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The places we went to
In Germany
Frankfurt: We landed at the Frankfurt airport and had 4-5 hours before we had to take the train to Oberstdorf. So we went to explore the city. Frankfurt has sky-scrapers but there are some old buildings too. We went to the market area, grabbed some food, visited a Cathedral and walked along the River Main and time went by so fast. We wanted to go to the observation deck but we didn't have the time for it and had to do it on the last day of the trip. The Observation Deck is about 55 floors high and the view of the city from up there is amazing!!! Sky scrapers, small houses, buildings with terrace gardens, the river and some of the old buildings is what you get to see. Frankfurt was only the beginning of the trip and if anything the trip only got better.
The view from the Observation Deck
In front of the River Main
Oberstdorf: Not knowing the local language can create havoc sometimes, well most of the times. We sat eating Banana and Nuttella crepe while we waited for the train. There was an announcement about the platform change in German. For 15 minutes, we sat there waiting and then Bhasker said its better we check. We came to know just in time. We ran with a huge suitcase and two backpacks and got into the train just in time. We had to switch 4 trains to get to Oberstdorf and had a 5 hour wait in the cold Kempton station, on the last leg. We got to Oberstdorf at 7 am.
The train ride to Oberstdorf was something I will never forget. It was breath-taking!!! Grasslands on either side with one or two houses in the middle and as we got closer to the town, the Bavarian Alps (the German side of the Alps) became visible through the mist which kept them hidden till then. The 5 hour wait in the cold, in Kempton was so worth it!!! Oberstdorf is a small village, in the Allgau region, right at the base of the Alps.
The view from the train, on the way to Oberstdorf
We had awesome coffee (the milk in Oberstdorf is the best I have tasted till now) and walked to the hotel. Bhasker had booked a room facing the Alps and I just could not wait to see the room. It was a small room, cozy and comfortable and the view from the room was oh-so-romantic. We caught up on some sleep and then set off to take the cable car ride right to the top of one of the mountains called Nablehorn. You have to switch cable cars thrice to get to the top and you can get off at each stop and walk around and see the place.Some people even choose to walk up till the second stop and then take the cable car. The first stop gives you a view of the meadows and its extremely pretty. The second stop gives you a view of the snow-covered mountains. Such a change of scenery, lush green meadows to snow. The next stop is what I call the "Top of the World". The view from there is brilliant!!! Its the peak and the clouds cover most of the mountains and you can get a peek at the snow-covered mountains from time to time when the clouds move away. You can also see the valley below through the clouds. Though we loved it there, we could not stay there for long as it was cold. So we took the cable car ride back to the meadows, had a cup of coffee and decided to walk down to the village. It was a good one and a half hour walk. We got some beautiful views of the village and also of the place where the skiing competition is held every year (it has the name of the person who did the longest jump a few years ago and his record remains till date) and a water-fall. We spent the rest of the day lazing around, sipping on some superb coffee, 4 cups each (Hehe) and in the evening we sat in the patio, letting the awesome view sink in.
The first stop
The second stop
And the "Top of the World"
Bachu and I on "Top of the World"
The next day we went to the Breitachklamm Gorge. It was a good 2.5 kms walk along the gorge and it was so worth it. It was cool there and the water flowed in full force along the gorge and the rock formations were a nice sight. We were so hungry after that walk and took the bus back to the village where we had some awesome German food, Vegetable Balls in herb sauce with friend potatoes and carrots and I tried Bavarian Beer. Soon it was time to leave Oberstdorf. I was extremely sad to leave such a beautiful place!!!
Bachu and I at the Breitachklamm Gorge
Breitachklamm Gorge
Heidelburg: We reached Marriott, Heidelburg in the night, all tired and ready to hit the bed. The next day Bhasker had his conference and I was on my own. I went to this cafe in Downtown Heidelberg and had croissant and coffee there and from then on, even though Starbucks was just around the corner, I went to the same place for breakfast for the 4 days that we were there in Heidelberg. I went to the river, walked along the old bridge, saw the castle. In the evening Bhasker, his friends and I walked to the Downtown Area again where we had some excellent Lebanese food. We then walked to the bridge. The sun was about to set and the effect it had on the water was so magical. The river and the sky was quite a sight. We had ice-cream there too and then headed back to the hotel.
Downtown Heidelburg
Mark, Alfredo, Bachu and I at the social event
A view from the Heidelburg Castle
I took the river cruise on one of the days and then we had a social event in the Heidelburg castle organised by one of the companies. We enjoyed the social event, especially with Alfredo and Mark around. The views we got of the city, from the castle were splendid!!! The food was nice and the desserts were awesome!!! It was indeed a pleasant evening.
In France
Paris: Then came the most awaited part of the trip (after Oberstdorf). We reached the hotel in Paris in the afternoon. The location looked kinda dicey. We walked in and it seemed ok but on the way to the room, we realised what kind of hotel that was. We reached the room and had to enter a security code to enter the room. We walked in only to get disappointed. It had one tiny bed and a bunk bed above it. By the time I got to the room I was already scared and didn't want to stay in that hotel. The people I saw on the way to the room and the security lock scheme did that to me. Bhasker was not happy either and so we went back to the reception, got a re-fund and checked into Holiday Inn and thanks to AAA we got an executive suite.
After that it was 4 days of fun. We walked from one place to the other. We went to Notre dame, The Louvre, The Army Museum, Champs Elysees, La Defense, The Lafayette and the Eiffel Tower of course. Thanks to the long summer days, we could walk around and explore the place. We feasted on crepes, had coffee in the cafes along the road(a must-do I believe), had dinner in a restaurant in Champs Elysees, took a sight-seeing cruise and also took the lift to the top of the Eiffel Tower in the night. They put on these sparking lights every hour and it creates such a magical effect. We enjoyed in Paris and at the end of the day I didn't have to think twice about going back to my room.
In front of Notre Dame
The Louvre
The Mona Lisa smile
The Inverted Pyramid
Avenue des Champs Elysees
View from the top of the Eiffel Tower
:)
Soon the lovely vacation came to an end so fast and it was time to fly back to Sunnyvale. I am already looking forward to my next trip to Europe :)
August 2 2008, 08:35:10 UTC 3 years ago
August 4 2008, 02:12:10 UTC 3 years ago
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August 8 2008, 00:37:42 UTC 3 years ago
September 12 2008, 07:41:51 UTC 3 years ago
Don't ever go to a Starbucks in Europe. Why would you do that to yourself?! :-)
September 12 2008, 15:50:29 UTC 3 years ago
Anonymous
October 7 2008, 01:11:17 UTC 3 years ago
Hey...
HI Aruna-Its gr8 to read all about the EU trip and look at the pics...haven't had a chance to go through it completely but will do so soon!You are going a gr8 job here..keep it up!
Anonymous
October 7 2008, 01:12:24 UTC 3 years ago
October 7 2008, 03:07:54 UTC 3 years ago