Run for Help - 9 Kms in Lueneburg

Summer is back, need to burn out the calories which I accumulated during the winter, can't find a better opportunity to run through the city of Lueneburg for a helping cause for around 9 Kms. Initially, I was always skeptic about the distance of 9 Kms, but thanks to the motivation of my good friend Prabu with whom I trained twice a week after the work. Special thanks to my colleague Rene, who is my inspiration and motivation for all the sporting activities of running, cycling, swimming etc. 

Thanks to Werum which takes special care to sponsor for many sporting events in and around Hamburg and motivate the employees to do some sports rather than sitting before the computer all the time. It was a great chance to run in and around the streets of Lueneburg along with thousands of people. The registration money from the participants is used for a noble cause. Thank god, the weather stayed absolutely fine and it was not raining. My target was to finish it well with an hour and I could manage it on 59,47 minutes :) But what I felt discrepancy in the race is, my jog tracker application showed just 8.3 kms and my friend also confirmed the same. But who care whether its 8.3 or 9 kms, when the running is for a good cause. It was certainly a day to remember!

Cheers,

Sathish Kumar S

German Citizenship - Ich liebe Deutschland!!

Just a short wittiness: When I first landed in Hamburg airport for the first time, I had to pay 50 cents to take the trolley for my luggage. My mind said should I have to pay 30 rupees (50 cents) to use the trolley instead I can take the luggage by hand but once I came out of the airport my friends told me that one can get the 50 cents back lol. From that day till now, it has been a tremendous and challenging journey for me in Europe. I can not imagine myself that I am a German nationality now when I am writing this article.

Unfortunately, India doesn’t support dual citizenship. So for acquiring German citizenship, I need to give up my Indian citizenship. It was certainly not an easy decision for me to give up my Indian nationality. So what made me to go for German citizenship? There were quite a number of reasons which prompted me to go for this decision. The first important advantage of possessing a German passport for me is traveling becomes easier. For example, if I want to visit my cousin who is doing his Phd in New Zealand, I just have to book the tickets and fly directly to NZ. Same holds good for US, UK, Australia and other Asian countries. I had to face quite a lot of bureaucratic procedures for applying tourist visa to US, UK or UAE. Especially for travel freaks like me, it’s definitely a handy feature to have German passport.

I really thank god that I was given the opportunity to experience both the European and Indian culture to the core. Even though my roots are Indian, I should honestly admit that German society is one of the more idealistic Utopian societies after I witnessed around twenty countries in the European Union and which I read about in my history books. The most striking feature about this country is the health insurance. Every Tom, Dick and Harry is completely insured by the state for his health. Even giants like United States are not in a position to offer this luxury to its citizens.

Next striking feature is the School and University education. I always feel money shouldn’t be a barrier for somebody in their lives from pursuing their dreams of higher education. You can send your kids to the same school where Einstein went but you don’t pay extra money for it. Same holds good for pursing higher education and pursuing research. I am pretty sure this is not the case in countries like United States, UK, India, and Australia where one has to shell out considerable amount of money in schools, colleges and Universities for their children to get high quality of education.

Another thing which I really liked in Germany or for that matter in Europe is the gap between rich and the poor is very small. A barber can dream to drive a BMW, can go to holidays to Spain and lead a healthy life on par with snobby white colored employees. The standard of living is equivalent for almost every individual and the respect for each job is simply awesome. Having been brought up with so many economical differences in the society from the childhood, definitely Europe gave me a chance to see the other side of the globe.

What strikes me more about European economy is the word Security. The sort of insurances involved during unemployment and during retirement. It can never happen in Germany that you are fired one fine day unless and otherwise you stole something from the office or harassed some beautiful girl in the office ;) It was never German way of life style to spend lavishly with credit cards and go bankrupt. Hardly I have seen people spending here more than what they have in their pockets or by taking lavish credits from the bank.  Many of my German colleagues always complain that Scandinavian countries have the best social security system but honestly they haven’t seen the other side of the world. Germany is no doubt definitely on par and top when compared to other western countries. The point which is of worth mentioning is about the maternity holidays which last for three years before mommies could join the same job. Well of course, Germany needs kids or who else will pay the insurance for the oldies. As per statistics, every German family needs minimum 2.5 kids per family to sustain their economy and to balance their social security system.

Besides all these benefits, the amount of holidays which one gets in a year is something worth mentioning. The most striking part is, when one is sick, its goes as sick holidays and it will not be deducted from your normal holidays. The German work culture which is organized and structured to the core where one definitely take their work close to their heart but they never miss out of their nude holidays in sunny beaches and drinking beer along the shores;)

My first target when I came to Germany was to complete my studies and go either to United States or to India. After my studies, I felt why not have some German work experiences for some years. After rubbing shoulders with some smart Germans and tasting German work culture, I thought why not live in Germany with my wife here for couple of years. After leading marital life for some years, I felt why not have kids here and I realized time ran so fast and it’s almost six and half years since I left India and now I got my German citizenship. The other reason where German citizenship will play an important role for me in the future is to work in India for considerable period of time and can return back to Germany anytime if I want. Alarm bells are always ringing from my mom every day that I should return back to India as soon as possible since I am the only child and it’s my utmost duty to take care of them during their last phase of their life.

One good thing done by our puppet Prime Minister Man Mohan Singh is the introduction of OCI card for all foreign nationalities of Indian origin. The card which enables to live in India as long as possible, work in India, start business if needed, buy some property and have the same rights as Indian citizens. Only bottleneck is one can not vote, one can not work in Government organization, one can not become a politician  I am sorry to say that our house street in India has been completely taken out of voting list. It’s been some years since my parents caste their votes.

So I will definitely not going to miss out with respect to voting and becoming a politician in India is never possible for people who are academicians and from middle class ;) But working in government job, that’s kind of bit tricky. I always wanted to give back to Indian society simply because that’s where my roots are. It was always my dream to work as a Professor in Anna University at the fag end of my career or even contribute some coding lines to Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO). But it’s too early to think on those lines, one never knows what comes out in the future and especially when the diplomatic relations between India and European Union is increasing at a rapid rate.

If you have made up to this line of my article, thanks for your valuable time. The reason why I wrote this article is mainly for people who still think and relate Germany to Second World War, Hitler and Nazism. Times have changed, world has moved a long way. There are always stray incidents which happen here and there but that’s quite common and happening in any part of the world for foreigners.

I thank each and every German, my fellow countrymen, friends from different countries who helped me in one way or other to come to the level of attaining German citizenship. My special thanks to my Technical University Hamburg-Harburg (TUHH) and Northern Institute of Technology Management (NIT) and my company Werum Software & Systems which provided me a great opportunity to taste German way of life. With out all your help, warmth, love and affection, it wouldn’t have been possible. At the end of the day, German passport is yet another piece of paper but that shouldn’t eradicate my roots or the values which I imbibed from Indian society.

When I first left my hometown to Germany for my higher studies, I never ever imagined that I would become a citizen of Germany. As Tamil scholar Kaniyan Poongundranar said before 1000 years, “Yadhum Oore Yavarum Kelir” – the whole world is my family, every person on this earth are my kith and kin. It’s just the politicians and humans have created borders and division among people but I always believe those are just imaginary lines to separate people. So it’s just yet another piece of small book stating German citizenship which is going to lie in my shelf.

I always had a small feeling that I didn’t land up in United States before some years because of language constraints here in Germany. But once I could manage most of the stuff with my dilly dally German language and when I look back my days, I am quite happy that I landed in Germany for many good reasons. Not to forget, I got my precious gift (Anish) here with the help of German Medical Insurance system and sophisticated modern medical facilities. . Well one can always make holidays in United States with German passport. I really have to admit the fact and sentence which my mom said when I informed that I am going to be German citizen. “I sold my son to a foreign land”  But let me also admit the fact that I love Germany to the core as I love my mom.

One of my German colleague said on a lighter vein during the lunch time, ‘Jetzt haben wir den Salad”. Now we have a salad after the arrival of Sathish in Germany ;). I thank Germany from the bottom of my heart what it has offered me in all spheres of my life.

List of countries which I trotted during my studies and during my work in Germany.

1.    Germany
2.    Spain
3.    Italy
4.    Swiss
5.    Austria
6.    Latvia
7.    Slovakia
8.    Hungary
9.    Netherlands
10.    Belgium
11.    Denmark
12.    Sweden
13.    Norway
14.    France
15.    Portugal
16.    Turkey
17.    Czech Republic
18.    India
19.    UAE
20.    United Kingdom, Qatar (only in the airport)


Ich liebe Deutschland!
I am indeed a proud Indian!
Sathish Kumar S

First name of dad becomes surname for the kid... Do you know this?

Recently I had complication to get the right surname in the birth certificate for my son in Lueneburg, Germany. Normally in South Indian culture, the first name of the father becomes the surname for the son. For e.g. my first name is Sathish and my son gets the surname as Sathish. This concept of naming seems to be totally new and weird for Germans in the Standesamt (Birth Certificate office). Because in Germany, the kid gets the surname of either mom or dad. So in our case, my surname is Shanmugam and Anita’s surname is Muruganandam. So my son will get the surname as either Shanmugam or Muruganandam.

In the first instinct, I was kind of ok with this rule and sort of proceeded to have Shanmugam as surname for my son. But my wife was very adamant that it’s quite unusual to have grand father’s name(Shanmugam) as surname for our son. I can totally understand her position and wish. So I thought I should fight it out with the local authorities to get Sathish as the surname. I took the example of my other Indian friends in South Germany who had the similar situation and they didn’t have similar problem with their local authorities to have father’s first name as surname for their kids. I scanned those birth certificates with the similar situation and went to the concerning officials in Lueneburg.

I had to argue with them if other Standesamt (Birth Certificate office) in Germany can give father’s first name as surname for Indian kids, why not Lueneburg. The lady was arguing that according to the rule of names in Germany for Indian kids, it’s not possible to give that way and I can only go by the phrase in the rule book of names for Indians. What was surprising for me was she said, Indians don’t have the concept of first name and family name and we just have names written together. I was shocked to the core with her statement. If that’s the case, why in Indian passport we have first name and surname. She reiterated that only because of internalization and global mobilization, Indians have agreed to the naming conventions according to western rule.

I said, I can even get a letter from Indian Embassy in Hamburg stating that it’s acceptable to have first name of father as surname for the kid. The lady was so adamant that she will go only by text books and she can not change her mind. I can agree to the lady if my son is given German passport and nationality, then it makes sense to abide by the rules of German naming convention. If the kid is Indian, I thought why I should be submissive with my approach to her. I said, I will go to press if she carried with this approach. If other offices in Germany can give such birth certificates with out any fuss then why not Lueneburg. She got frightened after I said I will go to press.

She gave me a work around to get Sathish as surname for my son. Since the kid is born in Germany, the kid can be named according to German naming convention but the parents won’t be given any surnames. It’s the birth certificate of my son, what’s important is the first name and surname of my son and it totally doesn’t matter if the dad’s and mom’s name is written as one full name or split in to surname and first name. So I finally agreed with this solution after discussing and arguing for nearly two and half hours.

The kids can also get international birth certificate in Germany. I requested is it at least possible to get surname and first name correctly for the parents. She argued international birth certificate is an exact copy of German birth certificate and she can only issue as it is in German birth certificate (Geburtsurkunde). I asked her to show the rule where it’s stated that International birth certificate is an exact copy of German birth certificate. She said she will get back to me in few weeks finding this rule ;)

I made great experiences with different sections of people in Germany but not definitely with the government office people. They have a different attitude towards foreigners. Had it been before some years, I should have just accepted what she said. But this time I thought I should fight it out to practice my German and pass time with bureaucratic snobs ;) I felt it as a total waste of time just for the shit paper works. There are so many issues and problems to concentrate in life but sometimes people in government offices are bogged down with petty things.

Conclusion: My son's first name: Anish (Anita + Sathish) Kumar
surname : Sathish

Isn’t it a nice feeling in the future when somebody calls my son Herr. Sathish (Mr. Sathish) and not Herr. Shanmugam (Mr. Shanmugam).

Cheers,
Sathish Kumar S

Istanbul - West meets East

After one spent considerable amount of time in Germany, at least one time or other, one should have gone to Turkish shop to eat the famous Döner Kebap or Durm. After hearing about all the stories about Turkish culture, food and historical cities from our Turkish friends in Universities, Istanbul was always in my list of European voyage. Thanks to the cheap air tickets by Condor Airlines from Hamburg to Istanbul. If you are having Indian passport, one can get on arrival visa by showing the hotel bookings and return tickets for two weeks.

Istanbul is a sandwich city between Europe and Asia and so is the culture of Istanbul with the conglomeration of east and west. One side you see the tall skyscrapers, modern outfits and western style and on the other side one sees the traditional Mosques, Bazaars and trademark Islamic buildings. The lovely Bosphorus bridge connecting Europe and Asia and one of the busiest bridges in the world is a treat to watch especially with lights in the night time.

Had a chance to rent a car to explore Istanbul and near by places. Driving in Turkey is more or less similar to driving in India. Hagia Sophia, Sultan Ahmed Mosque, Basilica Cistern, Dolmabahchi Palace which shows the richness of Ottoman empire are some of the must see places in Istanbul. The Grand Bazaar is the oldest and one of the largest covered markets in the world and strolling across this Bazaar is definitely a life time experience.

A cruise ship on the Bosphorus on a sunny day is a must in Istanbul. The same cruise ship on the Bosphorus in the night with belly and Turkish dance and Turkish cuisines on the ship is yet another great experience ;) Had a chance to go to Sile, a small beach located by the Black-Sea shore and is just 45 minutes drive by car from Istanbul. The most fascinating aspect of Istanbul is the restaurants. They have marvellous and huge varieties of Turkish food and sweets which one can savour to the core.

Thanks to Özge and Ismail, my good Turkish friends in my University hosted us in a traditional Turkish Restaurant and their hospitality was simply awesome. It’s a special feeling to catch up with friends with whom you rubbed shoulders in German Universities and to meet them in their homeland. Thanks to my good friends Prabu and Aishwarya who accompanied with us for the trip and we had loads of fun with both of them and they gave a great company. Prabu made excellent pictures with his SLR camera and the ladies as usual posed for the pictures ;)

All in all it was an excellent trip which will reside in my memory for long time. After exploring Istanbul, I should say Turkey is no way developing country, it is indeed developed nation. Probably the same quality of life is not to be seen in other areas of Turkey. By far, in my opinion, Istanbul looked grand and rich in all aspects. Istanbul must see place in Europe. Oh I am sorry in Asia Oh no Europe and Asia ;)

Cheers,

Sathish Kumar S

Insurance - Way for quality life

During my student time, I always cursed myself of paying certain amount to the medical insurance. It even got aggravated once I started working that the amount got increased considerably. Whenever I used to say to my friends working in different parts of the world like India, Dubai, USA that here in Germany we pay nearly 40% taxes, they were shell shocked to the core. Even I felt the same that the amount of tax deductions here in Germany was very high and totally needless. I never understood the concept of Insurance since I was brought up in Indian society where spending to a doctor is a waste of money and we never had a situation in our society where monthly contribution was given to health system.

But I really understood its significance and importance only during the time of pregnancy of my wife. She has to be in the hospital for nearly two months and all the expenses were taken care by the health insurance. I never felt at one instance the financial stress during this tough situation. Thanks to the medical insurance system here. It was a good learning curve for me regarding Insurance because as one grows older and older, more and more complications can occur in body and during that time, one can not afford quite a lot of money for medical expenses from one’s own pocket.

I really feel this system should also be introduced in Indian society where part of the monthly contributions goes to Medical Insurance system and when dire straits arrive in one’s life, no need to worry about the financial situation to treat the patient. I feel insurance should also be introduced in various fields which definitely make the quality of life much more cherishing and happy.

Cheers,
Sathish Kumar S

Obergerichtsvollzieher - Yet another strange incident

Recently I got a letter from ‘Obergerichtsvollzieher’- Law Prosecutor stating I have to pay certain amount of money otherwise I will be prosecuted. I was shell shocked by that letter because I was wondering I never had any debts and never took any credits. There was an appointment in the letter that Obergerichtsvollzieher will come to explain the reason why should I pay that amount and so on. Unfortunately it was Christmas time and I had to wait nearly two weeks for that appointment. It was always lingering on my mind what could be the reasons for it? In meantime, I checked with my Bank, housing agents and everybody declared that I had no debts and credits.

So the day arrived when old fat guy with gigantic look entered my house. He said I need to pay around 950 euros to Institute for Statistic Department, Aurich, Niedersachsen. I asked the reason why should I pay such an amount of money to them? He said it’s related to Micro Census and he asked me to contact that department for further queries and he left the house. The statistics department said I didn’t answer the questions which they posted to me by letter and it’s mandatory that every person living in Germany after receiving this letter must answer this question. There is a law that if you neglect to answer, necessary legal actions can be taken.

Now I remembered that I got so many times letter from Statistic Department with some questions. I neglected them simply because I thought it’s not mandatory to answer those questions and it’s left to the discretionary of the person whether to answer it or not. The questions were like how much sq m2 is the apartment and how much is the income in the family and so on. It seems the Statistic Department chooses 1% from the total population randomly and sends these letters. It seems there was a big protest in Germany in 1989 that it should not be made mandatory to answer those questions. Law was passed in 2009 that it’s a must to answer those questions.

I was just wondering Germans are so introvert people that they can’t allow the Google maps to publish their houses and streets, then how come they allow to give all the information about the income, size of the apartment and so on. That was the main reason why I simply neglected those letters. I called the Statistics Department and explained the situation that I was not aware of the fact that those questions have to be answered mandatorily. Sorry for neglecting those letters. I can give the information straight away. They were so kind enough to accept my offer and one can give information also by telephone and I gave all the information what they needed.

Regarding the fine, they said they can reduce the price from 950 to 200 Euros because 200 Euros is for the processing fee for Obergerichtsvollzieher. I felt really bad why I should pay even 200 Euros for giving my information to the state. I was consulting my mentor Harald and he advised me to talk to the Statistic Department and also gave an idea if they are so adamant say you will go to Hamburger Abendblatt, famous newspaper in Northern Germany. I adopted the same strategy and called the Statistic Department and they said they will get back to me in few days. After few days, they called me and said we will close this matter and please don’t neglect these letters in the future and provide all the information.

Thank god I was totally escaped from paying first 950 Euros and then 200 Euros. I can understand Census plays an important role in measuring the growth of the nation. As a responsible citizen, I don’t want to shy away from Census. But what wonders me is how can 1% of the Population give them a good picture of the nation. Whatever little statistics I have learnt, how come 1% of the sample population be effective. It really puzzles me to the core. Why can’t they do it more transparent and do it to all 100% of the population.

Lessons learned out of this situation:
1. Never ignore the official letters from the state.
2. Taking proactive measures in diplomatic way always helps.
3. Most importantly learning and speaking German in German society helps a lot.

Cheers,
Sathish Kumar S

Fahrerflucht (Hit and Run) - Incident which I wont forget in my life...

Recently a strange incident happened to me. I thought its good enough to document in my blog. One fine afternoon, the receptionist from my office called me and mentioned the driver of the car LG-AS-XXXX has been accused with hit and drive case (Umfallflucht) on 26th Jan at 18.26. I was shocked and perplexed to the core after hearing that news. I was given the number of police to contact directly and sort out the issue. Unfortunately, the concerned police work only half time and she already left the office.

I was asking myself when did I do some accident and when did I run away. It was a terrible night for me asking myself how could this happen and I was rewinding all possible actions on that day. Nothing came to my mind. I was googling around all the articles for this mistake (Fahrenflucht) what could be the penalty? Who should pay the cost to the damaged car? Will my hard earned driving license be in threat? I was asking all my German friends what I should do in this situation. Everybody advised me to go to the Police and collect the information. If things are complicated, then we can go to the lawyer. Next morning had appointment with the police, thanks to my good friend and colleague Henrik who came along with me to police to help and ease out the situation.

The police was very polite and explained the situation in a relaxed manner. One old German lady saw me parking my car. During the parking, it seems my car touched the other car. The old German lady called to police that I damaged the other car and I didn’t take any necessary action and she gave both the car numbers. Police examined my car and found no damages in my car. Police called the damaged car owner and asked for whether there was any damage to your car? Police could only reach the mother of the car owner and said they can’t make any decision unless and otherwise the owner of the car gives a statement that nothing has been damaged. The police gave the following possibilities.

Case A: If the owner of the car says nothing has been damaged, then I am completely safe. The case will anyway go to the city traffic attorney but he will simply reject the case because there was no damage done. The best ideal case which I was longing for.

Case B: If the owner of the car says, “yes damage has been done”. Then the police will inspect both the cars and estimate the damage caused and I will be penalized and there might be a chance that I can lose my license. The worst case which I was praying for not to happen.

The police clearly stated that she can give her decision only after talking with the owner of the car. I was totally frustrated and asked why didn’t the old lady didn’t come directly to me and say that you touched the other car, please inform police or concerned person. Why the heck she reported this incident to police. Because everything is insured here. Had she informed me, I should have taken necessary actions to inform police or inform the owner of the car. I was really disappointed with the action of the old lady.

I requested police that I wanted to meet this old lady and want to give some flowers and gifts ;) Police denied that it’s not possible to give this old lady’s information and said may be they can ask that I wanted to meet her. Then we came from the police station to work hoping that the owner of the other car would say that nothing has been damaged. I was very confident that I didn’t damage any car. There was an ethical discussion whether what the old lady did is right or wrong, does it make sense to meet that old lady and give some flowers ;)

After all the discussion, I received the call from police and they stated everything is fine. Nothing to worry and no damage has been done to the car. I was finally relaxed. The police also apologized for all the hardships caused to me and said it was not the old lady who gave this complaint but it was driving school teacher who was driving lorry gave them this complaint lol. The police asked me do you still want to meet this guy and give some flowers and presents. I paused for a while and said lets close this matter and thanked Police for all the cooperation.

I would like to compare similar incident which happened to me in Chennai, India. Anita was driving the car in Chennai. Suddenly one motorist tried to overtake our car; unfortunately, the motorist slightly collided with our car and auto (Tok-Tok). After the entire tussle between the auto (Tok-Tok) driver and the motorist, nothing happened. We just had to proceed with minor scratch in our car. No police complaint, no reclamation and nothing. Just wanted to give a comparison of how different society functions in different parts of the world. When society functions so organized and structured without much crime and robbery, I can expect what kind of cases the police has to deal in Germany ;)

I would like to pose the following ethical questions to the readers of this article.
1. Do you think what the old lady or the guy did is correct of giving the complaint without properly assessing the situation?
2. Do you think giving some flowers and gifts to that old lady or the guy makes sense ;)?
3. Do you think the old lady or the guy should have informed me directly?

Looking forward for your thoughts to have healthy discussion. It’s definitely one of the most memorable incident which has happened to me in Germany. Thanks to Henrik who helped me in this tough and crazy situation to bail me out.

Life is bit adventurous sometimes! Now I understand the phrase from my German friend, you can even touch my wife or girlfriend but not my car ;)
Sathish Kumar S

Sina Michael Marriage

Recently I had a chance to attend my best German friend, Michael’s wedding in Petersdorf in the north of Hamburg. It happens to be very important wedding invitation to me simply because he was my first German friend when I came to Germany and remains still to be my best German buddy. It was a time when I was completely new to Germany, hardly spoke any German language and very difficult to understand the culture as well. The role he played to help me to integrate in to the society is something I would never forget it especially during my difficult times.

It was a good feeling to drive with my car to a place around 100 kms from my place with my honey with well dressed suit. Around 100 people came for the function and for an Indian 100 is a very small number in marriage function :D. The dinner was perfect with typical German dishes and Michael’s dad gave a presentation about Michael and Sina’s childhood days. After that came party where lot of songs from Köln and Football club Köln were played. It was a day to remember.

Thanks a lot Herr. Kitzelmann. We were delighted to be part of your important day and I wish you guys happy and prosperous married life. I still remember the sentence which Michi told, "In whichever part of the globe you are, whenever you want to visit me, my door is opened for you". Friendship with Micha is something which I really cherished during my good old days in Germany.

Cheers,
Sathish & Anita.

Serengeti National Park, Wildlife Safari in Germany

I never even imagined that one could do a safari ride in Germany by sitting in car as it was pretty common in Africa. The Serengeti National Park in Hogenhagen, Niedersachsen gives a great possibility to explore the wild life by sitting in car. It was indeed a great experience to sit in the car and see lions, tigers and other carnivore’s animals wandering in the forest as opposed to animals enslaved to the cage in Zoos.

Besides exploring the animals in the forest, the park offers various rides like in theme park. Most interesting part is, the driver of the car gets a free ticket to explore the park. It’s a lovely feeling when Giraffe, Camels, Zebras just peek in to the car windows. Hats off to the park which created a virtual set up of a forest like in Africa. Certainly a great place to visit in Germany. A day to remember!

Cheers,

Sathish Kumar S

Sächsische Schweiz with Nötzold family

One more entry in my blogspot, yet another Sachsiches experience and one more lovely outing with Nötzold family. I never visited any family in India this quite often, twice in a year, never imagined that I would visit a German family twice in a year which is around 400 kms away from my place. This time had a chance to see Sächsische Schweiz (Sachsen Swiss). Even though can not be compared to Swiss, it’s a scenic mountainous area where one gets a panoramic view of the river elbe originating from Czech Republic from the mountain top.

We had a chance to go to near by zoo in Chemnitz. It’s been almost before 20 years that I visited a zoo. Nice to recollect the childhood days and meet all my friends ;). Normally traveled to Chemnitz along with Torsten in his car. This time had a chance to be in the driver seat and travel 400 Kms in German autobahns with pleasant weather. The drive from Magdeburg to Chemnitz was fascinating with no speed limits in the autobahn. I drew motivation from different personalities whom I came through with my experiences in life, but Torsten is a class act of how he manages both professional and personal life. Thanks Angela for nearly showing almost all the places in the Sachsen region in this span of five visits.

Ich liebe Nötzold familien!

Sathish & Anita.

Crazy dream came true....210 Km/h in German autobahns... :)

Every body has small crazy dream in their life to be fulfilled. I had one such long dream of driving in German autobahns (National Highways) with out any speed limits when I came to this country before six years. During my stay in India, three things which always striked about Germany was their beer, their national highway with no speed limits with Mercedes, BMWs, Audis and their football team. Germany is the only country in the world which has no speed limits.

It’s indeed a marvelous experience for me to satiate this dream with Audi A3 in German autobahn to drive at 210 Km/h. The weather was pleasant and thanks to Anita who handled the stress by sitting next to me ;) I had to wait for long time and surpass many hard struggles for this dream to come true because of the various constraints involved in getting German driving license. There goes a saying its never late than never. Always chase your dreams!

Cheers,
Sathish Kumar S

Mryna Andreas Marriage - Perfect International Wedding

Recently my American friend Andreas got married to Myrna from Mexico in Hamburg. Both Andreas and Myrna studied together with me in my Master studies. It was a perfect example of an international marriage where people from all around the globe from USA, Mexico, Columbia, Peru, Germany, Poland, Russia, and Lithuania were present. It was indeed great moments with Andreas during our MBA studies with crazy night out parties in the common room, cranky trips to Berlin, Barcelona, Switzerland and last bench commenting about German professor’s English ;) Thanks to my MBA studies which gave a great chance to rub shoulders with different countrymen and know their way of life.

The wedding ceremony took place in church then followed by an evening party in a hotel which was beautifully located in Blankenese across the shores of river elbe. The occasion was very emotional and sentimental with both the parents and siblings of Andreas and Myrna exchanging their love and affection in both English and Spanish. Thanks to Juan, our Mexican friend who did the translation for the whole evening. The evening was enlightened with Mexican dance of Salsa and it was a perfect get together to meet our MBA classmates after our graduation in three years. Thanks a lot Myrna and Andreas for the invitation. We were so privileged to be part of this wonderful occasion with your family members. I wish both Myrna and Andreas a great start to their married life and best years ahead. Love has no barriers despite coming from two different cultures thats what Myrna and Andreas have shown us. Good luck guys!


Cheers,

Sathish Kumar S

Vattenfall Cyclassics 2011

Cycling is one hobby which I got in to it after coming to Germany and especially cycling for long distances in the midst of nature is a special experience indeed. Like last year got a chance to take part in Vattenfal Cyclassics 2011 for 55 kms. Thanks to Werum who motivates the employees to take part in this wonderful event by sponsoring it. Last time I completed 55 kms in 2 hours 22 minutes. So the target was to complete this time with in 2 hours but finally managed in 2 hours 13 minutes at a rate of 25Km/h.

It was a lovely experience when the whole roads are blocked for you and the motivation you get from all the local lads residing near the path of this cyclassics. Nearly more than 10,000 people participated in this cyclassics. When I drove for the first time for 55 kms it looked like a massive target but once you did, it becomes a routine in the coming years. Thanks to Henrik Stellmann who offered his cycle to me and it made a difference of around 10 minutes this year. Most importantly the weather was fascinating and it was shining for the whole day. Hoping to complete it with in 2 hours next time.

Hamburg is a city which has offered me so many things and I always wanted to take part in an event which is attached to Hamburg and this cyclassics is one of the biggest cycling race in Europe. I am so glad that I ended up in this most environmental friendly city. Hamburg meine perle!

Cheers,
Sathish Kumar S

Finally German Driving License - Great Drama!!

If at all one experience which haunted and tormented me a lot for considerable amount of time is definitely my driving license in Germany. Honestly, the society which gave me lots of fun, joy, exposure showed me the worst side of it as well. I was always amazed with German education system, their infrastructure, health insurance system and the way society functions in different areas but certainly one of the things where lots of discrepancies going on is definitely the driving license in Germany. I was always documenting my great experiences in this wonderful country during my stay here but thought this hard experience which I faced should be narrated and documented as well.

I always heard from my friends and colleagues, driving license is expensive in Germany and it takes more time, money and stress to get it but realized when I was on the receiving end. Having tasted German culture and German beer, it would have been an unsatiated dream if I don’t experience German autobahns. With all those dreams and aspirations, registered myself in a driving school. It all started with a theory exam where one has to learn around 1500 questions by just mere memorizing. Thank god this exam can be taken in English. Was wondering how many of them will have driving license in India if one has to learn 1500 questions and go to the exam. Most of the questions were not meaningful and understandable because of the straight translation from German text. For.e.g. what will you do when a game animal passes by. God only knows who that great game animal is. The sentence which one can never forget after you finish the theory exams “What you reckon with”. So cleared my theory exams with out much fuss.

Now comes the real test. Practical lessons. The actual rule says the mandatory lessons to be taken are 12 classes (4 in autobahn, 4 outside the city, 4 during the night) but the thumb rule which most of the driving school adopts is on an average 30 classes before you take the exams. Each class is not even for one hour and its 45 minutes where the teacher gives instructions to drive. Not even once, the teacher gave confidence about the driving and always skeptical about the mistakes and handling of the vehicle. The sad part is you pay a huge amount for just 45 minutes and at the end of the day you have to come out of despair after the driving.

Having experienced this torture, got ready for the drama. Practical Exam day. Thought it should be quite easy to clear the practical exam after driving for 30 classes. It all started with some German technical questions about the car. I was strangled with those questions because I took the theory exam in English and I was never exposed to those technical words which examiner asked me and neither my teacher never told me that the examiner will ask certain technical questions in German. I was requesting him for the English word for “Nebelscheinwerfer” but he was so adamant that he will only talk German. I was panic right from the word go. After few minutes of panic and stress, he gave me a clue nebel = fog. Had to show him the fog lamp and start the car. I was then asked to park the car which I did and after the parking was over, handbreak was applied, I left the clutch and the motor stopped. That’s the end of the story. I was allowed to drive only five minutes and maked as failed. I was even told by many people, the motor can be off for one or two times. I felt so miserable and depressed after the first exam and after shelling out hell lot of money.

There should be a minimum of two weeks for the next exam and unfortunately my India trip came during this period. Had a great chance to drive in India during my holidays with my car there and practiced a lot. Also drove in T.Nagar the busiest roads in India with my parents. But definitely driving in India can never be compared driving in Germany. Fixed the dates for second attempt and the most frustrating part is one has to take 3 to 5 practical lessons before the next exam. Once again has to undergo this agony with my favorite teacher. I was so concerned that I should end this tormented phase soon.

Now comes my second attempt. Thank god this time, the examiner didn’t pose any technical German questions and I was allowed to drive straightaway. Everything went fine for 30 minutes and I was asked to drive in autobahn. I was confident that this time I made it. But the examiner came with the shocking news that I failed once again. His reason was that the distance between the vehicle in front and my car was too short in autobahn. Damn, I was so frustrated and pizzed to the core and can never argue with him. The relationship with the teacher got worsened and I had to shell out my emotions. It was a time when I totally hit my low ebb of my life. I knew the whole set up of this driving license is to extract money but never realized it would be so painful.

I went to an extent that I have to give this driving license and never drive car in my life. Thanks to Anita and my good friends who constantly motivated me stating it doesn’t make sense to give up after spending hell lot of money. Thought of even changing the driving school and the teacher, but again starting from the scratch would cost me hell lot of money. So decided to persist with the existing moron and continue on. Once again took some lessons to gain some confidence for the next attempt. Getting an appointment with the teacher for driving is yet another herculean task.

Now comes my third attempt. This time I was given a sheet of paper by my teacher to learn a set of questions which examiner might ask on the third attempt. Was wondering why he didn’t do this for my first exam? How will he make money if I clear it on the first attempt. The teacher gave me confidence that this time the examiner is quite relaxed and you will surely get the license. I had to pacify myself this time I will finish this long standing story and also heard from many people here failing one or two times is quite common. The third attempt was the most anti-climax of all. I just came out of the examining centre and there was a stop sign board where I halted before the board and proceeded further. Failed once again in the third attempt. Reason I didn’t stop exactly before the line which is after the stop sign board and more importantly I didn’t stop for 3 seconds. Honestly that was one the moments when I felt why did I come to Germany. L

To give a simple example, the costs involved for just registering exam (85 Euros for Tüv which conducts the exam, 80 Euros for the driving school and 32 Euros for the test drive before the exam) which simply amounts to 200 Euros for just registering and taking the exam. It’s gone in a span of one minute for nothing. Realized this value of 200 Euros when the same 200 Euros showed me one of the most beautiful landscapes in the world, Norway. How life could be so cruel sometimes.

It was certainly one of the most depressive moments I had to face. Again the same mood of giving up and not driving anymore in my life. Everyday is different and life goes on. So decided to go for the fourth attempt. This time I convinced myself I need to throw the dice and have to wait when the number turns up for me. It can be either in fifth or sixth or even tenth. My confidence was shattered to the core and I questioned my credibility and confidence all the time. It had a great impact on my professional and social life.

Now comes my fourth attempt. Certainly I was shell shocked how the examination was conducted. No worries. It was my teacher who was giving instructions where to drive in the exam and even guided me at various places and the examiner was gossiping with the teacher about their nude holidays in Mallorca. I even heard from my examiner that he has a girl friend and his girl friend has three children which was not born to him. So was the conversation when I took my fourth attempt. I was just wondering which reason I will get for failing in the fourth attempt. Finally finally I got the news that I will get my GERMAN DRIVING LICENSE. Why was my previous attempts not conducted this way. How does the teacher knows exactly what questions the examiner will ask and how do my teacher knows exactly the path which my examiner wants to go.

It was one of the perfect drama which I witnessed myself during my driving license in this part of the country. I felt embarrassed and dejected how this can happen in a society which is so structured and organized and has offered so many lovely experiences. There is a clear connection between the examiners and the teachers in giving the driving license. The driving school sets a benchmark of extracting certain amount of money from the candidates before the license is given. This is not the experience only for me and I hear similar kind of stories from many of my friends who took driving license in Germany. Anyway its hard reality to accept it but nothing can de done. I was asking myself when I failed in the exam last time barring driving license. My heart just reflected, I never failed in any of the exams which I took in school, college, and my master studies in Germany. I always made it a point irrespective of the grades I get, I need to clear the exams for the first time and no repetition of the exams should be there. Thank god this attitude paid me rich dividence in my whole career and my social life but not definitely in driving license.

No more philosophies, its time to hit the AutoBahns with no speed limits :)

Cheers,
Sathish Kumar S