 |
| Arc De Triomphe |
The following day, we had a good English breakfast. We feasted on pancakes,
croissants, baked potatoes, vegetables and sausages. A heavy breakfast was going
to be the norm for the next 2 weeks. We sneaked in an extra banana for the long
day. Rains were forecasted for the evening, but it already started raining a
bit, when we were about to board the Mercedes bus. Every family allotted a family number.
We were given number 11 and that became our identity for attendance check.
During the bus ride to the city center, Wadiaji gave us an overview about
France. The major religion in France is Catholicism. The great Napoleon
Bonaparte, made France a military super power during the French revolution. The
French economy is heavily dependent on tourism, agriculture and defense. France
is famous for its vinery, fashion, ancient monuments and many more things.
 |
| Champs Elysees |
We first passed by the Arc de Triomphe. It is a war memorial, like the India gate
of India. It honors the sacrifices of French soldiers and names of soldiers who
laid down their lives in French wars are engraved on the monument. As a mark of
respect, there is a flame that burns in the center of the arc, much like the
Amar Jawan Jyoti in India.
We then turned right from Arc De Triomphe and reached
Champs Elysees. Champs Elysees is a decorated street, housing some of the big
brands like Bvlgari, Zara, Louis Vuitton. On one end, it has Arc de Triomphe,
whereas on the other end is the Concord Square (Place De La Concorde). Whenever
there is any event of national significance, like France winning the football
World Cup, this street becomes very lively. The famous Tour De France ends at
Champs Elysees. Also, the famous Bastille Day military parade happens here. Its
like the Rajpath of India. We also saw the site where Lady Diana and Dodi Al
Fayad had the fatal accident. There in a golden flame at that this place which
is an exact replica of Flame at Statue of Liberty.
 |
| Concord Square |
Next we reached, Concord
square (Place De La Concorde), which is the largest square in France. It is also
known as the revolution square as it has witnessed some key events during the
French revolution. King Louis XVI and Lady Marie Antoinette, the last king and
queen of France, were publicly executed here. The Obelisk of Luxor is at the centre
Concord square.
We then passed by Opera Garnier, which is a famous opera house.
On the following day, Vipulji had opted out of Disneyland and he visited the
Opera House. It has some amazing wall and ceiling paintings. From the bus, we
also saw the National Assembly (or Assemblee Nationale). It is the lower house
of the French Parliament, where 577 elected representatives meet to constitute
laws.
 |
| Pont Alexander |
Many prominent cities are flanked by rivers. For eg. Thames in London,
Yamuna in Delhi. Likewise, River Seine flows through 13 kms in Paris. Pont is
the French word for bridge.
There are 37 bridges over the Seine river, out of
which Pont Alexander or Alexander bridge is the most prominent. It connects
Champs Elysees quarter with Invalides and Eiffel Tower. Alexander bridge was
built to celebrate the French-Russian alliance in 1892. It was named after Tzar
Alexander III of Russia. It has a beautiful architecture with 4 golden winged
horses, 2 each on both ends. The lamps on the bridge are over 250 years old and
still functional. The bridge oversees river Siene and many important monuments
can be seen from here. It is a beautiful place for an evening stroll.
 |
| Grand Palace |
Grand
Palais or Grand Palace is a famous exhibition hall and museum in the Champs
Elysees. The Palais served as a military hospital during World War 1. During
World War 2, the Nazis used it as a truck depot and held Nazi propaganda
exhibitions. Petit Palais or Petit Palace is a museum of fine arts. It is
located across the Grand Palais.
La Madeleine or Madeleine is the church of
Saint Lady Madeleine. The building is surrounded by 54 columns in Corinthian
style on all 4 sides.
 |
| Les Invalides |
Les Invalides was a hospital, where injured soldiers in French wars were treated. It is now converted to a museum, but still has a hospital adjacent to it, where even today French NATO soldiers receive medical treatment. Napoleon's tomb is also there in Les Invalides.
After being defeated in the battle of Waterloo (present day Belgium), Napolean was exiled by the British to St Helena, where he passed away in exile. Years later, his mortal remains were brought to France and buried in Les Invalides. Napoleon's son and his brothers are also buried here.
We also saw the Orsay museum, which is one of
the prominent museums in Europe, housing the largest collection of impressionist
and post-impressionist paintings. It has paintings from famous artists like
Claude Monet, Van Gogh etc.
Notre-Dame is a famous catholic cathedral, that can
be easily sighted. It is dedicated to virgin Mary and is one of the finest
examples of French Gothic architecture. It houses many significant artifacts.
The "Crown of Thorns" believed to be worn by Jesus Christ during crucifixion is
present here. There was a fire incident here recently and the cathedral is
closed for renovation.
 |
| Louvre Museum |
Louvre museum is a world famous museum that is home to
the iconic Monalisa, painter by Leonardo Da Vinci. Surprisingly, Monalisa is
very small and is behind bullet proof glass, making it less attractive for a
layman.
There is a huge glass pyramid in front of the Louvre, where visitors
flock to get their pictures. The museum is so big, that one needs to walk 12 kms
inside the museum to see all of it. It has some 3.8 lakh artifacts. Out of this
only around 35,000 are on display.
The iconic Eiffel Tower is amongst the 7
wonders of the modern world. It was made by French engineer Gustave Eiffel along
with his 3 colleagues. The design was selected from amongst 100+ entrees that
were invited to commemorate 100 years of French independence.
 |
| Eiffel Tower |
People at that
time protested the idea of such a tall tower fearing that it would fall one day.
Also, lots of artists and sculptures didn't like this idea because it was taller
than other key monuments at that time like arc de Triomphe, Notre Dame etc.
When
builtit was the first man made structure to cross 300 mts and 200 mts as well.
There was no structure over 200 mts at that time. It held the title of the
tallest man made structure for 41 years after which Chrysler Building surpassed
it in 1930. Later, a broadcasting aerial top was added in 1957, which made it
taller than Chrysler building by 17 feet. It took 2 years 2 months and 5 days to
build the Eiffel tower. There were 150-300 workers on the site assembling the
giant structure.
It is made up of 7300 tonnes of iron and has over 18,000
metallic parts connected by 2.5 million rivets. It is 324 metres tall, with 3
levels. It is also called the Iron Lady, as it was the center of the 1889 World
Fair to mark 100 years of French revolution. The British have their own iron
lady in Margaret Thatcher. The tower is painted every 7 years, which requires a
staggering 60 tonnes of paint.
 |
| Beautiful fountain |
After getting so much historical facts and
figures, we got down near Louvre at around 10:30 am. There was a Franprix store
nearby which we had planned to visit, but eventually couldn't. Being a Sunday,
it was not so crowded and we had time until 1 pm to go around. We walked from Louvre to Arc de Triomphe via Concorde square, Grand Palace and Champs Elysees. It was a very scenic walk. There are few beautiful fountains on way to Concord square. We sat there for some time and took some beautiful photos.
 |
Neatly trimmed trees
|
The roads are flanked by trees that are the trimmed regularly using large machines to maintain uniformity in size. No wonder one can see lots of people running and cycling around. We just managed to reach back by 1 pm. The next stop was Eiffel Tower. Wadiaji is a seasoned tour manager and he ensured that every small thing right from bio breaks to food is taken care of. He was very precise in communicating and ensured that as a group we don't lose time. We were allowed some free time and were asked to come down to Bateaux Parisans by 5:30 PM for Seine river cruise. We went up to level 2 of Eiffel Tower, which is at 115 meters. The lift is quite fast and takes just 60 seconds. From top of Eiffel, one gets a very good panoramic view of the entire city. One can clearly see the Seine river and the various historical monuments flanking the river.  |
| Panoramic view from Eiffel Tower |
After spending some time, we came down. After descending from Eiffel, we walked along Seine river to Alexander bridge. It was about 1.5 kms walk. The Invalides is right in front of the Alexander bridge. The National Assembly was another half a km away. Considering the cruise time we retreated.
It has started drizzling a bit and our umbrellas came out for the first time in the Euro trip. It was getting little colder and we bought a small hot chocolate for Aashi for 7 Euros. It took some convincing to pay in cash, as I only had a 100 Euro note. Some European cities are big on recycling. We realized that there is a 2 Euro refund if you put the hard plastic glass back in a vending machine.
 |
| River Cruise |
The river
cruise was for about 45 mins. As it was raining, we thought of staying in the
lower deck. Though the seats in the top floor were damp, after seeing lots of
people go up, we followed suit. The river cruise gives a different perspective
of the monuments.
After the cruise, we headed for dinner at an Indian
restaurant, Welcome India. There was another group that has turned up just
before us. So, we ended up waiting another 30 mins, which made us more hungrier.
The food at the restaurant was hot and very tasty. They had naan, daal makhani,
mixed veg and paneer butter masala. It was a very sumptuous dinner.
 |
| Eiffel at night |
The last
item for the long day was Paris night tour, which terminates with the Eiffel
Tower lighting at 11 pm. We stopped at the Arc De Triomphe for about 20 mins,
before proceeding to Eiffel. We bought few souvenirs and trays from a nearby
shop at Champs Elysees.
The Eiffel glitters for around 4 minutes at 11 PM and it
is a sight to behold. During the night tour, we saw most of the monuments for
the 4th time - first time from bus in the morning, second time on foot, third
time during river cruise and fourth time during the night tour.
We finally
reached hotel at 11:30 PM. On the way back, Wadiaji briefed us on the
expectations for the next day, a ritual he followed religiously every day for the rest of the tour.
Day-2 (Disneyland, Paris)
Wadiaji had assured us that he would try to include an Indian item in the
breakfast every day. Today, we had idli chutney. Unfortunately, the idlis were
not soft, but as they say something is better than nothing. Most people in our
group were coming to Disneyland. About half of them were planning to return
after the evening parade.
Few families wanted to stay back till late evening to
watch fireworks. Amongst them was an elderly couple (Sharmas from Delhi) and a
family (Jatin and Sheenam) with a 20 months infant, Vanya. Wadiaji cautioned us that it
will be lot colder in the evening. But looking at the courage of the other two
families and our "zindagi na milegi dobaara" attitude, it was an easy choice.
Aashi was especially excited about Disneyland. Together, we had seen few videos
of the rides that awaited us. We were slightly late in leaving for Disneyland,
as some folks turned up little late for breakfast. Considering that it was only
the first day of the trip, Wadiaji requested everyone to be punctual.
 |
| Park entrance |
A small
surprise awaited us at Disneyland. The issued tickets didn't work. In Wadiaji's
words he "woke up entire Paris" to sort the issue. We lost about 45 mins, but
considering we were going to stay in the park till 11 pm, it was nothing major.
Considering the daily crowd, it's no wonder that very strict security measures
are in place. After the security check, we passed by heavily armed soldiers.
The main street with the Disney castle in the background is the first sight inside the park. There are colorful flowers and fountains at the main entrance of Disneyland park.
 |
| Disney Castle |
We took some beautiful photos here and entered the main street.
Basically, there is a Disneyland studio and a Disneyland park.
Our ticket
entitled us to cover either of them. The studio is where there are shows,
whereas the park is where the rides and outdoor activities are. Most people opt
for the park and so did we.
Wadiaji had suggested to download the Disneyland
Paris app which was helpful in shortlisting the activities in the park. The park
is divided into Frontier Land, Adventure Land, Discovery Land and Fantasy Land.
Frontier Land is to the left from the main square. Big Thunder Mountain and
Indian Jones and the Temple of Peril are two good rides here.
 |
| Big Thunder |
We were keen to
make up for lost time, so we got into the queue for the Big Thunder ride. There
was a waiting time of 50 mins, but the ride was worth it. It was a roller
coaster around a mountain set up where you go through some dark stretch too,
which makes it fun. It was Aashi's first major ride in an adventure park. Though
I held her hand tightly through the ride, she enjoyed the ride.
 |
| Hyperspace |
In the queue, we
had charted out what to target next. Looking at the waiting time, the Hyperspace
Mountain appeared to be interesting. This also had a wait time of approx 50
mins. Here they take you through a space ride in pitch dark at a very high
speed. The twists and turns were much sharper as compared to the previous one.
They also do a 360 degree turn and some dark streak of lights pass by, which
adds to the fun. After coming out, I felt a little dizzy, so we sat and relaxed
a bit. Ankita had to let go of the Indiana Jones ride, as Aashi and I were not
comfortable doing any more extreme rides and we had to wait until late evening
for the fireworks.
 |
| Musical dance show |
We decided to check out the castle from inside. On our way to
the castle, we noticed a crowd building up right outside the castle.
Anticipating some good show, we decided to wait there. And indeed there was a
good musical dance show by many cartoon characters.
 |
| Glass painting inside castle |
We then went inside the
castle, where there was a beautiful glass paintings on children's story,
Sleeping Beauty. By this time, we were hungry. After checking a few options, we
finalized a restaurant where we had pesto pasta, salad and dark Magnum ice
cream. Pasta and ice cream were really good. The pasta is something which we
really craved for.
 |
| Disney parade |
It was about 4 pm and we just had enough time to catch up on
a train ride around the park before the Disney parade started at 5 pm. The train
ride provided a good view of the park, stopping at each of the 4 lands in the
park. It was a little relaxing too as we were mostly walking all this while.
Crowd had started gathering at the main square for the 5 pm parade. We somehow
sneaked a place in the front, around the curve, which allowed us to get a good
view of the performance. Many animation characters like Mickey, Minnie, Donald,
Daisy, Goofy, Nemo, Shrek, various princess characters like Cindrella, Elsa,
Anna, Aurora were part of the parade. Few artists would dance before any major
carton character turned up in a huge chariot. The chariots were very colorful
and spectacular. For a lot of people the day at Disneyland ends after the
parade.
 |
| Ice cream |
Wadiaji had asked us in advance if we wanted to stay back until the
fireworks which was scheduled for 10:50 at night. In his opinion, and rightly
so, for most people, a wait of more 4 hrs in cold, for a 15 mins show may not be
worth. Besides, this was just the 2nd day of the trip and one needed to maintain
enough gas to go on for 12 more days.
We decided to stay back, as we didn't see
ourselves coming back in the near future. There were quite a few families that
stayed back, including the elderly Sharma couple, the Bansals(couple with an
infant), the young couple - Anmol and Asna, Pratik and Jainisha.
 |
| Pirates of Caribbean |
The key question
now was what do we do for the next 4 hours. We saw some folks, pass by with a
big ice cream cone in their hand. We brought the same for 7 Euros. It turned out
to be really good. Luckily, most rides go on till like 10 pm or so. Ankita was
keen to do the 'Indiana Jones and the Temple of Peril' ride, but she also
started feeling a bit dizzy. So, we skipped that.
We now decided to do the less
strenuous rides. We took some photos around Pirates of Caribbean ship and then
proceeded to the Buss Lightyear, which Ankita and Aashi were keen to try.
 |
| Buzz Lightyear |
It was
a ride in which you go around in a spaceship, shooting around targets with a
laser gun. For every hit, one gets points which shows up in front of you in your
space ship. It took some time for us to figure out how the scoring works. But once we understood, it was fun shooting at the targets.
 |
| Autopia |
Aashi wanted to do the Autopia ride. It's a car ride for small kids,
where they get to experience car driving in a racing track. The controls are
very simple and if the car swerves, it automatically comes back on track,
because of an iron rail at the center of the track.
This was Aashi's first car
ride experience and we made a good video of this. She sat with me whereas Ankita
drove alone in another car behind us. It was drizzling a bit, so we got slightly
wet.
 |
| Disney Arcade |
We then proceeded to the Disney arcade. It is a highly ornate place, with multiple food
joints and old style lighting. Infact,there are many food joints all around the park. Ankita wanted to
try a Mickey Baguette and a muffin, which turned out to be just okay. It was
about 9:30 pm and we proceeded to the main square to occupy a vantage position
for the fireworks.
The fireworks happen in the backdrop of the castle. Sun sets
really late in summers in Europe. Today, the sunset time was around 9:20 pm. So,
it had just started getting darker. The lighting at the castle was gradually
increased and it really started to glow in purple colour. There was a never
ending wait for the fireworks, as we stood there for almost an hour.
 |
| Castle before fireworks |
Aashi was
really tired by now and sat down. Finally when the fireworks started, it was
spectacular and truly worth the wait. The animation is done using lasers and
probably drones as well. There were two shows of approx 15 mins each, with some
small stories. It was so good that I made almost the entire video for the
fireworks.
As instructed by Wadiaji, we coordinated with the Sharma couple and
assembled at the Five guys restaurant. From there, the group returned in 2 cabs.
Profusely tired, we reached the hotel by 12:45 am and just crashed on the bed.
Day 3 (Paris, France / Brussels, Belgium / Amsterdam, Netherlands)
Today, the plan was to check out of Paris hotel and travel to Amsterdam via
Brussels. Wadiaji reminded everyone to check the rooms thoroughly and not to
leave anything behind. Most hotels in Europe have a locker and one can leave
valuables and passports in the hotel if they are not required for sightseeing.
For the first 2 days, our passports were in the big bag, which we locked for
safety reasons. This was our third breakfast here and now it was becoming a bit
boring, as the menu was more or less the same. The attitude of the waiters was
also not good. They weren't responsive and a lot of us from the group eventually complained about them and left negative reviews for the hotel.
 |
| Scenic Technical stop enroute to Brussels |
Enroute to Brussels, we had a technical stop over, from
where I coordinated with Vedu Da for the meeting place. We agreed to meet at
Grand Place at 1:15 PM. In Europe, there are strict rules for breaks during
driving, especially bigger vehicles. Bigger vehicles have to stop after after
every 1.5 or 2 hrs and a driver cannot do more than 12 hrs shift. That is the
reason why Wadiaji job was even more challenging as he had to extract the max from a day in 12 hrs. Bio breaks for
the group were coordinated with technical breaks. We also bought few France
souvenirs from a shop at the technical stop over.
 |
| Manneken Pis |
Belgium was a part of the
Kingdom of Netherlands and it became a free nation in 1830. It has 2 major
linguistic communities - The Flemish (Flanders) accounting for 60% are based in
northern region and are Dutch speaking. The Wallonia region (Wallons) are
predominantly based in southern region and are French speaking.
The country is
famous for its chocolates, waffles, diamond industry and soccer team. It doesn't
produce diamonds, but specializes in high quality diamond cutting. Low quality
diamonds are sent to Surat for cutting and polishing. There is a big Gujarati
settlement in Belgium. The country has produced 8 Nobel prize winners. It is the
part of Benelux group of countries. Christianity is the dominant religion,
though 28% of population do not follow any religion. The country is one of the 6
founder members of EU. The headquarters of EU is in Brussels.
 |
| Strawberry waffle |
Bhaiya was running slightly late, so when we reached
Grand Place, we followed Wadiaji as per instructions. He was to release us after
10 mins of briefing at Grand Place, Manneken Pis and the Chocolate shop next to
Manneken Pis.
Manneken Pis is about a 2 foot statue of a little boy urinating.
There are quite a few stories associated with this statue. The one that Wadiaji
told us was that the little boy urinated on a Spanish soldier's feet, which
became a symbol of revolt against the Spanish rule.
According to another story,
the little boy's act fused a bomb which prevented Brussel's from disaster. We
passed by the statue of a saint in lying posture. It is belived that touching
the saint brings good fortune. The chocolate shop next to Manneken Pis, was
founded in 1899 and offered a special discount to our group.
 |
| Grand place |
Bhaiya joined us
directly at Manneken Pis and requested Wadiaji if he could take us to his home
and drop us at Atomium at 4 pm. Surprisingly, Wadiaji immediately agreed and we
jetted off from there. Bhaiya had got famous Belgian Leonidas chocolates for Aashi. We wanted to
try out Belgium waffle and he bought one for us.  |
| Chicken coop |
We hurriedly took some snaps at Grand place and within 15 minutes of meeting, we were on Bhaiya's Volvo. Bhaiya's house is on the outskirts of Belgium in a place called Hoeilaart. It took us slightly longer than anticipated to reach due to traffic.
We were
excited to see his house and especially the chickens in the backyard. The
chickens are some breed from Peru and lay green colored eggs. Their eggs are
supposedly more nutritious.
 |
| Bhaiya and Bhabhi |
In the limited time that we spent there, Bhaiya made
delicious omelette and tea. We also had a brief video call with Mummy and Papa.
Bhabhi was busy with work, but came out briefly to see us off. She gave Kheya's
SuperDry jacket to Aashi, which was used to good effect in the coming days.
We
reached Atomium at almost the scheduled time and took some snaps in front of the
Atomium. It's a huge structure probably around 15 storeys high. The Atomium
represents an elementary iron crystal magnified 165 billion times. It took us
some time to figure out where our bus was parked. Eventually, we joined the
group and proceeded to Amsterdam. On way to Amsterdam, we saw many windmills on
the way.
We headed straight to an Indian restaurant called Darbar for dinner.
The food here was good too. After dinner, we checked into Hyatt. The day was
mostly spent traveling, but it was very satisfying to be able to make it to Bhaiya's
house in Belgium.
Day-4 (Amsterdam, Netherlands)
 |
| Keukenhof gardens |
Today, the plan was to visit the famous Keukenhof gardens, followed by Amsterdam
city tour and a canal cruise in the evening. At the start of the day, Wadiaji
gave us a good overview of The Netherlands and the city of Amsterdam.
There is a
famous Dutch saying - "God created the world and the Dutch built Holland". 25%
of Netherlands is below sea level, with the lowest point being almost 7 meters
below. The Dutch are experts in water and waste management and with their
perseverance have built a system of dikes that have allowed them to reclaim
large parts of lands. With this, they have reclaimed about 6500 sq kms of area.
The Netherlands is a very liberal country. It was the first country to legalize
euthanasia and gay marriages. Drugs and prostitution is legal. It is also called
a city of bicycles. There are dedicated cycle lanes everywhere in the city and
one can get rental cycles almost anywhere at a very nominal cost. The official
language is Dutch and shipping, petroleum, flower, diamond cutting are some of
the prominent industries. Catholicism is the prominent religion, though 42% of
the population not follow any religion. One can literally smell drugs in air and its no wonder that such a large percentage of people don't follow any religion.
 |
| Keukenhof gardens |
Belgium was a part of Netherlands until
1830. King William Alexander was the first king after 3 generations of queen
rule (123 years). It is the most densely populated country in Europe. The
country spends almost 6 billion euros in public health, the highest by any European country.
Shell and Philips are prominent Dutch companies. There have been 19 Nobel prize
winners from Netherlands. The Rhine river originates in the Swiss Alps. In the last leg, it flows for 1230 kms through Netherlands before ending in the North sea.
Amsterdam is also called Venice of the North because of its
large network of canals. There are 3 main canals in Amsterdam and a total of 165
canals across the entire city. One interesting fact shared by Wadiaji was that
old houses have very narrow doors, larger windows and a pulley on top. In olden
days, wider doors meant bigger taxes. Furniture was brought through windows via
pulleys.
The breakfast at Hyatt Place was much better than the one in Zenitude (Paris hotel).
Freshly cut fruits, shrimp, varieties of cheese and bakery products were in the
buffet breakfast.
 |
| Big colorful shoes |
After a heavy breakfast, we set out to the town of Lisse,
which has the famous Keukenhof gardens. With 7 million tulips, spread across 32
hectares, it is the world's largest flower garden. It is also called the Garden
of Europe. It is interesting to note that tulip is not a native flower of the
Netherlands and was imported from Turkey. There are 1400 varieties of tulips in
Keukenhof. It has the largest auction house of flowers. The annual turnover of
auction is a staggering 4.5 Billion dollars. Not surprisingly, Holland has a monopoly in
flower business.
 |
| Big colorful shoes and windmill |
Just before entering Keukenhof, we passed by an old windmill.
The Dutch don't dismantle old windmills and retain it at many places. We were
given about 1.5 hrs at Keukenhof. The bloom season was ending as was evident
from the withered tulips at few places. The garden were to close down in a week or so. We still managed to get good photos with
a large variety of tulips. There is a large field adjacent to the gardens where
tulip farming is done. Again, there were not a large number of tulips here as
the season was getting over. It is on this field that Silsila movie was shot.
There is an old windmill in the garden which oversees the tulip farm. There are
big colourful shoes at many places in the garden, where kids take pictures. When
we finally came out of the garden, it had started to drizzle a bit.
 |
| Rembrandt cheese and shoe factory |
Our next
stop was Rembrandt cheese and shoe factory. The owner was a funny guy, who knew
quite a lot about Indians. He would pick up any one from the audience and put
him / her on spot. He was an 8th generation cheese maker and he explained the
cheese making process in detail. Reneet enzymes, found in ruminating mammals is
added during the cheese making process. This enzyme is extracted from cows and
hence the cheese made from this is considered non-veg. There is an alternative
chemical for reneet and the cheese made from that chemical is consider veg.
Considering everyone was from India, the owner offered 5 varieties of veg cheese
for tasting. We bought about 400 grams of smoked cheese for 12 Euros. He also
showed how the traditional wooden shoes are made. Wooden shoes are used for
various purposes - gardening, marriages etc. We bought a small windmill and
wooden shoes souvenir from here.
 |
| Dam Monument |
Next we went to Damrak, an avenue in central
Amsterdam. Wadiaji showed us the place where we have to report in the evening at
5:30 pm for canal cruise (Lovers cruise). He left the group mid way through the
Damrak Avenue and shared pointers for monuments at Dam square, nearby food
joints, casino, shopping area etc. We checked out couple of souvenir shops in
the lane parallel to Damrak. Then we went to Primark from where we bought some
purses. After that, we proceeded to Dam square, which has few historical
monuments. Dam square is city center and is the most crowded place in Amsterdam.
It was like the Grand Place in Belgium. On one side of Dam square is the Dam
monument, that is a war memorial dedicated to World war II soldiers.
 |
| Madame Tussauds |
Right
opposite to Dam monument is the Royal palace. There is also a Madame Tussauds at
Dam square. We had already seen the original Madam Tussauds at London. We walked
around the red light district and bought some magnets from the souvenir shop. We
were keen to try another waffle after a mouthwatering experience at Brussels.
Unfortunately this time, it was too sweet and not so fresh either.
 |
| Canal Cruise |
Finally, we
caught up with other groups on our way back to Lovers cruise. The canal cruise
was 45 minutes ride across the canal system in Amsterdam. There are 3 main
canals around Amsterdam, which house around 2500 houseboats. Every houseboat has
its own sewage system, telephone line etc. The cost of a houseboat is in
millions of dollars. People prefer staying in houseboats, but it comes with its
own set of challenges. It's very difficult to get licenses for new houseboats.
During the cruise, the captain pointed to a set of houses called the dancing
houses. The dancing houses are leaning on one side, due to land subsistence.
This is a common problem in Netherlands, as lot of land has been reclaimed and
is relatively on softer foundation. The captain also showed the old houses with
narrow doors and pulleys, the Mayor's house, the Chinese restaurant etc.
After
the cruise, we went to an Indian restaurant called Dosa for dinner. Contrary to
the name, there was no south Indian menu and the food was about average. We
returned back to Hyatt by around 8:30 pm. By now, we had seen 3 European
countries. We were already experiencing a fatigue typical at the end of the
trip. However we had 10 more days to go!
Day-5 (Cologne, Germany)
The plan for the day was to check out from Hyatt at Amsterdam and head to Mannheim, Germany.
With distance of over 500 kms, it was going to be a very long drive. Our in-coach wikipedia, Wadiaji shared
some facts and figures about Germany. It has a population of 82 million and an
area of 3.57 lakh sq kms. Christianity and Protestants are major religions in
Germany. 40% of people don't follow any religion. By now, it was no surprise to note that a large proportion of Europeans are atheists.
Automobile, Mining, Agriculture are few of the major industries. Mercedes, BMW,
Volkswagen, Audi are some of the reputed German auto makers. Autobahn are
motorways, where most of the motorway has no speed limit and one can even
comfortably drive at 200 kmph.
Geographically, Germany is a landlocked and is
surrounded by 9 countries. Until 1813, Germany was under French rule, lead by
Napoleon. Post the World war 2, West Germany was aligned to allied powers and
focused on rapid development. East Germany or German Democratic Republic was
influenced by socialism and controlled by the Soviets. The fear of communism led
many people to emigrate from East to West. To stop the exodus, a 33 miles wall
was erected overnight through Berlin on 13 Aug 1961. The Berlin Wall became a
symbol of the cold war. With the fall of the Soviet Union, the wall was
eventually broken in 1989 leading to the reunification of East and West Germany.
The Rhine flows through a large part of the country and hence Germany is also
called Rhineland. With 111 nobels, it is the 3rd largest winners of Nobel prize
behind US and UK. With 1064 medals, it is only behind the US in most medals in
the Olympics. No wonder, Germany is one of the most developed nations in the
world!
 |
| Cologne Cathedral |
Cologne is roughly midway from Amsterdam to Mannheim. It is famous for
Cologne cathedral as well as the famous unisex perfume, Cologne 4711. The reason
why its called 4711, is because it was originally made in house 4711.
Almost 90%
buildings in Cologne were destroyed in world war 2 bombings. Surprisingly, the
tall Cologne cathedral survived. The cathedral is a staggering 157 mts in height and it is believed to have the bones of the 3 foreigner saints (also called the 3 wise men or magis), who blessed baby Jesus. River Rhine flows through Cologne and the imposing cathedral dominates the city skyline. We reached Cologne by around 1 pm.
 |
| Difficult to get entire cathedral in one frame |
Wadiaji escorted us to the souvenir shop and gave an idea of what
to watch out for in the cathedral. We were given about 2 hours to go around the
cathedral and market area.
Cologne cathedral is the most visited landmark in
Germany. It is truly magnificent and one really has to stretch to get the entire
cathedral in one frame. There is a flower at the top of the cathedral. As one
cannot see the flower at the top, a replica is there at the entrance. The flower
is about 9 meters by 4 meters, which makes me wonder how difficult it would have
been to erect it at the top, centuries ago.
 |
| Beautiful glass painting |
The artistic work at the entrance
door is exquisitely beautiful. The first thing that meets the eye on entering
the cathedral are the beautiful glass paintings depicting various phrases of
Jesus's life. Sunlight piercing through the ventilators illuminates some parts
of the cathedral and gives it a very beautiful look.
Unfortunately, all details
in the church were in German, so we couldn't follow the significance of the
objects inside. I made a panoramic video of the inside of the cathedral. There
was also some musical instrument at the end of the cathedral, which we couldn't
see. Later, Mr Pattabi showed it to us in the panoramic video that I had made. Pattabis were a couple from Chennai who were to visit their daughter in Dublin after the trip.
 |
| Margherita Pizza in Cologne |
After coming out of the cathedral, we went to the adjoining market area called
Pedestrian plaza. Food is comparatively cheaper in Germany. We bought Margherita
pizza for 7 Euros and it was quite filling. It was now time to head back to the
bus. On our way back, we bought a few magnets and a small bottle of Cologne 4711
from the souvenir shop.
In the second leg of the bus journey, the energies were
very low. Wadiaji asked people to joke, sing or just talk about themselves. A few ladies and
Ankita sang whereas a little kid cracked some jokes. Both Ankita and Aashi kept poking me to talk about myself. I didn't, perhaps I should have!
Eventually we reached the
Indian restaurant at Heppenheim, which was interestingly spelt "Indien Palace".
The food had mild spices as requested by Vipulji, but it was quite palatable.
The naan especially was very good.
We then proceeded to our hotel at Mannheim.
It was the NH hotel, where everything, right from water to TV was charged. For
the next 2 days, the plan was to pack the clothes in a small bag and just carry
the smaller bag along with us to the new hotel. The bigger bags were supposed to
be kept in the bus.
Day - 6 (Stuttgart, Germany / Innsbruck, Austria)
 |
| Mercedes museum |
Today, we were to head to the beautiful town of Innsbruck in Austria, an overall
a distance of 450 kms. We were going to be on the bus for most of the day. On
the way, we would visit the Mercedes Benz museum at Stuttgart. The hotel at
Innsbruck was an old charm hotel, which used to be a 5 star property. The view
around the property was really good and Wadiaji wanted to give as much time as
possible around the property. That meant people had to really stick to time
during the technical breaks.
By now, we had gotten used to the ritual of an
early breakfast and departure. Also, the breakfast items were more or less the
same. Luckily the coffee today was good. Stuttgart is about 135 kms from NH
hotel.
 |
| First model of an automobile |
This was the first time MakeMyTrip had included the Mercedes museum in their package. Earlier they used to do the BMW museum.
Mercedes museum is an 8
floor museum. We took a state of the art elevator, and went straight to the 8th
floor. We had an hour and half at the museum.
The top floor started with the
history of automobiles. Carl Benz, a German automobile engineer, based in
Mannheim is credited with the patent of the first automobile that was
manufactured at scale.
 |
| Improved version of patented model |
The model resembles an Indian rickshaw with a motor, but
it was a big innovation in those days.
We could see the patent in the museum. He
received the patent for this design in 1886. His company Benz and Cie merged
with Daimler Motors to form Daimler Benz, which manufactures Mercedes Benz.
 |
| Section on buses |
Various iterations of the early models are on display in the museum. At the same time, two German engineers and business partners, Gottlieb Daimler and Wilhelm Maybach were designing an internal combustion engine, which can be used for locomotive purposes.
Daimler first designed a horizontal internal combustion
engine in 1883 and later a vertical internal combustion engine in 1885 which
could be fitted into a motorcycle.
 |
| Mercedes models over the years |
 |
| Improvements over the years |
The subsequent levels showed how the models evolved over the years. There was a section for buses and formula 1 car as well.
There was also a section for various Mercedes logos and models till date.
 |
| Formula 1 Section |
There wasn't enough time to read the details, but the section for formula one
car was mind blowing. Akif would have loved seeing this.
After the Mercedes museum, we again hit the road for Innsbruck. It was about 270 kms drive from here.
 |
| Scenic drive to Innsbruck |
While driving in Germany, we saw lots of mustard farm. The vast expanse of
yellow was a very beautiful sight and reminded us of DDLJ movie.
We bought a few Lindt chocolates at Neto, and had burgers at Burger King. Burger King is comparatively much cheaper than McDonald's. We bought 3 burgers with meal for about 18 Euros.
Post lunch, Wadiaji played some Indian songs from the nineties. Most people dozed off while I took some time to catch up on writing.
 |
| Scenic Technical stop |
We entered
Austria around 4 PM. The infrastructure is European countries is so similar that
it is difficult to make out when you cross from one country to another. There
are no check posts as such and one can freely drive in the EU. The chef in hotel
Alpenkonig at Innsbruck was a European chef and Wadiaji was trying to get some
additional items from an Indian chef. Later, as it turned out we had a complete
Indian dinner.
As we started getting closer to Alpenkonig, we witnessed some
mesmerizing views of the Alps. No words can describe the beauty of the area.
 |
| Alpenkonig on slope |
The
hotel was on a slope. It was earlier a 5 star property, but was downgraded to 4
star of late. Nonetheless, the place had an old rustic charm to it.
 |
| Bunk bed in room |
The room had
a bunker bed and Aashi jumped on seeing that. While we were checking in, we saw
another Indian group dancing to Indian songs.
 |
| Mesmerizing views all around |
We went out for an evening stroll with the
Bansal family. Words cant describe the captivating beauty of this place. We clicked some beautiful photos around the hotel.
It started
becoming colder and by around 8 PM, we returned back to the hotel. We had dinner,
made by an Indian chef. The biryani was especially good.
Day-7 (Wattens, Austria / Chioggia, Italy)
 |
| View from the breakfast area |
By now, we were half way through our Euro trip. The plan for the day was to
visit Swarovski Museum at Wattens, do an Innsbruck town walk, followed by lunch
at Sahib restaurant and then a drive to Chioggia, Italy. We had a good night sleep and got up little early to go around the property.
 |
| Giant at the Entrance |
After checking out of
Alpenkonig hotel, we drove to the Swarovski museum. The drive was very scenic.
There are some breathtaking views of the Alps.
In fact, the Swarovski museum
itself has an amazing backdrop. The giant water fountain at the entrance of the
museum is a beautiful photo point. We took a group photo of the entire
MakeMyTrip family here.
 |
Black stallion - Chetak
|
The museum has some scintillating displays of crystals. As soon as one enters the museum, there is a beautiful display of the Chetak
horse with red cloth and glittering crystals. Right opposite to that is the
crystal wall.
 |
| Cold chamber |
 |
| Crystal dome |
The crystal dome which illuminates in different lights produces a beautiful display of light reflection.
Aashi enjoyed the cold chamber, where
artificial snowfall is created. It was freezing cold here and we had to rush out in few minutes.
 |
| Piano |
There was one chamber that had beautiful crowns.
One spectacular piece here was a flying woman playing a piano.
 |
| Lattice |
Another section had a scintillating display of lattice. Yet another section was a very
colorful musical section called "Ready to Love", designed by Indian artists.
 |
| Big Ben |
There was also a section where world famous monuments like, the Taj Mahal, the Pyramids, the Big Ben were depicted.
 |
| Labyrinth |
Another section that particularly amused me
and Aashi was the labyrinth.
At the end, was the Swarovski shop from where we
bought a necklace for Ankita. There was a bit of hassle in getting the passport
soft copy at the time of buying. Eventually, we filled the VAT refund form and
everything was sorted. Next in line was the walking tour of Innsbruck town.
As
was the norm, Wadiaji shared some facts and figures about Austria. It has a
population of 8.3 million, with German being the most spoken language. It is
surrounded by 8 countries. Prominent religion is Catholicism and about 74%
follow it. Metals, chemicals, potatoes, grains, wines, poultry are some of the
key industries.
 |
| Leopold Fountain |
Rudolf Habsburg was the first crowned king. The Habsburg family
ruled for 600 + years, until Hitler annexed Austria. It has 9 provinces. It is a
mountainous country with about 62% of the land being covered by the Alps. It is
the most environmentally aware country in Europe. Austria banned nuclear energy
in the 1970s. It is far more relaxed and hospital as compared to the
neighboring German. At 98%, it has one of the highest literacy rates.
Many
Hindi movies have been shot in this beautiful country. The country has 22 Nobel
prize recipients. Sigmund Freud, the renowned neurologist and founder of
psychoanalysis and was born in Austria. The country has produced some famous
musicians like Mozart, Beethoven etc. Adolf Hitler and Arnold Schwarzenegger
were born in Austria. The river Rhine flows through Austria. Innsbruck is a town
in Austria, that is the capital of Tirol province. It has a population of 1.2
lakhs. It was a part of Italy in World war I.
We got off at the bus park and
walked through a garden to arrive at Leopold fountain. It is an old fountain
with an equestrian statue of archduke Leopold V, who ruled Tirol in the early
1600s. The Imperial palace, opposite the Leopold statue was originally built in
Gothic style during the 1500s by Emperor Maximilian I. Around 250 years later,
it was rebuilt in Baroque style by Maria Theresa, the only Empress in the
Habsburg dynasty, who ruled for 40 years.
 |
| Golden Dachl |
We took a right and walked past a few
souvenir shops, until we reached Golden Dachl. Golden Dachl or the golden roof
is a landmark structure in Innsbruck. The roof is covered with 2657 fire gilded
copper tiles, giving it a golden look. It was created to celebrate the marriage
of Emperor Maximilian I to Bianca Maria Sforza. The king and the queen used to
appear in the balcony on occasions of festivals and tournaments that appeared in
the square below.
 |
| Cake building - Helblinghaus |
Right opposite the golden Dachl, is a beautiful building
called the Helblinghaus. The facade of the building resembles a wedding cake.
We
walked past a few shops and reached the river Inn. Innsbruck derives its name
from the river Inn. The river is flanked by colorful houses on either side, with the Alps in the background.
 |
| River Inn |
We took some beautiful photos here and then went back to
Sahib restaurant for lunch. It was the same chef who had made dinner for us a
day earlier. To Aashi's surprise, the menu was Chinese.
We then drove to
Chioggia, a coastal town in Italy. On the way, we had the mandatory technical
stop over, from where we bought some more Lindt chocolates . We finally reached
B&B hotel at Chioggia at around 7 pm.
 |
| Hotel at Chioggia |
After an in-house dinner, we went for a
short stroll. The Santa Marina beach front was hardly 10 mins walk, but as it
was dark, the beach was closed. The hotel and the place around was very lively,
buzzing with people and music. From our room, we could see a poolside party,
where someone was celebrating her 18th birthday. Tomorrow was going to be an
extremely hectic day, as we were supposed to leave the hotel at 7 am. So, we
retired to bed quickly to catch up on much needed rest.
Day-8 (Venice, Italy / Rome, Italy)
Today, was the super hectic day that Wadiaji has been preparing us for, from the
start of the trip. We were asked to report for breakfast by 6:45 AM and the plan
was to get on to the bus by 7 am. There weren't many options for vegetarians in
breakfast, that prompted a mini revolt from some of the veggies in the group.
 |
| Boarding a vaporetto |
We
more or less started the day at the scheduled time. Before entering Tronchetto,
we passed over the 2.5 miles Liberty bridge. Wadiaji secured permits for us at
Tronchetto, after which we took a vaporetto to San Marco, largest island in
Venice. It was a sunny day and we could let go off our jackets for the first
time in the trip.
Wadiaji shared some details about Italy and Venice. Italy has
a population of 6.4 million. About 80% of the population is Roman catholic.
Major industries are ceramics, glass manufacturing, and tourism. Napoleon
Bonaparte, the famous French commander and emperor ruled Italy in the late 1700s
and in the early parts of the 1800s. Victor Emmanuel II was the first king of
Italy. Monarchy continued in Italy, until it became a democratic republic on 2nd
June 1946.
 |
| Boat ride to Venice |
The shape of the map of Italy is like a boot. It has a coast line of
7600 kms, which is bigger than India. It has a very rich heritage and is home to
63% of world's artistic heritage. Italy has produced 20 Nobel prize winners, that includes famous inventors like
Marconi and Fermi. Italy is famous for its Italian marble, glass and auto brands
like Fiat, Bugati, Lamborghini etc. It is regarded as the fashion capital of the
world and is home to fashion brands like Gucci, Prada, Armani, Benetton.
Italian
food, especially, olive oil, pizza, pasta, macaroni are now globally sought. The
country's soccer has won 4 world cups and is well known for its defensive
strategy. It has a thriving film industry and has produced luminaries like Al
Pacino, Marlon Brando, Madonna etc. The famous mafia don, Al Capone was from
Italy. Table fork, barometer, electrical glass are some of the major inventions
from Italy. Florence Nightingale, the celebrated nurse, who took care of injured
war soldiers was from Florence. The Italian flag was designed under the rule of
Napoleon Bonaparte. The city of
 |
| Venetian canals |
Venice is considered as the city of love and
romance. It is regarded as the Queen of Adriatic and is the capital of Venezia
provincia. Marco Polo, the famous Italian merchant started his voyage for the
silk route from Venice. Venice is a sinking city and has sunk 25 cms in the last
100 years.
The winged lion is a symbol of Venice and one can see that on many
famous monuments, including the Saint Mark's Basilica at Venice. Venice is made
up of 117 Islands, which are connected by bridges and canals. The most prominent
island in Venice is San Marco. Vaporetto or motorized water taxi boats are used
to commute between the islands. Venice is also famous for its lace work. The 2 km
long, Liberty bridge on the Adriatic sea, commissioned by Mussolini, connects the
islands constituting Venice to the mainland.
 |
| Saint Mark's Basilica |
 |
| Piazza San Marco |
At the heart of Venice, is the St
Mark square (called Piazza San Marco in local language). It is the most
photographed square in the world. Napoleon described it as the "most beautiful
dining room in Europe".
Saint Mark's square has many famous monuments. As the
name suggests, the Saint Mark's Basilica is a cathedral church. It has the
remains of Saint Mark's, who had died in Alexandria (current Egypt). The
followers of Saint Mark's stole and brought his remains to Venice in a ship
carrying pork. There wasn't enough time for us to get inside the Basilica, so we just saw it from outside. The artistic work at the Basilica's facade is very exquisite.
 |
| Doge's Palace |
Doge's palace or the Magistrate's palace is made in Venetian
Gothic style. Interestingly, there is no pillar in the center of such a big
hall. There is a prison adjacent to Doge's hall.
A bridge, called "Bridge of sigh" connects the palace to the prison. After the magistrate sentenced a prisoner, the prisoner would pass through the bridge, from where he would sigh, while seeing the world for the last time before entering the prison. Hence the name Bridge of "sigh".
 |
| Bridge of Sigh |
 |
| Monuments at Piazza San Marco |
After getting off the boat, we met our local guide. In
Italy, only local guides are allowed. If Wadiaji was caught explaining, he would
be heavily fined. We were asked to travel as a group from the right. There are
narrow lanes in Venice and if someone is lost, it's difficult to connect.
 |
| Clock Tower |
In
general, Italy is famous for pick pockets. We were asked to be cautious. The
guide gave us an overview of Venice's history and took us directly to St Mark's
square.
 |
| Bell Tower |
Here, she explained the significance of various monuments, like the St
Mark's Basilica, Doge's palace, the Clock Tower, the Bell Tower and the library.
Most of it was already covered by Wadiaji in the bus commentary.
 |
| Gondola ride in Venice |
Folks who had
opted for Gondola ride quickly followed Wadiaji for the same. We shared the
Gondola with the Sharma couple. Unlike the Gondolier in the other groups, ours whistled and sung at times as we
passed through the Venetian canals. He was friendly and spoke a bit of English.
He was riding a Gondola for 19 years. The surrounding buildings were almost
400-500 years old, which made us wonder about the quality of construction. After
the Gondola ride, we bought a souvenir magnet from one shop, took some better
snaps again at St Mark's square and then proceeded to the Metropole hotel, which
was the meeting point for departure from San Marco.
After returning to
Tronchetto via the vaporetto, we immediately proceeded to the Venezia train
station, from where we had a train to Rome at 12:05 PM. All of us were in coach
5.
 |
| Venice to Rome - Train ride |
Indian lunches were to be delivered in the train at the 2nd stop. There were
about 50 lunch boxes and an equal number of water bottles to collect in few
minutes. Few volunteers helped Wadiaji in this. The lunch was tasty - pulao, pav
bhaji and curd. After a heavy lunch, some people enjoyed a siesta, whereas
others watch the view from the window. The countryside between Venezia and Rome
was very scenic. The train arrived at Rome on time. People were asked to use the
toilets before getting off.
Rome, called Roma in local language is the capital
of Italy. River Tiber flows through Rome. After disembarking from the train, we
met our local guide, Francheska, who took us to a local bus. Our main bus took
our bigger luggage to the Mercure hotel in Rome, where we were to check in late
evening. The guide gave us a bit of history about Rome.
The number 7 has a
special significance in Roman history. Romulus found the city of Rome on 21st
Apr, a multiple of 7. Rome was built on 7 hills and was ruled by 7 kings before
it became a republic. There are many more such things, like the number of
Basilicas, the number of days in a week etc.
 |
| City walls guarding Rome |
She showed us the remains of the 19
km city wall, which protected the city from invaders. During the course of
history, the city has been destroyed and rebuilt multiple times. During the
reign of Julius Caesar, the city gained prominence.
 |
| Trevi Fountain |
Our first stop was the Trevi
fountain. It is a beautiful fountain from the Renaissance period. It was
designed by an Italian architect, Nicola Salvi. It has been shown in many Indian
movies.
It is believed that if you toss one coin from the right hand over the
left shoulder, you will come back to Rome again. If you toss 2 coins, you will
get married. If you toss 3 coins, you will be divorced. I left my wallet in the
bus, so tossing coins was not an option. On second thoughts, none of the 3
outcomes are also probable. The fountain area was flooded with visitors and we
could just get some photos from a distance.
Meanwhile, we bought gelato from a
nearby shop. Though a bit pricey at 8 Euros, it was tasty. Another item done
from the Italian bucket list!
 |
| Victor Emmanuel Monument |
Next, we passed by the Victor Emmanuel II
monument. Victor Emmanuel was the first king of unified Italy, when it gained
independence from the French (Napoleon rule). There was some restoration work
going on here at the time of our visit, but we still managed to get a decent
view of the monument.
Piazza Venezia or the city square was partially closed due
to restoration work. It is flanked by the brown color building called Palazzo
Venezia on the right and a white building made in exactly the same fashion on
the left. The white building houses an Insurance company.
 |
| Palazzo Venezia |
Palazzo Venezia was
the palace of Saint Mark's, and is now converted to a museum. Francheska told us
that during the 20th century, it was also the residence of fascist dictator
Benito Mussolini. He used to make speeches from here. Also, during the world war
II, Hitler and Mussolini appeared in the galary of Palazzo Venezia to a rousing
reception from the crowd.
 |
| Roman Forum |
Going past the Victor Emmanuel monument, we reached
the Roman Forum. It was the center of every day life in Rome. It housed temples,
shrines, administrative offices and was the site for public speeches and criminal
trials.
 |
| Julius Caesar burial |
Next we saw the burial place of Julius Caeser. Francheska told us that the
words Caesar, Kaiser or Tzar mean "The Great" and are hence associated with
great kings.
We then proceeded to the Colosseum. It is truly an architectural
marvel. It is an elliptical amphitheater, made of 3 concentric rings and was the
center of many gladiator fights.
 |
| Colosseum |
Like many Roman monuments, it is made of
travertine limestone. Travertine limestone is porous, light for its strength and
easy to work with. There were small square holes visible from outside. Molten
metal was poured through these holes, until it solidified and gave strength to
the structure. The rings are broken at some places and have been partially
rebuilt. Francheska showed us how the original Colosseum would have looked like.
There were 3 levels inside the amphitheater for audience seating. The lowest
level was for the kings, the middle level was for knights, and the top level
was for women and slaves. We took some beautiful photos around the Colosseum.
On
our way back to hotel, Wadiaji gave us a little overview of the next day in the
Vatican and Florence. In the Vatican, shoulders and knees are expected to be
covered inside Saint Peter's Basilica. We had an in-house Indian dinner before
retiring to bed.
Day-9 (Vatican, Italy / Florence, Italy)
 |
| Saint Peter's Basilica |
Today, we were to start our day with the tour of the Vatican, regarded as the
seat of Christianity. Next we were to proceed to the city of Florence, which was
a very developed city in the Renaissance period. Florence is in Tuscany province
and the great Michelangelo was born in Florence.
The most famous landmark in the
Vatican is the Saint Peter's Basilica. Saint Peter was one of the 12 apostles of
Jesus Christ. The apostles were the 12 chosen disciples of Jesus who were sent
out in pairs for a mission. We met our new guide at Gianicolo parking, who gave
us an overview of the city of the Vatican and the Basilica. The Vatican was
declared a country by Mussolini. It has its own stamp and a post office.
 |
| Pieta |
We had
to wait in queue for almost 2 hours, but the wait was worth it. There are two
statues in front of the Basilica. One is that of St Peter whereas the other one
is that of Saint Paul. The original church was made by the great Roman king
Constantine in the 4th century AD. Constantine was the first Roman emperor to
convert to Christianity. He elevated the level of Christianity in the Roman
Empire. The old church was raided multiple times and was in ruins by the 1500s.
The current church was rebuilt.
At this time, many famous artists like Michelangelo made beautiful glass paintings and statues. Looking at the height and the curve of the ceiling, one can only marvel at the skills of the artists who painted the ceilings.
 |
| Ceiling of the Basilica |
Michelangelo's famous creation Pieta (status of Christ
in mother Mary's arms) is on the immediate right after entering the church. He
made this masterpiece when he was only 24.
Many artists along with Michelangelo
have painted the ceiling. Later when we came out, our guide asked us how many
paintings did we see inside. We were surprised to learn that everything on the
ceiling is a mosaic and not a painting. A mosaic is a picture created by
arranging small pieces of stone, tile or glass. We also saw the burials of many saints in the basement.
 |
| Swiss mercenary soldiers |
After coming out, we saw the Swiss mercenary soldiers, who were dressed in a purple blue dress designed by Michelangelo. These soldiers were fiercely loyal to King Luis the 15th, and they all died defending him.
 |
| Coming out of the Basilica |
The
guide also showed us the window where the Pope shows up every Sunday at noon.
Also, there is a chimney, where the color of smoke changes from black to white
once the Pope is elected. A staggering 2.5 million people gather at the Saint
Peter's square, when a new Pope is elected.
We then proceeded to Florence which
was a 4 hours drive from Vatican. We had Margherita pizza for the second time at
a technical stop. When we got down at Florence, we had the river Arno in front
of us. We met our local guide Vincenzo. Surprisingly, he was really well versed
with Hindi and knew lots of things about India. He said things like "turn bayein
from patli galli", "jaldi chalo" etc.
 |
| Intricate artwork at the Baptistery |
 |
| Church |
The city of Florence was really well
planned with roads being either in exactly East-west or North-south direction.
There were high towers in many parts of the city. Florence called
Firenze in the
local language, is regarded as the birth place of the Renaissance. The
Florentine dialect forms the base of the Italian language. From 1865 to 1871, it
was the capital of the Kingdom of Italy.
We proceeded to the Church (domo), Bell Tower and Baptistery. The baptistery has a beautiful golden 3D facade designed by Michelangelo. We took some close photos of the facade.
 |
| Cosmos |
We then walked towards the Open museum. It was built by Cosmos. There are beautiful statues of David, Hercules, Neptune, Medusa, Cosmos and many more.
Infact, the original David by Michelangelo was moved from here to another museum and what is present in the open now is a replica of David. Aashi was particularly excited with the Medusa statue and posed in front of that.
 |
| Replica of David |
We walked past Uffizi museum that has works of Da Vinci and Michelangelo.
 |
| Uffizi museum |
While returning to the bus, we clicked some photos near the Arno river with
the bridge in the background. We checked into the hotel at Pisa, where we had an in-house Indian dinner. Like the one in Chioggia, the hotel at Pisa was on a very lively street. After dinner, we strolled with the Bansals and had pizza in a ristorante.
Day-10 (Pisa, Italy / Engelberg, Switzerland)
Today, was going to be our last day in Italy and the highlight of the day was
the Leaning Tower of Pisa. This was followed by the 530 kms ride to Engelberg. While we
were loading the luggage, the driver was complaining about long driving hours , but as always Wadiaji managed the situation.
The square of Miracles or Piazza Dei Miracoli, is a walled compound in
Central Piza, Tuscany. It houses the Leaning Tower of Pisa which is an
architectural wonder. The construction for the tower started in 1173 and was
completed in 1372. It has 8 floors and 294 steps. The tower has been tilted
since it was built and has survived 4 major earthquakes. By 1990, the tilt was
5.5 degrees. Fearing that the tower would fall, some restoration work was done
between 1993 and 2001. That reduced the tilt to 3.9 degrees. At this time, the
tower was completely closed. The tower is made of marble and has a height of
about 183 feet on the low side and about 186 feet on the high side. The outer
diameter of the base is 50 ft. The tower expands during the day and contracts at
night.
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| Toy Train ride to Field of Miracles |
The reason for the tilt is the soft soil, which was because there was an
estuary at this place. In 1989, one old tower, which is about 100 kms from here
collapsed. As part of restoration efforts, 600 tonnes of lead was put in 1993
and some more lead was put in 1995. Some soil extraction was also done. This
straightened the tower by 48 mm. Surveyors take reading twice a day to ensure
that the tower is not leaning further.
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| Leaning Tower |
We reached the tower by around 10 am.
Wadiaji was able to manage a toy train ride to the main complex, which helped us
save some time. We went around the complex seeing the magnificent tower, the
domo (church) and the baptistery. Most people try taking creative photos with
the leaning tower, and so did we.
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| Field of Miracles |
We rushed back to the parking lot to buy
magnets and ladies purses. Wadiaji has informed us that one can really negotiate
hard with the folks selling purses and magnets. We managed to get a good deal
for ourselves.
Ankita and I used the paid toilet for 2 Euros, before we started
the long bus journey to Engelberg. Wadiaji played some soft Indian music for
people to relax.
The hotel at Engelberg was called hotel Terrace. It is a very
scenic hotel. In 2014, Mummy, Papa, Didi and Shaurya had visited us in the UK
via Switzerland. At that time as well, they had stayed in hotel Terrace. Wadiaji
wanted to allow us sufficient time at hotel Terrace so that we could enjoy the
scenic views around the hotel.
We departed for Switzerland at around 11 am.
Almost two-thirds of our drive was supposed to be in Italy. We passed by Lake
Lugano lake after entering Switzerland. Wadiaji shared some facts and figures
about Switzerland. It is landlocked country with 1448 lakes. It has a population
of 8.8 million and an area of about 41000 square kms. German and French are the
most spoken language. Major industries are chemicals, chocolates and watches.
Switzerland is the largest exporter of classic watches and its watching making
industry is worth over 24 billion CHF. Historically, it has been a non-aligned
country. There is a compulsory bunker in every hospital, school and important
buildings. Military training is compulsory for people in the age of 19-26. The
country has very strict immigration laws and it is very difficult to become a
Swiss citizen. Charlie Chaplin was granted honourary citizenship, for his
contribution to the world of cinema. It does not have a navy, as it is a
landlocked country. We passed through the Gotthard road tunnel, which is a 16.9
kms tunnel and took 10 years to build. At the time of its construction it was
the longest road tunnel in the world. Few years after construction, there was a
major fire accident in the tunnel, in which many people lost lives. Later some
safety measures were added inside the tunnel.
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| Late check-in at Hotel Terrace |
By the time we reached hotel
Terrace, it was 9:30 PM. It was about an hour late and it was starting to get
dark. One has to go through 2 tunnel lifts to reach hotel Terrace. This was
quite an experience. The hotel has an in-house Indian chef. We had a very sumptuous Indian dinner, the best in the trip thus far. The fish curry literally melted in the mouth. We finally checked into our room at 3rd floor.
Day-11 (Interlaken, Switzerland / Jungfrau, Switzerland)
Before the start of the trip, Switzerland was what Ankita and Aashi were most excited about. Our Swiss sojourn was starting today and the plan was to visit the beautiful
lake town of Interlaken and then proceed to Jungfrau.
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| Morning view from 3rd floor hotel room |
We woke up to some
beautiful views from the hotel window. It was very cloudy because of which we couldn't see the surrounding mountains clearly. It reminded us of the sunrise view from
Lachen hotel, during our Sikkim trip a few years back.
We started from the bus
park at 8 am. We were looking forward to our mountain expedition to Jungfrau. The
3 nearby mountain peaks - Eiger, Monk and Jungfrau are referred to as 3 sisters.
Hero movie was shot at the Sphinx in Jungfrau, but the place was depicted as Canada in the movie.
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| Beautiful drive to Interlaken |
Interlaken meaning "between lakes" has lake Thun to the west and lake
Brienze to the east. River Aare flows through this town. It is a sparsely
populated town with a population of about 15000. Lot of paragliding happens in
this area. Luckily, I had an opportunity to sit alongside our driver Ruslow and had the best view in the bus.
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| Interlaken Casino |
On
the way to Interlaken, our driver pointed to the lake Thun.
I could see some
breathtaking views straight ahead of me and managed to capture beautiful photos
and videos.
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| Yash Chopra statue |
We reached the city of Interlaken in about an hour. There was a very
slight drizzle when we reached. A few meters ahead of the car park, there is a
bust of Yash Chopra. The Swiss government honored him in 2011 for making
Switzerland popular in India through his films.
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| Garden clock |
There was also a beautiful
garden clock, which displayed the right time.
We then crossed over to the other
side of the road and took some photos near a fountain where some scenes of Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge were shot.
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| DDLJ location |
Today, being a cold day, most people had frequent urges to answer
nature's call. Aashi and Ankita could find a free public toilet for Ladies,
while I had to buy a coffee from Hooters to use the toilet.
 |
| Cable car |
We took a cable car
from Interlaken East to Grindelwald. After that, we boarded a cog wheel train from Grindelwald to
arrive at Jungfrau.
Before boarding the train, we clicked some photos at a heart
shaped photo point. Adolf Guyer Zeller, a Swiss industrialist, began the
construction of Jungfrau railways in the late 1800s.
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| Photo point |
It took 16 years to
construct the rail system here and one can only marvel at the dedication and
commitment of the workers and engineers who contributed to this monumental
effort.
The trains here are cog wheel trains, which prevents the train from going downhill. Wadiaji also shared with us that the energy generated by 3 trains going downhill is sufficient to power one train going uphill.
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| Cog wheel train |
After
reaching Jungfrau, we had Indian lunch at the top. There was piping hot tomato
soup, which tasted even better because of the extreme cold. The rest of the
items were tasty as well.
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| Sphinx |
The outside temperature was -4 degree centigrade,
which was displayed on a board inside. We hurriedly walked past a 3D movie show,
and entered a lift which goes up at an impressive speed of 6.3 mts / sec.
We
arrived at the Sphinx terrace, which is at the highest part of Jungfrau. It was
quite windy here and there is an observatory as well. Surprisingly, there is
free wifi here. We did a group video call to our family in Pune and Manchester.
It was snowing and we took good photos and videos before coming out.
The plan
was to spend more time playing in the snow. So, we decided to do the Alpine
Sensation first, which was Cave 7. It is an ice palace, with chiselled ice
statues of birds and animals. It was a bit slippery, as we walked through the
cave.
There are railings all along the cave to assist you in walking. We had
little more than an hour left and we wanted to get to the area, where one can go
out and play in the open. We struggled a bit in locating this area. Eventually,
one lady staff at Jungfrau helped us find that place.
It was snowing all day
here. This was our first time playing in the snow and we played our hearts out.
We took some memorable photos and videos. There is a paid zipline as well,
which, I believe was closed due to inclement weather. Anyways we didn't have
time to try it. There is a post office level as well, from where one can post a
postcard to oneself. There are souvenirs shops, but the items were overtly
expensive, so we decided to skip it.
We descended the mountains with some
wonderful memories. In the evening, we chatted with Ajitji and Sandeepji's
family over a cup of chai. Amongst other things, we discussed Wadiaji. What a wonderful person! He really
loves his job and his planning and execution is immaculate. While everyone is
asleep in the coach, he silently goes about his business of planning the next
steps to perfection. For the past few days, he carried the entire group as a
family. He is a wonderful human being, and had a connect with the youngest,
Viyan to the oldest uncle in the family of 6. He is a wonderful story teller with an amazing sense of humour. He told us some interesting stories about how he
met his wife for the first time on a tour, his sky diving experience with his
son, a fat Parsi person's experience in a narrow bathing area in Italy, a
tourist's 1000 Euro Jimmy Choo shoes to name a few. He is an avid sportsperson.
He has played cricket for the Parsi Gymkhana, which boasts of some good players
like Surya Kumar Yadav, Aditya Tare etc. There is one interesting piece of
statistics from an exhibition match - Sachin Tendulkar caught Kaizaad Wadia bowled Sunil Gavaskar.
Day-12 (Titlis, Switzerland, Lucerne, Switzerland)
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| Morning view |
Our trip was now coming to a close. Looking outside our hotel window, we longed for few more days in Engelberg. It was a lovely morning with a clear view of the surroundings.
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| Funicular to Trubsee level |
Another breathtaking experience
awaited us at Mount Titlis. It is at a height of 10,000 feet. In Wadiaji's words, we wanted to close the trip on a
high. We had Indian breakfast and chai and came down with our bags through the 2
lifts. Titlis entrance was just 5 mins drive from the hotel.
The ride to Titlis
top is an interesting one. There are 3 different cable cars to the top of Mount
Titlis.
One first needs to take a Funicular to Trubsee level. Trubsee is where the Snow Park is. The Funicular goes on a very narrow track at a very steep angle.
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| View from cable car |
The next ascent ride was on a cable car. It was a beautiful sunny day with very clear views all around. There was vast expanse of green with tall pine trees and clouds in the background.
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| View from Rotair |
Lastly, we got onto a Rotair, which is a rotating cable car and gives a panoramic view from one place. As we had already gained sufficient height, the landscape had changed completely from green to white. We could see snow all around and some people already had mild symptoms of acute mountain sickness.
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| Sunny and Chilly |
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| DDLJ cut out at Titlis |
Ours was the first group that reached Titlis on this day. At the top there is a
cut out of Shahrukh Khan and Kajol from DDLJ. Wadiaji had asked us to skip this
and do the Ice Flyer first.
We were the first ones to reach the top and there
was no queue at the cut out, so we clicked photos quickly and went ahead. It was sunny and very chilly.
 |
| View from the Ice Flyer |
The Ice Flyer is a 6 seater cable car, with a glass cover in
front of you. Your feet hang freely in the air and the glass cover can be lifted
up based on your liking. Doing so exposes you to chill.
We got one flyer for
ourselves and also managed to take some beautiful photos and videos. We had the
glass cover lifted most of the time. It was a mind boggling experience.
 |
| Cliff walk |
Next we proceeded to the cliff walk, which is just adjacent to the Ice Flyer. It is about a 100 meter bridge.
There was high speed chilly wind, which made it difficult to hold on to the mobiles. It was so cold, that we were covering our faces with gloved hands. We went about half way in the cliff walk, took some photos and videos and retreated.
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| At the coffee shop |
Back at the DDLJ cut out area, there were some telescopes. The special thing about the telescope was that it showed in which direction and at what distance, major cities, like Amsterdam, Paris are. We bought hot chocolate with cream from the coffee shop at the top. The hot drink down the neck felt like a tonic.
We were doing well as far as the timing factor
was concerned. Just when we were about to board the Rotair to come down to
Trubsee level and play in Snow park, we realized that Aashi's woolen cap is
missing.
We dropped out of the line to search the cap. I rechecked the bag pack,
whereas Aashi and Ankita tried to trace it in the last visited path. Luckily
they found it in the lift. We lost about 10-15 mins in all this. Most people had
reached the snow park, as per update on MMT whatsapp group. Wadiaji asked us to
hurry up as we had about 45 mins left.
 |
| Snow park |
We came down quickly to Snow park to make
the most of our limited time. There were tracks for snow tubes and joystick
sliders. All of us first tried the snow tubes, however it was the joystick
sliders that were more fun. I had a crash landing in my first attempt with the
joystick slider. Without the gloves, landing on snow with your palm is quite
painful. I tried 2-3 times more and it was a lot of fun.
 |
| With Suddu Guddu |
In the final video,
Ankita made a good video of me. After playing for so long, all of us needed a
toilet break. Later everyone, assembled at the restaurant at Titlis entrance.
While everyone was buying, samosa and pav bhaji, we bought fish and chips for 16
Euros. It was delicious.
It was around 12:15 PM when we left Titlis parking lot
for the lake city of Lucerne. With so much action in the first half, it already
felt like close of play.
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| Lucerne Lake and Chapel Brook bridge |
Lucerne is amongst the ten most beautiful cities in the
world and Lucerne lake is regarded as one of the most beautiful lakes in the
world.
The Chapel brook bridge on Lake Lucerne was an old wooden bridge, which
burnt in 1990 due to a fire accident. It was recreated with exactly the same
look and feel. The bridge is flanked by colorful small flowers on both sides.
We
were given about 1.5 hrs for sightseeing around Lucerne lake. We started off by
clicking some beautiful photos on the bridge in the backdrop of Lake Lucerne.
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| Boat ride to Rhine Falls |
After getting off the wooden bridge, we walked on another bridge and crossed
over to the other sides. Many people were enjoying lunch in restaurants by the
lake. It was a beautiful sight.
We then strolled to Casa Grande, a 3 level souvenir shop. We bought some more chocolates, a Swiss knife and a souvenir of Lucerne and Jungfrau. On the Swiss knife, we got our names engraved.
 |
| Bachmann ice cream |
We then
proceeded to a famous ice cream shop, Bachmann, from where we bought a big cone
with mango and coffee flavor. The shop has beautiful bakery products on
display. We sat by the lake and enjoyed the ice cream. At the lake front, there
were some big swans, which came quite close to us.
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| Rhine Falls - At the rock |
At around 3 pm, we departed
to Rhine falls in Schaffhausen. It is the most powerful waterfall in Europe. At
a width of 150 meters and a height of 23 meters, it is not particularly huge.
However, the gush of water from the falls is really impressive. In summer
months, the average water flow is about 600 cub mt / sec.
Wadiaji had reserved a
boat ride for us that would take us to the mouth of the falls. About half of the
folks in the group joined for the boat ride. Everyone bought their own tickets.
As we reached closer to the falls, we had droplets of water coming on our face.
It reminded us of the "maid of the mist" in Niagara.
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| From top of the rock |
We took the stairs besides
the fall, which took us to a vantage point, from where one can look down on the
falls and the river. The falls are especially very close and it's an amazing
view all around.
The group that had joined us from London was to depart early
morning on the following day. Wadiaji made a short farewell speech on the bus,
thanking everyone for their support. Honestly, thanks to his efforts, we had
such a memorable trip. Everyone echoed similar sentiments.
 |
| Dinner at Radisson |
We went to an Indian
restaurant for dinner. It was the best dinner we had on the trip. All the veg
items, fish curry and especially dahi wada was delicious.
We then checked into
the hotel Radisson near Zurich airport. We had 2 separate rooms here, as the
hotel policy allowed just 2 people in a room. Aashi did her customary room tour
of the hotel. Though a bit tired, we went out for a short stroll with the Bansal
family. It was raining so we took our umbrellas along. We packed our bags trying
our best to balance the weights in checked in bags.
Day-13 (Black Forest / Frankfurt, Germany)
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| Chocolate on Strawberry |
On the final day of the trip, we checked out of Radisson after an early
breakfast. The dining area in Radisson is extremely beautiful. Strawberry with
vanilla and chocolate was just out of this world.
We had time at hand as the
plan was to travel through Black forest to Frankfurt airport. On the way, we
would stop near Lake Titisee. Time permitting, we would visit a Cuckoo clock
shop. With 5 lesser families, the bus felt a little lighter, but Suddu and Guddu
kept entertaining everyone.
 |
| Black Forest |
It rained almost throughout the entire day.
Thankfully, we were on the bus most of the time. We travelled through Black
Forest area.
Wadiaji explained to us the reason why it is called Black Forest.
It has very tall trees close to each other. The trees are so close that sunlight
doesn't reach the ground. The top of the trees are dark green and more around
black color. Hence the name Black forest. When it snows, the snow sits only on
the top of the trees. This is where Black forest cake gets its inspiration from.
 |
| Cuckoo clock |
At around 11 am, we reached the Cuckoo clock shop. We were given a demo of the
Cuckoo clock. The difference between a mechanical clock and an electrical clock
was explained. The string in the mechanical clock needs to be pulled
periodically, either daily or weekly. Also, the mechanical shop has a much more
natural and distinct cuckoo sound.
On Wadiaji's suggestion, I bought some
Schnapps from here. Ankita found a souvenir for a good Cuckoo shop. We bought
that as well.
 |
| Lake Titisee |
It continued to rain. We still walked down to Lake Titisee and
click few snaps. It was getting colder. While returning, a small quantity of
Schnapps helped.
The family of 6 from Bangalore, had an elder member that reminded me
of Abhijeet. Uncle was a very lively person, who was not very fluent in Hindi.
He kept cracking jokes in the entire trip. The youngest in the family of 6,
Viyan was a very reserved and polite boy. He took some time to open up with the
other kids. When they were about to get off the bus a bit before the rest, as
Viyan was to join his Dad in Germany. Just before getting down, he came up, said
thank you and broke down in tears. Kids are so pure and innocent at this age.
There was a bit of drama on the way to the airport. Ruslow was upset with
Wadiaji over a small matter and was a bit rude. With the traffic congestion
ahead, things were getting close, but we managed to reach on time. Eventually,
we completed all the airport formalities and VAT refund as well on time.
The moment we sat on the flight was the time, we started realizing that the trip is getting over now. While every corner of the body was demanding a massage, reflections of last 2 weeks started flashing in front of our eyes. Starting with the historical monuments and the adventurous rides in Disneyland, to the mesmerizing Gondola ride and the breathtaking views of the Alps in Austria and Switzerland, and ending with the serene Lake Lucerne and the majestic Rhine Falls, one really couldn't ask for more. It was surely a very taxing trip, but it gave us a very good overview of the 8 countries that we visited. Of course, one can spend a good week or 2 in each country and that also may not be sufficient!
It was but natural to compare US and Europe. While both have abundant natural beauty and architectural marvels, we felt Europe is culturally more richer. The Britishers, the French and the Portuguese were the first ones to embark on voyages across the globe and colonize other lands. In the process, countries like India, lost most of its cultural heritage from European and other invasions.
The
Panchal family was also travelling to Mumbai along with us. At the Delhi
airport, we had to collect our bags and check in again for the Mumbai flight.
Though time was less, we could do it. We literally had a warm welcome while
arriving in Mumbai. After 2 weeks in cold weather, 38 degrees appeared extremely
hot. By around 5:30 PM, we reached Pune with loads of good memories from an
eventful trip!
