buildings. The overall feel of the city felt very warm and fuzzy, totally relaxed. People were out late at nights. But people smoke too much here, everywhere you could see them standing outside and polluting the environment:).

There were tons of eating places everywhere - every minute you walk, you run into another one. And all of them were full of people - in the afternoon, evening and so on till early morning. Spanish people really love their food - pork and wine. And sitting outside was a favourite too, all restaurants had areas outside known as the terrace, because no one right now wanted to be inside.

In terms of things to do, apparently Madrid has amazing cultural museums and they are a must see. Though as you would expect, these museums lose out to the most popular museum in the city - the Real Madrid one:).

The posh parts of the city are Salamanca and Castellano. I was staying at Salamanca, and I could see it. There were high end shops everywhere, along the Serrano and the parallel street to it, both of which I walked. All the shops were on sale and very tempting, though I did manage to avoid a lot.

Random facts about the city include that its one of those rare cities with two famous football teams - Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid. And that Madrid annually has a sheep parade when sheep are allowed to walk on the streets:).

I also learnt a bit about the different parts of Spain and how they are considered different. For example, people around Andalusia are considered lazy. And from Basque region are very very tall. They also play some very weird games - two examples I heard about was harrijasotzaile (picking and throwing rocks, seriously!!) and Basque pelota (like squash but played with hands, leading to terrible injuries). The Basques also don’t consider themselves as part of Spain given their language is so different from the rest of the country.

It was also interesting to hear the Spanish (or at least a section’s) view on imperialism, though in a light hearted manner. While talking to my friends, they made light of it saying at those times, imperialism was ‘just business’:). They also while talking about the Spanish colonialism said, that even though the Spanish were brutal and murderers and looters and the rest, unlike the British they were not rascist. They settled in their colonies, accepted those countries and made it their own. Unlike the British who never mingled or settled in their colonies.

To be honest, being from a country which was colonised, it is difficult for me to see it in a lighter vein, but it was refreshing to see them accept that they did do some questionable things in their colonies (though never racism ;-) ).

Food

Our first day dinner was at Luzi Bombon, again in Castellano which had an open area to sit and mingle with everyone. I just ate finger food there, so would not know about its entire offering but have heard good reviews about it. Casino de Madrid, our dinner location had a great terrace outside which was totally enjoyable. Don’t remember much about the food though.

The third day, we went to Casa Lobo, in the Piovera area. The food was very tasty and ambience enjoyable. Unfortunately we did not get the outside terrace seating but it was still fun. The area around felt like a high-end residential area. And then we walked 2 mins to the area where there were loads of bars and very lively even at 1 am. We sat at Ten Beach for sometime but decided to call it an early night:).

The last day we went to Marieta and got a seat outside! The food was good and the place became a dance area after dinner was over at 1:). Just next to it, there are a couple of other restaurants. We had gone to Lateral earlier which again was very lively. In that area in Salamanca, there are 3-4 restaurants next to each other with outside seating and good music playing till late.

In the restaurant scene in Madrid, apparently the most popular places are where everyone turns up, even if its not the best food offering. Given whichever is the most recent popular place, everyone wants to be seen there. Overall, food was very tasty everywhere we ate and much much cheaper than in London.

Hotel

I first stayed at the Hesperia and then Melia Galgos, both of which were located in the Castellano area. Hesperia was quite luxurious while Melia though a bit old was totally worth the price. One funny thing though was that my hand got stuck in the lift at Melia - it did not have lifts which stop when they detect movement. This was highly dangerous! Also given its a 4 star hotel, I was shocked to see that after 1 am there was no one at the reception! They all lock the doors and go off to sleep:). It can happen only in Spain;-).

Overall, I loved Madrid and enjoyed the weekend spent there. I would love to come back sometime, and spend time just shopping, relaxing, eating and enjoying the sun:).