Yaadon ki gali

Brussels-Ghent-Bruges

2011-10-25T09:29:00.000-07:00

With the EU crisis in news all the time these days, who isn't familiar with the EU head quarters .i.e Brussels? However, when we planned a trip to Belgium, our intentions and agenda was not to solve any crisis :)
We planned it for a chocolate tour and complete relaxation of our mind body and soul!
Belgium is famous for its capture of historic beauty, financial development post World wars, and definitely its Chocolates!! With the claim-to-fame, it surely was my MUST VISIT country!!

We planned to keep it as a 3 day trip and we had just 3 cities on our mind - Brussels, Ghent and Bruges. The cities are well connected and it shouldnt take more than 30-40 minutes to hop from one to another. So, we planned to go to Brussels on the first day, followed by Ghent and then Bruges. To get to Brussels we chose Eurolines. It was a comfortable and short journey by road (3 hrs).
Without much ado, let me begin my experience in these cities.

Brussels: The capital city of Belgium and the Head Quarters of NATO and EU. It is a modern city with well connected transportation inter city and intracity and also with other countries of the EU. So, getting here is not a problem at all in any season and for any reason :)
It is culturally rich and vibrant. Our first stop in Brussels was none other than the Tourist Information centre. But to get here, it was some experience! The Brussels north station was our hop off point from Eurolines. From here, we had to go to the Central station and then from there a brief walk down the market square to reach to the Info centre which apparently happened to be in the Grand Markt region. The city map is not too intuitive and it did turn us off initially. But this city dint take too long to lift our mood!
The Grand Markt Square is like a huge enclave and is surrounded by ancient edifices. In the middle , we can see artists sketching portraits, some selling posters of the famous monumental structures and ofcourse, posters of the famous Manneken Piss.

Manneken Piss

Grand Market Square

We then planned to visit the Atomium - the famous structure originally built for the Trade Expo which happened in 1958.

Atomium

From here, we next went to Mini Europa - the park with all of Europe's landmark monuments' miniatures! This was a truly worthy place . The miniatures are full of life and activity. The detailing is very neatly done to exhibit how the life is like in the city of those monuments. For example - Ghent city is shown there - with Canals, some mills (depicting the cloth mills there) and even a miniature of the garbage carrier vehicle!! How better can it get? So, with this park's visit, I can claim to have seen entire Europe. So Mini Europa equals Europe in a nutshell!

From here, we headed towards Ghent - where we had planned to halt for the night.

Ghent: What a welcome it was! Initially apprehensive about this city because of our Brussels experience with the clumsy maps, we got down at St.Pieters station. And then, as we stepped out, we looked lost! There was some construction work going on and the place looked otherwise deserted. To add to the owes, we had forgotten our hotel address. But we walked like we would conquer the world ! After walking for about 200 m, we found another hotel - Trianon. This was the wisest thing we did during our trip - to go to this hotel and to ask the receptionist to "lead kindly light".
The lady at the reception was sweeter than the sweetest praline chocolate of Belgium :) She called our hotel guys and took down the address and also offered us a room for sometime so that we could connect to the internet and jot down more information (in case we needed any). As we stepped out, a man came running behind us and handed over 2 tickets - day tickets to roam around in the city! Cant get any better, can it? :) I began to love the aura of this city.
It was already late in the evening, but we decided that we would see something in the city before we called it a day. So, we headed towards the Gravenstein Castle.
This castle is different from the usual ones. It has a strong stone structure surrounded by a canal and was formerly a place where people were executed for their misdeeds! The castle today holds an exhibit of the weapons and methods of execution of the former days. The occasionally spotted knights in shining armour are a highlight though :)
This city is calm, well lit and beautiful. We spent the evening walking along the pavements next to the canals, sat in the middle of the city in the open restaurant and experienced the light air as we had our dinner. We then took a stroll to explore the city a bit. It was beautiful - this city which is famous for its lighting during the evenings took my breath away!!

First glimpse of Ghent's beauty.

The heaviness that Brussels had created on our mind was wiped off by this enchanting city. Its aura like I mentioned earlier is captivating!
The next morning, we decided to see some monuments - The Belfry and Cloth Hall , St. Bavo's Cathedral ( of the Mystic Lamb fame) and some more. After these, we decided to do one of my big things on the wishlist - a horse carriage ride!!! It is a VERY romantic wish that every girl would have and truly by god's (and my hubby's) grace I must say, I got to do this!!

Fiona was our horse and Melanie was our Driver. Melanie guided us through the tour and spotted some of the famous structures of Ghent city. The main attraction in Ghent is the 3 consecutive towers - Saint Nicholas' Church, the Belfry and Saint Bavo's Cathedral. We also saw a statue there which Melanie described as that of a famous THIEF!! We laughed at it as she continued the story of this good thief. It is said that this guy had stolen a spinning wheel from England. But this had brought the people of Ghent lot of wealth since it enabled Ghent to grown as a cotton looming city! Ghent is even to this day, one of the richest European cities.

While we paraded in the carriage through the city, we not only enriched our knowledge about Ghent, but also about Fiona and Melanie. Fiona was Irish and Melanie was Belgian. The Irish horse with a mare's name was Melanie's breadwinner and favourite pass time. She loved Fiona and I fell in love with him (as in Fiona).

We bid adieu to this mesmerizing city after a brief shopping of chocolates (quite an oxymoron isnt it? coz chocolates shopping can NEVER be brief :) ). We now boarded a train to Bruges.

Bruges: Famously known as Venice of northern Europe, Bruges is a world UNESCO heritage site. This city is an abode of more museums and many canals with sparkling waters. Being Venice of the north means boats and more boats :) Here, we set ourselves footloose with absolutely no museums on our charter. We walked through the city and encountered more horse carriages every now and then! This city had horse carriages too - but here it seemed more commercial and not as enticing as it was in Ghent. However, this city felt like my home of my previous birth - because I felt so much at home and as if I belonged there! Just imagine this - a girl who loves horses and is in this city of canals and romantic boat rides - who wouldnt belong there?

We had lunch in a nice restaurant in the city's market place and enjoyed the flavors of the food and the folks. Everyone there were surely travellers and they dint leave a chance to contribute to the vibrance of the city. It felt like bliss!

Belgium trip turned out to be a tour savouring the splendor of the cities and less of chocolates (only by comparison)!!

PARadise It iS :)

2011-09-14T05:18:00.000-07:00

For all my readers who dint quite understand my effort to show the name of the place by capitalizing the letters in the title, I shall make it simple.. PARIS it is :)

Paris, formerly known as Paname in the mid 19th century, is the capital of France and one of the biggest metropolitan cities in the world and in Europe specifically. I will surely not be wrong when I say that it IS definitely everyone's MUST VISIT destination!
While some people save this place for their honeymoon destination and few others for their summer vacation, we saved it for no reason :) As we booked the tickets well in advance (only to be sure we get the tickets & decent hotels at a good deal) , the only work for us now was to pack our bags and board the train! Thalys it was :)
A definite thing which we wanted to do was to go to Paris and to go by Thalys :) Though we chose Comfort 2 tickets, it was definitely a comfortable journey. We could also connect to wifi with costs as low as 13 euros for unlimited access time! However, first class would fetch us a muffin and some snacks + wifi for free :)

Many parents, friends and relatives had come to the station - some to see the Thalys I guess, and some others to wish Bon Voyage to their dear ones :) It was surely a nice feeling to see so many people so eager to go on this train :) Was it "Paris calling"or Thalys train which made them all this excited, I still wonder :)

We had an amazing journey from Cologne to Paris (Cologne is the start point of Thalys, though there are odd hour trips which start from Düsseldorf). The train is so fast that the scenery outside our windows seems to be flipping faster than the wink of an eye! I remembered the school game of drawing pictures on different pages and creating a manual animation effect by flipping the pages fast :)
As we reached Gare du Nord station of Paris, the facts that we saw on the net became vivid to us :) "Gare du Nord - the busiest station in Europe", indeed!
Official language is French. However, it is really not difficult to manage with English. So with ease, we inquired about the transport passes, museum pass and about tour guide booklets at the station's information center. There are multiple options to choose from - day passes to 3,4 or 5 day transport pass. It is definitely a great buy since it saves our time from repeated ticket purchase on consequent days! And from here, we took the bus and headed to our hotel.
Parisian hotels have one thing in common - small rooms! Thanks to the crowd in the city which leaves no option but to build small rooms to accommodate the swarming tourists :) However, we still managed to get a good deal and booked a hotel with very decent room and breakfast package !
All this was the prologue to my actual content. Now, quickly I will lay down our itinerary here:

Day 1: Check in to the hotel. Rest for a while. Head out to explore the hotel surroundings. Some shopping.
Day 2: Disneyland, Paris. Be back by 6 pm. Freshen up. Head out for some shopping and dining
Day 3: The museums- Louvre, Musee d'Orsay. Go on top of the Arc de Triomphe. Go to Champs Elysees street. Some shopping
Day 4: Notre dam church, Saint Chapelle, a Seine river cruise, Le Pantheon . Some Shopping
Day 5: Palace of Versailles. Back by 6 pm. Eiffel tower in the night. Some shopping
Day 6: Montmatre- Sacre Coure, and left over shopping . :)

In spite of the brow raising "Six day trip in Paris" , our itinerary has still fit in only 2-3 museums of the many in this city of museums and palaces (I am not wrong when I named Paris that way, am I?)
Paris city is rich in its culture, heritage and the way the monuments of past is still maintained to glorify the city it is today. With our itinerary in place, we began our tour.
This post will surely not be sufficient to explain everything we did, everyday. But I will surely give the highlights of some places I loved the most.
Louvre Museum- For those of you have read the Da Vinci Code or watched the movie, this place ain't anything unknown. And for all others too, this isn't some name you are hearing for the first time! Yes, this is the famous museum which houses the glass pyramid.
Apart from the fact that Louvre is one of the biggest museums in the world, it also takes credit for being the most visited art museum in the world! Formerly, this was a palace - the Louvre palace. As we neared the museum, and as the first glimpse of the museum fell on my eyes, with no control on myself, I literally jumped with joy!
It is stretch across a vast area with an amazing landscape surrounding it- a beautiful garden in front of it, across the road which only adds more glory to this magnificent edifice. With its exteriors this great, I could manage to imagine how its interior exhibits could be :)
The Mona Lisa, the nude statue of Venus & the great Sphinx are mostly the things that people look out for in this museum. However, to give you an idea, you can find art, sculptures, antiquities of the civilizations which spanned from the east to the west, etc etc - literally anything that you name! The Egyptian, Roman & Greek antiquities & sculptures caught my attention more than others, for no particular reason!
Frankly, in my honest opinion, there are several other beautiful paintings which are much better than the Mona Lisa which are less or never noticed in the urge to see the MONA LISA. But yeah, the claim to fame of this master piece is an evergreen & debatable topic :)

Musee d'Orsay - The less hyped, fantastic museum is not too far away from the Musee du Louvre. It is mostly a house of the French art work. It is said that it was formerly a railway station , Gare du Orsay.
This museum houses the works of several artists, who probably, can be called the Tier 2 artists, only a relative term I use on the basis of the hype :) This museum is a vast one, however not as vast as the Louvre. Yet, I loved every exhibit here since they are more eye catchy and modern. The themes are also different compared to the exhibits in the Louvre. It is surely not "Ah, yet another art museum". The flavour of art here is definitely different from that in Louvre. To tell you, when you visit the Louvre, you kinda feel like you are in those ancient civilizations and living in those times.. But in the Orsay, you feel younger because the art is relatively newer :)

Arc de Triomphe - It is a look alike of our India gate , no doubt and is erected for a similar reason - a war memorial. It honors those who died in the French revolution & the Napoleonic wars. It houses the names of each of those who died in these wars. It is a 50m tall structure with about 323 steps which lead you to the top from where you can get a panaromic view of the entire city of Paris. The Arc de Triomphe faces the Champs Elysees street - a street where all the top brands have a store and is definitely a shopper's paradise :)

Palace of Versailles - is a huge palace which is about 20 kms away from the heart of the Paris city. Being located outside the zone 3 (in the transport terms of Paris), it necessitates you to buy separate tickets to get there. Known for its beautiful botanical garden and musical fountains , this palace covers area more than the Louvre Museum. Hence, it requires that you carry with yourself maximum energy and enthusiasm to see every nook and corner of this never ending stretch of land :)
It is like a village in itself - having palaces (mini) scattered in different directions & large areas covered densely with tall trees and green grass. What I loved the most was the sparkling waters of the pond which is laid in the centre of the garden. I guess I have no words to exactly describe my feelings after I saw the pond there :)
Some facts about this place - it was the home of king Louis XIV, who lived here with his wife and daughters. The palace shows some original and other restored artifacts and paintings of the royal family - each one neatly laid in the rooms of the respective inmates. This was also formerly the center for political powers in France (in 16th century).
Another interesting thing is that you can see the virtual tour of this palace in Google Art Project @ Palace of Versailles

Disneyland, Paris - Ever since I was a tiny toddler, I wished to go to the Disneyland. And, in this trip, my wish was fulfilled :) From Paris city, we need to travel about 45 mins to reach to Disneyland - which has an exclusive (last) stop for itself. Needless to say how big it was!
The Disneyland is divided into 2 parks and one Disney Village which has only restaurants. The 2 parks are - one which has the Disney Studio and the other which has the Disney theme park.
The Disney studio park has everything related to animation and movie making - basically all the behind the scenes stuff. And, the Theme park has all recreational stuff - including the Disney Castle. Now, till March 2012, there is a carnival going on in Disneyland. And on each day end, there is a show or a parade with all the Disney characters. It is surely a must visit place in Paris (of course, if you haven't been to the Disney parks elsewhere in the world).
My childhood friends- Mickey, Mini, Donald, Goofy, Aladdin, Jasmine, the Little Mermaid, the Lion King - everyone was there and I relived my childhood as I saw all of them under one roof!
Some of the rides like "It is a small world!", and the "Pirates of Caribbean" are must go things to catch a glimpse of the amazing layout and set up done by the Walt Disney studios.
The entire day - from 11 in the morning to 11 in the night was spent wonderfully in the Disney park, with a memorable Magical Moments with Mickey and his friends show to close the day!

Eiffel tower- The 324 m tall tower is one of the 7 wonders of the world and the iconic structure of France. It is the most popular and most visited tourist attraction in Paris. This classic structure's view is breath-taking, particularly when seen in the evening when it is all lit up. It looks so decked up and gorgeous that it doesn't let the cameras stop clicking :)
We ascended the tower and went to the top of it at around 11 pm. It was chilly on top and was getting difficult to take pictures. When I walked around there catching a glimpse of the night view of Paris city, I felt like the stars had now come down to earth! The entire city was glittering with the well lit lights and it simply looked marvelous.
From the top, through the telescope, we could spot some of the Parisian attractions - the Le Pantheon, the Arc de Triomphe and the beautiful aerial view of the several bridges across the river Seine.
There is a small bar counter on the top of the Eiffel, and we saw many enthusiasts raising a toast - celebrating as if they had conquered the world :) I felt nothing less than that !

Our trip was almost as in the itinerary, sans the exaggerated Shopping part which was my addition to the list :) We bought some souvenirs and some classic photos of Paris..

“…the whole of Paris is a vast university of Art, Literature and Music…it is worth anyone's while to dally here for years. Paris is a seminar, a post-graduate course in Everything.” James Thurber

Well, nothing to disagree in the above quotation! It is indeed a paradise for artists, a home for literates & a museum by itself!

J'aime Paris!!

Sizzling Switzerland -Part 3

2011-08-17T07:53:00.000-07:00

Day 3:
After two wonderfully spent days, we decided to capture the beauty of Switzerland from a bird's eye view.. How? well, we decided to fly like a bird.. To glide through and to feel the freshness in the air! Para-gliding @ Interlaken!!
We had planned nothing and hadn't booked in any para-gliding club for our activity. We went to our hotel's reception where they had kept some brochures of different clubs. We picked a few and started calling them to fix our slot for para-gliding.
Many hurdles to cross - it was a Sunday, we had no internet access to check online for available clubs, and we were running out of time! Inspite of all odds, we finally decided to check out at the tourist information center and quickly checked out of the hotel and walked towards the center. On our way, we saw that there were camps lined up for para-gliding! For every 100m, there was a camp! One of that was of a club whom we had contacted - Paragliding Interlaken was its name. We decided we would finalize on this one and made our payment there.
They would take us to a height of 1400 m and most important thing was that they were certified folks for safety measures. All excited, we sat in the car which took us to the flying point!

I must acknowledge the friendliness and cordial behaviour of the co-ordinators of this club. Elaborate explanation of dos and donts, the effort to put us at ease and to evade the fear from our mind about flying from that height - just fabulous! To each of us who had chosen to fly that day, a pilot was assigned - on demand selection of pilots :) I got lucky with Micheal - a smart guy who was flying since 9 yrs! Quite an experienced guy I must say!
We stopped at one place from where I could see some green grass and some typical wood houses and a path way that was now our "run-way"! And beyond that, I could see only tall trees aiming to kiss the sky!

The parachute was now set ready and we were all set to take off.. A couple of minutes of training and then with the sign of the perfect wind, we began our flight! It was MINDBLOWING!!! What I couldnt see while getting ready for the flight was the beauty of the city of Interlaken from a height of 1400 m!!
The sparkling water of two lakes - Thun & Brienz , the large stretch of fresh green grass, the huge rocky mountains and the layered stretch of trees - how I wish I could take all of you there to show what I saw!!
My initial skepticism soon vanished and I was now just feeling everything without even winking my eyes! Micheal was good too - kept telling me not to fear and to feel like a bird. Indeed, I was flying like a bird - freely and in the endless sky!

We took a lot of photos and video during the flight (15-20 min duration in air) and then after capturing the enchanting beauty in my mind, we slowly descended and landed. I wanted to go once more! :)

Still talking all about the paragliding experience, my husband and I planned our next destination - Lauterbraunen.

It was situated in a valley with over 100 water falls! The biggest was that of Trummelbach falls - a huge roaring water falls which could be seen from 10 different levels/ view points through the man made caves drilled through the mountain. It appeared in different forms - sometimes swirled , sometimes like a spring, some times like a cork- screw - such were the variations of this falls.

It was evening by the time we finished seeing this one falls and we were getting late to catch our train back to Dusseldorf.
Unwillingly, we bid adieu to Lauterbraunen and hence to Switzerland.

“If nature were not beautiful, it would not be worth knowing, and if nature were not worth knowing, life would not be worth living”
- Henri Poincare (Physicist, Philosopher)

Switzerland is beautiful, worth knowing and definitely I feel my life is worth living :) I am just simply smitten with Switzerland's beauty!!

Cheers!

Sizzling Switzerland - part 2

2011-06-22T12:26:00.000-07:00

Inter-laken - meaning between lakes.. Interlaken is situated between lake Thun & Breinz - two of the most beautiful lakes I have ever seen! I really fall short of words to explain how romantic it is..
Our hotel was perfectly located - close to the shopping area and right opposite to the Interlaken west station. So we had no problem in reaching the station on time.
Though we were almost sure about how to reach JungFrauJoch , we did quickly confirm about it from the Tourismus (the information centre). We also bought tickets here to go to JungFrauJoch since it is not covered under the Swiss tickets. We could either travel to Grindelwald and take a connection to from there, or to Lauterbraunen. We chose Lauterbraunen now and thought we could return in the Grindelwald direction.

JungFrauJoch - the top of Europe is actually the topmost railway station in Europe and not actually the topmost point of Europe. Whatever be it, the journey is definitely an experience worth remembering for a life time!

A tunnel through the mountain for a distance of about 9km or so - brilliant!! Also, it does have few stops in between meant to show the different view points there. On reaching JungFrauJoch, we rushed to see the Ice Palace - a cave of ice with some sculptures here and there - also made of ice!!
Next was the view point - where we went upto a reasonable distance - occassionally slipping and falling on the snow, and discovering some non-slippery pathway and helping more people by showing them the path we traversed :) This point was really marvellous - a view that took my breath away - literally!! A confluence of the clouds and the snowy mountains - no definite demarkation between the two- what a beauty it was! For a moment, I thought I was on the clouds - though indeed I was on cloud 9 :)

Reluctantly, we walked away from here towards the next best part of JungFrauJoch - the Sphinx. The Sphinx is rather an observatory - named so probably because it stands like the Sphinx of Egypt - here the dessert being that of snow and not sand.. We heard no sound while on the Sphinx - because the sound from the gushing ice cold wind overpowered any other sound.. We did manage to stand and pose for a couple of pics. We dint really know if we had to resist the chillness of the wind or our urge to take more pictures- such was the glamour of the place. After this, we walked down till the railway station and took the next train back to Interlaken.


A glimpse of Grindelwald from the train

Now, we went via Grindelwald - another beautiful village in the valley. As we arrived there, automatically a vacation mood set in by seeing the lethargic people who were sun-bathing and enjoying there cup of coffee.
We simply walked around the place muching our favourite snack - potato chips!
The evening turned out to be a interstingly lazy one with no much activity. However, our stroll alongside the lazy lanes did revive our senses.. We now took a train to Interlaken. We ended the night with a homely dinner at Little India restaurant. So far - too good :)

Continued...

Sizzling Switzerland

2011-05-02T03:31:00.000-07:00

DDLJ rocked with its trend-setting shooting locations in Switzerland and I, like many Indians, began dreaming about it ever since then :) My dream came true with my maiden trip to Swiss!
We did a lot of planning, consulted a lot of forums and planned our tour - a 4D 5N trip from Dusseldorf to Switzerland and back. With the flight tickets and the hotels booked, we flew carefree to Switzerland :)

Our first destination was Basel- a city on the border of Swiss, France and Germany. We reached Basel by 11 pm - quickly drove to the hotel, checked-in and rested that night after a light dinner.
Next day- the actual tour began. We took a train to the SBB Bahnhof (the railway station of Basel) and took a train to Lucerne (also spelt as Luzerne). Since we had bought a Swiss pass from Dusseldorf itself, we never had to bother much about tickets while catching any train throughout the trip.


On our way.. A scenery through the windows..

Our journey began - through the meadows in the villages, through the mountains and the farms, through the lakes and the streams - so scenic and so picturesque. Every place that passed by seemed unique, I couldnt control my urge to continuously click pictures through the SLR. Even an SLR quality cannot render the exact beauty of the place! I wish there was some camera that captured pictures as seen by our eyes and retain the exact quality of the pictures! Trust me, this place is truly blessed with all the elements of a perfect scenery :)

As photography occupied me, I dint realize that we had already reached Lucerne. Here, we had to take a connection to Engelberg from where we would go to Mount Titlis. We could either choose Mount Pilatus or Titlis. We for some reason chose Titlis.


Lake Luzerne

The journey to Engelberg again is spectacular- the lake glittered as the sun shone brightly on the crystal clear water. The blue sky mirrored its image on the water making it more glamourous. The green grass looked fresh and with the trees groomed with flowers, the entire scenery looked like a bride dressed up for the grand event.
Again, within a span of about 40 mins, we were in Engelberg and we had to walk a few meters to reach the Titlis Rotair bus. This bus took us to the base station from where the Gondola starts - Gondola is the cable car that takes us till mount Titlis. there are basically 3 halts- the gondola with a 6 person capacity goes till the 2nd halt and at this point, we need to change over to a Rotair - another revolving gondola to give us a 360 degree panaromic view of the place. Snow capped mountains everywhere and occasional glimpses of greenary is all that we saw here - no regrets what so ever!! On the snow were trails of the skiing path - which looked like a curly hairdo of a blonde!!


View from the Rotair


On Titlis

We reached the top of Mount Titlis - 3020m above sea level- What a beauty it was!! I must mention that in Switzerland, the tourist population is dominated by Indians and Chinese- so we did feel at home with familiar words & accent falling on our ears frequently. Like an icing on the cake, the pleasure of Titlis was topped with an Indian restaurant there - which served authentic North Indian food - cant get any better, can it?

A 1000 pictures in different angles and poses, an hour of free time to play in the snow .. What more can anyone ask for!! After this, we descended - still clicking the camera and capturing everything before the scenes just vanished. With a recap of the thrilling experience as we talked endlessly, we now returned to Lucerne.
In Lucerne, we took a city map and headed towards the famous Lion Monument - a memorial made to commemorate the soldiers who were massacred during the French Revolution.

Also, due to lack of time, we saw the famous "Chapel Bridge" from a distance through the window of the bus as we headed towards the railway station to catch our connection to Interlaken.

It was an approx. 2 hr journey to Interlaken- Scenic, mesmerizing and a widespread landscape.. Just making our journey more enjoyable and worth!!

Continued...

Bonn-Voyage : Part 2

2011-03-09T08:02:00.000-08:00

6th March , 2011, Sunday
A royal continental breakfast, a sunny weather, high spirits to travel - Isn't that enough to call it a perfect morning?? We quickly got ready, packed our bags and checked out of the hotel. Day 2 of our Bonn-Voyage :)

Poppelsdorf Schloss

1.Poppelsdorf Schloss: With sober looks from the exteriors stood this classy palace amidst the vast botanical garden. The bright sunshine, the sparkling water in the pond nearby, the sounds of the ducks, the children playing in the park, the cool breeze made me forget the world! I felt liberated :)
Summer is the time to visit this castle.Then, we could see much more vibrance and color in the botanical garden. We took a stroll in the garden, talked to a few people there about when the best time would be to visit this place again, and also learnt that this garden was now part of the Bonn University. Though we couldnt explore much inside, it was indeed a treat for us!!
(Poppelsdorf Schloss, Bonn)

2.Frauenmuseum: This is the world's first women's museum!! It consists of exhibits ofwomen's contribution to art, culture, science, their discoveries and is unique in Germany. Unfortunately, we couldnt go inside this museum since it was a Sunday and another reason being it was a carnival weekend. Nevermind, we did learn much about this museum- dedicated to the women, open to all :)
(FrauenMuseum, Bonn)

3. LVR-Landesmuseum:

This museum has, in its display, the evolution of man and culture. From the man of Neanderthal era, to the present day, the evolution is shown with a lot of detailing about the occupation, livelihood and the like. Realistic exhibits of early man and the set up took us by surprise and made us feel as if we lived with them :)

(LVR-Landesmuseum, Bonn)

It was noon now and time for our lunch. Being vegetarian calls for an extensive search of hotels that serve purely vegetarian food :)"Vegetarian : No chicken no fish" - that is one definite thing we need to mention while ordering food :)
After some search, we found a small restaurant in the market place which served Pizza, Pasta and some tapas. This place was another experience of its kind!! A open restaurant in the center of the market- only shelter - umbrellas above our head. Romantic it was to sit there in the crowd and still feel confined to your table. The sun shone brightly above us as we had our lunch. A nice meal, an amazing company of my hubby, beautiful weather- just apt to call it a perfect date !! :) Who says we cant be dating after marriage? I did !! With my hubby, ofcourse :)

We sat there as we planned our much awaited destination next: Drachensberg Castle!

4.Drachensberg Castle, Konigswinter: Our navigation system led us to Drachensberg castle. We had to drive uphill now to reach the castle. But as the navigator suggested, we discovered that we couldnt drive till the castle and it was a restricted area. Never mind we thought and parked the car at the base of the hillock and began walking. Every step we took revealed newer, brighter and better view of the place. Lush green pastures , tall brown ,bald trees of the winter, fresh air, endless road and a castle on the top of the hill which stood there alone elegantly- oh what a scene that was!!

A steep flight of stairs led us to the reception area of the castle. Here was the guest house. Adjacent to this was the Castle. It looked like the castle they show in Disney land :) Surrounding the castle are walls that give it a fort-like look. The view of the farther side of the city across the Rhine river was spectacular. To add to our joy, we spotted a para-glider too! It was nothing but fabulous to stand on top there and experience the beauty of nature.
(Drachensberg Schloss, Bonn)

This was our last destination as we had planned. From here, the journey back home was still memorable. Our drive was through the outskirts of the city, through the less urban areas where house looked old-style but elegant with the sun shining dull on their roof tops.

As I now recollect, everything seems so picture perfect. Eagerly awaiting the next vacation. Hope it gets better each time!!

Cheers!

Bonn-Voyage: Part 1

2011-03-09T05:25:00.000-08:00

4th March, 2011, Friday

Having learnt that it was a holiday on Monday on the occasion of RosenMontag, we began breaking our head in deciding how to spend the long weekend :) Paris? Duisburg? Heidelberg? Stuttgart? Berlin? Where?? How?? Ufff.. A breeze of thoughts gushing through our mind.. Chaotic situation within our head!!

Then we somehow decided and said Bonn!!

5th March, 2011, Saturday

It was a chilly day as we headed out towards Bonn. The roads were scantily filled with vehicles and lined with beautiful scenery alongside!! Though brown , the tall bald trees glamorized the landscape with their contrasting effect with the gray-blue sky. It looked just the way I had always loved it.. Spectacular!!

After an amazing drive along the lonely roads, we reached the main station of Bonn where we were told, we would get ample information about the touring in Bonn.

Pleasantly, a lady at the info desk welcomed us and provided us with all the maps, guides and hand outs which described every single detail required for us to choose from the vast list of activities. The list had about 45 "must see" museums and galleries in it. We were flabbergasted!

Anyways, we picked a few unique-to-its-kind type of places that matched our interest. So thus began our "Bonn Voyage" :)

Beethovan Statue

1. Beethoven house: The birth place of Ludwig van Beethovan. There is a history behind this house. It is said that the government was about to demolish this building since it was old and in its place they wanted to erect some other building. A group of Beethoven followers and admirers fought together to retain this house. Their struggle paid results. The house was retained :) And they restored it and made it a monumental structure. It is this group which later formed a committee and till this day, the committee maintains the Beethovan House
A tour through the 12 room house offered us a deeper insight into the life and works of the great composer. The most catchy of the several exhibits were the life & death masks of Beethovan. The last of the pianos used by him is also on the display. The entire house is an illustration of his life , the people in his life, his possesions like the grand piano, violin, his ear trumpets, his glasses, his birth room.. It was a touchy feeling as we toured the homeof such a legend!! Indeed, this is a must see place in Bonn.

Egyptian Museum

2. Egyptian Museum: This is the museum which has its history dated back to the 19th century. We were told that the exhibits are just a part of the collection that they had before the world war. Most of the collection got destroyed during the bombing in the world war. What remained has been carefully preserved here. The museum is part of the University of Bonn. It has a plethora of exhibits : the pottery, the metallic ornaments, tools, idols, temple architecture, the mummies, the wall sketches of animals and many more things!!

(Egyptican Museum, Bonn )

3.Arithmeum: I have always found Arithmetic to be fun!! What more could a person like me want!! I found this place fascinating with all its uniquely distinguishable exhibits of the various machines of calculations!!

From the abacus to the modern day computers and mainframes, everything is on the display here. Some of the exhibits even provide us with a chance of a hands-on experience with most of the ancient calculating machines.

This was a very neatly planned and laid out exhibition with different floors depicting machines of different times..It was a four floored building which took my breath away :) I was just thrilled. At times, my dear hubby mocked at my indulgence into those objects :)

(Arithmeum, Bonn )

4. Art and exhibits Museum, Federal republic of Germany: A pleasant surprise to us was the exhibition about "Napolean & Europe- A dream & Trauma". Amongst the several beautiful displays, I loved the painting of Napolean on his horse. The painting, in my interpretation, was a manifestation of the power, the strength, the victory and the confidence of Napolean in his conquests. While making our plan, we thought this would merely be another art exhibit and had plans of dropping it. But later we realized what we would have missed, had we knocked this off our tour plan.

(Art Exbition, Bonn )

Russian Ballet

5.Kunstmuseum: The art museum in Bonn. For people like me who have keen interest in paintings, sketches & art in general, this is like The-Place-To-Go!! It has art forms dating back to the medieval times. Famous among the exhibits here is that of August Macke. Several other beautiful paintings were on display. We clicked a few inspiring pictures, hoping to try my skills in creating replicas of those :)

(KunstMuseum, Bonn)

Oh what a day it was!! So much to see!! I kept on appreciating everything I saw as we drove towards our hotel. The hotel we had selected was on the outskirts of the city in a silent area, far away from the madding crowd..

Continued...

Magical Mauritius

2011-01-20T04:26:00.000-08:00

Thinking about a perfect holiday destination? Looking out for a serene, romantic and calm place to spend your vacation? Or are you interested in a energy filled, high activity destination? For every requirement, Mauritius is the answer!

Mauritius welcomes the young and the old, the lousy and the energetic, the cool and the hot, the fancy and the classy- all varieties of people with its plethora of options that cater to the needs of all.

A mesmerizing land that welcomes you with a long drive along the roads that bisect the sugarcane fields during your journey from the airport to your resort. Your eyes can see sugarcane fields everywhere. And as you drive along those calm country roads, the sound of the leaves rattling and the cool breeze soothe you after a 6 hour journey by flight.

We had Maldives and Mauritius as our option but chose Mauritius over Maldives since we saw more activity in the package offered to us by makemytrip.com. It was a 6 night- 7day package: a wholesome one!

We chose Movenpick resorts to stay since the landscaping of the resort looked nothing but fabulous to us in the pictures on their official website. We were more than happy about our decision after experiencing the warm hospitality and luxurious comforts offered to us.

A warm smile, humble manager, welcoming receptionist, a glass of sparkling drink, a comfortable couch at the lobby- all of these gave us a ecstatic welcome. We were floored! Then came our tour planner who discussed with us the itinerary for the following days and gave us a hand out which described the tour options with the price list along with it.

The package had guided tours for us on 3 days and 3 other days were paid tours. The package was a value for money since it covered accommodation, 5 star breakfast + dinner on all days and 3 day tours.

My suggestion of "Must see-Must do" activities in Mauritius:

Must do activities:

-Snorkelling (available in the resort)

-Kayaking (available in the resort)

-Canoeing(available in the resort)

-Undersea walk (paid activity)

-BlueSafari Submarine (paid activity)

-Parasailing (paid activity)

-Banana boat ride (paid activity)

-A sensuous massage at the spa (a complimentary one. You also have others which are offered at a fair price)

-Sega dance : Mondays, Wednesdays and Sundays , the resort gets people who perform this dance during dinner time. It is a lovely experience since those folks teach you some steps and involve you with them to dance. Let go of your inhibitions and just merry there!

Must see places in Mauritius:

- Ile Aux Cerfs, which is an emerald lagoon on the east coast: This is where we get to do all the water activities like speed boat ride, para sailing, banana boat ride, Undersea walk.

-North Island: on which you will visit the capital city - Port Louis, Place d' Arms with its French colonial buildings and the exotic Caudan Waterfront.

-South Island: on which you will visit the Trou aux Cerfs - the crater of an extinct volcano, Grand Bassin - a natural lake at the base of volcanic crater and a pilgrimage place for Hindus (a temple with Lord Shiva, Krishna, Mahaveer, Kali, Ganesha), and Chamarel (Coloured Earth) - with its vibrant hues and waterfalls.

-The ship modelling factory on the island which showcases step-by-step process of how a ship is made. You can buy some of the spectacular ship models here- for yourself or for your loved ones as souvenir.

-ADamas diamond gallery- Exhibits a variety of diamonds and has showcases that show the diamond processing steps. You can also buy diamond jewelery here- a trusted store.

Apart from all of these activities, a candle light dinner,a bottle of sparkling wine and a basket of fruits were offered to us as a complimentary gift.

What i cannot forget is the scintillating live music at the candle light dinner, the lonely walk along the beech, endless talk as we sat by the beech at late nights and the loads of shopping we did for our folks from there.

Overall, Mauritius was like a paradise with its attractive activities , impeccable nature, and wonderful people.

Quick tips:

Languages spoken: Gujrati, Hindi, Tamil, Creole, Chinese, French

Currency: Rupee (1.5 INR = 1 Mauritian Rupee)

Religion: Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Buddhism

Capital:Port Louis

National Bird: Dodo (an extinct bird) - a must souvenir. available in variety of materials like sand stone, metal, wood.

Thadiyandamol trek, Madikeri.

2009-09-29T10:39:00.000-07:00

Lot of us have visited Coorg/Madikeri. If not, we have atleast heard of the famous "must-visit" places there. A few to name- Kushalnagar- the Tibetan monastery, Golden temple, Madikeri fort etc etc...

A few may have been to these much less talked about, but truly intoxicating places like the ones i visited this time.

Who can decide if the company we travel with matters or the place itself? In my honest opinion, it is both - coupled together to give you a completely exotic and memorable experience.

My friends , this time, insisted we visit some trekking place and fortunately enough, we finalised on Thandiyandamol :) [Some info about it : It stands at an altitude of 1745 m, about 1.5 hrs drive from Madikeri]

How it began?

We had booked a cozy and nice home stay in the heart of Madikeri and it dint take more than an hour and half for us to reach Kakabbe- the village from where our trek began. To reach Kakabbe isnt too tough because the localites guide you till the place, or even better, take a local bus from the Madikeri bus station till Kakabbe.

We were told that the trek is an 8 km one (one way) and we were all well eqipped with food, water and other essentials for this. Good or bad, our driver ( of a 21 seater vehicle) decided to stop about 2 kms before the actual starting point coz the vehicle couldnt really go till there. So, here we began!

On your mark... get set... Go!!

The lush green surroundings of the coffee estates was very welcoming. I took a deep breath and filled my lungs with the purest air and it was so soothing and fulfilling! We all started flashing our cameras to take pics in different poses- Fun it was!

We were told that the place has leeches, so cautiously, we marched into the marshy forest area- singing and howling in the group.

I wished for one thing then, that if god were to grant me a wish, i would ask him to give me the potential to capture the beauty of nature AS IS and frame it somewhere and preserve it for the rest of my life! Such was the beauty of the place- the sounds of nature fell on our ears and it was so soothing- crickets here and there, birds chirping - oh man!!

We stopped in between because my friends got bitten by leeches and we had to dress that wound- usually it is best if we use salt to knock off the leech, and then apply lime stone on it to stop bleeding.

We had trekked half the distance and it started to rain- it was a pleasant shower, truly refreshing and it infact, wiped off our fatigue! We proceeded, unperturbed and unshaken by the wildness of nature only to explore the greener stretch of the place!

Hues of nature- mindblowing! Different shades of green on the mountainous stretch of land was captivating and there we saw the peak - our destination, emerging out of the clouds. It energized us with the thrill to reach there ASAP. So we continued.

As we continued walking, we found few small streams of water- chill cold and so refreshing, so we splashed them on our faces.

We reached a plateau like region and from there, the peak's view was the best. From here began the steep stretch of land-not too steep though. From here, we took abt an hour and half to reach the peak- i.e. our destination.

What a splendid view it was! The clouds had formed a blanket on the mountain range and we waited as the mountains played hide-n-seek with us- only to catch a glimpse of the awesome beauty! Here as we stood, it began to rain slightly more than it did sometime back. With nothing to shelter us, we decided to descend- unwillingly :( .

Descent was a little more tricking coz the rocks there were slippery, but we managed with a big stick in hand for our support. On our way back, we were lucky enough to spot a small snake- my only ambition was to see one such creature atleast :) and that was fulfilled! As it poured heavily, the leeches became more active and started to show up more now. We had to be extra careful to escape from them. We stopped every now and then to check if any of them had got on to our shoes so that we could knock them off. Some still managed to get onto us and they sucked quite some blood !

We took about 2 hrs 15 mins to reach the peak and roughly about 2 hrs for the descent. So a total of 4- 4.5 hrs trek it was, covering about 18 kms!

It was indeed a pleasure to see mother nature at her best! After the trek, my mind seemed to have cleared up, and I felt fresh and ready for our next day's event- River Rafting!!! ( more about it in the next post)

Kolkata-Sikkim-Darjeeling trip

2009-06-11T11:11:00.000-07:00

It was always on my wishlist to visit a place which had snowfall, beautiful lakes and nice dense forests. I used to wonder if any one place had a mix of all this! I was surprised pleasantly to find this great combo on our trip to the North-eastern part of India covering Kolkata, Sikkim and Darjeeling!

We chose the best time - Autumn, to visit this spectacular place. Our journey started from Bangalore, reached kolkata the same day (through flight) , stayed over night at Kolkata.

I was simply thrilled to see the people there!!Each one had a similar looking face- square jaw-lines and small fish-like eyes- so typical of the people in North-east! It was an amazing welcome at the airport by our tour guide who led us to a hotel near Howrah bridge.

It was about 11 in the night and we headed out to by the famous Rosagulla at K.C Das. It was truly amazing to eat a tin full of it at that hour- we just dint wanna miss Kolkata's delicacy.

Next morning, we had a local sight-seeing to the Victoria memorial, Ramakrishna Mutt on the banks of the serene Hoogli river, and then to the Kali temple and Dakshineshwar.

Ramakrishna Mutt is such a spectacular and must visit place!! It has a divine power which you can feel as soon as you step in there. The silence in the whole ashram is such a soothing one.. I felt like it drove away the noise in my mind! Splendid place, indeed!

After this, we started towards our destination next- Gangtok!!

The last point of flight being Bagdogra, we were asked to take a cab till gangtok which is about 4 hrs from Bagdogra.

Weather at Bagdogra was quite a humid one and it kept me wondering about how it will be at Gangtok. All along the road sides were tall Eucalyptus trees in the army controlled regions of Bagdogra.

From Siliguri, the Teesta river was running along our road-side as if following us till our destination :) The light blue shade of the water and the light golden brown sand- woww, wat a scenary!

I really dont know how the weather changed from humid to chill as we reached Gangtok- so chill that our thermals, stockings, jackets, caps dint help us beat the cold. Obvious means would be to indulge in some hot drinks ;) but we chose to enjoy the weather in its true form :)

The hotel rooms were all made of pine wood and it gave a tree house kinda effect with its all-wooden furniture. The striking features were the Buddha idols and some Fengshui stuff at the reception- these gave us a glimpse of the Chinese and Tibetan influence on the people here. Not to mention the fabulous view of the Kanchenzonga from our hotel room window!!

My FAQ was this-- "bhaiyya, yahaan pe kya famous hain?" and for this, our driver in Gangtok looked at me and hesistantly answered - "Liquor! yahaan Liquor sasta padega... duty free hain!"-- FYI ;)

To talk about the people and their hospitality, i would prolly write a separate blog. Coming to the attractions @ Gangtok, our next day's trip was planned to cover Tsamgo lake and Baba mandir.

Often called Changu, the Tsamgo lake is a spectacular and a must-visit place in Gangtok. Its attractions being many, the best one is the Yak ride and the lake itself with mountains on the backdrop. We got lucky with the snowfall which just then had begun- like tiny pearls spread all over the lake surface, it just kept me busy capturing as many fotos as my memory card could accommodate! We hired some extra warm clothes and purchased some masks and jackets coz we were told that at Baba mandir( being the highest point in Sikkim -14200 ft above sea level), the weather was chiller!

Baba Mandir has a tale to tell about a great warrior with special never-before-heard of powers. (Google for more info). As we entered this region, a feeling of sanity and spirituality crept in- oh, it was indeed a great feeling!

Back we drove towards the hotel and saw some landslides on our way back- this did make us hault for some time there but I have no regrets coz it gave the photographer in me some more time to keep clicking :)

Our next day's trip was to Darjeeling from Gangtok by road- again the Teesta river following us till she bid adieu to at Siliguri.

Darjeeling welcomed us with the narrow, hilly, curved, steep roads and a bunch of freshly pluck carrots :) (We bought it from a roadside vendor- it was so fresh and tasty that given a chance, i would get back home a bag full of them). The green tea estates and the not so chilly but pleasantly cool weather was really a treat!

Our hotel was in the busy market place near the Mall road and we saw so many people here (mostly tourists) crowding the tiny shops with bags full of purchases! Not bad, huh?

Shopping here was FUN!! So many things to buy and so less time! However we managed to buy some semi-precious stone jewellery and loads of woolen stuff!! Shawls were getting sold like hot cakes in almost all shops- trust me they were so good and affordable that it tempted me to buy 4!!

The next day's plan was to go to the Tiger Hills for sunrise- whoa!! We started early morning at 4 am all equipped with cameras and warm clothing- the weather now was growing so cold that i burried my hands inside the pocket of my jeans and still shivered and went numb! I did manage to capture some sunrise pics and the mind-blowing view of the Kanchenjunga as the sunrays fell on it soon after the sunrise.Trust me, it was an amazing place.. Beyond Kanchenjunga, we could see the Annapoorna peak and far beyond that was the Everest-- could see just the tip of it using the telescope.

Next, we went to HMI- The Himalayan Mountaineering Institute. This place gives a wealth of info about the dos and donts of mountaineering and also displays a variety of gadgets and must-haves for a trekker! I felt thrilled to see them all.. It tempted me to enroll there for Everest expedition!(calls for a fitness check and bank balance check, u know!)

After all this, the last thing on our list was a visit to some tea estate in Darjeeling. To go there was one part of the pleasure and the next best part was to sip a hot n nice cup of tea there! It was really a divine experience and I had about 3-4 cups of tea- each of a different variety!

That was all on our list, and we reluctantly started back to Bagdogra. The return journey was in a jeep till Bagdogra and all along the sides of the road were Orange trees! Amazing view!!

Back in Bagdogra, everything seemed so timed and monotonous.. Flight at 2:30 pm, Reach Kolkata by 4:30 pm, stay overnight there and then leave to Bangalore next morning. Huh!!

I truly enjoyed this trip. If u ask me, Gangtok is THE BEST of all.. love to go there again!!

Some more info about the how and when to go there can be found here: http://sikkim-darjeeling.india-tours.net/

Innovative Film City- an indulging experience with family!

2009-04-15T20:09:00.000-07:00

Thinking of some perfect weekend get-away with family? Then, IFC is the right option!
Not too far away from the heart of the Bangalore, it takes about an hour approximately to reach Innovative Film City . The journey to this place is pleasurable along the well laid Mysore road. [Landmarks:Toyota motors factory,Bidadi Industrial Area, Coco Cola plant.]

Once you reach there, you will simply be amazed to look at the amazing art on the walls of the entrance!! It is unique and fortress like with picture posters of movies on it. Colorful with the banners of the items they offer, it truly is a royal welcome!

At IFC, you have an option to choose the kind of ticket you wanna purchase: a combo 799, combo 899 or just 50 bucks entrance. My suggestion is this-if its a gang of all youngsters, choose between 799 or 899 combo offer which allows u to play almost all of those games there. But if it is with some elderly folks that you are going, take just the 50 bucks ticket and pay later for each of the games they play. This way, it is a reasonable fare.

The tickets have the items printed on them, they also provide you with a map which comes in handy there as there arent any indicative sign boards. (cud spot a few only). At each of the game counters, they neatly punch on the ticket to mark ur entry to that game (innovative indeed!)

The first of the attractions is "Mirror maze": a dark hall with mirrors confusing your way out - the maze effect comes there- a good one i must say! With the staff guiding and misguiding you in there, it was fun to make our way out.

The next in the list was "Dino park", "Fossil Museum" and "Fossil Hunt". From outside, Dino park scared me with its sounds but it wasnt scary inside. Infact it was a neatly done park like place with tall bamboo all over giving you the forest feel and a few roaring dino models. They had descriptive boards telling you abt the species and habitat of those dinos.

The museum wasnt too great but worth a visit. The fossil hunt was an utter waste- all i did there was some gardening skills in the process of searching the fossils.

The next best thing was the Karting event "Velocity": a small lap but some fun! They have 2 varieties of cars: a family car (capacity:2 members, lower speed limits) and another smaller car (capacity:1 member, better speed limits and power).

After this was the "Mini Golf" and "cartoon city"- not so great.. but good fun for small kids. Cartoon city offers some games for kids like dashing cars, some other littlr games which we dint check out much.

The next good thing was the "Aqua kingdom"- an artificially created beech (more like a water pool. There was a DJ type playing some music to keep the people lively.. Everyone was so lost in their world that none paid attention to the Music or his DJying. But i call it good for a reason that it is really well made with a feel like u r on an actual beech- with some benches to relax and some stalls selling beech tees, hats and swim wear!

Louis Tussad's museum was the next item- a very nice try to immitate the Tussad's museum in London. I personally dint like it and laughed at the statues there: Pierce Brossnan - the 007 guy looked so pale , Angelina lost her identity (no big fat lips) , Mother Teresa looked like an African-American lady, Marilyn looked so non-magnetic.

The next of the items are "Haunted Mansion", "Roller skaters", "Ripley's believe it or not"- all these were just for time pass.. But yeah, Skates wud be fun if we had some time for it i guess.

A few more items there were Funplex 4D animation etc etc which we dint check out as we ran out of time.

I would say the over all feel was great for a very big reason that IFC has atleast a thing or two to offer for every age group. The place is clean, sofisticated and classy. The food courts are commendable and a nice thing in the whole of IFC was the drinking water availablity- was really needed in the scorching sun!

I would rate it a 3 on 5 .. making it a place to visit! Plan now n visit there once atleast.. get the virtual feel of it @ http://www.innovativefilmcity.in/!

Prologue to my travelogue!

2009-04-11T11:37:00.000-07:00

This blog is my first ever travel-blog.. I wish to share my travel experiences here.. Some reasons y i chose this media: its the best way to put my fotos + elaborate about the places i visited.. more descriptive way.. Am sure all agree on this..

Another reason- quite straight fwd again: to showcase my review/comments and experiences of travel.. So here it is! Am sure it will need some morphasis which i promise to do as i progress.

PS: SafarSoFar my travel blog - travel to places i mean.. n not travel thru the journey of life! Dont be misled by my poem thr! ;)