[leadf00t]

Originally Posted by Sam Kapasi

Attachment 31900

Probably the first time i have not seen Sam in his trademark shorts.

Surprising the love of your life by standing in front of her when she doesn't have the slightest hint of it. That the most romantic thing you can ever do

Sam you are living the time of your life. Way to go Sam

I too totally believe in what your say

If I cannot live life, I cannot work. I just need to know that I truly lived, before I die.

PS. I am all hooked on to this thread. Didn't really work much today . the pics are giving me sweet memories of the time i spent in Europe.

[ASHISHPALLOD]

hi theyeti and theone,
waiting for your post.
i am remembering one song,
'zindgi ek safar hai suhana

Since i joined to this forum in oct 2006, that was my first post on this forum to the thread 'Theyeti, Theone, Activa and Goa on 15/6/2008.
Now, this is my 100th post on this forum to Yetiblog.
In the first post, i was requesting Sam to post as early as possible and now, in this post, i am writing to Sam,

Sambhai,
aaj kya ho gaya?
aaj aaram hi nahi, posting pe posting ho rahi hai.
what's wrong? fire in mind?
cool it ,man.

I will again sing that song for Theyeti and Theone,

'zindgi ek safar hai suhana
kal kya ho kisne jana'
'doodle doodle doo, doodle doodle doo '

and hope, i will sing that song for the couple in my 1000th post.

[rahuldeodhar]

Hey - now Sam meets the hunter - I am on the edge of my seat!


By the way - fantastic posts Sam - read all this Yeti


RD

[Sam Kapasi]

Originally Posted by rahuldeodhar

Hey - now Sam meets the hunter - I am on the edge of my seat!

lol That is correct. I finally met the Hunter. He had brought some wild boar sausages with him, no prizes for guessing who shot that wild boar

Much as it would add colour and emotion to this story, I have no drama or confrontation incident to offer.
I had a warm and wonderful time with Jenny's family - Thomas (her younger brother, who is also a member here), her sister and her boyfriend and everyone present.
I was able to finally talk to Jenny's mom, who I had met very briefly in January (brief=5 minutes) and finally talk to her Dad.

Most of the conversation was private. You must appreciate that Jenny's family, especially her father has apprehensions, fears and prejudices and we spoke about all of that, our future together and more things.

Overall a fun evening, lots of great Barbeque food cooked by Thomas, lots of wine and some champagne. I polished off half a bottle of Dimple whiskey (Rudra would have been proud).


TheBrother® stands while The Yeti® is deep in thought.


Conversation with The Father.


TheOne® and her sister.


That's Jenny's mother.

While I was talking to her Dad, I suddenly faltered. I almost thought I was dreaming.
While I am talking, I can hear Himmesh singing
Jhalak Dikhlaaaja, Jhalak Dikhlaaaaja
Ek baar aaja, aaja aajaa aajaa aaaaaaajaa

Dammit, I must be dreaming. Here I am talking to the Hunter about India and Jenny living in India and I can hear Himmesh!?! My mind is playing tricks on me. It is truly impossible. Or...

As the conversation pauses I can hear it again.
Chaar dinanda, pyaar o rabba
Lambi Judaai, Lambi Judaai

That's it!! I turn to our host and ask
What the hell? Why are you listening to Indian, Bollywood music? Where is this music coming from??

He looks at Jenny who breaks into a sheepish smile.

Jenny asked for the Bollywood channel.

I am laughing. Of course I know Jenny loves Hindi music and Bollywood and Kitchy costumes and dancing round trees. But I am in shock that the little town of Bad Nauheim has Himmesh Reshammiya on the radio. What a little world we live in.

Tonight we will spend the night at her older sister's home. She and her family are out on vacation, which is why you do not see them in the pictures. (Remember the little kids from my Christmas trip?)

I wonder. If you live here, where do you go for a holiday?

[NetfreakBombay]

One question Sam, Is it common for someone living in small town Germany to be comfortable with English language? Do they study it in school like we do?

Or were you talking in German?

[normally_crazy]

Originally Posted by Sam Kapasi

Jenny asked for the Bollywood channel.

Hehe - Jenny seems my type.

Sam, you can sing a super hit Himesh song for Jenny next time. It goes - Aashiq banaya , Aashiq banayaaa, Aashiq banayaa aapne !!

The town, the cleanliness, the orderliness - uff it's killer. I would really love to settle down there. Wanna exchange homes, TheOne ?

[Sam Kapasi]

Originally Posted by NetfreakBombay

One question Sam, Is it common for someone living in small town Germany to be comfortable with English language? Do they study it in school like we do?

Or were you talking in German?

No it is not very common to find fluent English spoken, especially amongst the older generation.
The younger generation do learn English in school, but not like we do, they learn it as a second language. This means History, Geography, Maths etc is studied in German.

Fortunately almost everyone in Jenny's family speaks English. Sure, the older ones grope for words sometimes, but Jenny and her siblings speak it fluently.

[whatcanthisbe]

Sam,

You can write, i envy You, i wish I could put my experiences & thoughts down on paper like you do,

Great write up, Very nice pictures, Most of all an amazing Surprise, Cheers

[toiingg]

Originally Posted by Sam Kapasi

As we are parked, once again we discuss the fact (unthinkable to me) that every gas station has a different price for petrol (or diesel). Repeatedly Jenny has explained that prices change every day, sometimes different prices within a day.
Even though it is controlled, each Oil company can change the price.

Here is a classic example of my confusion.

Look at 2 gas stations BANG opposite each other. Now look at the displayed prices. How can this be?
Attachment 31844

Can you imagine what would happen if this were to happen in India?

Example : Platform No.5 se jaane wali gaadi ab platform number 1 se jayegi.

There are cars queued up in front of a gas station selling petrol at a cheaper rate. Suddenly, the pump across the road changes its rates and quotes a rate cheaper than that of the pump opposite to it.

Presto! Instant traffic jam. Lol.

Germany is beautiful. Just love the pictures.
Last but not the least, Sam, you inspire me.
Now to scratch my brains and think of some way to surprise my girl.

[Sam Kapasi]

Originally Posted by Sam Kapasi

Tonight we will spend the night at her older sister's home.

We wake up at the older sister's home. I am going to go home today. If it seems like a short trip, that is because it was.
My bags are left in the car and they are really heavy, full of Jenny's things. I am going to (obviously) take back as much of her stuff to India as Emirates will allow me.

I wake up in the bedroom to a cloudy day.



While Jenny gets dressed for work (she will drop me to Frankfurt and then get to work at Heilbronn) I walk around taking a few pictures.


Her older sister's home. If you remember I was here on New Year's eve.


Check out the cloudy sky.


View from the door. A gorgeous field and an old VolksWagen. Beautiful and one of my favourite pictures of this trip.


Actually, maybe this one is my favourite.

Still makes me wonder. If you lived here, would you ever need to go on a holiday. The home is empty and so I will not show you any pictures from inside. The parents and kids have gone to the North Sea for a short holiday.

Time to go.

I really don't have much to do, no clothes to change into or anything. I dare not open my bag, it is full to the brim with Jenny's books and everything that she wants transferred to India. 23 kilos in my suitcase and 11 in my handbag. That's 34 kilos less to move, so what if I might have a broken back lol.

A quick stop to meet her brother and his cat.



And we're on our way to Frankfurt Airport.

[DirtyDan]

Goodness! You REALLY were happy to see her, 'ay? Dad likes you. Mom is trying to singe your mangos with her Prussian cigarette barrier trick.

[SumitB]

Sam Bhai, was there any "Naa Jaao Saiyaan Chudaa Ke Baiyaan, Kasam Tumhari Main Roo Padoongi" at the airport?

[Sam Kapasi]

My heart is heavy. It is indeed wonderful to hop across the world, it is not nice to say goodbye.

It is going to be a long and lonely flight home. Still, it isn't so bad. I'm going to see her again in Berlin, at IFA. IFA was where we first met last year. So much has happened since then...

There isn't much to say this time. In fact, we drive quietly - each knowing fully well what the other is thinking. I get my camera out.



Saying goodbye, driving through the streets of Bad Nauheim.


The road outside the town.


That's not kilometres, that's the Autobahn number.


Approaching the Autobahn.


THe Autobahn to Frankfurt. We should be there in 20 minutes.

[shuvc]

It's the Sam-gaya-sasural blog !

What a lovely place. The snaps from the last trip were all snow. Now it's even better. The forest too is so clean !

And don't worry about Hockenheim. The chances of your watching a GP in Europe/Germany, in the next couple of years are actually pretty bright. I must say though, that I was almost expecting you had somehow managed to watch a bit of the race.

ps: Your enthusiasm is telling. You've spelt 'surprise' as 'surpise' in the thread title as well as the image file names

[Sam Kapasi]

It is a difficult check-in at the Emirates counter. They have asked me to weigh my handbag and my check-in bag. Both are grossly overweight.

Luckily I am carrying many heavy books so it is easy for me to remove them and hand them over to Jenny, who has accompanied me to the counter.

I'm checked in. We haven't eaten anything so it's about right that we visit Mickey Dees for a wholesome meal.
While I wait, adjusting the handbag, I take a few pics at the terminal.





Soon it's time for immigration. A long kiss goodbye and I am on my way. She stands there, waving till she can see me no more. I walk with my heavy handbag and get into my flight.
I cannot sleep, staying up and watching Darjeeling Express on the flight.

7 hours later I am at Dubai. I will have 5 hours to kill here. Difficult with 11 kilos on my back.


Busy Dubai Duty Free. Always busy.

Later I take a few bored shots of the terminal.





4.5 hours later, it's boarding time. I take my customary shot of the plane.


I'm going home.
My heart is full, my mind is empty. Was it worth it? So much travel for such little time together?

I'd do it again in a flash with a huge grin.
She's worth all that and much more.

The End.