Voss to Oslo - Norway (Day 8)

Next day morning, the breakfast was quite good though. We drove to Fleischer’s hotel, returned the car and walked to platform in time to catch the train to Oslo. The train journey was about 5.5 hrs and the initial portion of the journey was through the snow-covered mountains and it was quite spectacular to see the terrain through with the train was going. It felt like taking a train to the NorthPole! The whiteness and the wilderness were a bit scary sometimes, but quite dramatic.

The Oslo station was one heck of a busy location. The Forenom Aparthotel was quite modern with just enough amenities for a reasonable price, way better than the Voss Hostel! The location of the hostel was not that far from the train station and the city center.

After checking in, we walked around and took a bus to the Viking Museum. It was a modest museum with mainly 4 actual Viking ships that were excavated and preserved for the viewers. Since we arrived with less than an hour before the closing time, we were given a discount for the entrance fee. The time we had was actually quite sufficient for us and it worked out great!

We got back to the city center and took a stroll again around Oslo waterfront. It was a sunny day with a wonderful view of the opera house. There was an event happening along the shore that was kind of an amalgamation of food, music and art, though we were not able to find anything vegetarian. We had our fill of falafels wraps in another part of the city and called it a day.

That was a wrap for our Norway trip!

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Blue Mountain Lake - Central Adirondacks

Our agenda was to get to Blue Mountain Lake and do the small hike up to the Castle Rock Summit to get a view of the Blue Mountain Lake. The drive from our house through the foothills of Adirondacks didn’t show that the fall colors had peaked, but once we went past Warrensburg and the elevation started to increase, we could see colors changing gradually. Gore Mountain had spectacular views, but past that were colors even more gorgeous and vibrant! Further on the way, we passed a few lakes with spectacular foliage in the foreground and background - Adirondack Lake, Lake Durant and Lake Abanakee dam. Okay, the hike was only for about ~1.5miles one-way. We didn’t really pay attention to the height or the elevation (2430’) that we had to climb across that ‘short’ hike. Boy, did we underestimate! Up until about 0.8-0.9 miles, the steepness was okay, and the trail split into two - one going to the Castle Rock Summit and another one leading to the shore of Blue Mountain Look. We ...

ஜெயமோகனின் (காந்தியும் இந்தியும்)

ஜெயமோகன் அவர்களின் 'காந்தியும் இந்தியும்' கட்டுரைக்கு எனது தத்து பித்து பின்னூட்டும் அதற்கு அவருடைய மதிப்பார்ந்த பதில்களும் ( பொருமையாக, எனது பின்னூட்டத்திற்கு பதிலளித்ததற்கு அவருக்கு மிக்க நன்றி) http://jeyamohan.in/?p=4087 எனது மின்னஞ்சல்- தாங்கள் குறிப்பிட்டுள்ளது போல் காந்தி அடைந்த நடைமுறை விவேகத்தால் தான் இந்தியை முன்மொழிந்தார் என்றே வைத்துக்கொள்வோம் . எனது சொந்த ஊர் பழனியின் அருகே உள்ள பாலசமுத்திரத்தில் வாழும் ஒரு சாதாரண குடிமகனுக்கு இந்தியைக் கற்றுக்கொள்வதற்கும் ஆங்கிலத்தை கற்றுக்கொள்வதற்கும் என்ன வித்தியாசம் தெரியப்போகிறது ? காந்தியின் நடைமுறை விவேகம் வட இந்தியர்களுக்கும் தேவநாகிரி பரிச்சயமான பகுதிகளுக்கும் வேண்டுமானால் எளிதாக இருந்திருக்கலாம் . நீங்கள் சொல்வது போல் கணிப்பொறியின் உதவியால் கனநேரத்தில் தமிழில் வாசிக்க முடியும் காலத்தில் இணைப்பு மொழி தேவை இல்லை தான் . ஆனால் இந்த கணிப்பொறியும் நவீனமும் எதனால் முடிந்தது ? இன்றைய கணிப்பொறிஉலகில் தமிழர்கள் அடைந்த முன்னேற்றம் ( மொழியாக்க மென்பொருள் உட்பட ) எதனால்...

Italy (March 2025)

Our week in Italy flew past like a dream! Plenty travel videos showed crowded places but even in the crowds, the charm of Italy is not lost. Alberobello and Matera offered unique characters in the quieter corners of Puglia region along the Adriatic Sea. A short day-trip from Rome to Pompeii and Amalfi Coast was worth visiting as a teaser for another trip. Rome and Vatican with its history needed more than 2 days we were able to spend. Wandering the ancient maze of Matera From the Bari Airport, the drive to Matera started with a drenching rain in some areas along the way. Just the week before, we read about Matera getting flooded by torrential rains. So, we kept our fingers crossed about our sojourn at Matera and didn’t have much hopes. As we drove closer to Matera the glistening rays of sun peeking from the clouds gave us some hope! The Fra I Sassi Residence hotel is in a ‘ZTL (Zona a Traffico Limitato)’ zone where only cars with certain permits can enter. It is to...

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