Visit to the Strasbourg Christmas market

As the year 2018 comes to a closure, I really did something exciting and worthwhile, though on the second last day of the year. We visited the city Strasbourg, which is in France and is very famous for its Christmas market. It was cold, it was grey, it was cloudy, but the atmosphere and the decorations there brought a smile to my face and the day will be forever etched in my mind as one of the memorable days of the year 2018.

Beauty dignified - Rome and Florence

Being in Europe and not seeing Rome is a sin, according to me.

Capital of Italy left me amused, tired and happy. All emotions and same emotions experienced, which I would have, back in my home country.

Setting off on a trip to Rome and Florence for 5 days was not easy, especially with a two year old kid, who tags along with you day and night, not understanding much of what is going on. The hotel, we chose was very close to the Metro station and the moment I came out from the airport of Rome, I felt like I was very much in some Indian city, the only difference being, the majority of the people were bright skinned. 

City on Water -Venice

I had heard a lot about the city Venice, from my friends and also my mother-in-law who happened to visit it last year when she was in Germany. The simplest and most economical way of getting there was with a travel company called IKARUS Reisen. They took care of the bus journey till Venice and after one day of sight-seeing there, brought people back to Stuttgart. I checked out with my colleagues and after a lot of speculation, four of us decided to go to Venice on the long weekend of 2-3-4^th May.

Booking was done by me and I had the tickets in my hand for all of us. We were picked up at about 9 pm from the Echterdingen railway station on 2^nd May. It was a double decker bus, very huge and we had seats on the upper deck. There were people who had come from other cities too. They were already inside and after we all settled down, we started the journey. We stopped at 2-3 places for different pick-ups and breaks and finally reached a station called Mira Mirano at about 9 am. From there we had to travel by train and the journey was for about 20 minutes. Then after reaching the St. Lucia train station, our bus guide told us the time and spot to be back in the evening and then we all dispersed in different directions. Finally, we were in Venice. There was just water wherever we saw and the daily business was carried on usually using boats, sorry water-bus. We bought a day pass for travelling in the water-bus there and I was highly amused to the hustle and bustle in the city, the parts of which was either linked by water-buses or could be reached by foot. We first went to an area called Sankt Marco. It is that very place, where the famous song 'Do lafzon ki hai dil ki kahani', picturized on Zeenat Aman and Amitabh Bachchan riding on Gondola.

It was the typical city center with 1000’s of tourists. The main attractions there were the Gondola rides, St. Basilica church, Dulce Palace and the Bell tower. We just saw the palace and church from outside as there was a heavy rush and people were standing in queues for a long time. We had some snacks there and then went inside the small lanes to explore the interiors. There were many branded shops inside and a plethora of Italian restaurants serving pasta, pizza and other Italian delicacies. We went around window shopping; my friend bought a few things. I was interested in picking up only the fridge magnets depicting the Canals and water and Gondolas, typical of Venice. We then went to a place called Murano. It was an island, little away from the St. Marco area.

Murano is famous for its glass making, particularly lampworking. I was amazed to see the different articles made out of colored glass and wished to pick up something to take back home, but then it would have been very cumbersome to take such delicate items back to India. So, I was just satisfied watching them in the showroom and we also went to a glass factory where we actually saw how items are made out of colorful glass. It was very hot in there and in no time, the person made a delicate, colorful and beautiful horse out of the molten glass and we all cheered him and clapped in glee. He had an experience of 20 years in this field and it showed in his confidence and ease in literally playing with the molten glass. I couldn’t resist the temptation to buy at least a memento of such lovely craft. I bought 3 sets of pendant and ear rings for my friends. And I bought a ring for myself. Then after a nice lunch, we headed to our last destination, the Lido beach.

Beaches and waters generally have a therapeutic effect on me. The sleepless night in the bus, the whole day sight-seeing, walking for long distances had tired us out completely. But as soon as I saw the waters and the white sand, the little child in me peeped out and I sat in the sand looking at the waters and the cloudy sky. Silence prevailed, there were not many people around, maybe it was already 5 pm and the sun was not shining. We clicked some pictures there, the others had a little walk along the beachside and I sat there exhaling fresh and pure and salty breeze of the water. It was time to head back as we had to reach the spot on time and we had to again take water-bus to reach there. Got back to the train station and met everybody there and headed back to Mira Mirano and then got into the bus at about 7:30. The bus was relatively empty while coming back, hence all of us got window seats and we tried to catch on some sleep. We reached Echterdingen about 7:00 in the morning and I reached home by 8:15 am.

The trip was overall good, I had good company of friends. Found Italy very similar to India, when it came to crowds and people. People were friendly, cheerful and they all spoke and understood good English. The water-buses were extremely crowded at times and my colleague Deepu felt that we would topple in the water and die, because there was no amount of check kept on number of people and they just took everybody who wanted to get into the water-bus of that particular route. Life jackets were there, but for 300 people, how would a few jackets suffice? But, with god’s grace, nothing happened and we returned safe and sound. I was also surprised to see that literally the whole city resides in and on water and still the buildings are the construction has not decayed or dilapidated due to water. Every building was unique and different and well maintained. We also saw a huge number of ice-cream parlors in every place we went and I tried out 2 completely different flavors of the same. And yes, I bought the fridge magnets, after a lot of searching. I somehow had not liked the finishing of the magnets I saw in other places and liked them at one place and immediately bought them. 

But, everything said and done, the trip was hectic and I realized that I am not comfortable traveling in an over-night journey. This would be probably the first and last time that I travelled like this with 2 sleepless nights, back to back! 

But Venice was worth it!

Paradise on earth

My memory of Switzerland dates back to 1985, when my grandmother had been there for 3 years with my aunt to look after her baby daughter. She had told me about how beautiful and serene that place is and she had got me a toy camera in which I could view different slides of snow filled peaks and the jersey cows and vast fields with no people in sight.

My dream of visiting this paradise on earth got fulfilled on 18th April 2014, thanks to my hubby! We set out for a 4 day trip to Switzerland by car and the first stop was a small town called Thun. The road to Thun was awesome. Snowcapped mountains on both sides and some green fields here and there, where cows and horses and sheep were grazing. We reached hotel around 2 pm, kept our luggage and then went for a stroll to a nearby lake and park. It was cold and cloudy, but we managed to see the snow peaked mountains and little blue skies here and there. Had a nice stroll around the lake. Tanay was more than happy to play in the sand patches around the lake. We experienced a very tranquil feeling, very quiet and clean and untouched. After spending a few hours there, we headed to go to the old town and we were greeted by heavy rainfall. So, we had no option to get into the car and go around the town and be happy with just seeing the town from inside the car. We got back at 7 pm and retired after having dinner.

Saturday was a trip to Bern. It was cloudy again, but thankfully no rain. We watched the famous clock tower where music is played every hour. The longest was at 12:00 hours and we were luckily there! After the musical performance, we walked the main street and were surprised to see almost 100 flags on either side of the streets. Every flag was different and I am sure it had some meaning. Unfortunately, we couldn't meet a localite who would explain it's meaning. We saw the church, the Rathaus (Town hall), market place, Swiss Parliament building, National bank etc. We also saw the house, where Albert Einstein stayed in Bern for a few years. It was a nice bustling, happy and crowded place. Then we headed to a place called Gurten, where a small train takes us up the hill in about 10 minutes and from there the view of Bern was breathtaking. We had snacks in a restaurant there and I managed to get hold of a vegetarian dish called Rösti. It is a typical Swiss dish and I loved it! Potato and onion mashed together and served with olives, tomatoes etc. After the sumptuous lunch, we climbed a tower, which comprised of 120 steps and the view from up there was just stupefying. It was windy up there and I started feeling giddy, because up there, the wired surface started moving. I came down in a few minutes and then enjoyed the scenery there. We then headed to Wilderswil, where our next halt was.

The hotel was at such a location that I would spend my whole life there looking at the mountains, reading on my Kindle and writing on my laptop. It was quiet, pure and serene. Calmness prevailed there in all nooks and corners and it caught on us too. We had no words to speak or describe what our senses were experiencing. How is it that everything here is so beautiful and clean? It didn't feel like we were on earth. It is a different world altogether. 

Schilthorn was our destination on Sunday. We had to go to a base place called Stechelberg, park our cars there and then take the cable cars, change 3 times and get to that place. It is a place at 9744 ft. where a James Bond movie was shot, long back in 1968. There is a James Bond museum where a portion picturized there is shown in a small theater. It has all the James Bond movie posters till date and also the gadgets which 007 used. We walked in snow to a small tower nearby. It was exhilarating, a chilled experience to walk in the snow and come back safely without falling down and getting injured. It was sunny around, so without the sunglasses on, it was impossible to look around. We spent a lot of time, taking snaps and then went to a restaurant there, called Piz Gloria and it was a 360 degrees rotating restaurant at such a height. I had no words to praise the technology and the dedication of the people to make something wonderful like this at a height of 9744 ft. We had lunch there and spent some more time going around. White snow covered Swiss Alps, e.g. Jungfrau and other peaks were visible from this place. Blue clear skies and White Mountains were all we could see in all directions. We headed back at 3 pm and again after changing 3-4 times, we came back to Stechelberg and came back to the hotel. Took little rest and went walking around the Wilderswil village. Most of it was closed, being a Sunday. But we could see the cute little houses of the Swiss people there. The day was well spent and we had a nice time in Schilthorn. You can see this link for more information.

http://www.schilthorn.ch/

On Monday, we checked out at 10 am and went to Interlaken. It is a small, sleepy town and one shopping street is covered by walk. We walked into 2-3 watch showrooms and were surprised to see all Chinese employees there. The visitors there were also mostly Chinese, they came in large groups and shopped and invaded the next shop. It was quite an amusing sight. It was quite surprising for us in the beginning, but then given the fact that China is an emerging market; the Swiss people have employed Chinese people to cater to the vast visitor population that visits Swiss. How thoughtful and business oriented! We then decided to go to a town called Vaduz, in a neighboring country called Liechtenstein, where German is spoken and the currency is also Swiss Francs. It was a long drive, but the drive on the highways there is enjoyable. The market place in Vaduz was a small street where there were a few tourist people like us and then we went to see the palace of the prince residing there. It was up the hill and we got a nice view from up there of the small town. Then we headed to a city called Feldkirch in Austria, spent some time there and headed through small sleepy villages and towns to ‘our’ country, Germany. That day was memorable as we crossed 4 countries, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Austria and Germany. And yes, we picked up souvenirs (fridge magnet) from every place we visited and they are proudly sitting on our fridge now! 

Tanay was obviously not aware of what he just experienced for 4 days, he might have even got bored. But I am sure, he will surely come back and enjoy this paradise on earth. And I am always ready to go to other parts of this paradise, as I saw just a part of it!

The Ritter Sport Chocolate museum

Yesterday was a day, well spent with 2 of my best friends, talking, chit-chatting, discussing, laughing as if there was no tomorrow.

And the venue was? Ritter Sport Chocolate museum in a small town called Waldenbuch near to Stuttgart. It's an international and popular chocolate brand, famous for its peculiar shape and size, that of a quadrate, a square! Alfred and Clara Ritter started this business and now it is handled by the third generation, has grown in leaps and bounds, I must say! There are 22 varieties of the regular kind e.g. made from a combination of one or more of the following things: Chocolate, nougat and milk and different berries, lemon, nuts, biscuits etc. There are regular new varieties depending on the seasons too! E.g. spring introduces two new combinations this year! Simple cocoa beans changed into such varied kinds of chocolates! Just amazing! We saw a film on the process of making the chocolate and we were amazed to see huge machines doing their work relentlessly. People were also involved in the last phase, where the damaged pieces had to be identified and taken out before sending for packaging. An exhibition showing the changes right from its conception till now gave us a fair idea of how it changed over the years, for better of course! The advertisement campaigns were so different that time, seemed like it was a rip off from a Bollywood movie, where the hero eats Ritter Sport chocolate and excels in all the fields and sports! We couldn't stop laughing, but also enjoyed seeing it very much! We also learned that children between 6-13 years can attend a workshop of 2 hours on chocolate making and make chocolates of their choice by putting ingredients they like! How wonderful is that! I wish I was that small!

After the exhibition, we entered the chocolate selling shop like wonderstruck kids! I had never seen so many chocolates at one instance and I couldn't help getting confused as to what to really buy. I restricted myself and bought 2 bars each for my hubby and kiddo and some chocolates to distribute in the crèche next week for his birthday. I found two amazing 'limited edition' versions, one of apple and another of mango. I instantly picked it up! My other two friends are visiting India in the next month, hence they had a lot of stuff to buy and take home!

Then we went to the Cafe nearby and had a wholesome brunch with some hot topics of discussion such as positive thinking and books and life in general. It was sunny, pleasant and we were in best of our moods and attire. We clicked snaps like college girls and felt really happy about the time, we spent together. We got information and we enjoyed knowing more about the favorite chocolate brand.

If you are also a chocolate lover, do stop by here:

http://www.ritter-sport.com/#/en_US/home/gateway/

I will definitely like to visit this choco-shop again, maybe before I visit India again!

The trip to India

I was waiting eagerly for the trip to India and the day finally dawned. After spending 11 months here, at work and in Germany, I had got a chance to go home and meet my folks back there! I was super-excited, but the thought of taking Tanay all by myself was also little worrisome, but we managed it well.

After a long flight and stop-over at Dubai and then after reaching Bangalore in the early morning, it felt like I had overcome a great hurdle and finally reached my destination. Tanay did not cause any trouble and he behaved like a good boy, he was either busy with the remote control of the TV set in the plane or was sleeping away to glory in a crammed, small seat, next to me!

My parents had come to Bangalore to receive us and they were extremely delighted to see us after a long time in real sense. We skyped every week, but then the experience of being there in person and in front of our loved ones is something else! Tanay immediately got hooked to his grandfather, whom he lovingly calls Aaba. I was feeling like a zombie as I hadn't slept for last 24 hours. I managed to catch up on some sleep immediately after reaching home and Sunday mostly passed in catching up on sleep. I also met up with my close friend and neighbor, Sonali and her daughter, Zara, who is 10 days older to Tanay.

Monday was waiting for me with a huge task list of the bank matters. We hired a car and went around in the city, doing chores! Tanay and my mom stayed back at home. In the evening, my best friends, Koustubh and John came to meet us. We talked merrily about the present conditions, books, Germany and anything that crossed our minds. Had a hearty meal prepared by mom and slept off. Next day was a visit to my other two best friends, Teju and Meenal, who both had kids, whom I hadn't seen yet. It was a great sight to watch a week old baby and another 11 months baby. All the days, which I had spent with Tanay as he passed this stage, flashed before me and I felt relieved that I was through all that! Tanay gelled great with Zara and wanted to go to her place all the time. They fought also, but also wanted to be together. It was such an endearing sight to watch these tiny tots into 2 year old kids with their own preferences and choices and arguments

I then went to Pune and spent a week with my in-laws. Construction work was going on and there was a lot of noise, dust and dirt everywhere. Tanay thoroughly enjoyed getting dirty in itand he fully enjoyed his grandparents attention and love too. From there, I went to Dombivli and spent good 15 days there. I wouldn't say they were relaxing, but I felt good being home after a long long time. I also met up relatives there, did bank related work, did my medical tests, applied for Aadhar card, and did a name change application for the PAN card. I ate most of the stuff, which I had planned to e.g. bhel, paani puri, vada paav, dosa, noodles, shrikhanda and what not!

Tanay had a blast in Dombivli. My dad took him to his friends, sans me! And he didn't mind it all. As long as he got into the rickshaw and my dad was there, he went anywhere. He made friends with the watchman of my building and he befriended a 5 year old kid on the second floor, where he went to play after bath everyday. He played with the daughter of my maid and he had a love-hate relationship with both his great-grandmothers. I wonder what was playing in his mind, when he behaved that way with them. He started loving bath in the big bathroom and he bathed thrice a day there! That too with his own hands and with a small vessel and a bucket. Fan was his biggest fascination there and wherever he went, he asked to switch on all the fans and in all the rooms which possibly had fans! He doesn't see one, here in Germany, and that might be the reason for his fascination. He also collected many gifts and blessings from my friends and relatives and well wishers! Shreya Ma, my kid sister was his favorite and he often vanished with her and her mom to see and start the fans in their home.

With a treasure of wonderful memories, we flew back on 15.03 and got back to routine from Monday. Tanay still misses the people he met in India and is reluctant to go to the creche now, but he will be allright in some time! He wants to meet his grandparents and other people whom he really liked. He will be able to understand soon that India and Germany are two different places, some thousand kilometers away from each other and that we can't get out of the house in Germany and reach Dombivli in 2 minutes!

How I wish!

:-)

Bad Urach

Contemplating on where to head for the week-end, I was in a fix and was not willing to travel by train for 2-3 hours with Tanay and my mom. My dear friend and colleague, Suniti, also badly wanted to go out badly and not stay at home during the weekend. She wanted to visit some water spot and I did not wanted the travel time to stretch beyond an hour.

Bad Urach - The name seemed little strange, but we decided to go for it. "Bad" in the German language is Spa/health resort/public baths. So it was obvious that this place had lots of spas and water bodies. And yes! When we landed there, we got to know that there is a waterfall nearby and we all got excited to see it. Tanay had his food just when we landed and then he slept off in the pram. Suniti, myself and mom started heading towards the waterfall which was 2 kms away from the railway station.

The path was very beautiful!!On one side, there were mountains, wearing green tufts and caps and on the other side, there was water flowing with a beautiful rthym, making hustling and bustling sound. The water was clean and clear and cold and we drank a lot of it. It helped us to compensate for the energy we lost while walking in the sun. We reached the spot from where there were 150 steps, which we had to climb and then could see the source of the waterfall. As there were steps and pram couldn't be carried up, mom stayed down and Suniti and I headed upwards. I was surprised by my energy in climbing the steps. I did not get worn out or did not fret in this beautiful surrounding. There was so much of greenery and coolness around that it naturally got onto me. I felt extremely relaxed and in the frenzy, climbed up within no time. The sight there was overwhelming! The water drops were touching our bodies and the souls. The purity and the calmness touched me and tears welled up in my eyes. I managed to climb those 150 steps without huffing and straining myself. I am slowly building up the stamina and the energy to cover good distances by walking and I will get there one day. There will be a day when I will have walked 10 kms and wouldn't have got tired. I am aiming for it and I will surely achieve it. Suniti and I clicked some pictures of the nature there, though whatever we observed and absorped with our eyes and soul can't be captured in any machine. But as a momento, it was good for me to look at it and plan for the next trip somewhere!

We came down and sat with Tanay and then my mom went up. Being a trekker, she climbed within no time and came down quickly too. We sat at that spot for some more time, observing the peace around and the people who were coming to that spot. There were families, couples, friends who were eager to get close to the natural beauty and the tranquility it contained. Though that spot was hosting so many people, it didn't get dirty or noisy once. We all were satisfied on our decision to have selected this spot and to have actually come here, though with a little hesitation. But it was worth it! On our way back, we had a nice coffee and cake and pampered ourselves by picking up strawberries from the fieds nearby.

It was a fulfilling and satisfying Saturday trip!!

Drive to Titisee

This week was a long weekend with 4 days leave all over Germany.

Germany and other European countries were celebrating Good Friday and Easter and so the Monday was also off. I had no plans to sit at home on this long week end. Thanks to the weather, we couldn't plan anything for 3 days at a stretch, but we decided to do 1 day trips and keep ourselves busy. My mother-in-law is also here with us, so it was a good chance to take her and show her around. On Thursday itself, Atul broke the news that he finally got the International Driving license and he can now explore the German AutoBahn (highways) by either buying or renting a car. He immediately set into action and hired a small Volkswagen Golf for a trip to Titisee (a lake in the Blackforest area, 165 kms away from Stuttgart).

Driving on German Autobahn is an experience in itself. I had tasted the speed in Sep 2003, when we had driven from Frankfurt airport to the university in Germersheim, near Mainz. Oh what discipline, what speed, what a drive it was!! Within no time, we had reached our destination without honking or traffic jams! Now, in 2013, the scene was not going to be different, I was sure and this time, Tanay, Atul and my mom-in-law were with me, so it was going to be all the more fun filled! Tanay was tied to the child seat, which he didn't quite like at the beginning. In Bangalore, we always carried him on our laps and here he had a separate seat of his own and had to remain seated during our drive-time. He reluctantly settled down once the car started and he fell asleep within sometime.

The road to the Titisee was just awesome. On both the sides, there were tall trees, covered with snow and the vehicles were passing by in no time. I was seated next to Atul and sometimes when I watched the speedometer, it had crossed 180 km/hr. I was aghast. It didn't feel like we were traveling at that speed. All the cars had put on their headlights as the light was low and the visibility was poor. I did not hear a single person honk in the journey of those one and a half hours. Trees, posts, valleys, rivers were just passing by and getting out of sight within no time. We finally reached the destination and parked our cars and went walking to the lake. It was a nice area with many shopping centers around. We had coffee and cake in one restaurant and then proceeded to watch the lake. The lake of course was frozen due to the heavy snowfall the area had experienced. We just roamed there for some time and got into a shop which had cuckoo clocks of all shapes and sizes. The blackforest area is famous for such clocks and almost every tourist who comes here pays a visit to the shop and enthusiastic people like us buy it too. We spent almost 2 hrs in that shop and finally bought a cuckoo clock, which we will have to take back to Bangalore with us and hence we got it nicely packed. We bought a few things for Tanay and headed back to Stuttgart.

Atul drove very carefully and proved that he is a good driver, no matter where he drives. Changing lanes, adhering to the speed limit, taking care of all the signs on the sign posts and driving at a great speed, all at the same time requires some technique and he is indeed good at that, I must say. We all had a nice time and a nice first drive so to say on the German Autobahn and we will be making many more such trips to different destinations..

Here we come!!!!!!!! zoom zoom vrooooooooom.