2013- All set to Go,was on my mind. fixed everything at work,got my leaves approved and the day arrived and I rolled to T3. Got nervous there. That was the 1st and last time I was anxious. Boarded Austrian airline. I don t know y I always book my To n fro tickets with Austrian. Maybe I like their sandwich and beer.
Reached Vienna early morning. 6 hours of flight is not a big deal always. The bad thing was my Indian-Italian co passenger who does not speak either English or Hindi. Anyways that was a good opportunity to sharpen my Punjabi skills. Reached Vienna for the second time,the land of Mozart,the home of United nations and one of the most beautiful country in the world. Boarded on one Airport line bus to my destination West-Bahnhoff. It is a good place having connection to all around Austria and many places in Europe. I found my hostel with a little struggle,just 200 meters away from bus stand. Checked-in there and got to my room.
It was morning 8 am and all my room mates were sleeping. After they got up we were like oh my God!! one soviet,one German,one Finish and one Indian in a single room! The Soviet friend was very cool and he knew a hell lot of things about India. Discussed about bilateral ties between India-Russia, Yoga and about my family and job. He is a mechanical Engineer,so understood my emotions. Finish one was like a guy from porn movie. No offence he was very cool and tattooed from head to toe. Then I took one of the map of Vienna and started my journey. Schunbrun was in my mind all the times. Got there by tram with a little struggle.
Here is SchunBrun for u..
As I was alone I requested one guy to took my pic as a memory that I will keep. Alex,from Brazil was also a backpacker and was travelling alone. We discussed a lot of things. He very much wants to come down to Himalayas. Thank god I wont have to search for hostel when I will be in Saopaulo. Amazing country it is. Shunbrun was very green,very beautiful palace and splendid. I really enjoyed there.
While walking through the beautiful streets of Vienna,I met many Indians. There are a lot of Sikh people there. Do not get surprised if you hear crazy kia re song in some shop. While in Vienna I really relished Turkish Kebabs. It was way better than the ones I was eating in Croatia in 2012.
Almost all of the City of Vienna has free Wifi. Era of communication. On one windy evening checkdout one sex-shop. Hold on its almost legal everywhere in Europe. I was there to take some pictures for my friends back in India. Not a bad souvenir at all.
My dream was always to see the mighty Alps. The craze was there since I trekked to Annapurna peak of Himalayas. So I decided to go to Upper Austrian Alps although there were not good connections.
Went to one village name Hallstatt. Later I found out it is a world heritage site and Chinese are busy in making a cheap replica of it. It is the best place I have ever seen in my life.
I was so busy there I forgot to take my lunch. Met one South Korean girl there. Walked up n down the mountain with her. We decided not to go to the ice caves and salt caves and instead sat down by the side of waterfront. Koreans are hell of a traveler. She had already traveled to Italy,Spain,Portugal alone and showed me the memories. Korea!Beautiful cherry blossom.
I was really feeling blessed in the lap of gorgeous nature. Initially my plan was to go to Fjords of Norway but believe me Mt Alps did not disappoint me. The train ride back to Vienna was really scenic, the best train journey of mine till date.
During my stay in Vienna I decided to go to Bratislava,the capital of Slovakia. After separation from Czechoslovakia it has trimmed down a lot more. Took the train from Haputbahnhoff in Vienna to Bratislava. Only 1 hour of train ride in 10 euro. My friend"s friend was there to pick me up and we took another train to Tranva, a small town in Bratislava. Had lunch there. Goat cheese and potato. In Bratislava I loved the Danube. Heard a lot about this river in my school books. Sat by the side of Danube admiring its beauty for hours. Also walked around the old city center and went to the famous castle. It was beautiful.
Finally the day has come to start my dream journey. Flown to Barcelona,the city of dreams.
I can see the colors from mid-air itself. Could see Barcelona ta beach and skyline of Barcelona during landing of my easy-jet flight. Got to placa catalunya. 1st impression was pretty big city with lots of tourist. Found my hostel with a bit struggle as always. People are very helpful and my Spanglish helped me. My hostel was very cozy like its name Urbany-Bcn-Go. Greeted by a nigga watchman. Met my roommate in the lift. Guessed from her language that she is either American or Australian. She turns out to be an Australian. Who the hell can say "Jesus fuck". Waited 2 hours to check-in. Meanwhile found one nearby restaurant and found
Barcelona s main attraction are all related to one man,Antony Gaudi,the best architect in the world.
Casa mila,Casa Batlo, Sagrada Familia,all are wonderful. Walking in Park Guell was one of the most wonderful experience. The construction of sagrada familia is still ongoing after gaudis death and they estimate it will take another 100 years to complete. See the pic below.
Barcelona"s most famous street is Las Ramblas. Getting drunk there is one of the best experience.
The street performers were amazing. Be it Galilio,mother merry or a girl on wheel.
During my travel I keep one day for rest.On one of those rest day I decided to go to LaBouqeria,one of the most colorful market of the world. be it fruits or marine fish,Octopus all were delicious. Tried some Octopus fry and monk fish.
Then the D day comes. date with Camp Nou. Opportunity to see my fav Barca playing at their home turf. Reached Camp-Nou 4 hours before the match,you can sense my excitement. Met some Indian exchange students over there.Also met an Israeli. The moment when he learnt I am from India his reaction was Ah, you buy tank from us. Haha.. Then grabbed beer and got to my seat. Clicked some quick photos and settled down. It was time,my dream came true. Messi,Iniesta,Neymar,Xavi,Pique all roared to stadium from bunker. Oh what a scene.
Everybody sang Himne del Barca in chorus. Awesome feeling. Real sociadad sank to the greatness of Barcelona. Life time experience.
Fc Barcelona are more than a football team. They are in their culture and blood. Every single thing in Barcelona related to them.
In hostels many people come and go. Some day I met one high spending Dubai architect,another day a Polish girl, another day a Bangladeshi soldier fighting in Ivory coast. It is a perfect platform to meet many people. I cherish those memories. The Gothic quarter of Barcelona is very beautiful.
I took time to visit the place and learnt about Catalan culture,Jewish killings and roaming named elephant man and how Catalonia trying to get independent from Spain. Gothic quarter was full of narrow streets,if u do not have map be ready to get lost. One thing that amazes me about Catalans is that they are very patriotic. Every Barcelona home has flags hanging from balcony or window.
I am one of those people who hates to get up in the morning. But that is the way a Euro trip is done. Decided to go to Costabrava one morning. It was in my dreams after I saw first time in one Bollywood movie Zindagi na milegi dobara. Got to the bus station early. i had already done my home work about how to get there. The main trick is get to the bus station or airport or train station 2 hours early. keep time in your pocket. I do that because I forget roads again and again. In Barcelona whenever i get lost i was grabbing one estrella and sat down on a bench.
Ok, Finally I reached Callela and then Parafluggel. My dream of seeing whitewashed village by the side of blue Mediterranean came true. It is a small fishing village and beautiful is not a word for it. magnificent would be more appropriate. Spreaded my towel, grabbed beer and talked to my neighbour in the beech. She was topless. I discussed why girls are topless here. Be it mother with children or single girls or grandmother everyone were Topless. Europeans attraction for brown skin must sound weird to any Indian girls who use fairness cream to get fair. So different mindset.Is nt it! See sum pics below from costa brava, the charming place in northen Spain.
I returned from Callela with lots of postcards and region costabrava with a promise to return again.
Finally my romance with Northen Spain and barcelona got over. Time was for Andalucia,the southernpart of Spain. My first stop was Malaga. My friends friend was due to pick me up at train station but we mixed it up. I searched for his home for 2,3 hours in malaga citycenter. people were so helpful,one guy even broke his mobile phone while helping me. The city center is very beautiful and colorful.
We had some Victoria Beer and I though we would go to sleep. But my friend said it is time for Mojito. Gosh!! Went to 4,5 Bars and drank Mojito,Mojito and Mojito. It was my first time with this amazing drink and I loved it. Andalusia is land of Tapas( small bread with various toppings), Sangria( wine with fruits) and amazing sea food.
Malaga was my base camp in Andalucia. I went to Granada from there. Amazing place it is. Saw Olive bushes and subtropical trees on my way. I was like following the trioka of ZNMD.
It is also full of white washed villages and famous for Alhambra.
Alhambra was Arabic architecture and the gardens inside are lovely. Flamenco is most famous there.You can see the girls dancing in the above pics,thats flamenco. They have many flamenco bars and they offer free tapas. Saw Siera Nevada Top.Another beautiful thing in this world.
In Malaga my friends bohemian lifestyle was amazing. We used to go to marina and walk and drink beer in buckets. San miguel, Mohua,Victoria..Thanks for helping in my travel.I love Spanish beers.
In Malaga I found time to go to Picaso s house and museum. i am not a museum guy but became afan of this great fan after visiting his home. Malaga castle and walking to the hil top to see the waterfront was most amazing.
What I missed in Malaga was bullfight,but managed to see Bull ring. Amazing city it is.I would love to settled own here for the rest of my life. Finally I bid goodbye to Malaga and off to France.
Air-Berlin flight to Paris was cozy. I used to underestimate people when they say Paris is city of Love and romantic city.Blah blah. Indeed it is. The day when I arrived there was very cloudy and low light. I settled down and went for Eiffel tower. Oh such a magnificent structure it is. It looks lavish at night when it throws light to whole city. Walked down the path of Seine river for 7,8 kilometers. Amazing feeling it was walking by the side of Sean. So soothing and heartfelt.
During my stay in the city I went to Tuleris and Louvre. Tuleris was such a big and beautiful place. I cant describe Louvre,but my pictures will. Awesome will fall short for the home of Monalisa. Lots of avenues,chest-nut trees and autumn colors..Paris is beautiful and Paris by night is amazing.
I found French People a bit rude. Not a good experience it was. i had never this in all of the countries i traveled. It was good stay at France overall. I will cover more of my travel story in the rest part of the world in another post. Till then signing off. Follow me at couchsurfing.org
2012:Hot n humid in New Delhi as usual. I was so excited not to sleep in the night. May be my room temperature did not allow me or I was dreaming of the journey the next day. Whatsoever, the day was so busy shopping. I shopped a lot of Cold clothes,shoes the list continues. Here I should mention that .Ok. back to my bed. It was morning ,then day and then evening. Reached IGI T3( The second best thing in Delhi after Delhi metro) . Security check, immigration- went smoothly. Boarded Austrian airways jet. My co passenger a German engineer dozed on me. It was really uncomfortable as I was fighting to keep my legs straight. Thanks to my height. 6 hours of ordeal and we reached Vienna. When I hear Vienna it reminded me of Heneric Harrer, the famous Austrian who befriended The Dalai Lama in 1950s during his quest for Himalayas. The breeze was so cold and full of oxygen. I was cursing Delhi air by then. So beautiful city full of mountains and small houses, peace and calm.We flew to Zagreb the capital of Croatia in a small carrier. Trees without leaves, ice cold wind, clean roads welcomed us. The first impression was like "city after Zombie aftermath". so peace and calmness. So quiet atmosphere and clean air. I was amazed by looking at "car stopping for pedestrians to cross the road". Then we reached our hotel and checked in. Hotel was amazing with a nice view.
I had done a lot of research about the places I should see around central Europe and I found this place absolutely stunning. Plitvice Jajera means thousand lakes. It is a Unesco heritage site. One can take bus ride from city center through karlovach. it costs around 30 Euro and it takes 5 hours to be there. I met so many Indians there. Many were from Amsterdam and Hamburg. First they took us to the top by a bus. Then we walked down through a guided path enjoying thelakes,waterfalls and stunning views. The waters were crystal clear even the logs were visible clearly from outside. The waters are the best till I have seen. I am outta stock my vocabs to describe the lakes beauty. Nothing particular to eat there,one can grab grubs or roasted turkeys to fight hunger
Though they say the lakes wear more beautiful looks in summer. However, in spring they were amazing. We took a boat ride in the afternoon with a Pilechi sandvici ( chicken sandwich). It was nice n sunny. We returned in the evening passing Karlovach, the origin city of famous beer Karlovachko. It is my fav beer till now. (though I like the Raddlers)
Finally the has come to see the exotic Adriatic. The date was set and I along with some of my friends started for Split a coastal city close to Adriatic coast. It was our base to see the islands and ofcourse Dubrovnik in Bosnia and Harzegovina. on the first day after we arrived at Split it took us 2,3 hours to search for a suitable accommodation. Language was a big problem and finally we set for 2 rooms. The cost was something around 70 Euro per night. The landlord reminded me of the old gentlemen in my home town. He was a world war 2 fighter who fought for the then Yugoslav army and he also had his wife s name written on his arm. Amazing.
Split was very beautiful with coastal lines and harbor and big old castles built around 17 B.C. I had some nice Cappuccino over there. Drinking water was real costly. It costs around 250 INR. Gosh!!
I would prefer Karlovachko. :)
The next day we were off to Brac island in the Mediterranean. OH MY GOD. The water was crystal blue with sunlight reflecting on it.We took a big ferry to go there. It is famous for Golden horn beach or Zlatni raat. The beach was horn shaped. People were surfing and sun bathing. Though the water was ice cold I could not resist myself of jumping in the water. The island had hardly 100 families and what a peaceful atmosphere. I envy those people. After we return from Brac island we enjoyed at the sea lines of split. The reflection of city lights on the water was breathtaking. I hope the pictures will better describe my inner thoughts.
The very next day we missed the ferry to Hvar so i had to change the plan (I was in charge of all the sight seeing plans). So we went for Trogir ( A city which mimics Venice). Old town built around water is Trogir. The cathedrals in Europe were the best thing to see if you like history and architecture. Trogir houses one of the best among them. I was thinking to take a yacht ride but it was expensive. So we settled for only sight seeing and trolling around the town and sitting by the sea side. I had a unique memory related to Trogir. The pizza in central Europe were amazing. But I was experimental with my taste buds. I tried for a marine pizza contain g some squids,octopus and sea horse and tunas. The sea horse part was scary!! I ended up having a horrifying experience and only ate the bread.
These are the best things I have ever seen.Nostalgic.
I hope this pictures will describe my feelings for this .
Even the crop fields were breathtaking and scenic. The bus ride was of 6 hours. It was the best ride of my life. I made a promise to return to the place next time may be with some one I love. Then we reached Dubrovnik.It is a city covered with city walls. U can say the structure was like great wall of china. It is a famous cruise destination as many bigger cruises go there. I could see many from Arab nations. The most beautiful view was from top where the total sea walls and the sea an d island were visible. It was awesome. Then the lunch time and we were happy to have margarita. no more experimenting with breads!! Then it was time to say goodbye to this wonder city with a promise to come back again.
My next day destination was Hvar island, the Hawaii of Central Europe. The journey was smooth n nice as in a ferry. Nice, windy n scenic. At Hvar I met with a German who used to stay in Mumbai. It was nice meeting. He was with his family in a cruise trip. The port was full of yatchtes of rich people.
There met another nice gentlemen who was in Andaman nicobar doing surfing. He was making surf boards there to do wind surf. Moreover the Hvar journey was awesome and enjoyable. Hvar was the last destination in my summer 2012 tour of Mediterranean. In the upcoming posts I would cover the other best places I have covered through Europe. :)
Late 2012:
My friend wrote me hey do u wanna join me to Annapurna!! I replied yes of course. If she could come from the other part of the world to see Everest then I stay just in a neighboring country. Also to do something amazing was part of my wish list and that to in Himalayan terrain..( I am obsessed with "things to do before u die").
August 1st week of 2012- Dates fixed, things got arranged. My friend Lenka arrived in India, Malina also.
We flew to Kathmandu from Delhi to start our voyage. Kathmandu is like a normal hill town like Dehradun in India but it is crippled with its Maoist Govt. They do nothing for people and everybody suffers from the politics, strikes that affect transport and insecure roads and flights.
As I write I read 18 people die of a crash in Nepal. Anyways we met our Sherpa in the hotel and negotiated prices and got things moving. The very next morning we started for Pokhra and then Nayapaul, the gate way to Everest, Annapurna, Himchuli, Machapuchre// all the peaks.
The vehicle we traveled was a small cab . Thanks to the Nepal roads, it took us 12 hours for 400 kms. It is the most unsafe road and as we traveled we saw a bus inside the river. U never know.
Day 1-After reaching Nayapaul we started our maiden voyage amidst monsoon rain. Before the trip everybody was saying it is not a good idea to go in monsoon. But some one has rightly said "strong desire and passion to achieve something' will take you forward. Our Sherpa registered us with the authority and we started wearing all our rain gear and eating some crappy noodles.
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| Suspension bridge in Nayapaul |
To start with I do not like to walk and I had never walked more than 1 km in life.
This trek was going to be life changing for me.
We walked for 6,7 hours and reached Birenthanthi village. As we walked lash green mountains, stony path ways, mules and rushing mountain rivers greeted us. Nice view.
This trek was going to be life changing for me.
We walked for 6,7 hours and reached Birenthanthi village. As we walked lash green mountains, stony path ways, mules and rushing mountain rivers greeted us. Nice view.
Then we reached Hile where we stayed over the night. After getting refreshed we took our dinner in the hotel down stairs. Food was good and well prepared. Tibetan bread was nice. The hotel was managed by a woman and her daughter. So hard working.//laxmi restraunt. According to my friends that was the best place where we ate the best.
Day2:
We started our journey from Hile towards our second target. The terrain was so steep and energy sapping. I ended up popping instant energy pills. Every 15 mins used to be a stop for us,thanks to the 20 kg load on my back.
Day 3: Started mission to Ghorepani. It was the toughest walk and climbing i have ever had. We had to walk through a jungle full of leeches. It was raining heavily and the temperature was at freezing point. But u cant help urselg, u just hav to walk,no alternatives. There were virtually fishes playing inside my shoes.
It was really hell of a memory walking inside that jungle holding dried roots and each other and fighting with the biting cold.
Evening time.Reached Tadapani. We reached around late evening, got freshed up. I was changing clothes found some blood around my legs. Followed the trail and found a big leeching sitting happily and sucking my blood. I got so frightened and shouted to max. My friend then rushed and I remember she had to remove it using her hair pin. I just avoided the process by closing my eyes. Ah, what a memory. Then we got to downstairs and in no time we were eating tibetan bread again with omelette and
of course hot tea and slept like a baby.
Day 4- The most exciting journey started . Now we are going to a place where you can view of Annapurna,Machapuchre, Himchuli , Basecamp with your naked eyes. Excitement was full in our blood.
journey was not that tough.Enjoyed every bit of it by resting at intervals,crossing wild running waterfalls,chit chatting and excitement to see the top of the world. Early evening reached our summit, top of the world,free from all the complexity and selfishness and pain of humanity. Mission accomplished. Heart filled with joy and joy.
Beauty cant be expressed in words. Today I dont blv I had travelled to these places. Memory,swwet memories.
Day 5: Started going downwards. The Villages around the lower Himalayas were really beautiful. Cute Nepali babies, innocent villagers working in fields were really a memory worth remembering.
We stayed night near a river side and had the taste of Nepal Ice a local beer. it reminded of Kingfisher. Apple pie was really tasty and all joined our Nepali guide singing local songs.
Signing Off
Soumya( Spidy)
We started our journey from Hile towards our second target. The terrain was so steep and energy sapping. I ended up popping instant energy pills. Every 15 mins used to be a stop for us,thanks to the 20 kg load on my back.
It was really hell of a memory walking inside that jungle holding dried roots and each other and fighting with the biting cold.
of course hot tea and slept like a baby.
journey was not that tough.Enjoyed every bit of it by resting at intervals,crossing wild running waterfalls,chit chatting and excitement to see the top of the world. Early evening reached our summit, top of the world,free from all the complexity and selfishness and pain of humanity. Mission accomplished. Heart filled with joy and joy.
Beauty cant be expressed in words. Today I dont blv I had travelled to these places. Memory,swwet memories.
Day 5: Started going downwards. The Villages around the lower Himalayas were really beautiful. Cute Nepali babies, innocent villagers working in fields were really a memory worth remembering.
We stayed night near a river side and had the taste of Nepal Ice a local beer. it reminded of Kingfisher. Apple pie was really tasty and all joined our Nepali guide singing local songs.
Day 6: On our way went to a shop having the signs of flags of all the countries. Of all those my favorite was this.Never Ending Peace and Love- Nepal. Concluded my journey with all these sweet memories and memories that will be green till I am here.
Signing Off
Soumya( Spidy)
