Here and there...

I just got my ass kicked! Literally! I lost 6/7 games in badminton and that too with my office colleagues. :( My friends who play better than me have let me down rather gently I think...Today I just kept looking right and left whilst the birdie just kept zipping past me. Several times it landed on my face. Anybody watching me would have had a good laugh. :D

On a side note, we had a Dutch swimmer, Olympic gold medalist Marleen Veldhuis working in our office for 3-4 months as an intern and we had no clue, until after she left! Talk about dumbness, but this time, actually none of us knew. I could have taken a picture with her...

Work and travel have been keeping me occupied...but I would be lying if I said I had no time to blog! Just need to manage my time better.

How do I motivate myself to keep fit? Any suggestions on time management books?I could certainly use one now. :)

Keukenhof - the blossoming paradise (almost)

Since I have been in the Netherlands, a lot of people have asked me if I have visited the tulip gardens. Last year somehow I missed out, so this year I wanted badly to visit this place. A couple of weekends before two of my college friends from India had visited me. Meeting them after several years this trip was very special to me. I was not exactly sure if it was the right time to visit Keukenhof yet (1st week of April), but being among the only 5 people traveling in the bus from Schipol to Keukenhof, it didn't take long to figure out that we were rather off.

But here is the funny thing with trips. You can be travelling on a cloudy/rainy/moody weather which decides to get sunny while on your bus trip back home, with barely few flowers in a garden which is supposed to be world famous for the same, and still have a great time. I hadn't laughed so hard and so much in a loong time. :) Catching up with old silly stories from the past and pulling each other's legs was absolutely great.

Pictures of the few flowers that got lucky to see me ;) -

The gardens are open 8:00 - 19:30 everyday from 18th March to 16th May. The entrance tickets are 14 euro and do take the bike ride around the fields. Totally worth when you will visit the place at the right time (which is now!). Visit the website for more information.

Bruges in a day

Bruges is one of the most favorite west European tourist spots with a medieval outlook. So keeping that in mind, after traveling for over 4 hours by train, we were quite surprised to find the place so serene and barely crowded. A perfect spot for a weekend and bit of a stretch for a day trip (which is what we did). What is great about the place is that once you reach the city center, you can see quite a bit without walking to the extreme ends of the city.

We began with the Onze Lieve Vrowekerk (there seems to be one in every major city in Europe!), which has one of Michaelangelo's pieces - >Madonna and Child.

Before the weather got fussy, we got into a Canal cruise, my very first after coming to Europe. It is indeed a relaxing way to see things.

At the absolute center of the city is the Markt, a large square flanked with huge monuments on all sides.

Around the Markt area lies several important places. Belfort, a world heritage site is a 366 steps, squeezy climb up a tower. The view from the top is worth the effort. Just around the corner are also Gotische Zaal, a hall with carvings and murals depicting the city's history and Brugse Vrije, containing an immense chimney piece.

We next visited the Heilig-Bloedbasiliek (Basilica of the Holy Blood), getting its name from a relic containing Christ's blood.

We took a break at the highly recommended Craenenburg Cafe for cappuccino and waffles. A much deserved break! At last we visited a chocolate museum Choco Story. I just sat down watching a demo of how to make chocolates mostly! :D

Oh and did I mention plenty and plenty of chocolate stores, all over the place! Simply the best I have had so far!

For the rest of the evening we sat down at a corner, watched the people buzz by and relaxed! We wanted to somehow get to this highly recommended restaurant for dinner and got lost a bit. After going a complete circle, it turned out the place was just behind the corner bench we were sitting on :). And as we happily set two steps into the place, the waitress came to us to tell us that the place was fully booked! We walked back to the station and on the way spotted a Thai restaurant. The food in the end turned out to be just fine.

I slept most of the way back home. Even with 8 hours of travel, I had a grand time.