Even at the planning stage itself
the trip to Europe was a matter of great interest though I had already made a
few overseas trips to Singapore,
China, Malaysia and
other countries. The ancient beauty of Athens. the scenic snowy mountains of Switzerland,
the unforgettable land marks of London and a host of other interesting places
in Germany, France, Greece and other European countries about which I have read
only in books came to my mind as I retired after the hectic routine.
Finally ,we started ,from Cochin, on an early morning in the month of the May .The gulf air flight took us to Athens via Bahrain.
As per the schedule given by the tour agents we should have taken the trip from
Bombay in the
small hours. Fortunately, My granddaughter Raja Rajeshwari Sivagami, fondly
known as Eashu and I could get a flight from Cochin to Bahrain and we availed
of it at an extra cost. We met the SOTC Manager outside the Athens airport and all the participants,
about 35 in number, loaded the luggage in a waiting bus and started at 2.30 pm.
Local time. We saw the ancient beauty of Athens and reached the hotel. Took dinner in
a heritage restaurant outside which we saw a Cycle Rickshaw, which was a common
sight in many cities in India
in my childhood.
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In Athens
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Athens is the capital and
largest city in Greece.
It is one of the oldest cities in the world, with a history spanning over 3000
years. A center for arts, learning and philosophy. Home of Plato’s Academy.
Birth place of Socrates, many other politicians, writers and philosophers. It
was the cradle of Western civilization. Democracy was born here.
|
The lunch and dinner were
arranged by SOTC in Indian Restaurants and it was uniformly good. One non
vegetarian (mostly chicken) dish was given during dinner.
Next day we boarded the ship Aqua
Marine. |
The best part of the trip was the cruise.
Comfortable rooms with attached bath. There were 600 passenger rooms. Three
dining halls and a couple of dance floors. All facilities at one place, including a duty
free shop. Six times food. Hustle free entry into the port cities of Greece and Turkey. We enjoyed it the most.
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| Eashu on board ship Aqua Maine |
On the fourth day we got out of
the ship and took a flight to Rome.
Entry into Italy
and most of the European countries need a Schengen visa. Switzerland and England need separate visas.The Schengen Countries are:
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Before the Arch of Constantine and the Colosseum
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Rome, the capital city of Italy, has a history of over 2500 years which
spreads outside Italy
also. It had promoted growth of western civilization to a large extent. To day Rome is a modern
cosmopolitan city and the third most visited destination in the European Union.
It escaped the Second World War. It is globally perceived as the second largest
exciting cities in the world.
|
We walked round Rome
for quite some time and saw a lot of interesting places in Rome. The gigantic Colosseum which is the
symbol of Rome,
and the greatest known monument. It is said that when the colosseum falls Rome will fall and the
world too will fall. On the western side of the Colosseum is an arch called as
the Arch of Constantine. It was constructed to honor Constantine’s victory over his rival. We then visit the Trevi fountain into which you will have to throw a coin. If
you throw one coin you will return to Rome
again. If you throw two you will marry the person you like. If you throw three
you will divorce your partner. Throwing more coins is waste of Money.
Rome, the capital city of Italy, has a history of over 2500 years which
spreads outside Italy
also. It had promoted growth of western civilization to a large extent. To day Rome is a modern
cosmopolitan city and the third most visited destination in the European Union.
It escaped the Second World War. |
Vatican
City and the church was a sight to be seen. A mass
was on and the writer participated in it. The history would have it that the
Pope was out of Italy
for several years. It was Mussolini who brought him back. The then pope wanted
a separate kingdom. A small area was given as separate Kingdom and the
then Pope built the Empire Vatican the world’s
smallest nation and the seat of Christianity.
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St. Peter's Basilica ,the largest Cathedral in the World
|
The Vatican city came into
existence in 1929 as per the Lateran Treaty and is a new creation, and thus
distinctly different from the Roman Catholic Church known as the Holy See,
which existed long before 1929.
It now consists of a walled
enclave extending to 110 acres within the city of Rome. It is a non hereditary elected monarchy
ruled by the Bishop of Rome – the Pope. Since 1929 The Popes were living in
this area. Before that they were living in Lateran
Palace on the Caelian Hill on the
opposite side of Rome.
Vatican is now the smallest land
locked sovereign state with an area of 110 Acres and a population of 800.
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Museum in St. Peter's Square
|
We got into a bus in Rome. Most part of our
time in the subsequent days to come was spent in the bus. No bus can run more
than 2 hours at a stretch. It stops at a comfort station after 2 hours, in
variably a gas station, after two hours if the journey takes longer.
|
The driver cannot work for more
than 11 hours a day. The grace time is 1 Hour. If the bus starts at 8 a.m. it
should be parked at 8 p.m.
So we had a wake up call at 6
a.m., breakfast at 7 am, carry the bags to the bus at 7.45.a.m and the bus
starts at 8 a.m. In variably we were taken to the hotels for overnight stay
after the dinner. We visited Florence
on the way to Pisa.
Florence is one of the
beautiful cities in Italy.
It is the Capital city Italy’s
Tuscany Region. It is the Centre of Medieval European trade and finance. It is
otherwise called as the Athens of Middle ages there were beautiful sculptures.
The famous sons of Florence
include the genius artist and architect Michelangelo. We visited Florence
on the way to Pisa.
Florence is one of the
beautiful cities in Italy.
It is the Capital city Italy’s
Tuscany Region. It is the centre of Medieval European trade and finance. It is
otherwise called as the Athens of Middle ages there were beautiful sculptures.
The famous sons of Florence
include the genius artist and architect Michelangelo.
 | A Statue by Michelangelo
The over night stay was at Pisa. The city which is
possessing one of the seven world wonders, the leaning tower. It is a freestanding bell tower of the
cathedral of the Italian city Pisa.
The tower was constructed in 1173. Though it was intended to stand straight, it
started leaning soon after the construction. The height is 183.27 feet on the
lowest side and the same is 186.02 0n the highest side . The weight is
estimated to be about 14500 metric tons.
It is learnt that the tower has been
reinforced at the foundation level at it may not tilt for some time. More so
for the reason photographed below. Chandramouli supporting Tower From Pisa
we went to Venice.
Venice was a beautiful Island
with lot of canals flowing within the city. It is unbelievably beautiful in one moment and
chaotically comical in another moment. The construction of the canals was
great The quality of water in the
smaller canals was not good. The one in bigger canals was better. Lot of doves were living
in front of the square They were so friendly that they
come and sat on the visitors head shoulder and hand, for a moment Eashu was frightened
Venice is known as the “Queen
of the Adriatic” “the city of Water”.
It is considered to be one of the most beautiful cities in the world. The city
stretches into 118 small islands in the marshy Venetian Lagoon along the Adriatic Sea, 170 canals and 400 bridges.
 | Eashu with Doves
While proceeding to Innsbruck in Austria
we stopped over at Wattens and visited the Swarovski Crystal
Museum. It had 14 halls
wonderfully illuminated and decorated.
 | An Illuminated Crystal
Swarosvki was a German glass cutter
and Jeweler. He was living in Prague.
He invented an electric cutting machine in the year 1892. In 1895 Daniel
Swarosvky, Armand Kosman and Franz Weis founded the Swarosvky Company, K.S.
& Co. The company established a crystal cutting factory. The processes were
also patented by Swarosvky.
We continued our journey of Land
Locked Austria and visited the strategically located Innsbruck
built around Inns
River which runs through
the heart of Austrian Alps.
Then we proceeded to Switzerland. Visited
Zurich. This is the largest city in Switzerland and
the commercial capital. The political capital is Berne.
Zurich can be
counted as one of the preeminent global cities. Several surveys during the
period 2006 have described Zurich
as the city with the best quality of life in the world.
Next three nights stay was in Engel
berg. It is a small village about 1000meters high at the foot of mount titlis.
Next morning we took an optional trip to mount Titlis
through a cable car system. The cable car connects Engel berg to the summit of
Klein Titlis.  | Cable Car linking Engelberk to Peak of Mount Titlis
|
The cable cars fly
200 different flags. Car no.73 carries the Indian Flag
It had three
stations. Gerschnialp (1262M), Trubsee (1796M), and Stand (2438M). The peak was
3020 Meters. The travel through the cable car provides interesting sight. The
green valleys with lovely lakes on their lap, surrounded by the snow clad misty
mountains.
There was an ice
cave. The ice cave cooler than the peak. There was a shop at the top selling
nice reasonably priced gloves, sweaters and so on. We purchased a couple of
pairs of gloves. On the top of Mount
Titlis. Children went out and played on the snow. The height was 1020 Meters.
This is the highest peak in central Switzerland and the temperature was less
than one degree centigrade. A memorable encounter with the eternal snow.
 | Peak of Mount Titlis 10000 Feet 0.7 degree
In the afternoon
we had an orientation tour of Lucern, one of the six most visited cities in the
world where we saw the famous Lion monument. It was a nice place to buy Swiss
knife. This is a momento that every one carries. Also chocolates and watches.
Café culture is
treasured by the city’s large population. It is said that Queen Victoria came
here in 1958 for a long holiday. About 5 million people estimated to pass
through this place every year.  | | The Lion Monument |
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Next day was an
optional trip to Jungfraujoch, the highest altitude railway station at 11133
feet. Sights are lovely lakes and passes and the cog wheel train takes one to
the top of Europe where from see the alpine views and the ice palace.
Then on to
Interlaken, located at 570 meters above sea level. This is the oldest tourist
spot in Switzerland. Many hotels are located around this place. The town takes
its name from its geographical position ‘in between lakes’. In spite of its
small size and a population of only 5700, the town houses two Railway stations
and two railways. Neighboring towns are connected by Rail, bus and boat.
We then
proceeded to Schaffhausen and saw the mighty Rhine falls. Then continued our
journey to Heidelberg through the black forest. In the middle of the forest we stopped
at Drubba Centre where we had an opportunity to see the Cuckoo clock factory.  | One Cuckoo Clock with a story
A lover
approaches a lady and her husband comes with a stick to chase him.
The different
stage of manufacture of the famous cuckoo clock was explained to us. Though we
wanted to buy, transporting it to India safely was the dissuading factor. We
then drove to Heidelberg. Strolled through the market square and the narrow
streets, and saw the ruined castle.
 | A Cobble - stoned narrow alley
Heidelberg is one
of the important cities in southwestern Germany, on the Neckar River.
 | A Scenic View
We then drove to Cologne, Germany’s fourth largest city, with more than 10 million
inhabitants. It is one of the oldest cities in Germany having been founded by
the Romans in 38 BC
Cologne lies in
the river Rhine. We had a cruise on the river Rhine. Purchased some famous Eau
de Cologne.
The seat of
Roman catholic Archbishop is the famous Cologne Cathedral.  | A Cologne Cathedral
The cathedral
has been blackened by age and the smoke of heavy bombing and it escaped the
heavy night bombing during World War II. Not a miracle. The pilots used it to
navigate in the era before the Radars came in.
The University
of Cologne is one of the oldest Universities in Europe.
We then
proceeded to Keukenhof gardens. It was a huge area of 80 Acres in which several
species of Tulip is Grown and exhibited.  | A View in Tulip Garden
Seven million
Tulips are exhibited. The exhibition is open till Mid May. Then drove to a
wooden shoe factory and saw a demonstration.
Then we visited
the famous coaster diamond factory and saw a demonstration.  | The biggest diamond exhibited in the factory
The price of diamond is decided by the famous 4C,namely Clarity, Color, Cut, and Caret. |
We then drove to
Paris through Brussels. Brussels is the largest urban area in Belgium. Brussels
which was a small 10th century fortress has now grown into a
metropolis.
 | Iron Atom
|
Also we saw the
Mannekan Pis Statue, a charming fountain of a little boy. To day it is the
symbol of Brussels
After World War
II, Brussels is an important centre for international politics. It hosts the
head Quarters of NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) and many other
European organizations. It is also the capital of the French speaking
community.
From Brussels we
proceeded to Paris. Paris is the Capital and the most fascinating metropolis of
France.  | A View from the 1st Stage of Eiffel Tower
Paris produces
more than a quarter of France’s Gross domestic product. International Organization
like UNESCO, OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development)
One can write
pages, talk for hours about Paris, one of the greatest metropolis in the world.
It is sexy, fashionable, trend setting, romantic cruises etc. It is a city of
Lights. Our friend took is to the Eiffel tower and we saw that at midnight.
Operas full of beauty, rhythm and gaiety. We purchased some scents and body
sprays. Of course very costly. Europe is not the place for purchases. Things
are costlier. Same material may be available in India for a cheaper price. We then
proceeded to London through the Euro Tunnel. In the tunnel a train runs. Our
bus itself was loaded in the train. We moved in the same bus in London also.
The only important point that the driver had to note was that he has to keep
left in London where is was keeping right till Paris. London is one of
the world’s leading businesses, financial and cultural centre. Its contribution
to politics, education and culture is significant. Central London is the house
of England’s and Europe’s largest companies. It has four world heritage sites Greater London
consists of four World Heritage Sites namely Tower of London. Greenwich, Royal
Botanic Gardens and the palace of Westminster. London’s
population draws from various cultures and religions. Over 300 languages are
spoken in the city.  | Big Ben
We visited almost all the land marks like, Westminster,
Big Ben, Bucking ham palace, Tower Bridge, Wax Museum, Greenwitch and so on.
The local lady was a well informed individual. She had a long stoery to tell
about each place.
 | A View of the Tower Bridge
It was an 18 days trip and the foreign visit
commenced at Athens and ended at London
When we plan the trip it is necessary to
know the total cost. Often the advertisements do not include many expenses like
the Visa charges, Airport charges Entrance charges in Harbor/ Airports,
optional trips etc. In some place the meal plan itself changes. In London we
were not provided Lunch and Dinner. We may know the meal plan and other details
only one or two days prior to commencing the tour
On the whole it
was a satisfying trip. With food uniformly good. Reasonably standard hotels. No
one fell sick during the entire trip. The optional trips were the ones which
appeared to be costly. In London the meal plan was different. This was known to
us only after we got the details one to prior to departure. It was a
disciplined hard work, getting up at 5.30 or 6.00 am and following a strict
schedule
Usually there
are three stages in the advertisements for the tours. First there is an
advertisement offer at a specific charge. A reduction is announced if there is
severe competition from other agents. Then a bonus trip is offered at the time
of closing the bookings. It was a three days, cruise in the Mediterranean in
our case. It will be prudent to patiently negotiate the terms with the agents . --------------------------XXXX----------------------- |
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Very nice and long travelogue. Taken us through Europe sitting at home
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