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Of Berlin and Berliners

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“Ich bin ein Berliner” (I am a Berliner). These words were spoken by JFK during his visit to Berlin in 1963. He proclaimed that every free person is a Berliner. Little did he know the nuances of the German language nor was he aware that ‘Berliner‘ is a popular jam filled bun popular amongst the masses, his words really meant he was a jam filled bun. The right phrase should have been, “Ich bin Berliner”. But setting aside the linguistic nuances, the spirit of Berliners was celebrated on that day.

Last weekend, we paid a trip to the city of Berlin. It turned out to be a pretty good experience for a history buff like me, to a massive city, the biggest in Germany.

The first impressions of Berlin came up the moment we got out of the train, Berlin HauptBahnof is a huge railway station opened in 2006 with five different levels serving various local trains like S Bahn and International/National routes. It is modern architectural marvel for its large expanse and design.

Our hotel was near Alexanderplatz, on a cold and wet winter morning, we were standing at the exit of the Alexanderplatz station staring at the  Fernsehturm , at 368 meters it is the tallest building in Germany. It was a TV tower constructed by GDR, as the place was a part of East Berlin. They wanted it to be the sign of the city, and it truly is. One could go up the tower and enjoy dinner at its restaurant.

After a while we attempted to venture out in the cold weather, the first stop was Fernsehturm, we wanted to go up but it had a long waiting period, so we decided otherwise. We then took a train to Hackesher markt and wanted towards the Museum Island (Museum Sinsel). Buildings of Altes Museum, Pergamom Museum and Berliner Dom populate the place. Large hallways outside the National Gallery still bear marks of damage from the WWII.

We spent a few hours at the Berliner Dom, which overlooks the Lustgarten (no, don’t giggle!) park. It is indeed difficult to imagine that Lustgarten was one of the places where Nazis would hold mass rallies and during the WWII it was destroyed by bombs. The Berliner Dom is indeed worth a visit, a very different cathedral when compared to churches elsewhere in Europe, it celebrates Reformation and is worthy of spending time.

Next stop for us was Brandenburg Gate, it is the iconic monument of Berlin. In fact it is also stamped on Euro coins, this monument is probably the heart of any visit to the city. This is where the wall stood, right in front of the gate, a division of the people, this is where Ronald Reagen once spoke, ‘Mr Gorbachev, Tear down this wall‘. Till date three US Presidents have spoken at the gate talking about freedom and peace.

Near to the gate is the Reichstag, we really wanted to visit the place inside, but we did not know that free bookings have to be made in advance. I would have loved to visit the Reichstag dome, hopefully I’d go back again someday. With this we returned to Alexanderplatz and visited the TV tower at night, the view of the city and its light was enchanting.

Next morning, the first place to visit was Checkpoint Charlie. A very touristy spot, it was one of the gates where diplomats from US sector would enter/exit the Soviet sector. That single board of Checkpoint Charlie attracts many visitors, an open exhibition of the Berlin wall and markers on the road illustrating where the wall once stood make it an incredible experience.

On the same street as the checkpoint, one could also visit the Mauer Museum (Wall Museum). It is a private museum dedicated to the wall, to peace and the struggle of German people during the days of the Cold War. Anecdotes, actual escape vehicles/contraptions and pictures of people who escaped through the wall make the place a living memorial of the days which went by. Some of the stories are trying heart wrenching, a couple of pictures shook me up…

The last place to visit on the day was Charlottenberg palace, unfortunately by the time we reached there it was already closing time. With this we returned to the HB and waited for our train.

Tips

Local Travel: Buying a day pass at 5.5 EUR (or if in a group upto 5 people at 15 EUR) will allow you to travel by metro, trams and buses. It is worthwhile to also check out the Bus #100 route, it moves around all major spots of interest (except Checkpoint Charlie) and this single bus could be one of the best ways to move around the city.

Stay: We stayed at Etap hotel near Alexanderplatz, the price for two people was 53 EUR. Rooms are clean and simple, perfect for budget travelers.

Bello Milano

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I have been traveling quite a bit, this started in the last few months…Vienna, Amsterdam (not exactly!),  Milan, Konstanz and of course places within der Schweiz. I have already completed that wish to visit 5 countries by the time I am 30, in fact, i have already exceeded it by one.

Do I regret traveling? No, I love it.

So it was a fine sunny day in September, not like the suddenly gloomy, dull days of the fall, devoid of any Sun. Early around 8.30 we left from Zurich HB towards Milano Centrale. Yes, Yes I know I should have taken an earlier train, but a weekend is all about lazy beginnings right?

Anyways, it was already around noon when we landed up in Milano Centrale. The first taste of Italian hospitality came in when the Tourist counter lady at the station acted super rude and just gave me a tourist map to the city, she did not respond to my query about this thing called Milan Card (a coupon which gives you free local travel and discounts in shops). It took us another 10 minutes to find our way out of the station, deciphering the map…The station itself is huge, with connections to the Milan Underground system. The station was opening in 1931 and was, at one time, an attempt to showcase the impact of the power of Mussolini’s regime.

Next step was to look into the map and select the places we’d visit, afterall we had to return the same day. We were hungry, and ended up at the McDonalds across. First tragedy stuck, the lady at the counter said yes to vegatarian burger, and what i ended up with was a salad burger without any patty. It was yuck! Anyways, we marked around 10 places on the map, and figured out the  Azienda Trasporti Milanesi route.

Next halt was the massive Piazza del Duomo, a huge expanse of a square with buildings all around it. I have never been to a place like that, a huge square with hundreds of people. It was indeed a crowded place, a novelty in Europe I suppose? The square is faced by the famous Milan Cathedral on one side, the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele and a series of other important buildings and shopping arcades.

The square had like a zillion pigeons with sellers trying to lure outsiders like me to feed corn to them at a price or get a picture taken at a price. Sounds familiar? Yes, this reminded me of India. The impression of Italy was reinforced in the rest of the day.

The Duomo di Milano (cathedral) is a huge building which started off back in 1386, finally ordered for completion by Napolean. In fact Napolean was crowned as the King of Italy at the Duomo. The church with its extensive glass paintings, sculptures, halls and the treasury is THE place to visit in Milan. I have been to a lot of churches here, but nothing compares to Duomo.

We later headed to the Art museum (Pinacoteca Ambrosiana) nearby, it started as the personal collection of Cardinal Federigo Borromeo it has expanded to over 12k paintings and a huge collection of artifacts and manuscripts. The notable elements of the place Raphael’s School of Athens sketch, designed for the fresco in the Vatican’s Stanza della Segnatura, and manuscripts by Leonardo da Vinci, including the Codex Atlanticus.

From here on, we returned back to the square and searched for a small chapel nearby, we could have almost missed the place as the opening was hidden. After this, we took a walk around the Piazza and visited the  Galleria Vittorio Emanuele, this huge building houses the most premium shopping brands with plenty of food joints. It opens on one end towards the town hall facing the Opera house.

It was around this time when we wishes to return, but the return journey was not as fun as i had thought. For the day we traveled to Milan, it was the same as the F1 GP in Milan. We managed to get reserved tickets to Zurich (only 1st class was available). Only to realize on boarding the train that the ticket agent gave us tickets of the next day! We went back to argue, the man just denied it. It annoyed us because he had himself proposed us to buy 1st class as reservation was available! Sadly it was the last direct train to Zurich, we then took another ticket to reach a place called Arth goldau, hoping to catch the last connection for the night to Zurich.

But the train was delayed, it was indeed similar to India again! Our worry was that our connection was in Switzerland, thus there was no way we could now catch it. Everyone was quite uncomfortable, afterall most were visiting from der Schweiz, trains getting late is not a common thing.

As the train entered the Swisss territory, a terrible thunderstorm started off…well i had no hopes left, i thought I’d reach home the next day. But, soon a train announcement was made, the train would now be going to Zurich and Basel. Any passengers who were going to Luzern (as in the original route) should get off on the next stop and they would have a bus waiting to drop them off. You can only expect the Swiss to do this!!!

We did not have a ticket to Zurich, and we explained it to the ticket checker, he said, ‘No problem we are delayed and its on us’.

I Love Vienna

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I have never been to Paris, so I don’t know if Paris would score above Vienna.
Last week, I was out to visit Netherlands and Austria(locally written as Österreich) . While the trip to Netherlands was quite busy in work, where I could not visit any place of interest (and neither was I in Amsterdam), but the second trip to Vienna(also locally written as Wein) allowed me to spend a Saturday.

I had never expected to fall in love with Vienna, the rich town where you could hear music anywhere you’d go. The soul of the town touched me, right from Stephensdom to the Danube, Vienna had so much to offer, and I had so little time accept it all.

Streets filled with musicians, dancers, random performers, quartets there was always something which demanded my attention. The architecture of the town from the Opera House to the Parliament left me spell bound, and to top it all was Sacher Torte. The dessert, which is an institution in itself, a trip to Vienna is not complete if you have not tried this delicacy.

What I did do was not take any guided tours except a small Ring tram across the town for a quick overview, and then a walk from the Opera House towards the Parliament, covering each building like the Imperial Palace, Art Musuem, Museum of Natural History and the People’s Park. A useful tip was to buy the Vienna card for 18 Euros and using it for all local travel and a few discounts at various places, the underground system in Vienna is fairly straightforward and would take no effort in figuring out.


I know there is more, for the country which gave birth to Mozart and Beethoven, for the people who love spending time in kaffeehaus, life is filled with music and art. I bumped into folks dressed up as Mozart selling tickets to Mozart concerts, mime artists whisling Mozart tunes and chocolates in the name of Mozart. It was indeed a surprise to know that Mozart was from Salzberg.

I also chanced to visit the Prater and the Madame Tussauds wax museum, the first wax musuem that I’d have visited. It was indeed an impressive affair with Arnold Swachzennger (an Austrian by birth) welcoming you in!

Yes, the time was limited, and there was so much to see, but I know that this is cannot my last trip there, Vienna shall call me again, until then just follow the music…

A 6 Day trip to Uttaranchal under 150 US$ – Part I

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There are travelers who prefer history, then there are others who like nature and then there are some who like adventure. What if you could roll up all this into a single bundle and dash it with a shoe string budget? Well, you probably would do what we just did last week!

The Plan: Travel Uttarakhand (or Uttaranchal) in its tourist peak season for 6 days and 5 nights by spending no more than US$ 150

The Travelers: Me and a buddy of mine

How did we do it? Read on this 2 part post on how we did it and what all did we see.

It all began when my buddy told me of his visit to India after a long gap of over 2 years. My mind was racing for a small trip in early June where the two of us…me freshly out of Grad school and he a PhD scholar could manage it all within a small tight budget without neglecting basic comforts.

The plan was to visit places like Nainital (yeah you have to because its so popular!), Kausani (because its secluded and enthralling), Ranikhet (I still wonder why!), Almora (deserves more respect than it gets) and Binsar (could we?).  Now with the objective places decided we had two options..either to visit Nainital first and book those quick and fast tours to visit all these or do things at our own pace. We chose the latter.

We started from Lucknow to Lal Kuan in Nainital Express, from Lal Kuan we decided to goto Almora because that was a much more central location to other places like Ranikhet and Kausani. From Lal Kuan we went to the Haldwani bus station, which allowed us to board a KMOU (Kumaon Motor Owners Union) bus to Almora at INR 78.

At Almora we were greeted we stayed at Hotel Shikhar which provided us with a room at INR 500 a night. The first evening at Almora greeted us with rains which restricted our movement to only Naina Devi temple there. However, we did walk around the Mall road and also discovered an excellent cafe in the streets of Lal Bazaar.

Next morning the rains were back after a few hours of Sun, but this time we decided not to stay within the confines of our room. So we ventured out and decided to visit Jageshwar Temples. Now the first problem propped up, there was only one KMOU bus to Jageshwar at 12 noon and the other option was to pay upto INR 800 bucks at book a taxi to this place around 35 kilometers from Almora. We instead opted for a bus to Pitohragarh and get down at Atula which is around 3 kilometers from Jageshwar. What happened next was a true local bus trip with little place to stand or even breathe. 

At Atula the rain Gods decided to greet us with lighter drizzle and plenty of icy breeze…we trekked to Jageshwar temples on foot and enjoyed the mystic beauty of the Pine forest around us. The Jageshwar temples are of both historical and religious significance, a trip to Almora is deemed incomplete if you don’t visit them.

We returned to Almora through a regular Jeep, the last of one the day at around 3.15 pm. One key learning in Kumaon was that most of the public transport between points across towns would stop by the time it shall be 5 pm.

Next morning we visited Ranikhet, that was pretty easy to do by passenger Jeeps from Almora which drop you at Ranikhet within 2 hours at around INR 50 per person.

Ranikhet was much of a disappointment though. However, we did enjoy a trek of almost 12 kilometers to Jhula Devi temple and Chaubattia. On our return to Almora, the clear weather helped us to see the snow capped mountain himalayan mountain range including Nanda Devi peak from the naked eye.

Must visit places around Almora and Ranikhet: Chaubattia, Jageshwar, Naina Devi Temple, Kalika Temple

Check out for the second part of the series…

Wayanad – A trip to God's Own Country

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I finally visited my last remaining southern Indian state “God’s own country” Kerala. A group of us six dudes went for a road trip to Wayanad. This was to be my first tryst with the Kerala, and boy it wasn’t at all disappointing.

We booked a Tata Sumo, and started around 6.15 AM on Saturday, 19 April. By the time we were done with the pickups of everyone it was already 7.30 AM. We then took the route of Bangalore-Mysore-Gudalur-Wayanad. We literally zipped all through Karnataka, and took the NH 212 to Wayanad from Gudalur(or Gundlupet).

En route to Wayanad, we had to pass through the Bandipur national park and the Mathunga national park. It was lush green and dense, however, we could only witness Elephants during our journey.

We reached Sulthan Bathery around 1.30, and were throughly surprised that it was pretty humid and wasn’t at all what we pictured it to be. So we moved ahead to Kalpetta, which is further 25 kilometers from Sulthan Bathery.

At Kalpetta we checked in to Arun Lodge. We got decent double bed rooms with a clean toilet and a TV (the bare minimum for stay) for just 440 INR.

Later in the evening we went to the Pookot lake, the images speak the rest of the story. After Pookot we went to the Banasura Dam. I guess this place is a must watch for visitors; it is the biggest earthen dam in Asia. The reservoir and the partially submerged hills tell a story.

On our return we were greeted by a sudden downpour, something which we hadn’t expected after the warm day that had been. There were moments when the visibility of low and I was perturbed by the rain. However, it all calmed down and we were back in our cosy rooms in a while.

Food in Wayanad is way cheaper than Bangalore; a typical South Indian breakfast for the 6 of us with a cup of coffee each could cost us less than a 100 bucks! I also discovered a top-notch bakery known as ‘The Walnut Cake‘. You could treat yourself at the pasteries, Jew Chips, Plum Cake, Cookies, Fresh chocolate and tarts. It was mouth watering and yum!

The next morning we checked out and visited the Soochipara Waterfalls which are around 17 kilometers from Kalpetta. The journey to this place was filled with tea gardens; shining golden under the sun light. This waterfall varies from 100 ft to 300 ft in hieght, its a great place to take a shower the way liril models do, and even try rappling. Do remember the  journey to reach the bottom of the falls itself is quite tiring because of the sun and the stairs.

On our way back up to the hill; we treated ourselves to Pineapple slices. My friends ended up buying almost the whole stock on the urchin selling them!

We now moved to the last destination of our trip to Edakkal Caves. This place is around 25 kilometers from Kalpetta. The name Edakkal means ‘Stone in between’, the main cave has a huge rock stuck between the walls forming the cieling. The cave is said to have engravings dating back to around 4000 B.C. It was discovered back in 1890 by the SP of Malabar. For more information visit: www.edakkal.com

My friends decided to venture further up from the cave to the hill top, while I decided to wait for them. Sensing the change in air, I felt it was going to rain so I came down to the base, however they were stuck there. What happened next was a huge downpour which resulted in addtional slipperiness to the pathway. They had a tough time coming down, however, they did enjoy the thrill and the risk in that!

Being the last place, we then had lunch on our way back at Sulthan Bathery, finally we reached Namma Bengaluru at around 10 PM ready for another week at our offices!

Something really special about the whole trip was the presence of a guiding angel to tell us which direction to take whenever we were confused with the route. In the middle of nowhere there would be someone present to tell us which way to take! Maybe thats why it is called God’s own country

[1] Carry extra change of clothes, and good canvas shoes for trekking.
[2] Arun Tourist Home, Kalpetta. Phone: 04936 – 202039
[3] Distance from Bangalore is around 280 kilometers. It takes around 6 hours on road to Wayanad.