Miles and Experiences

We stood there absorbing the beautiful sunset that Old Zagreb, locally known as Gornji Grad, offered. The February evening was delightfully clear and presented a view to remember. In front of us,  mingling with the red tiled roofs, dominated majestically the two famous monuments - the Zagreb Cathedral of Kaptol and the St. Mark's Church of Gradec...along with the bits and the pieces of the historic panorama of a thousand years.  Few centuries back, during the medieval period, when the region was not known as Zagreb, existed two hill top settlements - the Kaptol and the Gradec, separated by the then existing rivulet Medvescak. The Kaptol housed the Cathedral and was the religious center while the Gradec was home to the merchants and the craftsmen. It took the two settlements centuries of bitter rivalry before prudence took over and they decided to unify during the nineteenth century, thus together becoming Zagreb. The reasons for this bitterness were many ranging from s...

There is something incredibly charming about fishing villages. Be it in Europe or anywhere else in the world. Possibly due to the presence of the sea so close...and the  rituals of the sea, the fishermen are so adept at. The aspirations of the morning and the catch of the day...and the songs of the sea...of the calmness and the turbulence.  Volendam is one such fishing village, located in Northern Netherlands about thirty minutes drive from the Amsterdam central by bus... there are a plenty of them from Amsterdam Central. The village is located on the lake IJsselmeer, the largest lake in the Netherlands.  Vollendam means a "filled dam" and that is how it had started by filling an existing harbor and reclaiming the land artificially during the fourteenth century. A separate smaller canal and a new harbor was dug and this how this village was created. During the first half of twentieth century, as a part of the Dutch water management exercise, the water-body, which...

I doubt anyone will  disagree to the fact that Christmas or the Xmas markets of Europe are deliciously charming and as close to fairy tale settings as one can get. There are great cities through out Europe hosting amazing Christmas markets in their hallowed city centers...with  cozy, themed markets and twinkling lights in snow clad settings.  It was in present day Germany where the  first Christmas market originated, probably during the thirteenth century. Last Christmas, we had an impromptu plan to catch a glimpse of the celebrations in Germany. But the markets in some popular towns had then already wrapped up with the exception of Dusseldorf which still had a couple of days left. And so Dusseldorf it was, the capital of the state of North Rhine Westphalia ... about four hours drive from the Hague and we were in Dusseldorf, located at the confluence of  rivers Rhine and Dussel. We walked through the renowned Konigsallee, the Kings Avenue bo...

I stood there for a while and looked all around... the tiny town of Wattens in the Tyrol region of Austria....located at about thirty minutes drive from Innsbruck . Nature at its breathtaking best... and in the midst of the mountains and clouds I saw  this lovely office. No wonder, Daniel Swarovski chose this place to host the headquarters of Swarovski. I wonder who wouldn't love to come to work every morning if the office is such. This post is for alphabet ‘W' of the #BlogchatterA2Z 2020 challenge: W for Wattens

The moment we saw the majestic gates of the Palace of Versailles, we knew that a treasure awaited us for the rest of the day. Twenty kilometres away from Paris, in Versailles, this is the place where the French Royals resided for about a hundred years from late seventeenth century to late eighteenth century. What was, once upon a time,  a simple hunting lodge turned out to be the seat of power of France. The Palace has been a notable witness to some of the biggest events in world history for almost five hundred years.  Within the Palace is engraved the pride associated with the glory of victory in wars. Also embedded are the principles of benefits of peace. With more than sixty thousand art works illustrating five centuries of French History, this palace is indeed a marvel and a UNESCO world heritage site. The French Royals... kings starting from Louis XIV till Louis VI and the queens from Maria Theresa till Marie Antoinette, who stayed in this Palace kept adding...

Those were the days when the Shard was under construction. By the river Thames, we stood high up inside one of the capsules of the London Eye, the giant Ferris Wheel. Twilight was giving way to an English night and the city was just beginning to light up. A light drizzle, so typical of the place, was underway and the water drops clinging to the glass of our capsule appeared almost ethereal. We would have stayed for not more than half an hour on this giant Ferris wheel for the full rotation. But then, it's not about the duration. A lighted Westminster Palace with the Big Ben on the north bank of the Thames looked so imposing. Sitting slightly ahead, the Westminster Abbey was no less either. During the full decent, my eyes remained fixated on these iconic moments of the United Kingdom . Our decent continued and soon we were down below...out of the capsule. But within those few minutes, I knew, I collected some moments which would last forever. The government district of Westmin...

Just about an hour's drive from the Rhine Falls at Schaffhausen can take you to a different sort of forested mountain range...which dates back to the Roman era. Located in Germany's Baden-Wurttemberg and very close to the French border. and known locally as "Schwarzwald", this dark canopy of evergreen pines and firs block out most of the day light thus creating an almost dark effect within the forests. The cold fog adds to the aura making these almost eerily beautiful. Add to the setting, the well preserved medieval villages with their vineyards, waterfalls, hiking trails, castles and rivers. Not to forget that the Black Forest is the setting for  Grim Brothers' Fairy Tales. The tale of Hansel and Gretel took shape here. So did the fables of Rapunzel and Sleeping Beauty...in these forests and castles around.  At the heart of the Black Forest, sits cozily the largest natural lake of the region, with the name Titisee. With prehistoric glacial origin an...

There are infinite ways to experience Paris...the city is such...But if you want to witness the glory of Paris in an almost musical way, then just come to river Seine and spend your hours here...even days, if you have the time.  The four kilometers stretch of the Seine from the Eiffel Tower at one end and the island of Ile de la Cite at the other is architecturally the most beautiful river stretch I have seen. This stretch, a UNESCO world heritage site houses most of the important monuments of Paris including the likes of Eiffel Tower with its garden Champ de Mars, Palais de Chaillot, the Grand Palais and the Petit Palais, Place de la Concorde, Jardin des Tuileres with the Ach de Triomphe du Carrousel, Musee du Louvre, Cathedrale Notre-Dame and Sainte  Chapelle in the island of Ile de le Cite, Bibliotheque Mazarine, Palais Bourbon and Musee de l'Armee with the Les Invalides. There are quite a few bridges across the river ensuring easy connectivity. Notable among th...

As I was going through the photos of my travel folder, I felt a delicate sense of elation within. Over the last decade, during different phases of my life, I have got  a chance to visit different locations along the River Rhine. That's why I love tracing rivers...one, you get to see different places on their banks...two, there is a subtle connection when you see the same river in different forms during different phases of life.  This  connection built across time and places is a very special feeling to treasure. Rivers are important...to the regions they flow through. They are influential in shaping the cultural, political and geographical identities of the regions. Rhine is no different. From the glacial lakes of Switzerland till it reaches the North Sea at the Hook of Holland, the Rhine has defined the places she flows through. The path of the river is divided into five parts depending  on her moods- the Alpine Rhine when she takes her birth and earl...