The history that we traveled in Europe encompasses history of most of the Europe, that stems from Greek mythology! In fifteen days we visited ten countries and thirteen cities. The bus that we took from London to Milan was our home for thirteen days and the Italian driver was our charioteer. We would check in at a hotel in late evening, sleep and check out the next morning. However, it was not as testing as it sounds as we could relax in the bus and reached fresh at our destinations. It used to be 4-5 hours journey at a stretch with half an hour break. Our guide was a wonderful person who kept reiterating about safety of our passports and money and would do repeated briefings about the day's itinerary. We had city tours of many cities with dedicated guides, some were wonderful, like in Florence, while others were incomprehensible, like in Rome. Our trip went like this:
We crossed U.K. to France from Dover. Dover reminded me of the story, 'The man who hated time', that I had read in my school. The story is about a man trying to smuggle watches in his car from Dover to France, as he escapes the customs, there is a siren for a two minute silence and that is when the ticking of all the watches in his car becomes loud and clear and he is caught and sentenced to life-imprisonment. Our bus climbed the ferry and we enjoyed the ship ride in the English Channel. Our visit to the Lido show, watching the mid-night illumination of Eiffel Tower and the visit to the Place de La Concorde were the new things. The Arc de triumph appeared much bigger this time. Whole of the French revolution crossed my eyes as we took the city tour of Paris, as if Guillotine was right there in the Place de La Concorde. A new zipline has been started from the second level of Eiffel tower, that looks like an incredible adventure. This time it was not as cold and breezy at the second level as it was in November 2011. The rush was much less at the third level, and so was the adrenaline rush. There was a young boy and a girl may be in early 20s, talking to each other in french. Suddenly, the boy went down on his knees and took out a ring box with a ring and proposed the girl. The expression on the girl's face was of surprise and disbelief, followed by a passionate french kiss. Surprise proposal at the top of Eiffel tower, it does happen in real life also!! I prayed for them in my heart!
Like Eiffel tower, Atomium was erected as a temporary structure for a science exhibition but has stayed and become an icon for Belgium. Brussels looked similar to other old European towns. The 'Pissing Mannekin' is a small statue for it's fame, however the improvisations that the shopkeepers have done to sell their waffles and Ice-creams are hilarious. Our hotel in Amsterdam offered my kids a hand at Squash. My previous trip to Amsterdam saved me the urge to visit the city in the tired evening that we reached. Canal cruise in Amsterdam offered some beautiful scenes, Amsterdam looked bit different from the canals. Madurodam, where they have made a miniature Holland is a remarkable and enjoyable park, unique in itself. The best was the animatronic film about the independence of Holland. We took our snaps with the tulips. The visit to the shoe factory, cheese factory and Wind Mill in Volendam completed our Netherland trip and we moved on to Germany. I found the countryside of Germany to be extremely beautiful. We reached cologne and saw the grand but un-maintained Cologne cathedral. There we were obliged by a priest, with whom we took pictures. The famous perfume, '4711' had to be bought, though not from the legendary shop. We stayed at Heidelberg and moved to the Black forest next day. People from India, found it funny that these forests were called black because of their density. We have surely seen darker and denser forests, however, they appeared manicured. In the middle of the Black forest is Drubba, famous for its Cuckoo clocks. They demonstrated how the bellows in the clocks mimic the sound of cuckoos. There were hundreds of clocks but the phenomenal was the life size clock where the six mannequin couples started dancing at the strike of three. We also saw a glass factory there and understood why the occupation is called glass-blowing. They crated magic in colours.
As we moved from Germany to Switzerland
the terrain started to become hilly. The beauty of Swiss is that the terrain is
hilly but has gentle slopes and curves that have lush green grass, that is
interspersed with farms, beautiful hut-houses and is lustre clean. The site of
magnificient Rhine falls was refreshing. The boat ride was one of the best
experiences of our tour. Our boat-driver took us almost right into the falls where a
beautiful rainbow was being made by the bright sunlight. From the rhine falls
we went to Engelberg, a town in the center of tallest swiss alps. The sight was
straight out of a Yash Chopra movie. Our hotel, 'Terrace' is located opposite
to Mount Titlis and we enjoyed its scenic beauty not only from the wonderful
terraces and balconies but even from our beds! Next day we boarded our train
for Mt Jungfrau and this time my journey didn't stop at Murren but we took the
cogwheel that took us right to the top of Europe. The journey is picturesque in
the true sense of the word. It's amazing how conveniently one reaches the
height almost same as Rohtang Pass in Manali. Though it is known by the
Sobriquet 'Top of Europe', it is third highest peak of Bernese Alps. Highest
peak of Switzerland is Monte Rosa while that of Europe is Mount Elbrus in
Russia. Mont Blanc of France may be the highest peak of Alps. However, it may
be the highest place in the world where you can directly reach by a train.
They have mad a structure known as Sphinx,
that takes you to different levels at the Jungfrau. The scene of Aletsch
glacier is विहङ्गम ! When
we reached there, I felt exhausted and wind was biting cold but after few
minutes I was more comfortable and we enjoyed playing in the snow. It was first
visit of the kind for my children as they had not been to Rohtang Pass and
Chandanwadi was like a miniature model of that when we had visited Kashmir in
summers.
From Jungfrau, we went to Interlaken, the
dream city for holidayers from where you can enjoy the scenic beauty of
Jungfrau. A statue of Yash Chopra commemorates him as ambassador of
Switzerland. Next day we visited Mt Titlis, where we reached using lifts, the
last one being Rotair that offers 360 degree panoramic view, the speed of
ascent is remarkable. At Mt Titlis we took the Ice-flyer that's the kind of
trolleys we call 'Gondolas' in India, that flies at a great height over barren
snow. We enjoyed ice-skooting and ice-tubing. I realized what my boss had once
told me that natural beauty of Switzerland is not much different but technology
has made it remarkable, as I ascended the walkalator with my tube from the
bottom of the slope!
Next in our itinerary was Lucerne, a beautiful old town with new charm. It has a marvellous Swan lake with a three hundred years old wooden bridge over it. It was initially difficult for me to beleive that I was watching हँस in real life. We also visited the Lion monument that has been carved in a single stone in memory of swiss soldiers who died because of betrayal and that's why the lion is seen stabbed in it's back with tears in his eyes. Here we came across the famous swiss banks and delicious ice-creams. We also met a chow-chow, who has his own facebook page and is quite famous known as 'Rocky- the hurricane'.
Our three days surrounded the natural beauty of Switzerland and were the highlight of the tour. The hotel is also wonderful. They held a party night where we let our hair down to the tune of English and hindi songs. Three artists dressed in local dress, made us dance with them during dinner time and added vibrance to our memories.
We moved on to Austria, another country similar to Switzerland in topography. On the way we saw Leichtenstein, one of the smallest nations in the world, thus adding to my list of Monaco and Vatican city. There is a castle situated on a mountain where the royal family lives and a small city with a market down hill. Our hotel in Austria was on a hill top and a lavish property with spacious rooms, lot of paraphernalia and balconies with awe-inspiring scenery. There was a pressing iron for trousers, where one could just hang and trousers in , wait for 20 minutes and get the crisp pants!The best stay of our trip. We wished to stay there for two more days but they say Man has to move in life! We had our lunch at a mid-way resort something parallel to 'Haveli' restaurants. The ambience was great and was surrounded by lush green mountains. We had our continental lunch and some souvenir shopping. Wattens has the headquarters of Swarowski. They showcase how they have tried to make glass look like Diamond. There is a Rana Pratap's Chetak in the first hall adorning Swarowski crystals. They have showcased the crystal world with lot of creative technology. Next stop was Innsbruck, again an old European city known for it's Golden roof that is made of brass. We did not go to but I was reminded of my Vienna visit from where I had caught one of the smallest planes I have ever traveled in.
Only Italy was left. We were beginning to get satiated and tired. The apprehension that we have to safeguard our money and passports in Italy was playing on our mind. The weather was becoming warm as we moved away from Austria. Somebody in the bus said, 'I want to go home' and there were many moans of agreement. People clicked hundreds of pictures of natural scenery as we had traveled from Germany to Swissland, similar scenery did not evoke any excitement as we left Austria, probably we had plenty of natural beauty by then. We were glued to the TV screens in the bus as we enjoyed DDLJ, Sultan, PK etc.
Next day we were to visit the city of romance, Venice. We began to feel the positives of Italy. Though water was to be bought, as the tap water in Italy is not potable, loos were free, so the balance sheet remained in balance. We had been paying for peeing and now we had to pay for पी ing. Most ladies were dressed in their best summer dresses for Venice. We crossed Adriatic Sea in a Motor boat and enjoyed pleasing sights as there were revelers in speed boats and large Ship cruises including Star Cruise were stationed there.
Beauty lies in the eyes of beholder, holds true for Venice also! It's a beautiful small town where there are water canals instead of lanes in between the rows of houses. It is different from Amsterdam, as in Amsterdam, there are roads on both sides of the canal and you have an option to reach through water or by road. The boatmen rowing the Gondolas do not sing a song but do wear the traditional black striped t-shirts. Venice has its own history and I refrain from going into details! There is a bridge of sighs through which prisoners were taken for the last time before being punished to death. The St Mark's Square was touted as the 'World's best drawing room' by Napolean, it remains the most photographed place in the world. We visited the Murano glass factory, where the 'Glass artists' carved out beautiful masterpieces in a jiffy. We realized why red wine glasses were more so expensive than other colours as they had to use small amount of gold to achieve that colour. We tried the famous Venetian masks in a shop owned by a gentle Pakistani couple. Lion with wings is the emblem of the city and it does give wings to one's passions as the sunny afternoon evolves into a breezy evening.
After visiting
Florence,
Vatican City and Rome, we reached the 'Field of Miracles' in Pisa. Leaning Tower that is actually a bell tower, just behind the adjoining church and the baptistery, is truly a wonder. We had a group photograph with tower in background. The campus is clean in spite of large number of visitors. After the visit we had another wonderful Indian lunch at another Indian restaurant, which only these tour operators can dig out. They keep the food ready and serve fifty people in no time so that in one hour it is all done. This kind of management that obviates the waiting time for meals and queues at various attractions is one of the factors that makes it possible to visit so many attractions in ten countries in fifteen days. Traveling in a group in the same bus from London to Milan saves both time and money and also creates bonhomie that gives more veritable experience.
Milan was our final destination. The shops in the market made us realize why it is called fashion capital of the world. Milan cathedral is a unique church with large number of statues adorning it. The Galleria is the world's oldest shopping gallery but looks like the newest one with shops of world's top brands. There is Leonardo da Vinci's museum at it's back side. The suds and chocolates shops we experienced here, were very different from what we had seen elsewhere.
It was our first group tour with pre-fixed itinerary. Earlier, I used to think that these trips are not worthwhile, as they are tick and go at the ear-marked sight seeing places and do not let one soak in the feel of that place. I have realized that expectations from a holiday trip, for each one of us in the family, is different. On my previous visit to certain European destinations, I could fulfill my agenda as I was traveling alone. I talked to my wife and children and realized that this trip might actually be the most-suited thing to do. It could fit most of our individual and combined aspirations, giving us best value for our time and money and we were happy with our decision at the end of the tour.
Such trips do give psychology lessons! Desires of heart are not limited by one's age, shape, size, colour or even financial status. In our group there were many couples who had just retired from their service and wanted to celebrate their successful life with the newfound money and time. There was a family of three sisters and a young lady, who had left the boring and uninspired men in their family behind to enjoy the way they wished to. Like-minded people quickly identify each other and tend to enjoy each others company. The impromptu subgroup that got made on the very first day continued till the final day. Though our 'tour-coach' told us on day one that seats in the bus would be shifted each day so that everyone could have variety and balance of experience. However, it was not followed as some people always wanted to sit in front. There were two episodes of argumentation but overall milieu remained congenial through out the trip. One group of family that seemed unreasonable, gradually improved as they realized that practically everyone else didn't like what they were doing. We were the back-benchers and had total fun. On day three of the trip, everybody introduced himself/herself over the public address system of the bus, everyone was very creative, making it a memorable experience in itself. Then there was antakshri one day and songs on another.
As we boarded our bus for the Milan airport, we had already started missing out those with whom we had shared our life for a fortnight. Many people of the group were on the same flight, that made us feel that the trip was still on. Our flight from Milan to Abu Dhabi (
European odyssey) gave us a bonus of adventure.We had our change of flights at Abu Dhabi where we spent around two hours of waiting time. We all sat together and chilled out. We were all completely relaxed as we had successfully completed a big trip without any mis-happening and there was nothing to be anxious for. We reached home with a sense of achievement and a bagful of wonderful memories. I thanked God for being kind!!
