I took a last minute trip to Kolkata this past week-- boy oh boy what a place... From our train being delayed due to a cow getting sucked into the engine (to which the woman next to us said 'oh this shouldn't be too bad. last time this happened it only took a few hours'. oh okay, what!?), to running around for half a day between 3 different places trying to change train tickets, to getting pelted with water packets and bottles at a soccer game, to walking through the second largest banyon cano
py in the world (in the most horrifying humidity I must add), it was most definitely a crazy few days. My friend Lambert invited me to come along to the Bayern Munich vs. Kolkata soccer match, in which crazy goalie Oliver Kahn was playing his last game. I love soccer, and I had really wanted to see Kolkata, so why not. We couchsurfed with a fantastic guy name Biplob, who has a beautiful home (even though I must say that the power cuts made staying in one place almost unbearable). The game was tame- 
Germany won easily, but the place was PACKED (largest stadium in Asia), and eventually the small group of German fans we were sitting with started getting heckled by Indian fans-- it was funny until the police showed up with their lathis to break everything up... Being that I'm half german, it was kind of hard for me to convince anyone I was rooting for the Indian side.. Eventually everything calmed down as the game ended, with a lovely fireworks show..The next couple days we saw the Victoria Memorial, and went to the Botanical Gardens to see 
the 2nd largest banyon canopy in the world. We also ate some of the best street food I've ever had (kebabs from a dhaba at midnight, after going to a rock n' roll bar.. nothing ever tasted to good!). Kolkata was steamy, crazy, and chaotic.. I think the vision that a foreigner has of the 'exotic' indian city would be Kolkata. More street vendors, and smells, and people sleeping on the street than I've seen in all my travels. There's a metro, but it's not like the swanky Delhi one, and Kolkata is the only place that still has human pulled rickshaws. It's an insane mix, more so than Delhi, and amid humidity that soaks through your clothes the second you step outside, it's a lot to take in. I loved those three days though-- felt like I was as wide-eyed as ever...
Jake is here now, and Scott Leeder came through and 'couchsurfed' with us last night... We all had a blast, and
took Scott out (or I guess the moms took us out) for a birthday/leaving India dinner at Punjabi by Nature. We ordered so much food that I'm pretty sure I'm just getting out of the food coma just now... Anyways, it's always really great to see familiar faces in crazy foreign lands, so I'm glad that we all got to go out.. Now I can't believe it, but I'm getting ready to leave Delhi! Tomorrow I head up to Amritsar to see the Golden Temple, then over to McLeod Ganj for 2 weeks, then it's back to Delhi for one day, and then over to Greece! Trip is winding down very quickly- lots to process still, but that will come at a later time.. For now, it's still lovin the whirlwind!!
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