First weeks in our new home

Tuesday, August 01, 2017
Hyderabad, Telangana, India
Well, it's taken quite some time to get all approvals but in the end, all worked out just as we had hoped for. So, here we are in Hyderabad, India. Yeah!
After a pleasant flight with Emirates we arrived on 3rd July at Rajiv Gandhi Airport. We are since staying at a serviced apartment around one hour from downtown Hyderabad and in walking distance to Roger's office. Here we will stay until the end of August and then again until we can hire our own apartment.
At a first impression, India is still as chaotic, loud and dirty as we remembered from our last trips. And Hyderabad is no different. It's not pretty, absolutely huge and not very easily approachable. Traffic is bad most of the time and going anywhere on foot is nearly impossible. BUT it is also fascinating, bustling, colourful, vibrant and very friendly! We love the food, the people and the daily experiences. 
The first two weeks were rather challenging trying to orientate ourselves and getting organised. Nothing seems to work first hand but then somehow everything always does, in it's own way and time. As Hyderabad is not a touristy place, we are small attractions ourselves, whenever we are out and about. People ask us for selfies with them, want our autographs or just welcome us to India. People are very friendly indeed and we feel very safe. We're settling in nicely and looking forward to our time here.
Roger started work right away and has gotten into it full on right away. There are loads of tasks and challenges to take up. Working hours are on European times; so he's in around 11am to 9pm. These timings need a bit of getting used to but at least give us time to hit the gym (both of us) and practice Yoga (so far Claudia only) in the morning. 
Claudia is keeping herself busy, organising 1001 little things, which come along when relocating to a different country. Also, she has taken up Hindi classes. A great challenge and lots of fun! Our Visas for the upcoming two years still need to be sorted out and we will be back in Switzerland for a few weeks to get this done. 
On the weekends we have visited some of the fantastic, historic attractions of Hyderabad like Charminar, Golconda Fort, Chowmahalla Palace, Taj Falaknuma Palace as well as the Qutb Shahi Tombs. We have also been to Bengaluru (about one hour south of Hyderabad by plane) already for a short weekend getaway.
Despite being monsoon season, the weather has been incredibly nice and sunny. It has been around 26 - 30 degrees with a nice breeze and cooling down in the evening. Just perfect! However the rains have hit some other parts of the country very badly causing major floods and terrible hardship.
Well, so much for now. We'll keep you posted and hope to stay in touch! And hey, please come and visit incredible India yourself!

Comments

Hami
2017-08-03

Thanks for sharing, Claudia und Roger ! Enjoy and stay safe. Hugs, Hami

Tom B.
2017-08-04

Great write up from your adventures so far, anxiousely waiting for your next update... Love all the pics but especially the one where Roger gets his 15 minutes of fame, he must have felt like Roger Federer, haha. See you next month again for another goodbye...;o)

2025-02-15

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