When: 19.06.2010
With: Nikon D80, 10-20mm Nikkor
By: To Lian by Tram no. 1 from
I missed the last bus (no. 10) from Skistua and had to walk additional 4km. The last bus from Skistua is around 16:15.
Jul 022010
Apr 062010
When: 02.04.2010
Attraction: Castle and cheese factory
With: Sandeep, Phillippe, Paman, Charlotte, Sandy, Apiparn, Anupama, Nikon D80, Nikkor 18-70mm
Thanks to all of you for organizing this wonderful and lively trip on such a small notice. Special thanks to Anupama for not having a meeting with her boss on the same day.
Dette easter ferie gikk jeg til Massy-Palasieu ved paris for et møte. Det regnet der. Det var mange trær der. Naturen var vakker. Siden det var et formelt møte hadde jeg formell dressene. Jeg presenterte mitt arbeid der. Andre mennesker har ogsø presentert sitt arbeid. Jeg synus at de likte arbeidet mitt. Under lunsjen spiste vi fransk mat. Etterpå dro jeg til Lausanne. Lausanne er en fin by ved Geneva. V’rt var veldig fint. Solen skinte og det var varmt. Jeg hadde bodd derfor fire år. Jeg min phD der. Derfore har jeg mange venner der. Jeg møtte dem. Jeg nådd Lausanne på kveldn. Jeg gikk for å spise Crep med vennene mine. Jeg elsker crep. Neste dag gikk jeg til laboratoriet hvor jeg jobbet. Ingenting har endret. Alt er som jeg forlot seks møneder tilbake. Jeg snakket med professorer, teknikere og ny studenter. Der var glade for å se meg. Neste dagen vi alle gikk for fotturer i fjellet. Vi spiste fondue og racklette på fjellet. Vi besøkte også et gammelt fort. Neste morgen dro jeg til Trondheim. Det var en fin ferie. Jeg vil gå der igjen.
Steps in cheese production: First the cheese factory accept either morning milk (which is richer), evening milk, or both. Because it is generally purchased from small dairies which don’t pasteurize, this milk contains the bacteria necessary to produce lactic acid, one of the agents that triggers curdling. The cheese makers let the milk sit until enough lactic acid has formed to begin producing the particular type of cheese they’re making. Depending on the type of cheese being produced, the cheese makers may then heat the ripening milk.
The next step is to add animal or vegetable rennet to the milk, furthering its separation into curds and whey. Once formed, the curds are cut both vertically and horizontally with knives. Then huge vats of curdled milk are cut vertically using sharp, multi-bladed, wire knives reminiscent of oven racks. When separation is complete, the whey is drained.
Moisture must then be removed from the curds, although the amount removal depends on the type of cheese. For some types with high moisture contents, the whey-draining process removes sufficient moisture. Other types require the curds to be cut, heated, and/or filtered to get rid of excess moisture. At this stage the cheese may be inoculated with a flavoring mold, bathed in brine, or wrapped in cloth or hay before being deposited in a place of the proper temperature and humidity to age. Some cheeses are aged for a month, some for up to several years. Aging sharpens the flavor of the cheese.
Some cheeses may develop a rind naturally, as their surfaces dry. Other rinds may form from the growth of bacteria that has been sprayed on the surface of the cheese. Still other cheeses are washed, and this process encourages bacterial growth. In place of or in addition to rinds, cheeses can be sealed in cloth or wax.
Manufacturing process in pix.
Apiparn’s solar panel really comes handy when there is a drought of energy. See the people recharging themselves with her smart gadget.
Sep 132009
When: 13.09.2009
With: Tarun, Nirmal, Nikon D80, 18.70mm, 10-20mm
By: Train from Grenoble (1.5 hours)
Met: A Black cat in the middle of a market
Annecy in the North of the French Alps, is the Venice of Savoie a well deserved title. The medieval town centre built around a 14th Century Chateau is dissected by small canals and streams running out of Lac Annecy, which is clean, fresh and a wonderful azure color.
Lots of cafeteria, colorful old buildings, shops.
What we did: Motor boating in Lac Annecy
Sep 052009
With: Nikon D80, 18-70mm
When: 21st May 2009 – 22 May 2009
By: Easyjet from Geneva
Food: Indian, Turkish and Chinese cuisine
Stayed: With my friend Prafulla Rawal and my brother Saifuddin Ahmed
May 242009
With: Nikon D80, 18-70mm
When: 21st May 2009 – 22 May 2009
By: SAS from Oslo
Food: Baked Salmon, Salmon, Milk and Shrimps
Stayed: Thon Hotel Europa in Oslo
First Impression: Norway is extremely expensive :O
Strangers whom I met: Sara and Tormod
Sara (see portrait photograph): She works as an assistant manager at Norways first cacoabar. I met her at the Cafe itself and the most unique coffee (spicy) of my life. She marked a few interesting places on my map and I found really delicious food at a reasonable price.
Tormod E. Eitrheim (see the portrait): He is a free lance journalist and photographer. I met him while I was walking near the Central station. He is very knowledgeable about world politics and he gave me many tips regarding photography.
I hope to meet both Sara and Tormod again to learn more about them.
I have many things to write about the trip but I will need more time for that and at the moment I don’t have much 
May 242009
With: Nikon D80, 18-70mm
When: 21st May 2009 – 22 May 2009
By: SAS from Oslo
Food: Baked Salmon, Salmon, Milk and Shrimps
Stayed: Thon Hotel Gildevangen
Strangers whom I met:
Christine: Thanks, a lot for meeting me in the evening for the coffee in spite of having an extremely busy schedule. Hope to see you again if I ever come back to Trondheim. We can go for a hiking next time. By the way I followed all your advice and went to that park you had recommended. I liked the place and while I was returning I met a group of people who were very hospitable and nice to talk with.
Ole: Thanks to you too. I would have definitely missed the “beaches” and the “rock climbing” session had I not met you accidently. It was nice traveling in your mobile workshop and listening to you. I have uploaded your photograph on this page. Will be writing about everything in detail a little later when I have time. If I meet you again then I will definitely cook you some indian curry 
Apr 202009
With: Debabrata Dash, Saurabh aggarwal, Jitender Rai and family, 70 Indian folks, Nikon D80, 10-20mm, 18-70mm
When: 10April 2009 – 13April 2009
By: Bus
Food: Vegetarian Pizza, Baked Salmon
Stayed: Camping site
Apr 202009
With: Debabrata Dash, Saurabh Aggarwal, 70 more indian folks, Nikon D80, 10-20mm, 18-70mm
When: 10th April to 13th April
By: Bus
Mar 262009
Feb 152009
Seville City
Seville is more than 2,000 years old. The passage of the various people instrumental in its growth has left the city with a distinct personality, and a large and well-preserved historical centre. The city was known from Roman times as Hispalis. The nearby Roman city of Italica is well-preserved and gives an impression of how Hispalis may have looked in the later Roman period. Existing Roman features in Seville include the remnants of an aqueduct. After successive conquests of the Roman province of Hispania Baetica by the Vandals and Visigoths, in the 5th and 6th centuries, the city was taken by the Moors in 712 and became an important centre in Muslim Andalusia. It remained under Muslim control, under the authority of the Umayyad, Almoravid and Almohad dynasties, until falling to Fernando III in 1248. The city retains many Moorish features, including large sections of the city wall. Following the Reconquest, the city’s development continued, with the construction of public buildings including churches, many in Mudéjar style. Later, the city experienced another golden age of development brought about by wealth accumulating from the awarding of a monopoly of trade with the Spanish territories in the New World (See Winds in the Age of Sail). After the silting up of the Guadalquivir, the city went into relative economic decline. Seville’s development in the 19th and 20th centuries was characterised by population growth and increasing industrialisation. Seville fell very quickly to General Franco’s troops near the beginning of the Spanish Civil War in 1936 due to its proximity to the invasion force coming from Morocco. After the initial takeover of the city, resistance continued amongst the working class areas for some time, until a series of fierce reprisals took place.
Giralda and the Cathedral
Giralda was built as a minaret of the mosque between 1184 and 1198 by Ahmed Ben Baso. This 76m high minaret was crowned with four large golden balls which were said to be seen from more than 40km away. It was such an admired building that when the Muslim
surrendered the city, they asked for the permission to destroy the tower, and Prince Don Alfonso replied with a sentence which has already become famous in history “If only one brick was removed from the tower they would all be stabbed to death”. The foundation of Giralda, which go underground fifteen meters were built with Roman ruins from Seville and Italica. The tower itself is made of bricks and as decoration there are four large sets of sculpted bricks. In the middle of the wall there are lobe shaped windows overlapping with Roman light splitting columns. In order to admire the views of the city 35 ramps (not steps) have to be climbed. The reason was so that the muezzin in charge of calling the people to prayer could climb to the top on his horse. After the reconquest of Sevilla, the minaret was decorated with bells and statues to symbolize the “triumph of faith“.
After a 10 minutes uphill walk we reached the top of Giralda. The panoramic view was worth all the trouble one takes to reach there. The view of the whole city was breathtaking.
Real alcazar
The Alcázar of Seville is a royal palace in Seville, Spain. Originally a Moorish fort, the Alcázar (from the Arabic, al-qasr, meaning “palace”). The Almohades were the first to build a palace, which was called Al-Muwarak, on the site of the modern day Alcázar. The palace is one of the best remaining examples of mudéjar architecture. Subsequent monarchs have added their own additions to the Alcázar. The upper levels of the Alcázar are still used by the royal family as the official Seville residence and are administered by the Patrimonio Nacional.
The entry was free of cost for the students. From the outside it was impossible to imagine the vastness and beauty of this amazing fort. The fort (or probably a palace because i didn’t see any sort of arms and weapons which are so common in almost all the forts I have visited in Europe) is designed in a typical moorish style. The architects took idea from the Quranic descriptions of the heaven. The palace has a big garden with fountains and four channels of water symbolizing the four rivers in the heaven. The fountain must have served the purpose of cooling in the scorching heat in summer (Sevilla is the hottest city in the whole of Europe). The walls of the palace have verses from Quran engraved on it. I think it is a trademark of the Islamic architecture. I have seen same verses in the monuments even in India and in Granada. The verse means “There is no God but Allah and Prophet Mohammed is his last and final messenger”. So, ignorant were the ruling class of that time (like Queen Isabelle and her husband Ferdinand) that in spite of being strictly against Islam and Judaism (see Inquisition and the expulsion of muslims from Spain) they kept these verses near their tombs and inside their residential palaces. Probably, they never knew the meaning of these arabic verses.
