The Year that was

Yes, it is that day of the year when it is time to reflect upon the last 365 days, I am doing this for 3rd time in a row now. I am very consistent in this although I am not consistent in writing regular posts. I know I am not doing justice to the heading of this blog, but then sometimes you should spare me from all the brick-bats!

Actually, this year has been a roller-coaster ride for me (I think every year is, for everyone). Hence, for most part of the year I lost interest in posting new things, that does not mean I lost interest in travelling or cooking though. They are my life line and I cannot stop them, even though some people may be jealous about it.

So, I will just review my 2012 (Facebook did not do justice to it).

• January: Winter in Norway was not very harsh, so enjoyed the crisp snow and the bone breaking sledge ride. Learnt to steer the sledge with legs, although had to eat a lot of dirt in the process.
• February: Back to home after 6 months. Got my dose of Vitamin D for the season. Saw people change, for better or worse, I don't know.
• March: Back to Oslo. All snow melted, and my dream of skiing remained a dream. Good thing happened as I got a new best buddy, or I can say best buddy in Oslo.
• April: Bergamo, Milan, Florence, Pisa, Venice. I do not think I should say anything more, people are already jealous.
• May: Celebrated Queen's Day (April 30) in Amsterdam. Made love with the Tulips at Keukenhof. Celebrated Norway's National Day (May 17).
• June: Plan for a Germany tour was cancelled, due to very unfortunate happenings. Enjoyed the long days where there would be light till 11 pm, and the sky was never fully black.
• July: The holiday season started. No work and all play. I was busy arranging for my visit to India, but my heart was broken.
• August: Back to India once again. Things have changed completely. Tried to mend my heart, found some help too.
• September: Mini Cruise to Copenhagen, a totally different experience which incidentally happened on the blue moon day. Visited Flam and Gudvangen too. It was an awesome experience. First hand experience of the Norwegian nature.
• October: Time for my yearly Paris visit. Paris was different this time, maybe because I had better company.
• November: Stockholm. And time for pack up, my time in Scandinavia was ending. 
• December: The best month of 2012. The awesome Northern Lights display in Tromso made my life complete, and then a lovely weekend at Skien with lots of snow. The dinner with office colleagues will be memorable too, where I worked like I was high and managed a 4-course meal for 7 people, alone. Back to Bangalore, from the cold to the heat, in every sense. Things have changed, but I think I will just overlook them for the time being.

Overall, an exciting year 2012 was. I traveled about 50,000 Kms, yes, it is fifty thousand. And I learnt a lot of things, most important of which is "what does not kill me, makes me stronger". Yes, 2012 has made me stronger, and I can feel it in myself.And finally, the World did not end, so I hope 2013 will be an equally exciting year and will help me become a better person.