EuroTale: Part 1
Facts:
Purpose of visit : Summer Internship
Duration : 12th May to 18th July
Place: Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Tuebingen, Germany
Most visited sites during this period (apart from google) in decreasing order of frequency:
1. www.bahn.de ( German Railways website)
2. wikitravel.org ( especially before the weekends!)
3. eurolines.com (long distance bus)
4. ryanair.com ( cheap flights within europe, though didn't use them finally)
5. youtube.com ( was missing DC++ and my regular dose of "Lost")
6. pubmed.com ( searching journals and articles for my work!)

2 months and 6 days is a very long time and it is very boring to write down all of my experiences during this period, so I'll just write about certain special events in n (variable) parts. The first part :

This is the result of a night out at Stuttgart airport. After the near disaster at Paris, I decided to reach Stuttgart early (a bit too early) just to be safe. The close call at Paris was not my first ... in December 2005 we had boarded the Teesta-Torsa express from NJP, just a minute before departure. So this time I played safe and after bidding farewell to Tubingen ..... I reached Stuttgart Flughafen at 11:20pm. With 9hrs 15 mins of safe time, I decided to use it by completing my diary entry. That night I wrote 25 pages over 3 cokes. The entry on Rome trip follows:

10th June, Eurocity from Verona P.N. to Munich Hbf :-
Didn't feel like writing on "Michelangelo" (TrenItalia's Eurocity form Munich Hbf to Roma Termini). It has been an awesome trip. Very hectic and tiring, but nonetheless it was amazing. This trip demands special mention ( being the primary target of my Eurotrip), so the stroy of Neuschwanstein will have to wait till next weekend (hopefully) ... ( a terribly wrong prediction .. you'll realise it soon!)
Itlay is not the most sophisticated and punctual of places but it is definitely very lively and hospitable (other than the pickpockets!). Three things about this country impressed me the most: Italian women(and men! ... don't get me wrong!), Roman Architecture and coffee ( delightfully tasty and refreshing, served with steamed milk, sugar and cream, unlike the obnoxious black concoction that they have in Germany).
Eurocity train 85 to Roma Termini is named "Michelangelo". After leaving Munich, we(Jhawar and me) found ourselves surrounded by rolling planes of Bavaria, which gave away to Bavarian alps very soon. The scenery was lively green and the blue sky presented many opportunities for excellent landscapes but the dirty windows prevented me from taking pictures. After about an hour the train entered Austria. The train traveled right though the heart of the Austrian Alps.

18th July 00:05 hrs Stuttgart Flughafen :-
The promise of resumption of my tale didn't materialize. Time passed on really fast and the day of my departure finally arrived. Lets pick the thread from where I had left it over a month back.
After Innsbruck ( Bhupi joined us from Innsbruck), the journey was uneventful. The vineyards, clouds and the Alps giving away to rolling hills and the landscape that bear great resemblance to Indian heartland. Another resemblance with India is that the train toilets discharge directly on the tracks! We had an entire cubicle to ourselves and the seats were very comfortable.
As Rome approached, the clouds parted, graffiti became more dense and "Michelangelo" covered 228km in 1hr 15mins. As a result we reached Rome in time (8:21 pm to be precise ... bang on time!) amidst a brilliant sunset. Roma Termini is an ultramodern railway station (larger than Kolkata International Airport). Thanks to WikiTravel, it was easy to find our way from Termini onwards. After a "small" incident at Happy Valley Camping village, we went to sleep for that night.
Next morning we set out early for Vatican Museum. The attraction of the early morning was "ass chasing" - the long and steep escalator ride of the Roman Metro was made particularly pleasurable by a lady's "bottom"- nature's symmetry is really awesome !
The line for Vatican Museum stretched upto St Peters and we had to wait for 2 hrs before we could get inside. Once again, Italian women and a large selection of global tourists in various stages of semi-nudity kept us constantly entertained. The degree of entertainment increased with the altitude of the summer sun!
The scale and the beauty of the Vatican Museum defies imagination. It was interesting but rather sad to note the man at the ticket counter had no fingers on his right hand.
It is futile to describe all parts of the Vatican Museum in detail. Every inch of space is covered with the grandest pieces of art by some of the most gifted artists to have ever lived. Structures, sculptures and frescoes that I had seen only in books, were all around. The "Lacoon Group" which captured my attention as a kid and which happens to be Vatican's oldest exhibit is displayed in the octagonal courtyard. Without going into the details of all the exhibits, I'll just write about the "Crown Jewel" of Vatican, Michelangelo's magnum opus - The Sistine Chapel.
It is rather funny that so grand a place has such a small and nondescript entrance. At every corner of Vatican Museum, there are signs showing the direction of this room and right outside its doors, the signs are not different But from the crowd inside(ans people looking up), I could make out what it was.
As I stepped across the door, a dream - a very old dream that I had nurtured ever since I had learnt about Michelangelo and his works, over a decade back, came true. The emotional feeling was overwhelming. It was a mixture if immense joy and deep respect. The grandeur and scale of the frescoes make it difficult to imagine, that it was the work of just one man, whose only previous experience with frescoes was during his years of apprenticeship in Florence. Many of the works on the ceiling are not just artistic masterpieces but also striking examples of geometric projection in 3 dimensions. It took Michelangelo's genius to plan and paint the figures distorted, so that they appear normal when looked from the floor. Even though all the frescoes are of the highest order, the sheer size of the "Last Judgment" ans its intricacy makes it stand apart. It also illustrates Michelangelo's evolution and maturity as a fresco painter. The massive alterwall is littered with over 100 figures, each painted with utmost care and perfection, exhibiting a plethora of human emotions. The use of various gestures and symbolism was very impressive. The audio guide revealed many secrets about the Sistine Chapel I didn't know earlier. Standing amidst hundreds of people, I felt my surroundings disappear and I found myself staring spellbound, at the figures as they came to life. I spent nearly 45 mins in the Sistine Chapel. Though photography is prohibited, it is not very difficult to take pics in the crowd. But as a mar of respect to Michelangelo's genius, I didn't use my cam. Off course, it reminded me of Robin Williams words from "Good Will Hunting"- " You can read everything about Michelangelo, but still you won't know how it smells in the Sistine Chapel ". This is so so true. Words and pictures can't capture the spirit of Sistine Chapel. Before moving forward, I would like to mention that as a mark of respect to Michelangelo's efforts, I stood for all the time in Sistine Chapel and strained my neck to look up, instead of just leaning against the wall and getting a comfortable view of the ceiling. On an artistic pilgrimage, it is worthwhile to suffer this small pain.
St Peter's Square was equally impressive but it is the Basilica that made me drop my jaw in surprise. It is impossible to gauge its scale from a distance. It is only after crossing the security check point (managed by "God's Bouncers", who kicked out a couple of barebacks and miniskirts!) and the statute of St Peter's, that the true size of the Basilica can be appreciated. The feeling of awe reaches is pinnacle upon finally entering its inner sanctum. Never before in my life, I had seen the interior of a building so massive and so grand. It is said that it can accommodate 200000 people at a time.( a word of advice - visit all the major cathedrals and basilicas in the world before coming to St Peter's. Otherwise, even the heavyweights like Notre Dame or Sacre Coure would appear to be rather shabby in comparison). Wherever you look at, your eyes are greeted by the greatest sculptures in the world including Michelangelo's Pieta. The mammoth bronze baldachin designed by Bernini when he was just 21, is another attraction.
St Peter's Square is a great place to reunite with friends, who were lost in the maze of the Vatican Museum. I found Jhawar, Bhuppi and Faddu (whose Italian saved us from many hassles in a country, where english is virtually non-existent). The remaining time in Rome was spent in appreciating the night view of Colosseum and making failed attempts to gain entry in to the Roman Forum at night.

coming up next- Pisa, Venice, Paris, Neuschwanstein, MRZ symposium 07 and much more ...