Berne, Bern,capital of Switzerland,A CHARMING PLACE!

RIVER AARE

Berne, (it is not burn,it is berrrrrn) is situated on the banks of the River Aare. In fact it is surrounded by the River and is positioned like a peninsula. It is the Capital of Switzerland,  or Swiss Confederation, which  in Latin is called Confoederatio Helvetica. Now I know why the currency of Switzerland is CHF, and not Swiss something! The main languages spoken in Switzerland  are German, Italian, French and Romansh. I loved the sound of the word "Romansh", sounds so much like romance or even "romanch" in Hindi. Switzerland is actually all about both romance and romanch(excitement). The beauty of nature all around is so pervading that one does not want to shut ones eye even for a minute. 

THE RIVER AGAIN

Although Berne is the Capital, it has still maintained its medieval look. It has an old world charm and one cannot see the sky scrapers that one normally expects  to see in modern cities. It is rather surprising that in spite of being the Capital the City has maintained its ambience. 

CLUSTERED HOUSES

It seems rather sleepy, and comfortable. There doesn't seem to be any rush anywhere, on the contrary there is peace, ease and tranquility. Berne has cobbled streets,  clustered roofs and lovely trees all over the city, not to forget the river and its bridges.  Modern buildings do exist but they are away from the Center. 

COBBLED STREET, ARCADED SHOPS.

There are about 119 World Heritage  sites in the "Old Town", which has a broad road in the center which is closed to vehicular traffic. It is only a pedestrian zone with arcaded shops. During the  medieval times Trade Guilds had their Offices here. There are  12 Statues all along this road, which also double up as fountains. 

CHILD EATER

The most grotesque statue cum fountain is  that of a man eating a baby and carrying three more babies in a sack. This is called the Kindlifresser, or “Child Eater.” This statue was built in 1546. It is not very clear why such a statue was made. 

A STATUE CUM FOUNTAIN

The people of Berne are very proud of the fact that their drinking water straight from the tap is of very good quality. The water keeps flowing all the time and everyone is  encouraged to drink a lot of water.

THE ZYTGLOGGE

There is an elaborate medieval clock in the Old City Center which has moving puppets. The puppets come out 4 minutes before the hour, a cock crows,  a jester performs, the puppets which are bears move around, a man sounds the gong, a man turns the hour glass around, and then the hour is struck. What amazed me is that this clock has been in existence since the 15th century. It was a source of entertainment as well as told the time, for over 500 years now. Yes indeed Switzerland is the land of clocks, watches and the importance of time! This particular Clock is called Zytglogge or Time Clock.

PARLIAMENT

The Federal Palace or Bundeshaus houses the Swiss Federal Parliament. The beautiful  buildings of the Swiss Banks are also located close by. Right behind the Swiss Federal Parliament are steps leading to the river and beyond in the distance one can see the majestic Alps. 

THE ALPS FROM BEHIND THE PARLIAMENT

The view was simply breathtaking. A reminder that nature and its beauty and might are much more than the chaos that humans create! 

SWISS NATIONAL BANK

The headquarters of the Swiss National Bank is in Bern. 

 A favourite decorative motif in Bern is the bear (Old High German:bero), commemorating the legend of the first animal killed by Berthold V in the year the city was founded sometime in the 12th century, this legend is said to be the source of the city’s name.  Since the 16th Century the city has had a  bear pit called the Barengraben.  Currently four bears are kept in the open-air enclosure. Almost everywhere one can see the statues, motifs or pictures of bears.

A BEAUTIFUL STREET

In addition to being the Swiss Federal capital, Bern is the headquarter of the international postal, telegraph, railway, and copyright unions. While I thought that the major earnings of this country was from its tourism, I was surprised to know that tourism is secondary to the manufacture of printing products, chocolate, machinery, electrical equipment, and chemical and pharmaceutical products. Berne is also a market for agricultural produce and a busy rail junction. 

Albert Einstein lived in Berne from 1903 to 1905, and worked on his Theory of Relativity here.In the 1950's Berne was a must visit destination for famous people like Sophia Loren, Peter Ustinov,Ursula Andress,Yehudi Menuhin. Gstaad another lovely beauty spot of Switzerland is also close by.

BEAUTY,TRANQUILITY!

I loved the tranquility and slow pace of life in Berne. I was amazed to see that the Capital of a country could be so calm and beautiful. Our own Capital cities of Hill states have become so crowded, that tourism is no longer a possibility there. 

UNSURPASSED BEAUTY!

KITZBUHEL- A LOVELY LITTLE ALPINE TOWN.

Have you heard of Kitzbuhel? If you are a ski enthusiast then of course you would have heard of it. For the others, I would like to say that it is a small little town in Tyrol region of Austria. It's in the Alps and it  is beautiful.The History of skiing and Kitzbuhel dates back to more than 120 years. In March 1893, Skiing pioneer Franz Reisch conquered Austria's first high Alpine ski route by skiing down Kitzbeheler Horn peak. After that this sleepy little town metamorphed into the skiing destination that it is today.

The wide road.

There is a wide  road in the center of the town, and the town is really quite small. Cars do  not ply on this road. The shops that one sees on both sides of the road are only exclusive designer shops. For a town which has a population of less than 9,000 people the shops appear rather extravagant. Yes, actually these shops are for the extremely large number of tourists who visit here throughout the year.

Designer shops.

Kitzbuhel is a world famous fancy ski resort and has hosted the Winter Olympics twice. There are 56 cableways  and lift facilities available around this area. There are 168 kilometers of slopes and 40 kilometers of cross country skiing tracks. As one looks all around one can keep looking at one ski lift after another. The Annual World Cup ski races are held nearby at Hahnenkamm mountain. The downhill race on the Streiy slope which is counted as one of the toughest downhill competition of the World Cup is also here.

This wide road is meant for walking!

It is not only a winter place. For summer  adventure sports there are 120 kms of mountain bike paths and 500 kms of hiking trails. Biking and hiking are very popular in the Alps. I was simply amazed to see the bikers (struggling-to my eyes) with their bikes on steep and narrow climbs. Walking itself seems quite a task and here I saw a number of people biking! 

Besides this there are six tennis courts and four golf courses also. The Austrian Open tennis on clay is held here in summer.

Horse drawn carriage for tourists!

Is it any surprise then that there are about 10,000 hotels in this area? Also that the designers have opened their shops here?

A gravestone

There is St. Catherine's Church here. I was charmed by the graveyard attached to the Church. There were few graves and all of them were very beautifully maintained. They looked like family graves and so the head stones had the names of different people buried in the same patch at different times.

The Graveyard

Not being a sports enthusiast, I was more enraptured with the beauty of this small little town which is world famous and has developed basically for all the different type of Sports facilities that it can extend to the rich, famous and adventurous!
There is wild life also in the Alps. Although I tried my best I could not see either the Ibex or marmot or owl! 
Kitzbuhel has maintained its pristine, calm, peaceful and clean unspoiled beauty in spite of the numerous visitors and tourists that come here throughout the year. I enjoyed my visit to this little town about which I had really known almost nothing. Now, it will remain in my memory as a lovely place which one only reads about in Mills and Boons novels!

12th OCTOBER-MUNCHEN...MUN-SHEN, MUNICH!

Dmiti & Lederhosen at the OCTOBERFEST.

Although the flight from London was not long, yet we lost one hour of time somewhere along the way. Munchen flughafen or Munich airport, for you and me, appeared quite small, more like a railway terminus. All the instructions were in German and we were quite illiterate looking at the boards and sign posts. We needed to buy tickets to reach our Hotel. A friend had kindly given us the train details and directions to reach our hotel from the station without spending a fortune on a taxi! We did manage to buy the tickets and boarded the train in the correct direction. We even managed to change the train at the correct changing station by spotting alphabets rather than reading the name of the station. The names were so long and strange to us!

As we reached our station Theresienweise, we saw a lot of people going about on the platform dressed in beautiful, colorful costumes which I had normally seen on German dolls. The girls were wearing full flared skirts,  lace blouses with puffed sleeves, an apron and a large bow tied on the waist.These I was told are called Dmiti. The men were in leather trousers which went only a little below their knees and had  buttons on the side of the legs. These trousers are called lederhosen. They also wore  patterned shirts with embroidery.It all looked very festive and fancy.

At the funfair-Octoberfest.

We got off at our station and saw hordes of people in similar costumes going about happily chattering and laughing away. We had landed right in the middle of the "Octoberfest"! I had heard about this Fest but was very pleasantly surprised to know that I could now actually partake in it. Our hotel was located right next door to the fest grounds. After checking into our Hotel, we went to the Fest. It was open to all, entrance was free. There was no checking, no queues and no jostling too. The crowd was stupendous, there was a lot of joy all around. The giant wheels and all the other fun fair rides were there and every place was full. October fest is a 16 day festival which started in 1810.  Prince Ludwig of Bavaria was married to Princess Therese on 12th October 1810. (Incidentally, on this very date about 160 years later, yours truly also got married to TNN who these days goes around trying to look like Prem Chopra in his most villainious days!)To celebrate the event, the people of Munich were invited to take part in the Royal festivities. Thereafter this festival was held every year and now it is a traditional festival which completed 200 years, two years ago.

Worn by men around their necks traditionally.

This is the Worlds largest fair with more than 6 million people attending the event every year. As the weather is very good in the end of September the festival starts then and ends usually in the first weekend of October. The main activity is beer drinking. Only beer made in and around Munich can be served here and it can contain upto 6% alcohol. Special beer is made for consumption during the Octoberfest.

A Beer Hall at Octoberfest.

Soon we spotted the Beer halls which  were gigantic. I was told some of these halls had the capacity to take in 10,000 people at one time. This was one place where we saw Bouncers at the door. They checked the bag and then allowed one to enter. Beer could be bought only if you had a table, and all the tables were full. There was a live Band playing and all the people were dancing, swaying and enjoying the Beer, the music, the joy and spirit of the evening. This fest actually celebrates Beer. 

TNN with Beer

There were loads of stalls selling Pretzels, Snitzel, sausages,pop corn, sweetened nuts and lots of fish and chips too. I was surprised to see the crowds as it was a Monday and yet thousands of people were in the Fest.

I had always been  associating Munich with the 1972 Olympic massacre and Dachau, the Nazi Concentration camp located nearby. Now I got an opportunity to see the beauty of the place.  Maximillian, Ludwig, Bavaria were names I had heard. Bavaria the word has always fascinated me because in Hindi we have a similar sounding word which means crazy...as in, I became  bawaria ("crazy") after falling  in love with him/her.
 Munich is located on the river Isar and is north of the Bavarian Alps. The motto of the city is, Munchen mag Dish or"Munich likes you".

Poplar trees lined road.

 The Karlplatz and Marianplatz are at the City center and there are a number of beautiful buildings all around the place. The Maximillian Strass is beautifully lined with huge Poplar trees. The Church, and other buildings in this area are grand. Munich was devastated during the bombings of the Second World war. It has rebuilt itself. There were three old city gates in Munich, of which one gate has been repaired about halfway and the top remains as it is, to remind people of the devastation suffered. 

The top of the gate is left unfinished.

Hitler had come to Munich from Austria in 1913 and had started his Nazi movement here. No one likes to remember him or talk about him. Yet, Dachau Concentration Camp is an eternal reminder of this tragedy and is located very close to Munich. 

Eternal flame

There is an eternal flame that burns in memory of all the people who lost their lives during the holocaust. It is enclosed in a black metal cube with a criss cross pattern on it. 

Munich has been home to many notable persons. The present Pope was the Archbishop of Munich. Some persons who were born here were Richard Strauss(Musician), H. Himmler,  and Eva Braun. There were many famous persons who lived here. Amongst them were Lenin, Hitler, Albert Einstein, Freddie Mercury, Mohd. Iqbal of Saare jahan se acchha fame, Arnold Shwarzenneger and Richard Wagner.

The city encourages walking and cycling. The cycle tracks are marked out and pedestrians and cyclists have priority zones.

Munich is industrally very advanced. The head quarters of BMW ( Bawarian Motor Works), Siemens AG, Man AG (Trucks), Allianz (Insurance), Osram the lighting giants, are all here.

It has lovely public parks and gardens. The Englischer Garten is a huge public park designed like an English garden. It is one of the worlds largest urban park. Interestingly it has a nudist area, as well as a jogger's track and a bridle path.

The Palace grounds at Linderhof.

A little away from Munich, Ludwig II, Ruler of Bavaria,built a beautiful palace based on the  Palace of  Versaiiles of Louise IVX. Ludwig II was a great follower of The Sun King as Louise the IVX was called. This palace is smaller, but has a lot of gold adorning its walls.   Taking pictures was not allowed inside, so there are no pictures on my blog. Ludwig II was a bachelor and Wagner the composer was his friend. Ludwig ate alone and his dining table would be lowered to the kitchen from the first floor, food would be laid on it and then the table was pulled up. Ludwig II slept through the day and kept awake by night. He therefore had huge and beautiful chandeliers. In one room filled with mirrors the effect of the candle light became manifold as it kept reflecting ad infinitum. The most expensive chandelier in the palace was one made of Ivory.

Ludwig II, palace garden at Linderhof.

 The garden and grotto of the palace were beautiful. The public at that time were quite angry with this display of wealth. Ludwig II died by drowning in the pool by the palace, and his death remained a mystery.

Nevertheless, as I left Munich I was happy to have visited the place as  now I carried with me memories of a city where people  love life, live well, share bon homie, and enjoy as if there is no tomorrow! 

LOON MOUNTAINS & CONWAY, NEW HAMPSHIRE

The desire to see the famous Fall colours of New Hampshire took us up North from Nashua,where we live. Fall is setting in and officially the first day of Autumn is  22nd September, yet as we are leaving this lovely place on 23rd September we were in a rush to see whatever we could before the onset of the full colors.

En route to Loon Mountains

On our way up north, we stopped at Loon Mountain. This is a place famous for skiing. There were the Gondola type ropeway and also the open chair type ropeway. We went in the closed gondolas and went up to the top of the mountain. The view all around was beautiful. One could only see thick forests all around.

The Lake

There was a lake too quite high up. The food at the cafe on top of the mountain was really good. Jamaican fare in the heart of North America, spicy and different was quite amazing! The sky was as blue as it possibly could be and the fluffy clouds made beautiful shadows on the hills. It was quite windy and cold.
Down the mountain, we saw bungee jumping, rock climbing and a zip wire too. Aaria my four year old grand daughter, is becoming quite interested in sporty things so she said that she wanted to do bungee jumping. To our surprise she went quite high and showed her independence by managing to stay for much over the time allotted to her.
After that we resumed our  journey onwards to Conway

Conway Railway Station

Conway is a small town which caters mainly to tourists. There are numerous hotels, eating places and outlet stores in the town. The shops on the main road are unique. Each shop seems to have a history and maintains the look of olden time neighborhood stores. There was a shop called " 5 cents & 10 cents" store, which was opened in 1900.

5Cents & 10 cent store

There was "Zeb's "which was full of goodies of all types.  There was an old Ford parked outside the shop and an old time petrol pump too. It was interesting to walk through the store and see the stuff that had been maintained so well. Old Coca cola iceboxes and bottles too added to the charm of the place.

Old coke bottles in an ice box

The town has a lovely Conway Scenic Railroad.The destination is only the scenic view around the mountains. The trains are maintained beautifully. The magical part was the steam engine which was hauling the train.  I went several years back and re lived the memories of long forgotten train journeys of my childhood when as a school girl I would travel on trains hauled by steam engines! The billowing smoke, the coal dust, the wonderful whistle of the engine made me feel nostalgic. We took great pleasure in telling Aaria that this was a chhuk,chuk gadi.

The steam engine

A steam engine hauls the train at a slower speed, and the smoke reminds you of a bygone era when pollution was not the upper most thought on any one's mind.

The Dining Car

We took the 1330 hours Dining Car Chocorua train. Dining on the rails in America is a tradition dating back to the mid 19th century when railrods across the country started offering meals on the train as an alternative to the road houses that were located at their stops.The charm, the experience on the Dining car was memorable.
I love retro.  I love to remember days that just went away even before they started.

Interesting stuff!

Conway has an old world charm. There are quaint little shops with unique names, and unique features. There are no big chain stores on that main stretch. People walk as though automobiles do not exist. Parking is easy and without charge. Shops sell goods which one does not see any longer in huge chain stores.
This vacation  was a memorable, beautiful return to the past.

Fall setting in.

Fall colours for which we had set out were scant. We were therefore happy to spot any patch of red, orange or yellow. The road, the national forest, the river flowing by made this place even more enchanting.

On the way back we went past the huge Lake Winnipesaukee. This and the name of the river are original names given by the original inhabitants of this place, the American Indians. Early settlers called  this area  Pequawket and the river nearby was called Saco. The nearest Indian village in this area was the Abenaki Indian Village.

A WONDERFUL WONDER OF THE WORLD-NIAGARA

THE MIGHTY NIAGARA

The fierce, fast beautiful waters of the Niagara seem to be in a rush to reach their fall. It is an immense body of water which is just rushing and gushing and then with a thunderous roar falling. It is an experience to see the place. There is a lot of mist which rises at the fall. It is nature at it's best performance. The sound and the effect of the mist actually waits for no applause. The onlookers keep looking with awe.

I and my family went to the Niagara Falls together. It was awesome. The view from the American side they say is not as awesome as the view from the Canadian side. I have my own theory. I am sure it is more beautiful from Canada as all that one can see is the immense water body and the lovely falls. From the American side we look at hotels, buildings and modern architecture!

The enchanting beauty of the Niagara has to be seen and experienced. After all it is a wonder of the World for a reason! There are actually three water falls. The Rainbow also called the American falls, The Bridal Veil, and The Horseshoe.

MAID OF THE MIST

 The ride on the "Maid of the Mist" is lovely. Going almost down to the bottom of the massive Horse shoe falls  is delightful. The full force of the water falling at great speed is a sight which one actually cannot see. The eyes simply close with the force of water on your face.The thrill of getting drenched under the falls is an experience that one is not likely to forget in a life time. 

HURRICANE DECK

One can also get drenched at the Hurricane deck at the Cave of the Winds. One walks very close to the falls at this place. The thrill and happiness one experiences is unbelievable. Almost everyone was laughing, trying to drink the water and get the full powerful shower. The absolute fun and screaming and delirious shouts of glee from every person on the deck has to be seen to be believed. It is the advent of the joy of childhood and getting drenched in the rain as if there was a cloud burst! The thrill and happiness one experiences is unbelievable. 

The force of the water does not seem scary even though one is witness to the mighty roar, the fast speed and the momentum of water coming down. That may be so because although the water is very close one is well protected with railings.

THE FIRE ENGINE

As though watching the Niagara had not been adventure enough,when we came back to the Hotel where we were staying, a fire alarm went off and all of us had to go down the stairs. We had small children and 6 flight of steps to take. We hurriedly left the room, taking care to quickly pick up the mobile, the laptop and wallets! Two huge fire engines and an ambulance were soon there. The firemen ran out with their hose and were dressed perfectly to fight the fire. However they soon came back and what we saw after that was absolutely hilarious. There were some tourists getting themselves photographed with the firemen! 

A RAINBOW!

Living in that moment of fun is a delightful memory forever!

Now for some trivia.
Niagara falls can be seen both from the US side as well as the Canadian side. The nearest town in USA is Buffalo and on the Canadian side is Toronto.
Niagara falls are not the tallest falls. There are about 500 falls taller than this, but it is the combination of height and volume of water that makes Niagara so exquisitely beautiful. In fact the Angel falls in Venezuela is the tallest, it is about 3212 feet.
Almost 6 million cubic feet of water go over the crest-line of the falls every minute. The crest-line of the Horse shoe falls is about 2200 feet wide. The plunge pool is about 100 feet deep.
The crest-line of the American Falls is about 850 feet wide.
The fastest speed of the rapids is 68 miles per hour at the falls.
The Niagara River is a channel between the Great Lakes Erie and Ontario.

VIEW AT NIGHT

The Niagara falls are an amazing, beautiful,awesome sight! The roar of the water is powerful and yet soothing. The rising mist, the view and the beauty of the white water is an experience, which if experienced, will remain with you forever!

AN OUT OF THIS WORLD PLACE-RAWLA NARLAI

It was in the December of 2007 that my brother planned a trip to Narlai in Rajasthan. We were driving from Mumbai to Narlai. I had never heard of the place and so was wondering about what to expect.

Was I surprised? Wait , read and then decide for yourself.

We set out in the morning and went past a lot of towns and reached the beautiful highway in Gujarat, which evoked memories of highways of USA and motorways of UK. I was amazed to see this fast road, without bends and turns and a stretch of road where one could speed. Oh yes, we too can have good highways in India!

After speeding on  that road, we came back to terra firma with a thud and relaxed back in the security of bumpy roads, slow traffic, towns and villages by the roadside and the usual drive on the roads of my India with camel carts, scooters, cycles and tractors vying for space with trucks, lorries, buses and cars.

Soon there appeared a lovely fort on the horizon. We moved past and I realised that was not our destination. More bumpy roads were crossed, and then we slowly took more turns on almost kutchha roads and reached a sleepy little town, with few houses and a hillock. We had reached our destination! There was a huge gate and some walls in front of us. When the gates were opened, some nagadas(kettle drums) started beating and we were given a welcome fit for royalty. The gates transported us to another era in another world. From 20th century India we got transported to a mix of 16th and 21st century India.

A lovely palace stood infront of us. Beautiful green plants, flowers, small little water tanks with beautiful patterns, niches in the walls to hold lamps, wicker chairs, all emerged in front of me. Tired after our journey we waited to be shown our rooms. I was delighted with the thought that I was at last going to sleep in a palace where lived Ranis and Ranas and all those shoor- veer( brave) Rajpootana people, for whom honour came before everything else!

The garden

 To my dismay, we walked past the palace and crossed many doors and emerged from the last huge door into yet another world. There was a designer's swimming pool,  and colourful fluttering tents with wicker chairs in front of them. Oh my goodness...was I to live in a tent? Entering the tent I was delighted to see the comfortable beds, the comfortable chairs and beautiful linen! There was an attached bathroom but no door! Only a curtain was there, although the facilities inside were of 5 star quality. The swimming pool was designed by Raghvendra Rathore a famous designer and also a scion of the royal family of Mewar. The tiles on the bottom of the pool have been arranged in a paisley pattern and looked amazing.

The tent and the Swimming pool

There were no call bells in the rooms. I was wondering  how to manage to get some tea. I came out of my tent and saw an attendant standing a few feet away with is hands behind his back and eyes looking down. The moment I began to walk towards him he looked in my direction and waited for my instructions. He took my order for tea and left his post. I was later told that someone or the other would be waiting around always to obey our orders. Royalty?...Indeed!

There was no TV, no phone, no bell, nothing but beauty, farmabardaars(people to look after your needs),serenity and tranquility. This is what a holiday is all about. A place to detoxify your mind too! No news, no newspaper, no mobile phone! Sheer bliss, and a time to enjoy being just you with your own self

Rawla Narlai was an amazing out of this world place. It was a destination to remember.

Every day the food was served in style, on time and without calling out to a waiter. Everything worked like clockwork. The waiter would actually wait for your order, and come quietly to attend to your needs. They were like dumb waiters, with eyes down and mind alert.

The room

There is nothing much to do in Narlai except climb the hill and watch the sunset. Here again someone takes you up the hill on your little adventure, serves you tea on top of the hill and takes pictures of you .

On the last day of our stay we saw a performance of the famous kalbelia dancers. They dance on thaals( large plates), and there are a lot of acrobatics involved in the lovely dancing and  balancing acts. We heard beautiful folk songs sung about the valour and history of this part of Rajasthan. Every day the food was delicious and different.

As my brother had some friend living nearby, we visited that family. Once again we were transported into the 14th century. This was a joint family with a huge haveli. We went into the house and as our host walked into any room, the women of the house would immediately swirl their skirts and quickly sit down on the floor. It was sort of customary for the women never to face the men of the house. It was sort of purdah( hiding)I couldn't believe that this was hapenning in this time and date.

We went in the backyard of the house and saw that it was decorated with lights and tables were laid out for a feast. We ate splendid Rajasthani cuisine and listened to the folk music. Later we were invited inside by the women who showed us their beautiful jewellery and dresses. They all danced the ghoomar for us.

Rawla Narlai was like a world waiting to be discovered. It is amazing, unique and beautiful.

It was one of the most  delightful holidays that I have been to. The total experience was absolutely out of the world.

One can reach Rawla Narlai from Udaipur to experience what Mewar and its culture is all about!