Europe, then and now
In the year 2005, I landed in the Stuttgart Airport with my colleague and friend to a pall of chill wintry winds slapping our faces. The snow flakes were flying thick and fast. People back in Bangalore had advised me to take thick jackets and be wary of the snow. "It's going to be cold at this time of the year", they said with the same expression as some of the characters in Game of Thrones say, "Winter is coming." I was nervous. Those days, I used to be nervous about everything. So, I had packed long winter jackets, woolen caps, woolen socks, shoes that weighed a few tons, and thermal ware. When I say I was packed, I mean it. I had a check in baggage which contained all kinds of food items. "I don't know what you'll get there. I have also put some rice and lentils in there", she told me. The canal running through Amsterdam It was my first international travel experience. I had a lot of apprehension and excitement ...