Just like the title of this blog being so lengthy, our vacation was equally long when we consider its planning phase too!
As a family - mother, father, two daughters and their husbands and one grandchild, we did not want to go to a travel agent and book our Europe vacation with a pre-existing itinerary template. The motivation for this being my mother's aunt stays in Germany and my mother had not seen her for the past 40 years. Wanting to see her aunt was the major motivation to initiate this vacation for all of us. Why is the process of travelling abroad so complicated and frustrating? The endless documents we need to procure the visa - phew, I vowed to never plan a trip outside India!!!
Finally, after almost three months of planning by my sister and brother-in-law, my husband and I ended up in Qatar Airport waiting for the rest of the family to join us there with anxiety and excitement.
Thus, began our Europe sojourn!! To make this blog more realistic you need to know the age graph of the family to enjoy the subtle nuances that took place during the vacation. The father is in his late sixties, mother in her early sixties, the elder daughter in her mid-thirties, younger daughter in her late twenties, sons-in-law in their late thirties. The one and only grandchild is yet to complete 4 years!
When such vast range of age demographics travel together, it is bound to create an epic travel story.
The elder daughter from now on called D1, is a fashionista and an extreme brand conscious strong independent modern lady. In total contrary, the younger daughter, D2, is the dead opposite of a fashionista, simplistic strong independent modern lady. So stuck between two such contrasting daughters is the proud mother who just loves to show off the family that she has reared with such love and care for almost half a century now. The sons-in-law are called S1 and S2 respectively.
The love for history and his penchant for world wars landed the family touring historic places of Germany. Also, this is a middle class family whose tour is financed by the mother's ancestral money. Because the whole family believes in enjoying experiences and making memories together rather than having assets on papers, the ancestral money was put into creating family memories. D1 was the money flow checker who would calculate how much the family is spending during the entire trip. D1 and S1 are the only folks in the family who have had some international exposure during their study and work phase of life and were thus, burdened with the entire planning of the trip.
Enroute to Berlin, the family was served food by the air-hostess. It so happened that the food was served in the wee hours when everyone was not exactly wide awake. The mother happens to be a very strict vegetarian and the rest of the family are selective non-vegetarians. The mother and father sat together while the remaining were scattered behind and next to them. While we never know which is the purest form of English, I would say all of us speak accented English, including the air hostess that day! So while the children slept, the air-hostess has served food to the father and mother with the mother reiterating twice if she was being served vegetarian food. Thanks to the accented English, they still do not know who erred but the mother ended up eating a bite of something which till date they do not know what meat that was!!! The first non-stop laughter of the tour had begun only to be followed by zillions more.
While I am writing this, the television series called 'Dekh Bhai Dekh' flashes in my head as there is a part where the Big Indian family of that series make a UK trip and their experience was very much similar to ours. For folks who have not seen that series, you should watch it because it is hilarious as per the 90's measuring stick.
So, the family landed in Berlin and the first chaotic situation starts - the mountain of luggage they have to carry around! While they looked around for trolleys, they realised that they have to pay per trolley in Berlin airport and the money checker of the family is all high and alert. She emphasized that they fit all the luggage in maximum two trolleys. And the next question - how do they get to the hotel D1 has booked in advance for them. It is quite a distance for them from the airport and D1 did not want to splurge on a cab as soon as they had landed in Berlin and set an example for the family of this being an ultra luxurious trip!! So almost 30 minutes is gone while the family of 6 with a kid with two trolleys of mountain luggage walking from one point to the other trying to figure out whether there is a train or a bus to the area where their hotel is (You need to convert this blog into a film in your head to actually experience these situations - so make a father figure, a mother figure, two daughters, two sons-in-law and a kid with those trolleys and play this incident of a completely confused Indian family like a movie in your head - now did you actually get a picture!!??)
The father had to put his foot down after 30mins and say that they can afford a cab to get to their hotel rather than while away in front of Berlin airport itself!! So the next question - which cab would fit in 6 adults, a kid and the mountain of luggage, it was a Mercedes wagon - it was whoaaa moment for the family because for Indian Mercedes always has that whoa factor!!! The mother and father enter the cab with a matter of pride - the father's pride is because he is traveling in a Mercedes cab, a picture of which he can post on Facebook and the mother's pride is because she is traveling with her family in Germany in a Mercedes cab, the emphasis being on the family bit (the subtle differences between the thought process of a Male and Female 😉😉😉)
The family finally reached the hotel only to find out that they have reached earlier than their check-in time and if they need the rooms then that would mean extra charges. Thus, D1 stepped in and decided that they would place our luggage in the waiting room, roam Berlin and come back to check-in at the right time so that they do not end up paying extra charges. So with a lot of confusion - because they were all dressed to suit hot weather - since they all had departed from countries which had high temperatures, they started their sight seeing of Berlin.
This blog is not a travelogue and hence, I will not bore you with the places we visited, their history etc etc. I write this more as a collection of our memories - the times we laughed, the times we were embarrassed, the times we were confused and more.
Whilst the family were still planning the trip, they were warned by many Indians who had ticked off Europe trip on their bucket list that they had to be wary of pick-pocketeers, especially in Paris. When they stopped at a beautiful fountain square in Berlin, the mother and father were tired and chose to sit on a bench with the bag that contained our passports, Euros, cards and the grandchild's stuff. Oh, the entire women folk of the family were on high alert while leaving the bag with the mother. A person who was cycling and went around the bench twice or thrice became an object of suspicion and the mother pulled the bag closer to her body!
Finishing the first day of their long Europe trip, the family retired to their hotel rooms.
When the blog is about an Indian family, food is going to take the center stage for the major narration of the blog and the food stories of Berlin begin like this - with a lot of advice that food was a major expense in Europe, D1 was well prepared to save some Euros by carrying home food like Methi parotas, red chilly chutney, fruits for the family. The family had already splurged for lunch when they craved for some Indian food and ending up having a very heavy Indian lunch that cost quite a lot according to D1's budgeting. So, the family decided to have their parotas for dinner in the kitchen of their hotel itself. The breakfast in the hotel was mainly varieties of bread, jams, butter, sausages, cornflakes, hot chocolate, boiled eggs. The first day the family loved this breakfast and ate sumptuously but wait another two days and read what happens then!
Another interesting part of this trip was the intra-city travel the family opted for - they used the local trams, subways and avoided cabs at all cost (literally for the cost!). So, S1 brought a map the first thing and D2 was in-charge for Germany itinerary. She had basically written down the train numbers to get from one place to another and nothing else! The first subway journey was again as confusing as when they landed in Berlin airport. They walked back and forth to figure out which subway station should they go to, climbed up and down, with the mother tiring out but being a very good sport did not complain.
Berlin has even more stories to add - the beer stories, the concentration camp story, the bickering of the family and a whole lot of other stuff too! Keep checking in for Part 2 of Berlin to find out how the roles of D1 and D2 reverse and they parent the mother and father during their arguments which is just hilarious!
As a family - mother, father, two daughters and their husbands and one grandchild, we did not want to go to a travel agent and book our Europe vacation with a pre-existing itinerary template. The motivation for this being my mother's aunt stays in Germany and my mother had not seen her for the past 40 years. Wanting to see her aunt was the major motivation to initiate this vacation for all of us. Why is the process of travelling abroad so complicated and frustrating? The endless documents we need to procure the visa - phew, I vowed to never plan a trip outside India!!!
Finally, after almost three months of planning by my sister and brother-in-law, my husband and I ended up in Qatar Airport waiting for the rest of the family to join us there with anxiety and excitement.
Thus, began our Europe sojourn!! To make this blog more realistic you need to know the age graph of the family to enjoy the subtle nuances that took place during the vacation. The father is in his late sixties, mother in her early sixties, the elder daughter in her mid-thirties, younger daughter in her late twenties, sons-in-law in their late thirties. The one and only grandchild is yet to complete 4 years!
When such vast range of age demographics travel together, it is bound to create an epic travel story.
The elder daughter from now on called D1, is a fashionista and an extreme brand conscious strong independent modern lady. In total contrary, the younger daughter, D2, is the dead opposite of a fashionista, simplistic strong independent modern lady. So stuck between two such contrasting daughters is the proud mother who just loves to show off the family that she has reared with such love and care for almost half a century now. The sons-in-law are called S1 and S2 respectively.
The love for history and his penchant for world wars landed the family touring historic places of Germany. Also, this is a middle class family whose tour is financed by the mother's ancestral money. Because the whole family believes in enjoying experiences and making memories together rather than having assets on papers, the ancestral money was put into creating family memories. D1 was the money flow checker who would calculate how much the family is spending during the entire trip. D1 and S1 are the only folks in the family who have had some international exposure during their study and work phase of life and were thus, burdened with the entire planning of the trip.
Enroute to Berlin, the family was served food by the air-hostess. It so happened that the food was served in the wee hours when everyone was not exactly wide awake. The mother happens to be a very strict vegetarian and the rest of the family are selective non-vegetarians. The mother and father sat together while the remaining were scattered behind and next to them. While we never know which is the purest form of English, I would say all of us speak accented English, including the air hostess that day! So while the children slept, the air-hostess has served food to the father and mother with the mother reiterating twice if she was being served vegetarian food. Thanks to the accented English, they still do not know who erred but the mother ended up eating a bite of something which till date they do not know what meat that was!!! The first non-stop laughter of the tour had begun only to be followed by zillions more.
While I am writing this, the television series called 'Dekh Bhai Dekh' flashes in my head as there is a part where the Big Indian family of that series make a UK trip and their experience was very much similar to ours. For folks who have not seen that series, you should watch it because it is hilarious as per the 90's measuring stick.
So, the family landed in Berlin and the first chaotic situation starts - the mountain of luggage they have to carry around! While they looked around for trolleys, they realised that they have to pay per trolley in Berlin airport and the money checker of the family is all high and alert. She emphasized that they fit all the luggage in maximum two trolleys. And the next question - how do they get to the hotel D1 has booked in advance for them. It is quite a distance for them from the airport and D1 did not want to splurge on a cab as soon as they had landed in Berlin and set an example for the family of this being an ultra luxurious trip!! So almost 30 minutes is gone while the family of 6 with a kid with two trolleys of mountain luggage walking from one point to the other trying to figure out whether there is a train or a bus to the area where their hotel is (You need to convert this blog into a film in your head to actually experience these situations - so make a father figure, a mother figure, two daughters, two sons-in-law and a kid with those trolleys and play this incident of a completely confused Indian family like a movie in your head - now did you actually get a picture!!??)
The father had to put his foot down after 30mins and say that they can afford a cab to get to their hotel rather than while away in front of Berlin airport itself!! So the next question - which cab would fit in 6 adults, a kid and the mountain of luggage, it was a Mercedes wagon - it was whoaaa moment for the family because for Indian Mercedes always has that whoa factor!!! The mother and father enter the cab with a matter of pride - the father's pride is because he is traveling in a Mercedes cab, a picture of which he can post on Facebook and the mother's pride is because she is traveling with her family in Germany in a Mercedes cab, the emphasis being on the family bit (the subtle differences between the thought process of a Male and Female 😉😉😉)
The family finally reached the hotel only to find out that they have reached earlier than their check-in time and if they need the rooms then that would mean extra charges. Thus, D1 stepped in and decided that they would place our luggage in the waiting room, roam Berlin and come back to check-in at the right time so that they do not end up paying extra charges. So with a lot of confusion - because they were all dressed to suit hot weather - since they all had departed from countries which had high temperatures, they started their sight seeing of Berlin.
This blog is not a travelogue and hence, I will not bore you with the places we visited, their history etc etc. I write this more as a collection of our memories - the times we laughed, the times we were embarrassed, the times we were confused and more.
Whilst the family were still planning the trip, they were warned by many Indians who had ticked off Europe trip on their bucket list that they had to be wary of pick-pocketeers, especially in Paris. When they stopped at a beautiful fountain square in Berlin, the mother and father were tired and chose to sit on a bench with the bag that contained our passports, Euros, cards and the grandchild's stuff. Oh, the entire women folk of the family were on high alert while leaving the bag with the mother. A person who was cycling and went around the bench twice or thrice became an object of suspicion and the mother pulled the bag closer to her body!
Finishing the first day of their long Europe trip, the family retired to their hotel rooms.
When the blog is about an Indian family, food is going to take the center stage for the major narration of the blog and the food stories of Berlin begin like this - with a lot of advice that food was a major expense in Europe, D1 was well prepared to save some Euros by carrying home food like Methi parotas, red chilly chutney, fruits for the family. The family had already splurged for lunch when they craved for some Indian food and ending up having a very heavy Indian lunch that cost quite a lot according to D1's budgeting. So, the family decided to have their parotas for dinner in the kitchen of their hotel itself. The breakfast in the hotel was mainly varieties of bread, jams, butter, sausages, cornflakes, hot chocolate, boiled eggs. The first day the family loved this breakfast and ate sumptuously but wait another two days and read what happens then!
Another interesting part of this trip was the intra-city travel the family opted for - they used the local trams, subways and avoided cabs at all cost (literally for the cost!). So, S1 brought a map the first thing and D2 was in-charge for Germany itinerary. She had basically written down the train numbers to get from one place to another and nothing else! The first subway journey was again as confusing as when they landed in Berlin airport. They walked back and forth to figure out which subway station should they go to, climbed up and down, with the mother tiring out but being a very good sport did not complain.
Berlin has even more stories to add - the beer stories, the concentration camp story, the bickering of the family and a whole lot of other stuff too! Keep checking in for Part 2 of Berlin to find out how the roles of D1 and D2 reverse and they parent the mother and father during their arguments which is just hilarious!
