My First big splurge

I never realized that a washing machine could make me happy :)
At the guest house, I did not have access to one. Mrs Fug insisted that I give her my clothes - she would wash and iron them for me. While its very nice of her, it made me extremely uncomfortable to hand my clothes to her, request her to wash them for me. This discomfort made me 'plan' how to wear my clothes, so I could easily seperate out the colored clothes from the white/lighter shades bla bla
I dont particularly like lugging my clothes to a publich laundermat :(; waiting for the clothes to get done...
When I went to Palo Alto, I felt so happy to have a coin operated washer and dryer on the same floor as my room :)

So as soon as I moved into my apartments, my first big splurge had to be getting myself a Washing Machine. I did some online research and discussions with colleagues, friends about them...finally bought an Electrolux EWF 12240 W. from Mediamarkt. They promised delivery and installation too.
The installation however didnt go too smoothly. Not their fault. The input and output points werent quite working in the bathroom. The delivery guys wrote down the valves I need to buy and left!!! Ofcourse they wouldnt come back to fit them for me!!! phew!! uuggh!! They told me I could get them at the Toom Markt. So I went down there with their list...and as suspected, nothing is sans choice here. Even the simple valve had some variations and my german was put to test there...
I had to explain to the guys the entire story - mediamarkt delivery guys finding a problem with the valves bla bla...finally, an (broken) english speaking boy came to my rescue. Infact more than rescue because he volunteered to stop by my apartments on his way home just to see what was the problem - what would be required. I was very impressed. After his inspection, he said he would return the next day with the required equipments to fix it. He especially came home the next day just to tell me he didnt have time to do this work for me...that he would come the following day!! Again, I was impressed...
Finally after 3 days of owning a washing machine, thanks to this boy from Toom Markt, it worked!!!


I could wash my clothes MYSELF!!! yay!!
It is unbelievably liberating :D :P

Jogging through Wineyards in Wiesloch, Baden-Würrtemberg, Germany

A couple of days after I moved into my rented apartments in Wiesloch, I decided to explore the area a bit by going out for a jog.
The small hill seen from my windows intrigued me, so I started to jog in its direction.
I soon found myself jogging on paths through wineyards. Grapes still hanging on them, the leaves a beautiful shade of green, almost translucent against the setting, evening sun.
It was such a great experience. After recultantly working up a 6kms running schedule on a treadmill (lack of aesthetic, hassle free outdoor environments in India) - this was an extremely welcome change for me. The feeling of running in such picturesque, clean, dust and pollution free paths free of honking cars is something to be experienced. It really motivates me to put on my jogging shoes, ipod and get on the road more often.
Some of these wineyards have a shop to purchase their produce. Wow! That was a special evening. In my solitude, I felt good about a few decisions:Firstly, renting the apartments; living in a 'town/village'; choosing Germany (europe) over USA :)

Kartoffelsuppe mit Zwetschgenkuchen (Potato Soup and Plum Cake)

I was in the "first" building of SAP...from way back in the 70's. Interesting experience.
People told me that the catering here was better than normal. I was looking forward to exploring what 'better' vegetarian food was instore for me. Among other things, there was Potato Soup and Plum cake. The combination sounded a bit strange to me. Starter and desert together? Potato and Plum together? But it did look very nice. Plus, I had to heed to the curiosity and try it.
On the lunch table, as I tried to find out more about this peculiar combination, I learnt that this was traditional German from Pflaz. (so I learnt)

This definitely gets into my list of favourite German cuisine.