Euro Train

Being great fan of Shahrukh Khan and DDLJ. I had only dreamt about the Euro train journey. I first traveled to Europe -Germany for Siemens assignment in month of April.
My work was based in small village Kamplint Fort, North West Germany. I was almost living dream where only Shahrukh Khan was missing.  Suddenly my sweet dream got over and I came to know about the long Easter weekend. It would have been nightmare if I would have stayed in that small village without anything or anyone around for Easter weekend. Most of my team members were located in Munich, Germany.
Somehow the introvert girl in me took decision and I decided to travel to Brussels on my own.
A colleague of mine was located in Brussels with reference of whom I got service apartment for 3 days.
After too much of thinking, calculations, analysis and not disclosing it to any one of my Siemens colleagues - I took bold decision of buying Euro train tickets for 89 Euros. It might sound small amount today. But when i broke this new to all my SISL friends - it was big deal.
After  wait of week the day came when i was to step in the Euro train - which had witnessed the King of romance SRK and Kajol in DDLJ movie. Bus from Kamplint fort to Moerse. Moerse to intermediate station by regional train. And then after wait for around 35 minutes the ICE train arrived. My heart was pounding as if SRK was sitting inside the train and as the door opens he will reach out his hand to me. Ultimately I got into the train and grabbed one seat. I was so much excited with the soft cushion chairs, wide windows, etc.  The train traveled through the scenic grasslands. Sun was about to set at the horizon and one could see hot air balloon floating in the sky. Yes i did forget to take pictures in this anxiety as i was living my dream.

There was no SRK nor villan but I had to get up from my dream. As i realized that its First class and I had bought tickets for second class. Suddenly I started sweating in AC train. The thought of getting caught by Ticket checker in the First class compartment of Euro train with second class tickets in my hand made me shivers in my spin.
As i was barely 23 years old. After 5 minutes, I took account of the situation. I slowly got up and confirmed with the person sitting next to me - if its first class. Later I took my bag with Traveller cheques and Passport and found out the second class compartment. It was already occupied. After some hunt - I found empty seat. Came back and collected my luggage from First class compartment. For a while, I was still scared that the TC will come and fine me for misunderstanding the difference between two grades of train compartments. Once I was comfortable - I again started enjoying the train journey.
Would recommend travelling my Europe by train if you want to enjoy the scenery at its best.

Koln, Germany

Koln is one of the main cities of Germany, Europe. It is fourth largest city in Germany.

I made a one day trip to Koln from Kamlint Fort, Gemrany.

Few attractions in Koln are

• Koln Cathedral or Dome


• Koln Museum - I skipped the visit of Musueum as i was not intrested in it.


• Koln Chocolate Museum


• Koln Rhine River Ferry Ride - Its good idea in Summer to visit the Koln River Ride along with your near and dear ones. Since I was all alone, I skipped the River Ride.


• Koln Wine Fest

Other then these, I roamed on streets of Koln. Viewed some old historic buildings. And had lunch break sitting on the bank of river Rhine.

Atomium

Atomium, Brussels, Belgium, is one of the famous modern sculpture in Europe and world. The strcture was built in 1958 for Burssels World Fair. It was supposed to be removed after six months but the structure still stands tall due to its popularity. Now it is one of the major attractions in Brussels. There are nine spheres which connect to each other so that the sturcture resembles magnified Iorn Atomic Crystal.
There is entrance fee for entering the Atomium.
If it is combined with the Mini Europe Parks ticket then it turns out to be cheaper deal. There are elevators which take u to the topmost sphere, where an observatory is maintained for the visitors. One can view the entire Brussels city from the Observatory. Descend to ground floor is using escalators built in side the tubes conencting the spheres. There are some exhibits displayed for the visitors in intermidiate spheres for the visitors.

Mini Europe, Brussels

Mini Europe Park, Brussels, Belgium is an park located at the foot of the Atomium. The Park hosts miniature forms of famous monuments of European Union countries. The size of these monuments is drastically reduced to such and extent that I was able to stand in front of the Londons Big Ben.

Pictures of this place speak more then what words can do.

Also if one buys combined ticket of Atomium and Mini Europe then it turns out to be cheaper. I was not aware of this fact as Brussels was one of my unplanned trips abroad and I had not done research before visiting place. Luckily I traced the Mini Europe park from the binoculars of the Atomiums Gallery and then landed up in the park.

Chocolate Museum, Koln

Being die-hard cholocate fan, Chocolate Museum in Koln, Germany was one of the must attraction in my Koln to do list. It is situated on the banks of the river Koln. There is an entrance fee for this museum which you need to buy at the entrance.

The museum shows whole history of chocolates. It also has a chocolate preparation machine which acutally vends chocolates at the end of its supplier belt. The whole set up is separated with a glass wall and the visitors can view it.

There a three meter high chocolate fountain which oozes out liquid chocolate from the golden cones. The museum employees dip wafers in the liquid chocolate from the fountain and offer it to the visitors.

There is also room filled with old collection of wall clocks from Germany.

Rheinberg Orsoy Germany

On one weekend, I visited neighbouring small village Rheinberg, Orsoy, in Germany. The village is on the banks of River Rhein and is a weekend gate away for locals during summer.

One can just sit on the banks of the River front and enjoy the view along with some snack and drinks. There are many Cafes around this tourist attraction place.


I also took the ferry across the River Rhine. The Ferry takes you to the other bank where one can feed some gooses. Since it was my first visit in Germany. I was all excited about the ferry trip and feeding those huge Gooses. Later on I had hearty laugh, on others when I saw them doing the same for the first time. I also took pictures with flock of sheeps grazing in the grass meadow.



On the other bank of the river there was Coal Mine hosting its huge chimneys.
There is a market place (i.e. Markt Platz) in the heart of the village. The market place hosts weekend market, where local people buy locally grown vegetables, fruits, candles, domestic stuff, etc.

Chatsworth House Cafeteria

On the left handside of the Chatsworth house is a cafeteria which used to be stable for the animals of the house. There still exists some horses in this part of the the House.

In mordern days this place is used by some shops to sell some goodies, food items and cafeteria.

In olden times, it was used as stable to park the horses and carts of house.

There still exists a fountain in midst of this stable which was source of drinking water for the horses parked in the stable.

Chatswoth House

Chatsworth House is a huge countryside house at Chatsworth, Derbyshire. It is must see tourist attraction for all the Jane Austin Fans while visiting Peak District in UK. This is the place where Mr Darcy and Elizabeth send their summer vacation together in the Film 'Pride and Prejudice'. Same house was used in the movie 'The Dutchess'.

The house is surrounded by huge garden famously known as Chatsworth Garden and the famous Cascade fountain. One should plan a full day trip to visit the Chattsworth house and the garden. The garden closes one hour for the visitors and later does the Chatsworth House. So ideally one should first visit the Garden and then enter the House. Like all other famous houses, there are few rooms of the Chatsworth House which are available for visitors.

Near the Exit of the Chatsworth House, there is an exibition which hosts some charaters of the movie Pride and Prejudice.

Animal Encouter - 6

Patiance pays and thats truely said while filming wildlife. After few trials, I was able to capture the flight of sea eagle at the Cardiff Bay, Wales, UK.
While walking along the Cardiff Bay's Barrage, we were able to see a lot of sea birds. Sea Eagle being one of them. I tried to capture the flight of the Sea Eagle, thinking its an easy task. Everytime the bird used to fly when my camera memory stick was exhauseted. After a few trials, I was able to predict when the Sea Eagle is going to take its next flight.
Video of Sea Eagle's Flight

Victoria Square, Birmingham

The Victoria Square Birmingham is one of the most lively place in the Birmingham City center along with the Bull Ring Shopping center. It hosts the fountain with the bronze ladys statue in it, Town hall and the Birmingham library. The Victoria square also host a lot of other local events in summer. If the place is not occupied by the council events then it is rented by some private companies to host their promotional offers. Overall the Victoria square is one of the happening places to be in the Birmingham city center.

Matlock Boat Race

On our way back to Nottingham from Peak District, we visited Matlock to view the annual Boat race event hosted there in Christmas Vacation. The event comprised a surprise element and not just Boat Race in the local river stream. All boats were decorated with some theme and the rowers were wearing a costume to match the boats theme. To add up to the excitement the spectators throw small plastic bags filled up with flour on the boat and the rowers. The rowers have to dodge these plastic bags and try to finish the race. Some participants try to catch these plastic bags and throw them back on the spectators. The whole idea is to create some source of entertainment for the local village people in winter time.
Video of Matlock Boat Race

On the Way - 3

Any new visitor or tourist to Europe is facinated by the high speed train and luxurious interior the train has to offer them. I joined Axon, UK in Nov 2006 and started commuting on weekends, for while by EastMidlands train from Nottingham to London. Eventually the luxury became necessity and I lost charm for that high speed train travel.

When we entered the train from Nottingham to York both of us were all excited. We took some snaps in train comparment like various Indian Tourist do. That is quiet natural for someone to do. And had nice time viewing the country side from the train.

Barrage Gates, Cardiff Bay

During my visit to Cardiff Bay, Cardiff, UK, I had an opportunity to view the operation of the barrage gates. For those who are unaware of the meaning of barrage, - the Barrage is usually a dam placed in a water course to increase the depth of the water. It was evening time and the fishermen were returning back to home after their days work. The boats were returning back to shallow side of the Cardiff Bays Barrage. Barrage Gates and hence the flow of the water on either side of the Cardiff Bay are controlled by the three huge metal levers as show in the picture.
Click here to watch the Video of Cardiff Barrage Gates


Walls Built in front of the Barrage Gates to control the flow of Water.

London Waterloo

The London Waterloo Terminal is hub for all trains travelling towards South of UK. One can get arial view of the London Waterloo station from the London Eye Ride. Most of the SouthWest trains start and end their service at this terminal. It was also getway for the Euro Star train from UK to Main land Europe. However now the Euro Star services start and terminate from the London St Pancaras Station. There are few London Underground servies such as Waterloo City Line, Bakerloo and Northern Line etc connecting the Waterloo Station to other parts of central London.

Boarding Southwest Train At London Waterloo Station.

Birmingham Bull Ring

Birmingham Bull Ring Arena's name is derived Bulls statue hosted in midst of the Shopping malls. To visitors surprise, the shops in the Bull Ring Mall are open till 7:30 pm in the evening. As compared to the other Malls in UK.

The Bull statue immitates the Bull at NewYork Stock exchange. The Bulls statue is major tourist attraction. Apart from the statue, the shopping center hosts loads of shops where shopping freaks can send lot of time. The Bull Ring Mall also hosts food court at the Basement where one can enjoy variety of savouries from different countries. Overall its nice place to hang out.

Nemesis Ride

The Nemesis Ride at Alton Tower is one of the best thrill ride I have enjoyed by now. Visit to Alton Tower in UK is incomplete without experiencing this ride. One will always find huge queues around this ride. So would recomend you to make use of the fast pass if any. We dared tp sit on the first seat of the ride to double the fun of ride.

London sightseeing itinerary

One can manage London sight seeing in a day with following list of attractions. Most of these attractions lie in London Tube's Transport zone one. So advise buying London TFLs Zone one Day Pass.

1. Trafalgar Square
2. London Eye
3. City of West Minster and Big Benn
4. Change of Gaurds at Buckingham Palace
5. Tower of London
6. Tower of London Bridge
7. Madam Tussands
8. Harrods Departmental Store
9. Mohamed Alfayed Statue at Harrods
10. Dodi and Princes Diana Memorial
11. London St Pancras

Miscellaneous:

1. Neasden Temple
2. Thames River Cruise
3. Walk along the River Thames
4. Trafalgar Square National Gallery
   

Alton Tower

We planned a visit to Alton Towers Theme Park on Long Weekend in Summer. Alton Towers is perfect Theme Park locations for someone located in Midlands, UK. After visiting Universal Studio and Disney Land in LA, we had not seen been to Amusement Park for long time. It was day trip and we had lot of fun in the rides.
The best and unique feature of the park is that it is located in the wild nature of the Derbyshire. The park authorities and planner have made and effort to maintain the natural beauty surrounding it. If you do not have car then there are special transport facilities available from various places in Midlands to reach the park.





However, I came across some deals and concessions on internet. One could save 75% on the entrance fees by ordering the tickets online on Tesco club card points. Tesco Club card offers Alton tower tickets at 1/4th the price. However you need to plan the trip atleast one month in advance as the Tesco clubcard sends the tickets along with your next vouchers.





If you carefully search on internet fourums, you might get some 2 for 1 vouchers for Alton Towers. So did I got one. :D

Food Special - Italy

The local Itialian food which a tourist in Italy should look out for is Pizza, Pasta, Gelato, Wine and Coffee.
Pizza - For a budget traveller, there are many local Pizza shops which sell Pizza on Kilogram basis. These shops have all variety of pizzas displayed in the glass case. One needs to select the type of pizza and tell the shopkeeper number of slices you want to eat. The shopkeeper will then cut the small slices accordingly from the displayed pizza. He will tell you the prize of the Pizza after weighing it on scale. You get one piece of pizza around 1.5 to 2 Euros in these street side shops.
Pasta - We enjoyed pasta dinner prepared at the Hostel Roma, Near Rome Terminie on our first day in Italy.
Gelato - A quick bite of chill Gelato (Icecream) is a must while travelling in Italy. The Gelato is priced according to scoop and you will eat as much as you wish to trun of the heat wave.
Quick Tip - Try buying pizza or Gelato from shop bit away from the local tourist attraction. As shops bank oppoiste the favourite tourist attractions charge you double the amount.
Wine – Italy is famous wine producing mediterranean nation and enjoying atleast one glass of wine in Italy is must. If you are not an expert in wines then I would recommend you to buy cheap bottle of wine from local shop and enjoy it in your hotel room.
Coffee – There are lot of Cafes on each corner of the road. Its fun to taste the strong and hot shot of Express Coffee while enjoying breaks in local sight seeing.

Besides the local food shops, one can find a lot of Mac Donalds shops near the Railway stations. These become handy when you arrive late from your travel and all the local shops have closed down.

Norwich

We got an opportunity to explore the Norwich, East coast of UK on one fine summer long weekend. The Itenary of our Norwich Trip is as follows

1. Last minute Car deal to reach Burnham Deepdale
2. Deepdale Farm and shops near it.
3. Lunch after long drive from Nottingham to Deepdale Farm
4. Brancaster Staithe Sea side walk
5. Brancaster Staithe Sea Shore Wildlife
6. Evening Barbeque
7. Lunch at Fairhavens Gardens
8. Broads at Norwich
9. Drive through Country side
10. Cromer