Autumn Notes

I've always enjoyed autumn in Stockholm. The aged red walls of KTH (my university) buildings are adorned with climbers getting ready to shed their last leaves. Over a fortnight, one could observe the leaves going from green to many beautiful shades of yellow to deep red. In evenings, a bright golden sunshine illuminates the surroundings in a yellowish glow; just sitting outside and taking in the surroundings is an awesome time-pass.

We in Stockholm know that in a few days, once final traces of autumn vanish and a white blanket of snow engulf the whole city, there will be no evenings to enjoy the sun (thinking about that, there will be no sun most days !). But then winter also brings festive mood and holiday season with it, so I guess there is not much to complain about.

Talking about festive mood, I was lucky to be in Munich on the final day of Oktoberfest. The whole city was filled with people in traditional Bavarian attire; music, dance and beer everywhere. Even though I have nothing to do with dance or beer, I had my own fun. 

I walked into a tent in Oktoberfest:

Barmaid: Hallo !

Me: Hai, one Coke neat.

Barmaid: (with a puzzled expression) What ?

Me: One Coke. Neat.

Barmaid: Er, what is that ?

Me: Refrigerated Coca Cola, without any ice.

Barmaid: (lol) Why not ice cubes ?

Me: Then it would be Coke on-the-rocks. I only take Sprite on-the-rocks, not Coke.

Barmaid: (still not sure if it was a joke) We have alcohol-free beer if you want.

Me: Nah, that's lame. I will just have Coke neat.

If I was guilty of beer-bashing due to my no-alcohol policy, in two days time I also also committed the sin of champagne-rejection. It was during the return flight to Stockholm. We were flying over Baltic Sea and all of a sudden the captain announced, "Ladies and Gentlemen, join us in wishing a very happy birthday to Mr.Venkataraman, our frequent flyer." (I learnt later that the lady in check-in counter noticed it was my birthday, informed the flight crew and arranged for a mini-surprise party in mid-air. How nice of her !)

The stewardesses started singing 'Happy Birthday' and appeared with a glass of champagne. I politely refused it and settled with some apple juice.(Seriously, they are throwing you this awesome surprise in mid-air and you say no to champagne. Could I be anymore obnoxious ?!. In fact, an elderly man sitting nearby barked out, "Huh, are you like Gandhi or something ?!")

As we neared Stockholm and started landing, I once again let my eyes feast on the beautiful autumn landscape. From air, it presented a completely different and amazing picture; it was like someone had sprinkled gold and copper dust over the green forests. It was evening and the sun was once again at its best.

You can cut all the flowers, but you cannot keep spring from coming. - Pablo Neruda