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Neeraj and I left STL on Friday night to meet the parents and Suraj in Morton. Saturday morning (August 30), we got up early and left for Milwaukee. We had a Northwest Airlines flight from Milwaukee to Detroit and then to Frankfurt, Germany. A point that we learned in Milwaukee that is a good to know while flying in this type of scenario: Some airlines are now charging if you check in your first bag. However, if you flying domestic and then international, then the latter rules apply. Keep that in mind.

It was great - we had reached Detroit ahead of schedule and had enough time to relax before the long 8 and half hour haul to Frankfurt. Unfortunately none of us had anything great to saw about Northwest Airlines. Just like many of the other cut-back airlines, not enough space was the biggest problem.

We finally reached Frankfurt at 7am Sunday morning. After customs, immigration, getting our bags, it was now time to go get the car. As Neeraj and I planned for this vacation, we decided it was going to be more beneficial for us if we have a car rather than other types of public transportation. We think it ended up being a great idea and hopefully you will see why as well.

So we stopped at the Avis counter, where she provided us with a Mercedes C-220. Psyched I was to drive a Mercedes - only to reach to the car to find out it was a station wagon! Oh well, Mercedes is Mercedes.

It had a built in GPS, which at first was hard to handle, but then we got used to it. We headed to the Novotel hotel where we staying for that night. The hotel was nice, but just had a few things that we weren’t too excited about:

Transparent bathroom door - yes, you could look through the door and see what the person was doing in the bathroom, none of us understood this one

The best part was that its Internet access was free - unlike any of the other Novotels that we stayed at, but that was the interesting part of the whole trip.

Because it was so early in the morning, we had the whole day to roam around Frankfurt. We got in the car and headed for breakfast. Because Neeraj knew Frankfurt well, we decided to head near downtown Frankfurt, closer to its main train station, Hauftbahnhof. There were plenty of places to eat within the station and tons to roam around in.

There was also a tourist inquiry in the train station, so we decided to go there to find out what we could do next. To behold, there was a MuseumFest happening near the Rhine River, walking distance from the train station. So we decided to walk in that direction. Boy was it crowded!!! The weather was also getting hot.

We ended up walking up one side of the river and down the other. They were having canoeing contests, other games, and lots and lots of food and beer. The majority of the Germans there were eating and drinking. Of course it was Sunday, so everything else was basically closed. So we went around one or two of the museums that were nearby the Rhine River, but mostly just looked at the stalls. Sort of reminded us of P-Fest but not completely.

We spent a good 4 hours there just roaming around and soon became tired. We decided to go home and relax. Then we would come back later and take the sightseeing bus to go around the city of Frankfurt. It was suppose to be an open double decker bus. However because it was Sunday and not a lot of people showed up, we ended up going in this rinky dinky bus, that of course - didn’t have air conditioning!! Now folks - it was hot - we are not talking 70 degree weather, we are talking 90s including humidity! So some type of “air” was needed, and everyone agreed.

Overall Frankfurt was a decent metropolitan city. It wants to become the next New York of Europe, but it still has a lot to grow. What we learned about the Germans was that they were very “free”. The amount of freedom that they are given was very different from even what we have in the US. So for example, prostitution is legal, and its right next to the banking area (maybe 2 streets over). Germans choose how to live their life, the government does not oppose alot of laws and rules on them. You can smoke and drink as much as you want - in fact the tour guide said that most Germans drink more beer than water. I saw a little kid, like 6 or 7 years old, taking sips of beer with his father. For the same reason, they don’t have imposed speed limits on their AutoBahn (highways). You can drive whatever you want, and in fact, they say that they have less accidents than the US does by having it this way! I think their roads and driving is much more sophisticated than the US as well. Lastly of course, we learned about the Germans conserving energy. May it be air conditioning, not only in public places but also in their cars, but also the use of fan or electricity is included. Very different lifestyle than the US.

So that was the end of Frankfurt for now. Next morning we got up and left for Paris.

Alvida. Jai Mata Di.

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UK Tourist Visa

It should be that easy. Great part is that you don’t have to go anywhere in person, other than the biometric, to turn in your papers. That was the best part of the UK tourist visa process. The worst part is getting status of your application. You can’t call them, you can’t email, you can’t do anything other than wait. That sucks because sometimes you are in a time crunch and need to get your documents back soon. I would do this atleast a month ahead of your trip to make sure that you have enough time, and make sure that you send all the proper support documentation - the more the better.

Schengen Visa
Note this is based on experience with the German Consulate only.

Processing at the Chicago German Consulate usually takes 2-3 business days. Unfortunately that has not been the case for us. So…the waiting game begins again!

The best part of the German Consulate is that you can email them to ask any questions. They respond very quickly and are very helpful. The other good thing is that you can also call them in regards to any questions or status of your application. We have spoken to them a few times and everytime they have been very nice and courteous to us. The biggest problem for us has been that they did mention that they would be sending our documents back to us via USPS overnight delivery this past Tuesday. It is now Friday and we still have not received our documents. It was this morning that we found out that it was mailed actually Thursday, not Tuesday. We cannot track our package either because on the USPS website it says that this tracking number does not exist. The other thing that is a bit tricky and not well known is that USPS Express Mail does not deliver overnight to all locations. Ours is one of those locations, and we found that out on their website just a few minutes ago. It takes 2 business days to get it to our place, so now we are waiting. Hopefully at the latest on Monday we should receive it otherwise we will call them again (I have already sent the consulate another email stating my dissatisfcation).

Hope this is helpful others that maybe going through the same that we have recently experienced. Share your thoughts if you have had any experiences of the same by commenting on this post below.

Alvida. Jai Mata Di.

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Ishmeet was found dead in Maldives yesterday. Right now it is being mentioned that his death was due to drowning in the hotel’s swimming pool. There are conflicting reports right now on whether Ishmeet knew how to swim or not. Ishmeet was in Maldives to attend the Star Voice of Maldives on this upcoming weekend.

India has a lost not only a wonderful voice, but a very good human being. All of the comments that have been given by his co-stars, previous judges, etc… have been that he was a down to earth, easy going, and very well behaved person. It was mentioned on Jo Jeeta Wohi Superstar that Ishmeet also had a girlfriend, but it was not confirmed.

I feel very bad for his parents and family. NP.com sends their condolences to Ishmeet’s family. It is going to be tough for them to get over the fact that they have lost their only son. Many don’t know that Ishmeet had fulfilled his mother’s dream of completing his studies before he entered the music industry. After winning the Star Voice of India title, he then came on Jo Jeeta Wohi Superstar to defend his championship. Unfortunately he was eliminated before the show at ended.

I have always liked Ishmeet’s voice and his innocence can be found on his face. I feel so shocked that he has passed, I just can’t imagine what his family would be going through right now. This is the second water related death that Neeraj and I know of this year only. The other was one of Neeraj’s colleagues that died of a jet ski accident here in Missouri.

Ishmeet left behind his parents and one sister. May Mata Rani give your family so much strength and courage that they are able to move on life with all the great memories that you have given them in their lives.

Rest in Peace Ishmeet. May God Rest Your Soul. You will be missed…. forever.

Alvida. Jai Mata Di.

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