I have to say, arriving from India where it was a pleasant 30C in Finland to rain and 2C weather wasn't that much fun. It rained the first two days I was there, and the end of the second day I had to go to Oulu. We went for a management meeting the next day, but got to go see the Oulu Hockey team lose to the Espoo Hockey team in overtime(Finnish National Finals- Oulu was ahead 2-0 at the time). One of the mgt team had arranged for us to get some special treatment and our boss got to drop the first puck. Lots of beer/wine and good food for the evening. By the time we got out it was snowing--kind of late in April, but it happens in Oulu.
Many of the gang went out for drinks after we checked into the hotel (after 10), but I called it a night. Thank goodness!! Next day was all day meetings and a mad dash back to Espoo by dinner time. Missed the hockey game on TV, but got to enjoy a nice dinner with friends.
By Friday afternoon I was completely pooped, but had to go on to Germany. There I met Giselle, and we went by train to Delft to visit cousins. Arrived pretty late (after 11pm) but were met by Marjolijn and Francine at the train (luckily as I would not have remembered the way to the house). We enjoyed a trip on the canals, seeing the escape door for William of Orange--he never got to use it as he was shot inside. We saw many different bridges,
and got a bit of history of Delft. Then we climbed the tower in the main square.
The wind was blowing something fierce, so we only went half way up. But we got a nice view.
We went to the market, and did some shopping for dinner. I bought some cheese to bring home, but unluckily I forgot it in the fridge the next morning. I hope they enjoy it. Then we had Pofferties (a small pancake served with a healthy dose of butter and powdered sugar). Jan and Jan-Marc had gone climbing at a Gym which had an exterior to mimic the top of the Matterhorn, and a complete climbing setup inside as well. We stopped by just in time for them to go home, oh well. We did see a lovely pottery next door with some really nice work.
Giselle and I enjoyed a lovely evening with Marjolijn, Jan, Jan-Marc, Francine, Dorine, Hans, and Marc, all eating around the living room as the table was too small in Marjolijn's house. I don't think Giselle understood too much of the discussion as much was in Dutch and went by quickly, but she understood some. Her host mother speaks dutch to the children. She answered more often in German than in English--shows her head is really in Germany at the moment. This is great. I am so proud of her.
Sunday we spend a leisurely morning wandering around Delft. We saw the one remaining gate to the city. I particularly like this angle,
it looks hungry. The other side is more picturesque though.
By afternoon, unfortunately we had to return to Germany. Giselle back to Essen and I to Munich for a couple of days work. It was lovely weather Monday morning, but by afternoon it was raining pretty hard. Tuesday not much better. I was certainly glad to get back to Bangalore where all is sunshine and 35C in the daytime. I guess it is hot enough to use the air conditioner at night, otherwise it is a bit hard to sleep, but we don't use it during the day. It is not too humid, so really not bad. Also while I was gone, our fridge was replaced. The old one, while it sang to us, didn't keep things cold. The new one does, but alas it doesn't sing :-(
and this: 
and this: 
and this: 
and best of all this: 
. He paid for this all out of his own pocket, I don't know how much it was, but we are now traveling in a suitably adorned chariot... Our landlord saw all the stickers and commented on all the Ganesha's. Cindy said we are riding in a Ganesh temple on wheels. Well he is supposed to help remove obstacles.
They are made from a rice/dal(read lentil) flour mixture, left to ferment just long enough to develop some gas bubbles, and then put into an idli pan and steamed for 15 mins. They are a bit sticky (and bland just by themselves) when first cooked, but are delicious with fresh sambar, and coriander chutney. Lalitha also made Badji-- I'm not sure what all was in them, but it seemed like potato, onion and spices, then deepfried till golden brown. The meal was absolutely delicious and she would not stop making idli till we were all overfull and could not eat more. She even had batter left over, so the next day I made some idli--not too hard, until you try to get them out of the pan when they are still too hot. Sticky and crumbly--they refused to let go. 2-3 mins later, they came out just like that. Oh-well, you learn something new every day. Maya even made idli last night with left over batter. I just hope the idli don't stick to our ribs (or elsewhere) too much.
