Goodbye Seattle

I am bad at saying good-byes; meaning I say them well in front of people maybe without so much of emotion as I mean them. Today was no different. Initially, when I landed in Seattle, I had decided that I was not going to like the place as much as I do Switzerland. The weather was bad; -- it was raining, public transportation wasn't as good...Many of the places we went to for food (specially the first night) was exorbitantly expensive. Even I tried to argue that the coffee was better in Bern.
But it's only that much. It was my initial hesitation in accepting change that was saying all that. As time went on, I am glad to say that I could see beyond all this, feel the culture of the city, the culture of America; and why you should never compare beer with wine! I already wrote about all that in my last post.
Well, anyway. I just have to add a couple of things before I finally say goodnight and go to sleep (.... I have to wake up at 5 AM tomorrow morning). The first one is the Columbia Center, also serving as the Bank of America building. The tallest building in the Seattle skyline, (about twice as tall as the Space Needle), you would see it's huge, but you would not really realize it's SO HUGE until you go all the way up and then look down. I have heard so many arguments of my sophisticated friends against the skyline of the US cities rendered ugly by the skyscrapers; but today, all these arguments really turned to water when I was up on top of the building and looked down at the cityscape, the landscape around it, the lakes and then finally the mountains beyond. There is something in beauty that defies all arguments...
The second thing is the University of Washington campus. A sprawling one, I've often wondered what it would be like to play Treasure Hunt in there. Again, it is here, that I have had the chance to observe the American University students life, albeit from a distance. It is something I have seen so many movies about, wondered so much about; but this is the closest to which I have experienced it. It would have been fun if I was here as a student: going out with friends to the University street on a Friday night for a cheap dinner of Thai food followed by a couple of beers in a local alehouse. Fun, eh? The campus has it's own charms, old buildings shrouded in tall trees, grassy lawns, cherry trees in full blossom in spring, the vitality of youth everywhere,...

...anyway, Goodbye Seattle. Hope to see you again soon!

Sleepless in Seattle

This wasn't exactly a title that I thought would have ever applied to me: but nine hours of jet-lag have made this possible. It worked its black magic on me this whole week, making me get up at the middle of the night all the time!
So, ... Seattle is the first American city I had a chance to witness ever since I went to see the Downtown today. The culture is quintessentially American, with people being jolly and friendly with perfect strangers, waitresses cheerfully calling out over the distance if the food is all right, or if you want something more. It's been quite a pleasure to have been here. Since I don't have anything specific to say, maybe I'll just summarize stuff like a travelogue.
First, the food. Sea food seems to be a specialty of Seattle. Not surprising. In addition, there are numerous places in the University street offering various kinds of food, starting from a very delicious veg buffet to spicy Indian food. While you can get yourself decently fed within $12; things can easily go up to $25 with Indian food, $40 with specialty Sushi or sea-food.
Downtown Seattle was also fascinating. I would never even dream of comparing it with any of the European cities -- Seattle (and indeed probably most American cities) have their own culture, very unique and very distinct from anything the world has ever produced. You will start by noticing people from all the corners of the world, followed by all the kinds of cuisines possible (and indeed, I had the honor of eating piroshky from a Russian bakery shop -- traditionally I think it's called Pirozhki --- which seemed extremely popular with a long queue of people, and drinking coffee from the first Starbucks shop). Then of couse, the usual blend of Indian -- Chinese -- Sushi -- going all the way to Arabian and African. But then that is expected too. And it is America, so there has to huge tall skyscrapers, nobody beats them at it. Skyscrapers have their own charm -- I have lived in Mumbai for 6 years, and am no stranger to them; but of course, they were nowhere like the ones in the US. Their magic worked on me...
And yes, chocolates ... Americans are sometimes strangely innovative, that other people would have never thought of. I have lived for some time now in Switzerland, the land of chocolate, but I have never seen marshmallows dipped in chocolate,  bretzels in chocolate, whole apples dipped in chocolate and with mouth-watering outer chocolate layers. That was really something -- a quick taste of marshmallow coated chocolate and a marzipan dipped in chocolate to break my fast!
The Seattle Art Museum was also nice in its own way, but nothing really striking --- there was a painting of Puget Sound bay that completely swept me off. It was an invitation to the American settlers to come West. And there was another one of Nigara falls aimed at proclaiming the power and the beauty of the newest continent. There was a collection of paintings exploring how remarkable the effects of focusing light on a paining can point out the theme of a painting -- there was a picture of Nurse Irene tending a wounded St Sebastian, and there was another nurse showing light on the wound; and the very act brings out the tenderness of the action of tending a wounded.
I suppose that is it for tonight --- I don't think I can think of anything more to say!