PARIS

Here is the story of my friend who went to Paris...

We took an AIR BERLIN flight from Vienna to Paris which was quite ok. We had great visions of CDG airport but alas we were sent to Terminal 3 which is a kind of punishment meted out to people who travel on budget airlines. From there we took the metro to Gard du Nord, the central station from where we made our way to our - for the lack of words – COMPACT hostel room.

A word of caution about European hotels – they are SMALL. Please do NOT have any illusions of big grand asian kind of rooms. They are small and just about 3 people can fit in and with luggage you can’t but help bumping into each other!!!! And the bathroom is best described in the words of CIRCUIT in the film MUNNABHAI ‘ aandhar aate aate hi khatam ho jata hain ’.

Nevertheless since we had no intentions of spending more then sleeping and changing moments in the room, it was ok.

Since it was pretty late by the time we settled in we went for a small stroll around Montmatre and got our bearings.

It was a Sunday night and the next day was a holiday for the Summer Solstice. What a crowd was there on the roads. I guess all the Viennese citizens might have come here coz there was hardly anyone on the Vienna roads when we left. Also the weather here was excellent and summer had fully set in.

The street café’s were full, kids were playing in the parks, couples were doing what all couple in Paris do – kissing, hugging and expressing their undying love for each other. I just love the way they sit at café’s and can chat endlessly ( interrupted only when they need to kiss each other ) and expressively whilst they smoke. All through our trip I was thoroughly impressed by the way Europeans look forward to summer.

Paris is also a melting point of kinds, quite similarly to London. You have a lot of immigrants from French colonies who have made Paris their home. So to find a ‘typical’ Parisian as shown in movies can be quite difficult. Also this has led to various kinds of cuisines being available to sample. All over Europe, barring the UK I feel there is one staple dish that can be found and that is FALAFFELS / SHWARMA / DIRTY KEBABS / GYROS..same dish other names. Apart from the ubiquitous Pizza that is.

I have never had to mess up my diet as during this trip. There was bread, bread and only bread. No doubt there were options but from a backpacker’s point of view it was quite difficult to get a decent veg wholesome meal. Lucky for us we got one in Vienna.

We hit the sack as we had a hectic day tomorrow and had to cover all the sights and Paris is not a small city.

Early in the morning after much bumping into each other we headed to the Notre Dame, what a magnificent place that is. Post that we walked around the Siene river and since it was an added holiday there were hordes of people everywhere including on the borders of the river. They were sunbathing, rollerblading, cycling, playing the guitars….and doing what all Parisian couple love to do..kissing!!!

We chilled there for some time and then walked to the Louvre. Whilst walking we took in the sights of these small stores that are interspersed through the banks selling antique books, photos, postcards etc run by some very quirkily dressed people. Wish I cold have bought half the stuff they were selling as it was awesome.

I don’t think anything can prepare you for 2 sights in the world – the LOUVRE and the EIFFEL TOWER. both have been photographed extensively and are very well known but to see it in the real is totally another experience. If u want to enhance the experience many times over, then see them in the night when they are lit up….you will flip out.

However for me Paris is about people and people watching. I did a good share of that when I sat at the steps of the Sacre Cour with some cheap wine and a pack of chips for about 3 hours or so. It was a holiday and everyone, including the locals were out. They carried their music, wine, food etc and had a great time singing and dancing. Sitting at the steps was a great experience and totally out of the world.

We also did the ‘touristy’ stuff like walk from the Louvre to the Arc de Triomphe ( hope my spelling is right ) through the Champs de Eleysses, a bit over rated as per my opinion.

What I also enjoyed were watching the match with the general public on a square where a huge screen was put up. Nothing like it. Though we did go to Roland Garros to get in the atmosphere. I was hoping that we would get cheap tickets but somehow today was’nt my day. They going for 300 Euros a piece and that was like ¼ my travel budget. So we got a couple of pictures outside the centre court and walked away happy with the knowledge that we at least got till here and thanked god for all his blessings.

I also liked chilling at the Place de Concord where there was this huge open air concert happening and the public was out in full force.

Apart from that I would say though Paris is a great city, it is a city not for me. maybe because of the over hype and over expectations that the name Paris has conjured up since time immemorial that one expects far too too much from this city.

So we took a train to Amsterdam.

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VIENNA

Post are rejuvenating break in Salzburg, we proceeded to Vienna – the city of music and opera and all things Baroque. We took an OBB train which got us there in about 3 hours. Needless to say the journey was great and the scenery awe inspiring.

Once again I was trying me level best to look for a farmer or some kind of activity on the well cultivated and huge farms but there was no one on sight. They maybe having some magical elves who do their farming for them in the midst of the night.

Most of the houses had these portable swimming pools, beach chairs, tables etc all set up outside on their yards getting set to enjoy the summer.

We reached Vienna but the welcome was far from ‘warm’. The breeze was blowing and the sky was overcast. Our hostel was a couple of minutes walk away but in this wind chill, it seemed like an eternity. Somehow we made it there without any frostbites.

Once settled in we hit the streets. Quite literally for suchna as her shoe broke on the subway and the braveheart that she is, she walked around the chilly city in socks, even whilst it was raining. Now that is what you call a woman driven with a sense of purpose. What was her purpose????? To sample the famous Viennese pastries!!!!!!

We headed to this place called CENTIMETRE which is kind of a local joint and you can order by what else…the CENTIMETRE!!!! We were gulped down the local STEIGER beer and since we were quite hungry all ordered individual dishes knowing little what was in store for us.

The portions were HUGE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And I really mean HUGE!!! They would give American portions are run for their money. Looking at the food made our apprtite go for a toss, atleast I know mine did. Nevertheless it was a great place, full of locals getting away from the cold rain and enjoying some hot food and wine.

Then next day was a tosser!! It was overcast and raining. Until now, by god’s grace we had great weather and this was the first day of crappy weather. Not that it downed our spirits but it was cold as cold could be outside. In our hearts we knew that sometime soon when we landed in India we would all miss this chilly weather.

So we put on our thermals and overcoats and headed for the city centre. We traveled by local trams and subways ass this gives you a sense of the ‘real’ city. Luckily for us in a couple of hours the weather cleared and it was bright and sunny again.

In the interim we took a city centre ring route tram which takes you to all the places of interest and more or less quite had our fill of the sights. Once off we headed for what is Europe’s largest pedestrian shopping street. The fun part of visiting shopping streets is to window shop, look at people, open the sandwich you packed in you hostel dorm, have a swig of the cheap wine bought at the local superstore and see the world go by.

Suchna and me are not big shoppers but what we love to see is the energy of people walking in such streets. There are Buskers who perform trying to get everyone’s eye, the street musicians and dancers and wot not. We caught this amazing group of dancers who were ‘hip hoping’ and they were a riot. We might have spent at least an hour just chilling there and enjoying the atmosphere.

In the evening we headed towards what is known as the BERMUDA TRIANGLE of Vienna. Before this I would like to share with you an observation I had about the ‘weekend culture’ here as well as in a lot of other cities where the subway infrastructure is good.

On Saturdays you will find a lot and I mean a lot of people, be it couples, bunch of friends etc etc waiting for their friends, partners etc outside the metro stop of usually the place where all the bars and clubs are. Seeing them greet each other when the other comes up from the metro is a joy in itself. I could spend an hour or so just watching this sight.

Also you will find the ubiquitous flower sellers who have an ‘ all access pass’ to all the pubs and bars and there are quite a few takers for their wares too. Also you will find a lot of ‘hen parties’ and ‘stag parties’ making their way from bar to the other. Mind you police presence is tremendous and they swoop down on anyone who crosses the line.

The fun part of partying in these cities is that normally about 40 – 50 bars are located in one area making it easy to bar hop and see a lot of different kinds of places at one time. Also the transport infrastructure is in place wherein there are special night buses and trams to help you get home. All this makes places like Vienna a great party zone. But one has to realize that this frenzy only takes place on the eve of public holidays or weekends, other then that, the place is quite empty.

Coming back to our weekend. We first hit a Mexican bar and had a couple of vodka shots as the Happy Hours were going on. ** always a good idea to make FULL use of HAPPY HOURS should you be on a budget. After that we settled down at BERMUDA BRAU which was quite happening and what a farewell night we made it out to be.

The next day our flight to Paris was in the evening so we decided to make the best of the remaining day.

Luckily for us it was a clear sunny day and we headed to the SCHLOSS SCHONBRUNN – the 1440 summer palace of the Habsburg dynasty. It was massive and the gardens surrounding it spectacular. Since it was the beginning of summer they were setting up for the VIENNESE PHILAMORNIC ORCHESTRA to play there. What a setting and it was FREE!!!!!! All in all I guess there was only a crew of 50 people setting up the stage etc, whereas the same thing we would need about 200 people. The level of automation all across Europe, even in the Eastern parts is amazing,

After that we headed to grab a bite in town and it was a GHOST TOWN. Not a a singl soul in sight. Everyone was either at home or had gone out of town. If any Bombay person were to be sent here they would think it was a general strike or something. We could hear ourselves whispering in the streets.

We found this amazing asian pace to eat which was serving buffet all you can eat meals, for people who were just eating bread this was godsent. I have never loved my greens more then I did that day. I can safely say all my fellow travelers felt the same way. It is not that I don’t like bread, but the concept of eating carbohydrates post 7 unnerves me.

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salzburg

SALZBURG

First off please let me give you some trivia on SALZBURG and THE SOUND of MUSIC movie….the English version was only released in Austria 8 years back!!!!! Also it is partially a true story and Von Trapp family does exist and the family moved to the States when the Nazi’s took over Austria.
In the States they used to perform all over before which they performed in the UK. Some other observations about Salzburg and The Sound of Music:-
• The production house thought they would finish the movies in 3 months but owing to bad weather the movie took 11 ½ months to complete. This can be noticed when you realize that they had shot the end at the first schedule and the remaining movies in parts over the 11 ½ months. So basically the children look older in the beginning and look younger at the end!!!
• In the movies they are shown escaping over a mountain which INCIDENTALLLY leads to GERMANY!!!! So that is artistic licensing for you!!!
• Apparently the Austrians have NO FONDNESS for the movies despite it having millions of fans across the globe.
• In Salzburg every year in July / August there is a SOUND of Music festival where about 2 million people visit the city and the current resident population is just 150,000 only. So around the festival time most of the city residents move bag and baggage as the city infrastructure cannot cope with the influx.
• In the movie the butler squealed on the von Trapps but in reality it was he who helped them escape

Now that we are done with that, we can go ahead and enjoy the real Salzburg. It is a medium sized town with the hills all around and the river flowing through…quite picturesque actually.

When we were there we got hit by a spell of cold weather and it was quite windy, not that it dampened our spirits.

We had taken a train for BUDAPEST to SALZBURG and I just cannot compliment the efficiency and service of the Austrian OBB train service. The train was on time, clean and the seats comfortable. Do remember ( talking from this experience ) that normally if the seat is reserved then the destination is marked on the electronic seat number above it. If blank then this seat is unreserved.

After checking into our hostel we headed to look for a lunch place and what a discovery we made – a place called PASTA VINO. I can easily tell you that I have never ever come across such a great restaurant before.

The reason why I am praising it – the people running it. There was the cook / chef / owner called VINCENZO was the most entertaining person I have met. He made the meal so lively and exciting as only an Italian could make it. Regards the food…simply spectacular and the house wine an amazing match. There is no menu and the pasta is cooked fresh, so depends on when you go you may get pasta, spaghetti, fettuccine etc. also there is one option from chicken, fish or veg. the meal is simple and that is what adds to the flavour. It was a GREAT meal.

That night we headed to AUGUSTINER BRAUSTUBL BREWERY.& BEER GARDEN. This place is run by the monks who brew the beer at the same location. What an EXPERIENCE especially for a beer lover like myself. If ever you are in this part of the world DO NOT MISS IT. It is not one of those tourist traps and is so so local that you will stick out like a sore thumb.

The way the system works is that you pick up your glass after choosing from either 500 ml or a 1 litre one. then you pay a grumpy person, for which you have to stand in a huge line. Then again line up to get the beer filled where the person doing this has made it into an art form. Then you head to one of 3 cavernous halls ( outdoors gardens if the weather permits ) and take a place wherever available.

For food you can either choose from 6 food court kind of places and if you want you can get your own food!!!!!! The taste of the beer – PRICELESS!!!!!!!

Another place worth it’s salt is the BIO BISTRO café which sells only organic veggies dishes and is run by an amiable Punjabi from Jammu & Kashmir called Sayal who is based here for the last 20 years.

Other then eating we did actually do quite a lot else. We visited the Mirabell Gardens and the Castle ( though by now I could not make the difference from one castle / palace to the other ) and saw MOZART’s birthplace.

We just walked and people watched and took in the atmosphere as that is what I like the most. There were these people playing chess in the open air on this huge painted chessboard. I met have spent a good part of an hour watching too locals fight it out with their supporters giving them all the possible advice. An afternoon well spent!

Another bit of trivia on Salzburg – the promoter of the all famous drink for die hard party lovers – RED BULL originated from here and has his HQ here. Infact he has an entire island where his HQ is. Also he has an entire Hangar at the local airport where his cars and airplanes are open for public display.

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Olomounc

Leaving Prague we started our journey to this quaint little town. En route we stopped at this place called KUTNA HORA.

At one point of time centuries ago, this town was a very important trading city and was very famous. Over the course of time this place lost its importance.

So the king decided we must make it famous again as we need revenues from tourists so he asked one of his artist to design a CHURCH made of BONES..yup you got that right. A church of bones dedicated to god, and it was a HIT. People started coming in droves and all was hunky dory again.

What an eerie place the church is, the lamps are made of bones and skulls, the tapestries are made of bones and trust me you want to click your picture and move on. All in all a great day stop from Prague.

When we reached OLOMOUNC it was windy and the ‘mard ko dard nahin hota’ type I was, I forgot to carry my pullover for the walking tour of the city and boy! Did I regret it. There is a lot of history too this place, as is to every nook and cranny of Europe and it is a town worth visiting.

We had lunch in this amazing local place where we had the local wine and I rate it quite high. The overall ambience of this place was very basic and not touristy. The service was what we had come to realize of the Czech Republic, cold and efficient. Please shed all illusions of an south east asian beauty smiling at you and willing to pamper you kind of service, after all the communist have left a mark on their psyche.

We walked around town and stayed at this AMAZING place where they had the most amazing breakfast by far. The rooms were clean and huge.

In the night we went to this PLANE BAR which was…this plane converted into a bar ( simple ) and what a rocking time it was.

The other thing about OLOMOUNC was the parks huge and well used. Whilst we were returning from the bar at about 1 am, joggers were pounding the pavements and at it.just amazing.

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Auschwitz and Krakow

AUSCHWITZ

En route to Krakow we stopped at AUSCHWITZ. What can I say? I just pray to god that such history is NEVER repeated. One has to be here to realize what might have transpired here and that would not even be a tiny percentage of it!!!

How can people do such things? The fact that after these atrocities the Nazi’s would go back to their families and enjoy dinner with them and do normal kind of stuff withour batting an eyelid. It was so normal to behave like that!!!!

We did a 3 hour tour of this place which was literally HELL for the jews and one could not but feel for what they might have gone through. There is so so much that can be written about how bad this place was but it would not be enough.

There are two concentration camps – Auschwitz and Birkenau. The first one was Auschwitz but they needed a bigger one as this one was not enough!!!! They designed a bigger, better and more efficient one!!!! Earlier they used bullets to kill but that was getting expensive so they looked for cheaper alternatives and ‘experimented’ with other various methods before settling on gassing them.

The worst part was that the jews that were being killed were never told what lay ahead for them. They were told that they were being taken to other camps and for that they needed to shower and to the extent that the Germans told the Jews to remember where they kept their clothes so they could collect it on the way back………

There is so much that we were told of and one cannot but feel saddened and the atrocities that took place. for me what touched me most was when I saw the rail lines end at the camp, for that literally meant the end of the line for a lot of people.

All I can do is pray that such instances are NEVER repeated again and that the world has learnt their lesson from this horrific time in history.

KRAKOW

If there were ever a city I would want to come back to it would be Krakow. This town bustles with energy and enthusiasm. Basically this is an university town and is the seat of learning for most of eastern Europe. It has about 33 universities and 25% of the population are students.

There are about 1000 bars and restaurants ( you cannot blame me for liking this places ) and some bars go 3 floors underground!!!! We were there for 2 nights and I really don’t know where the nights went by. We used to get lost in the underground rooms only to discover different bar counters and DJ’s spinning some funky tunes. Post Krakow all of us would need some SERIOUS detox programme.

We did an amazing and superbly informative cycle tour where LUCAS rather DR LUCAS was our guide. Post the communist era and lot of people hold amazing degrees but have hardly any work so they take up part time jobs like these. We surely weren’t complaining as Lucas was heads above all the guides I had ever met.

Below are some of my observations, as well as what we did in Krakow:-

• Pope John Paul II was from here and was a cardinal in Krakow before being ordained. They LOVE him and really look up to him. We visited the place where he stayed when he was n Krakow and it is said that from his window he would talk to hundreds of students till 2am!!!!!
• The gardens are just brilliant and so full of life. Everyone cycles here and it is such a perfect place to just ‘be’.
• We ate some amazing falafels and kebabs at the corner stores and they are like what our bhelpuri wallas are to us
• We spent some amazing time watching the festivities around the square as it was the weekend and people from neighboring villages and towns came here to take part in what I felt was a competition of sorts. They were dressed in their traditional clothes and what a photo op that was
• We went salsa dancing and it rocked
• We visited Oscar Schindler’s factory and house. Here also it was saddening to here how the Jews were treated and the atrocities they had to endure. It also saddens one to know that Osacr Schindler who helped save a thousands of Jews died a penniless man in South America.
• There are also stories of how other helped the Jews and despite being threatened, beaten, tortured continued to do so. There was this one lady ( whose name I don’t recollect but is a national hero and also was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize ) who everyday went to the Jewish Ghetto and would try and save one child. This she did for 4-5 years and eventually the germans SS caought her. They broke her legs and were going to hang her but someone bribed the SS and got her released….do you know what she did after that? Once her legs were ok, she went back to the ghetto and started saving other lives. She lived till she was 98 and she said that there never was a bad person, it was only the circumstances that made a person how they were and see forgave the Germans what they did to her. Just amazing. Oh! She did’nt win the Noble though…Al Gore beat her to it for Global Warming!!!!
• Learnt a lot about the history of Krakow and Poland in general and that would take a full day to write down.

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