Thursday, June 14, 2007

Europe! Europe!

Just got back from a whirlwind tour of Europe, where my wife and I travelled through some 10 countries. It was hectic and exhilarating. An adventure. Let me start with a list of countries/places we visited during the tour, hopefully in the correct order.

England (London)
Belgium (Brussels)
Netherlands (Amsterdam, Rotterdam)
Austria (Innsbruck)
Germany (Black Forest, Heidelberg, Cologne)
Switzerland (Zurich, Geneva, Jungfrau, Mt. Titlus, Interlaken etc.)
Liechtenstein
Italy (Venice, Florence, Rome, Pisa)
Vatican City
France (Paris, Chamonix)

We spent most of our time in Italy, Paris and Switzerland, while stopping just for a day in most other places. I've always been a fan of spending more time in one place and exploring it completely. But this being my first time in Europe, we decided it might be a better idea to just travel through and experience a bit of as many countries as we could. And as we expected, we now know which countries/cities we would like to go back to for longish stays.

We were mostly blessed with some glorious weather. But London and Amsterdam were washouts, especially since we only spent half a day sight-seeing at each place. I wasn't too disappointed, since I'm pretty sure there'll be a few more visits to London in my lifetime. Really wanted to walk through the RLD in Amsterdam, but the weather and the logistics conspired against it.

Some initial thoughts:
The spectrum of cultures, people, languages and landscapes we encountered was delightful. Especially when it kept changing constantly with every new place we stopped at. However, within some countries, there seemed to be a kind of uniformity - like America - that I had not expected. For example, there is no doubt that Switzerland is picture-perfect. But you could have taken me to Geneva and told me we were visiting Zurich again, and I would've believed you. Both these cities are located around huge lakes, and the buildings, churches, roads and traffic everything had a kind of eerie similarity about them. This was not, however, true of some other places. Take Italy for example. Venice and Rome are miles apart and very unique in their own way.

Favorite cities:
My favorite cities have got to be Paris, Rome and Venice. Paris has got a sort of surreal beauty about it that I've never seen anywhere. There are these beautiful 200-300 year old buildings, palaces and castles now converted into museums, railway stations or post offices. You drive through the city and you feel like you are transported to a very different era. You come across beautiful opera houses, churches and even Napolean's apartment. The church of Notre Dame (remember Victor Hugo's 'Hunch back of Notre Dame'?) is an architectural delight. The view from the top of Eiffel tower is worth the wait. Add to these the cute cafes and restaurants that dot the sidewalks. You realize that this is a city which definitely mixes a lot of pleasure with business. It helps that the official work week here is only 35 hrs.

I knew that Italy would be one of my favorite places even before I set foot there, and I was not mistaken. Venice is one of a kind. Its a heady mixture of narrow alleys, canals and bridges, lined with old buildings that seem ready to fall apart. At the Piazza San Marco (St.Mark's Square) by the Grand Canal, the church is beautiful beyond description. And ofcourse, the gondola ride is a must for every visitor. There is a really laidback feel to the whole place, as if everyone there is just vacationing. That's because the number of annual visitors there is something like 100 times their actual population.

What can you say about Rome that hasn't already been said? The city is a treasure chest of history, mythology, legends and a testament to human achievements. If the colosseums took my breath away, then so too did some of the ruins that dated back to before Christ was born. And how do you even begin to describe the beauty of the Trevis fountain? How do you deal with history of this magnitude? Yes, all roads do lead to Rome. In Florence, where we spent time at the Piazza Della Signoria (Signoria Square), there are these amazingly powerful sculptures, testament to the Renaissance movement. A great example is a very reknown sculpture of a naked man by Michelangelo called 'David'. There is one of Hercules, the slaying of 'Midas' and even a couple of rape scenes that send a chill through your spine. The depiction of the naked human body with rippling muscles and raw energy reminds you of the violence of ancient Rome and the various mythologies associated with it.

Favorite places:
I admit I did not know much about Vatican city before 'Da Vinci Code' came along. But as I entered the main square, the sight took my breath away. There was the Sistine Chapel on the right, where the cardinals have their conferences to elect the pope. The papal residence was on top, with the Pope's window clearly marked. And ofcourse, there was St. Peter's Basilica towering ahead of me, the biggest curch in the world. If the outside of the church was beautiful, the inside is unbelievable. Every inch of the church is adorned with masterpieces - sculptures, paintings, murals and stained glasses made by some of the greatest talents ever. The most famous of these is ofcourse the 'Pieta' (Virgin Mary holding the now-dead Jesus on her lap) made by Michelangelo when he was only 23. I felt overawed to be here, at the centre of christianity.

If it were left to me, I would add the Louvre to the list of countries I visited. I kid you not. The place is incredibly huge, and its a no-brainer figuring out that its the largest museum in the world. It was actually a palace that was later donated to be turned into a museum. It holds approximately 400,000 works of art. For those who love numbers and statistics, consider this. If you spent 1 minute on each exhibit, it'll take you one whole year to completely cover this museum. That's how big it is! Ofcourse, the defining moment for me was when I walked into a huge room and saw from afar a big crowd gathered around a tiny picture on the far wall. And as I took a couple of steps, I realize with a jolt that this was the Mona Lisa, easily the most famous painting ever made. My heart seriously gave a little yelp. That was a dream-come-true moment for me.

Cologne, Germany (yes, the birthplace of 'Eau de Cologne') houses the biggest Gothic cathedral in the world. The spire here is gigantic, and the church was built some 800 years ago. It was one of the most imposing structures that I've ever seen. Nothing else comes close to it. Not the Sears Tower, not the Eiffel tower and none of the countless other impressive churches we saw on the tour.

The Leaning tower at Pisa is very weird. You really feel like its gonna fall down at any moment. Romans had this habit of building a bell tower with every church. In Pisa ofcourse, the tower has become much more famous than the beautiful church next to it. People all around were taking snaps with various poses of holding/supporting the gigantic tower.

Cruises:
There were plenty of cruises. On the Rhine river near Heidelberg, Germany. On Lake Zurich. On the Seine in Paris. Through the canals in Amsterdam and Venice. These proved to be a wonderfully relaxing way of seeing these places.

Special mention:
If you were to collect a few of the most beautiful picture postcards, put together a book and then decide to use that as a blueprint to build a place, that would be Switzerland. Ofcourse, no engineer/architect/builder can come close to emulating the abundance that nature has privided this place with. Everywhere you go, you are surrounded by lush green m0untains, with snow-capped mountains providing the backdrop. There are natural gorges and waterfalls that end up in beautiful brooks and rivers. There are miles of sweeping countryside, with cows grazing serenely. We went on top of a few peaks, most notably Jungfrau (the highest train line in the world at around 12000 ft), Mt.Titlus etc. Even did some sledging and snow tubing. Nature has been extremely partial to the Swiss. We saw the small town of Interlaken, the setting for many a bollywood song-and-dance sequence. However, its true that you get used to all this beautiful scenery in a couple of days. Then you wonder "what else?" Before you leave the country, you will get tired of looking at the Swiss flag (Did you know this is the only country flag that is a square and not a rectangle?). It is omnipotent. On top of every other building. On every t-shirt, cap and magnet. And plenty of flagpoles on the road as well.

Bummers:
No description of Europe would be complete without this. So here we go in no particular order.
- Extremely expensive, especially with the current rate of around $1.4 for a euro. A regular coffee at a small roadside cafe would put you back by around 4 euros (close to $6). You are better off having a bottle of wine at close to the same price! And if you want to buy souvenir t-shirts, forget about it! A regular round-neck cotton t-shirt starts at 20 euros. Even airport shops in the US are cheaper.
- No water! Absolutely! You won't found a single water fountain if you combed through Europe with a pair of high-definition lens. Not even at the airport. And when you sit at restaurants, they don't just bring a jug of water like you are used to in America. So either, you bring along the water wherever you go or you buy it. And ofcourse, water is expensive too. I didn't believe it at first, but beer is indeed cheaper than water.
- Closely in the heels of the water menace is the toilet menace. There are hardly any free toilets in Europe. Most places, there is an attendant with a table and chair outside the toilet, and you have to deposit the money with him/her before entering. At some gas station shps, there are automatic turnstiles like train stations. And some places, paying is optional. But the cleaner guy would be standing outside with a bowl, looking expectantly at you. Some places, I had to pay as much as 1 euro to take a leak. Its ridiculous! I could've almost stayed an extra day in Paris with all the toilet money I spent.
- When we asked our Gondola guy in Venice to sing us a song, he said there were only 2 places in the world where Gondola men sing - in movies and at the Venitian in Vegas (and only because those gondolas are motor-driven). Maneuvering these long gondolas through the narrow canal passageways and turning them at right-angles requires a lot of concentration and stamina. Plus these guys are not really trained to sing.
- Most places, you can get by with English. But Paris was a bit notorious in this regard. There are no English signs or translations. Even at the Louvre, every item on display is described only in French. I had to get one of those audio commentary headsets.

Yes, we did do a lot of cliched things. We bought a cuckoo clock in Switzerland, and a wonderful hand-carved ceramic beer mug in Germany. And don't forget the jewellery at the famous Swarowski museum/factory/shop in Austria. I sampled some Sicilian wine in Italy and the Rose wine in Paris. We even ate blackforest cake in Black Forest, Germany! Whenever we saw a signboard, nameplate or flag, we would take photos (to stay true to my previous post!). We took so many snaps we ran out of 3 GBs of memory cards, yielding approximately some 1700 photos and a few video clips. Every inch of our fridge is now filled with all kinds of magnets from the countries/cities we visited.

We didn't get to sample much of the nightlife, since we hit the bed everyday tired out from our excursions. We did manage to catch the Lido show on our last night in Paris, widely hailed as one of the best cabarets in the world. Halfway into the show, somewhere between watching beautiful topless women in colorful headresses and sipping the bottomless champage on the table, the weariness of the last 2 weeks hit me. And I actually dozed off for a few minutes in a show I had paid $160 to watch. And did I mention it had topless women?

In the end, it turned out to be a wonderful trip, filled with great memories. Europe is so rich in history and culture. Just like India. But this has been preserved well, and it is a pleasure to visit and appreciate each building, sculpture or painting. Its easy to travel. The countries are quite small, and are well-connected by roads and trains. The Schengen visa makes it easy to visit a lot of countries with one visa (with the exception of England and Switzerland). And the Euro is a boon since you don't have to carry 10 different currencies in your wallet. We were glad we made this trip now, before being burdened with responsibilities of kids and my oncoming MBA. It certainly was a trip of a lifetime.

PS: Will probably follow up with a photo blog of the trip very soon.

4 Comments:

Blogger Unknown said...

awesome ...i could almost experience what you experienced..just have to make the trip now!

prashanth

6/14/07, 4:51 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Nice.

I did backpacking couple years back through UK and Europe.

Planning to do the trip again with my wife. Did you guys plan on your own or had a travel company help you out ?

6/14/07, 6:38 PM  
Blogger Parupps said...

Sounds like an excellent trip except that you didn't get wasted in Amsterdam! OR did I miss it?

6/15/07, 10:39 AM  
Blogger c2c said...

Anand - We left all the planning to a tour company. Just the good memories are ours :-)

Parupps - Dunno what you're talking about, but I realize that you're referring to some bad stuff. Siva! siva!

6/21/07, 9:46 AM  

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