The Petite Frau

Last New Year’s, my parents and I embarked on a somewhat impromptu road trip from Heidelberg to Brussels at the behest of my lovely aunt, who wanted us to pay her a visit in the Belgian capital. Luxembourg is a short detour from the usual driving route. The extremely tiny and exceedingly wealthy country of Luxembourg had been on my mind for quite some time owing to a Luxembourgish friend of mine, Constantine, a 20-year old who always gushed about his country and could speak 4 languages, namely, German, French, English and Luxembourgish, like most citizens of the country. We drove for a few hours along the route dictated by our trustworthy GPS device and at some point, veered from the autobahn into the countryside, through small towns and rolling vineyards. Just as we crossed the border into Luxembourg, a town with a very familiar name greeted us - Schengen. Normally, when a person travels from one country to another he or she requires permission to enter the country which is given...

Fireworks in Heidelberg on September 1st It's a chilly, cloudy Monday afternoon in Walldorf, Germany and I'm sitting at work, munching on some french fries that have turned cold and soggy over the past couple of hours. I'm not shirking work, I've actually finished with my work for the day and it has been a slow week, owing to the fact that it's vacation season in Germany. August is the last month of summer and so schools are closed for a couple of weeks, prompting families to go on vacation. So did I, but my vacation had nothing to do with the end of summer, but rather to spend time at home in Delhi with my parents and brother. So I was missing in action, in Europe at least, for almost the whole of August. Last week I reluctantly bid adieu to India and came back to an almost empty office in Germany. Most of my colleagues, including my boss, were and some still are on vacation. I like an empty office, it's quiet and peaceful. I brought a box of ...