A European Journey - 5 (July 15)

Leaving Austria, the next stop was Venice.. Viva La Italia.. The country of the Pizzas, The Land of the Gondolas, the city in the middle of the sea, a city surrounded by water all across.. Venice, oh Venice, who had not heard about Venice in their life.. Something that we all grew up in life with through history books.. The Merchant of Venice, Shylock, comes to mind.

Good day or bad, not sure what it was, but it turned out to be a scorcher.. Austria was nice, pleasant and cool . Italy, just turned out to be the opposite.. We were starting to understand, how the Italians got tanned. Austria to Italy was one long drive.. nothing much of worth in the morning, we headed off straight to Lunch.. A restaurant named Maharani.. Could never fathom the reason for such names, would they bring in more rich people?? Anyways, lunch being lunch, we headed off to Venice.

Accessible by boat, we headed off to the point where the boat would take us across the river or sea to the city surrounded by water. One would think, how is tha possible, however it seemingly was and is. A city built over a conglomerate of 100+ islands and interlinked via canals, one would imagine that they would die out.. But no, this was one thriving place, filled with people from all corners of life. Said to have been populated by people who fled to avoid invasions by the Huns and also as people wanted to avoid paying Roman Taxes.

A short trip later, we were in Venice. Right in the middle of the sea.. The first view was of awe, as to how this was built and surviving, of course, one would think of it as an island in the sea. Wonderfully built, and with the sun out in full swing, it was a rocker.



At St. Marks Square

First stop, St. Marks Square, arguably the most photographed square in the world. What would you find there, one would ask, and I would simply say, people.. The Basilica of St. Mark, one of the apostles of Jesus, the square was simply breathtaking. One cannot describe the place, one has to be there to soak the ambience, the soul, the feel of the place. No one knew anyone yet every one knew every one.. It was simply speaking, being with yourself.


A short brief here, we went off to the Murano Glass Factory, where they have been making Glass for more years, than many of us were old enough to be.. A wonderful art, simply managed out of a piece of glass, that gets moulded into shapes, ranging from small boats, to large colourful eagles. An art that has spanned since centuries, handed down generation by generation, requring a lot of patience, deft hands and simply, a lot of imagination.

Glass factory over, we were more or less on our own for a few hours.. Just walk around and enjoy the place. That we did, of course not by playing any games, but just being at the Square.. A walk down the lanes to see the Gondolas, and how they maneouvered through the canals.. Of course, we wanted to see if there was any music playing around, as we had so very often seen in the movies.. But Alas... The canals were no doubt very dirty, the Gondolas no doubt well maintained, but for some reason, the excitement lost. Is it not better to simply live off memories at times, and not see reality?

A good few hours later, we headed back home, back through the sea looking back on the city in the sea. Landing back to the ground of course felt happier as we headed back to our hotel (which in fact was one of the good hotels that we stayed in), as we set ourselves for the evening and the next day journey to Florence, one did wonder, would you stay there..

Once you reach a place, one feels, yes, this is where I belong, and I guess, a lot of us must be going through it at times, however, I also believe most of these are good for visits. Would I stay in Venice, given a chance.. A chance to be at the square, the Gondolas, the orchestra's, the Ta... hmmm.. food for thought.. probably post retirement with a million bucks???

A European Journey - 4 (July 14)

One day in Germany, and onwards to Austria, coincidentally, the land where Hitler all started. One would think it would be as similar to Germany, but vaguely different.. The journey from Heppelheim to Austria was unbelievably long, and I guess one of the first of the journeys for me where we spent almost six hours on the bus..  Considering the distance, we had started earlier, and by now much used to the 6 / 7 /8 sequence of get up / breakfast and leave...With the group being the group that we had, and the European land mass being picturesque, plus a movie here and a movie there, time passed away.

The first stop straight after a 6 - 8 hour drive was to the Swarovski museum. Finally the entrance that so many of us had also grown up with watching in the movies, a grass field in the shape of a face with two big crystal eyes and a small pond in front of it..First impressions are always unique.. You see a picture for years, and then you see the original, it either takes your breath away or leaves you dejected..

This was not in the same league. Neither was the sight something that would blow away one's breath, nor leave you dejected.. Just as one had pictured it. Very artistically done, very natural, and very well maintained. Add to it, with wonderful weather that was prevailing at the time, it made it all the more pleasant.



Chetak



The visit to the Museum was one that had its ups and downs.. Some would take your breath away, some would be just plain simple. Images done with crystals, gleaming like diamonds. The saddle of Chetak, Rana Pratap's horse was a sight to behold. A wall filled with thousands of crystals, statuettes covered with crystals, a wall of mirrors, 21st century Art, a fusion of east and west, it was a combination of both what Swarovski does best, i.e. crystals, and modern art as of today.

 



Glass Imagery. Sharing with myself

 The response to this was quite muted from a lot of the group members, who felt it to be a waste of time, however from my perspective, it was wonderful. We see a lot of technology on TV or in the movies, here we saw a very miniscule portion of some wizardry, if I can call that, with a lot of innovation thrown in to combine the modern era.

The tour of the museum ended with of course how most do, being left alone for shopping for crystals.. I love shopping and this was one place, I in some sort of way did not regret much for not being able to shop.. My Credit card had expired and I had no spare.. Good God.. Four / Five days into the tour and no credit card.. Luckily the tour was paid for, else, there would have been sleepless nights. 

Innsbruck



Walking off without much shopping, we headed off to Innsbruck to spend the night. The good thing about these small towns, was that you could simply mingle into the crowd. No doubt most of the people here were tourists, probably making it a bit more easier, however there were locals also who lived there. You could simply walk in there, and absolutely feel at home, irrespective of the language. Small town, beautiful surroundings within mountains and a pleasant end to the evening.. What also added was some wonderful food at the end of the day, making it thoroughly enjoyable.

Of course end of the day, some people complained about a waste of a day, where we only saw the museum and nothing much of interest, but for me, it was a visit, that I do not know when I would do again.. Might I even come to Austria, would I drive all the way to the museum? Probably never.. But as the saying goes.. you cannot please all the people all the time.

Viva La Italia we go next....

An European Journey - 3 (July 13)

A long break after the last journey notes, not sure why the break.. Coming back to completing my tour, looks like I almost got lost in Holland and never made it to Germany.. Anyways, back to the road..

Left Holland in the morning, heading off to the land of Hitler and the Frauleins. Images of Nazi armies walking across fields, with raised arms conjured up my mind, as we headed to Germany. The Germany of power, the Germany of precision, detail, the Barons and the Baronesses, the Frauleins, Count Dracula, Charlie Chaplin.. the list is endless...

Entered in through Dusseldorf, where our first stop was the Koln Cathedral. Koln or Cologne as we pronounce it in English. The first sight of the Cathedral and the response was.. Good God.. That is blacker than a Coal Pit... Amazingly sooted with pollution, the Cathedral was cleaned out a few years ago due to an anniversary, however it was covered in black soot within 2 years. Simply unbeleivable, how far we have gone in our quest for advancement. Germany was brilliant technologically, however for the amount that we all lose in our quest for advancement, are these monumnetal losses worth it?

The Cathedral was beautiful, as all Cathderals are, maintained very well over the decades, some over the centuries. The beauty is of course always on the inside, and I have always wondered, how did the people in those days manage. These cost money to do it, and with more money today, how come we can't build such monuments again..

Visit over, a few touristic snaps done, proceded for lunch, which was truly wonderful.. After about 4 days, a restaurant where the food quality was excellent and ofcourse we enjoyed every bit of it, and of course with a few Biers, as the Germans would say. Lunch over, Beer in tummy, the next visit was a tour of the Rhine River, which is one of the largest in the world. Some of these rivers are truly to be seen to realize the magnitude of their greatness.

A boat ride for the next two hours may seem boring.. But it turned out to be just what I wanted.. A ride on an open boat. .Sitting up on the deck, and watching the scenic views on the River.. Great history, how this was used during the war, and the importance of the 3R's to Germany.. Rail / Road / River. Covered with various forts on both sides, it is also a medium of transport for local people who would hop on from one place to another to get across..

A wonderful scenic ride over, we moved on to visit the town of Heidelberg. Not a great technological city, it is more renowed for the Heidelberg Man, the oldest evidence of Human life in Europe and also for it's castles, universities and its importance to German history of the past. A short stop there, we spent our night at Heppelheim, an even smaller town, before heading out into Austria. The hotel was nice, clean and sparse.. Of course, it was hot, and surprisingly coming from Dubai, for some reason should have made it cooler, but we could not.. Wonder of wonders.. Four days into Europe and we were like them..

All said and done, a wonderful trip, of course, in one day, you cannot cover a lot, it is limited to a few places, and those we enjoyed. A thought does go again.. Rich cultures, rich heritages, huge contributions to present day future.. And the only link to the past is what we decide to maintain of it..

Onwards to Austria...

A European Journey - 2 (July 12)

Onwards from Brussels and on to Eindhoven.. The Netherlands, or Nederlaand, or Amsterdam, or Orange Country as one would call it in various names. The Journey from Belgium to Netherlands was an absolute pleasure to the eyes. Miles and Miles of greenery, of course you also had the concrete buildings en route, however the amount of farmlands that we passed through were amazing. The pasture lands, the canals, the farm houses, the animals, simply out to pasture on the farmlands.. a sight that remains with you etched for ever.

The Drive was quite pleasurable, what was also amazing with the common structure of Europe. You are in one country and you just drive along, to any neighbouring country. Not a border, no stoppages, you are in Europe. Of course the remnants of the old border post were still there, however the ease with which you pass from one country to another, reminded me of the complications that one goes back in India, when at times crossing one state into another. Excise / Octroi / Road Tax.. blah blah.. Every thing was automated.

We drove into Eindhoven, a small out on the outskirts of Amsterdam, nothing much great, however a very quite place. The hotel was indeed a shocker.. No Aircon, no Fans.. Imagine, a heat wave going on in Europe, and no AC.. Well all the Europeans live that way, so why could we not? The evening was managed somehow, the night even worse, coming from the Middle East, one being so used to Airconditioners, you simply get spoiled rotten.

Start off from Eindhoven onto the Hague. The Political capital of Europe, the seat of the International court of Justice. A modern city, having considerable political importance, and still retaining its old world charm. A quick tour through the city, the first stop was Madurodam, mini Holland. Holland in its entirety in miniatures. A similar take off from Mini Europe (which covers all of Europe’s main attractions), Madurodam showed Holland in its entirety. Wonderful creations, miniature masterpieces, hand crafted to perfection, where it came to details, one visit there, one covers a country in its entirety.

The added attraction was the weather, which turned out to be amazing with rain coming out of nowhere and temperatures going down quite a few degrees. Madurodam over, the next stop was the Cheese and Wooden Clogs factory, a first hand view of how cheese and clogs were made. The journey was amazing, with once again, a wonderful view of the country side and the canal structure. Miles and miles of fields, all wonderfully green, with cows lazing around pasturing. All interconnected through canals, never a land showing up as barren. A blend of the old wooden windmills with the new high rising metal windmills of the present. Amazing, how the country had set itself based on its prime resource, rains and farmland, making it amongst the richest countries of Europe.

Come the Cheese and Clogs factory.. A view of how these are made. A brilliant introspective by the concerned people, it was indeed an amazing lesson, as to how cheese was formed and what all went into the making of cheese. This was no normal kraft spread cheese, these were cheese blocks, which when explained made it so very complicated. The clogs workshop was another eye opener as to the making of wooden shoes, which served so many different purposes and were also steeped in tradition.

Lunch over, the next stop was the diamond factory, an opportunity to see what goes on in the making of a diamond and also an opportunity to buy some. Of course, the price factor was a dampner, that having done with, a tour of Amsterdam through its wonderful canals. A sail through on a boat, as to how the entire city was interconnected through the river. People living in boats, people enjoying their weekends moving around in boats, a city that had made full use of its both strong and weak points.

Back to the hotel in Eindhoven (not very keen due to a lack of airconditioning), we made our way through in the hope that tomorrow would be another day, and not spent in the summer heat that all of us had left in the first place.

All in all, a wonderful two nights in Holland, yet another example of another country so steeped in tradition and history, yet moving along with the present. Of course it was not difficult to see the present soon overtaking the past, and one wonders what would be the status 30 years from today. Some of the European countries are facing a huge identity crisis, with their own populations diminishing, and other cultures taking postions. Not realized first, they are now facing this huge issue, and there is no denying the fact that one day, there would be no Europeans in some countries (Belgium / Holland, to name a few).. Until then, the culture remains, the past still steeped in tradition.

On to Germany...