Planning your Europe trip and in need of help with your itinerary? Or perhaps you are looking for additional information to ensure hassle-free travel? Whether in need of travel tips, thorough info about your destinations, or even ideas on where to go within your budget and the best modes of transport/accommodation – I’m here to help you out!
I have been living in Europe for the last six years, and with my aim of spending less while seeing more, I always conduct extensive research and planning before any travels! To be honest, I love travel planning and have helped several people with their itineraries or even finding out the cheapest and most reasonable travel options for them. I have lived in Germany and Switzerland so far and have extensive knowledge about the area. I am, in fact, one of those people who browse for cheap flights on a DAILY basis and am constantly curious about different cultures, vegetarian food options, and unique experiences.
I would love to help you have a great time on your travels and explore more!
All you need to do is fill out this form below so I can get to know your interests, preferences, and ideas, and I’ll get back to you with a quote as soon as possible.
For me, experiences play a vital role in life; especially while travelling, I yearn to take every opportunity and experience what each place has to offer. In retrospect, little things have left a powerful impact on my mind, and several people I have met, even though briefly, have inspired me in different ways.
Recently, I started a series called Travellers’ Tales, inviting travellers to share some of their memorable or inspiring experiences. I feel that experiences serve as powerful memories and can be a huge source of inspiration to others.
I am also very picky while selecting gifts for people, and I often spend days thinking about what the person would really like and use. Customising gifts or making them special for the recipients is always on my agenda.
Imagine my surprise when I came across a company combining two things I connect with closely: gifts and experiences! Enter Tinggly, a brand that focuses on gifting experiences to people and creating wonderful memories in the long run.
So, what exactly is Tinggly, and how does it work?
If you are thinking of gifting something special to a friend or a family member, Tinggly gives you the opportunity to send them a gift box at various price ranges that would enable them to choose an experience from among 100,000+ options spanning over 100 countries! How cool is that! Plus, the recipient will have freedom and no stress in picking the right experience at the best time for them, as Tinggly has no expiration date!
To get a detailed view of what is available, you can easily filter based on the categories or locations and see if you would like to try a sightseeing tour, adventure experience, pampering experience, or one of the water experiences. You can enter your town, city, state, or country in their new search bar and browse through the thousands of experiences offered just in that area.
Snorkelling and diving experiences are offered in Spain,Australia,Belize, Croatia, Mexico and more.
Once you order online, the Tinggly Gift Box and information package will be shipped to the recipient, wherever they live.
And, I am so excited to announce that I am now one of the ambassadors for Tinggly!
What does that mean for you?
Well, nothing much for me personally, but a lot for you! I can now personally look for and suggest unique experiences that could be added to their list, try out and review some of the activities (thus bringing more exciting stories to you!) and provide them with feedback.
But most importantly, I will have unique discounts and giveaways to share with you before major holidays and I will also keep you updated with any contests that Tinggly may be running in the near future. So, watch out for updates!
Meanwhile, take a look at the website and let me know which activities you are personally interested in! I am all ears to know what you think about it.
So, I am back this week from attending my first TBEX, one of the largest gatherings of travel bloggers and brands, and am still so overwhelmed with the entire experience! Frankly, I had got to know about TBEX only less than three months ago, and was very skeptical about whether I should go or not, and how to prepare myself for it, if I do decide to register. After quite a bit of contemplation, discussions with people who had attended TBEX previously, and following a lot of Twitter feed, I decided to register and get ready for it. My problem was, I was relatively new to the ‘professional’ blogosphere and didn’t really have a lot to brag about. Though I had started my blog a year ago, my sole purpose was having a creative outlet and had never thought about monetizing it or doing SEO. I had also started my blog Twitter handle only in February, shortly after which I had come across TBEX. So, the whole world of media kits,business cards, speed networking was very new to me. However, after going through the entire experience of prepping for the event and then attending it, there are a few things I would like to talk about. I hope this helps newbie bloggers thinking of attending TBEX for the first time.
1.First of all, as soon you decide upon attending TBEX, I would suggest joining the relevant groups on Facebook. I had come across two groups for TBEX Spain, and people offered a wealth of information there. Groups for the Thailand and Sweden events are already active. So, if you intend to go for any of these conferences, join them right away! Joining such groups and interacting with bloggers has way too many advantages. Not only do you keep yourself updated with the latest developments and useful tips, but you get to know other attendees and make friends! I was so excited to meet some of the lovely bloggers I had been talking to, that when we actually met, it just didn’t seem like it was the first time. I felt as if I was meeting some old friends, especially since you get to know quite a few things about the person by reading their blogs. I also got a lot of support from the Facebook group: Girls vs Globe.
Besides, I suggest reading up blogs/articles about the place before visiting it, as I personally felt familiar with the areas and landmarks whenever anybody made a reference or gave suggestions. Also, I was able to identify some of the buildings and beaches of Barcelona from the flight itself!
This is not what I recognized from the flight. I was too busy gaping at the Barceloneta beach,W Hotel and Agbar Torre to take a picture from my phone.
2.My second suggestion is having a pitch ready for your blog, or at least think of a few words that accurately describe what your blog talks about. While experiencing the rolling of the boat taking us to the opening party and enjoying the beautiful sights, I realized I was sitting among 3 industry professionals and was honestly a little stumped when suddenly asked about my blog. Cassie from A Wandering Cassiedella also spoke about this in her post-TBEX blog.
3. Make sure you are carrying business cards to TBEX. I had no idea of how to go about it and how many I should order. But, then I tried out Moo and Vistaprint, and was very happy with their customer service. However, Moo takes the cake when it comes to the finished product and packaging. If you are considering ordering from Moo, you could use this referral link to get a 10% discount. Also, a big shoutout to my dear friend Katharina from per-du.ch , who designed my blog logo and the front side of my card.
On some Facebook discussion threads, people said that 500 cards would be a good number, but personally for me, even 200 would have been good.
4. You don’t need to carry a whole lot of printed media kits. Do carry a few as some companies like to take a look at it, but some others just prefer getting a digital copy. For preparing the media kit, I had no clue as to what to use, and tried out Canva as well as Powerpoint, but wasn’t satisfied with the end result. Then, I tried out a template provided by The Blog Maven and it worked well for me.
5. At the event, make sure you are networking well with people. Don’t be shy; just go ahead and talk to the brands you would like to work with. Don’t wait for the last day, as there is limited time. People get busy with sessions and appointments, and it may be difficult to talk to some of them. If you are not too interested in any of the sessions going on in a specific time slot, take the opportunity to talk to people.
6. Look up the brands attending the event in advance(via TBEX Speed Networking), and it would be good to have some ideas already about how you could work together.
7. Attend the parties, register in advance for the pre-TBEX or post-TBEX trips/events. It’s a whole lot of fun and a great opportunity to mingle with people.
Picture: At the Sangria reception sponsored by Eurail
8.Even if you are a new blogger without impressive stats, just go attend TBEX! Maybe if you already finalize your attendance a few months in advance, you could work towards improving your blog or social media engagement. Look for stats that are interesting and highlight them. Maybe your twitter account grew rapidly or your subscriptions doubled up in the last month?It would be different for each blog, so just focus on what is seen to be best for yours.
9.Something important I realized: Don’t schedule your trip only for the conference days! I have learnt that coming at least 2-3 days in advance and staying a few days after the event is good. That way, you can attend the trips, parties and events scheduled before and after TBEX.
The beach at Lloret De Mar
10. Don’t stay somewhere very far from the conference venue, unless you have a car or there is good accessibility by public transport. There is no point in spending money on taxis everyday(in my personal opinion) or walking long distances at night. Also, it is convenient to drop off things in your room after or during the sessions if you live close by.
Oh, and make sure you have some extra space in your luggage for all the documents,cards and other things you get during the conference!
I had a great time at TBEX,Costa Brava. A big thankyou to all the sponsors and the tourism boards of Costa Brava and Barcelona for their wonderful hospitality! Hope to attend TBEX Stockholm 2016.
Travellers’ Tales is a new series on this blog, inviting travellers to share some of their inspiring or memorable experiences.This week, we are joined by Claudia Tavani, who is from Cagliari (Sardinia) and is obsessed with travelling. A former human rights lawyer and academic, Claudia had devoted her life to the protection of cultural identity until November 2013, which is when she decided to give in to her biggest passion.She started travelling around Latin America, and has hardly stopped since. Blogging came as a natural consequence, for Claudia wanted to let her family and friends be updated with her adventures.
I worked most of my life in the field of Human Rights. I have a BA, two (yes!! two!!) Master degrees, one in International Human Rights and one in International Human Rights Law, as well as a PhD in Law. I worked in academia, published books, articles, studies, and did lots of work for NGO’s. I was often under paid for my job, if at all, and hardly recognised. I hated it!
Retrospectively, I can remember thinking, when I was finishing high school and even during my BA, that I loved the idea of working in tourism and also writing, like a journalist – which is similar to what I do now. I don’t regret doing a PhD, or studying human rights. I care so much for the cause, I am interested in discussing the issues, I always express my opinion and participate in the debates. I just can’t be bothered to look for a paid job in that field anymore.
My problem with the PhD was that I was stubborn. I could not look at myself in the mirror, thinking that I could not finish it. So I did. Looking back, I think I knew from the first day itself, that I did not like it; I was not made for academic life. I just saw it as a glamorous world I suppose, and I wanted to prove that I could make it. I did, till the time I decided that I wanted to go back to Italy, where academia is a close world that strikes out anybody who is not a “son of” or somehow related to whoever is already in.
In July 2013, I realized that my contract as a researcher would not be renewed due to lack of funds. I could stick around and keep doing a job that I was not enjoying anymore, or take this as a chance to finally live my dream: travel across Latin America. I left in November 2013, and thought blogging through www.myadventuresacrosstheworld.com was a nice way to keep family and friends updated on the fantastic places I was visiting. Then, when I came back home earlier than expected because I needed to have a surgery to remove my tonsils, and found myself jobless. I realized that there was no way I wanted to look for a job in academia ever again in my life, as nothing could make me less happy.
I never felt that I was leaving behind a stable career for an uncertain monthly income.
The job market in Italy is so bad that a lot of researchers do not even get paid. I was among them and I decided that if I had to work for free, at least I would make myself happy doing something I truly enjoyed. Yes, it is difficult, I never know if a paycheck is going to come, but ultimately I like it so much better than writing endless papers on the same topic over and over.
Nobody ever said less than an encouraging word to me.
My parents were happy I was finally deciding to do something that made me fully happy. My sister started shooting ideas at me, and my cousin and friends helped by teaching me the basics of SEO and blogging.
Now, I travel, write about travelling and don’t really make much money out of it. But, then again, whatever money I end up making, it only goes to me and it only is because of me 🙂
A quote that inspires me
“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one’s lifetime.” Mark Twain, The Innocents Abroad. I suppose it really reflects who I am: a former human rights lawyer who thinks that conscious travelling can open minds and stimulate peace.
A message for people yearning to switch careers:
Just do it! It is never too late to search for happiness.
A memorable travel experience
My crazy night in Istanbul
I had been in Istanbul for a few days, for a conference, but I had decided I would spend a couple of extra days just to enjoy the city. I was making my way back to my hostel, near Taksim square, and right in the tiny alley, I saw a backpacker who struggled with a huge map and looked lost. I asked him if he needed help, and he said he was looking for his hostel. It turned out that he was staying in the same hostel, so we walked there together. Julien – that was his name – was placed in the dorm right in front of mine. When he knocked on my door the day after to say he was going to wander around town, I thought I might join him. We experienced all the sides of Istanbul in those 12 hours that we spent walking around. From the spice market, to the shisha smoking bars of Sultanamet, to the pretty views from the Galata tower. From having a raki to breaking into a wedding celebration near Istiklal avenue, to joining a bunch of random people for a drink in what turned out to be the gay part of town, just because we followed the sound of music. I did not even go to bed before catching my flight back to Italy. I arrived home with a huge headache, but happy for having had some of the best time I had had in years, and for having found a new friend.
If travel has made a difference to your life, inspired you in any way,or given you cherishable memories, feel free to get in touch and contribute to this series.You can mail in your posts to admin@europediaries.net
It was a cold January morning, and I was up early..in fact, very early, considering the fact that I am a night-bird. As I locked my room to leave, I quickly glanced at my watch to make sure I wasn’t late. 5:55 am. ‘Well, I’m right on time’, I thought to myself, just as I received a call from Jason (let’s call him that for now). He was here already! Now, ever since I started travelling across Europe, carpooling has been one of my favourite means of transport for distances that could be covered in a few hours. Although a few hours in a country like India won’t really get you too far, you can easily travel to a different country in the same time if you are in Europe. You get to meet new people, save up on time(in comparison to buses) and is a lot cheaper than trains.
On this particular morning, I had to get to Zurich. and this was the only carpooling option I had found on mitfahr. Jason was kind enough to drive to my location, and within ten minutes or so, we were on the highway. We started off our conversation with a few basic questions about each other and gradually progressed to talking about a wide range of topics: from the differences between German and Swiss-German to higher education, history and life, in general.
Since there is a lot of French influence in the dialect, Swiss-German can be quite confusing to understand; especially if you have some knowledge of German or Hochdeutsch , as it is called. Only in Switzerland, will you hear people say ‘Merci vielmal’, which is a mixture of French and German to say ‘Thankyou very much’. Besides, there may even be different German words for the same thing, depending on which region of Germany you live in. After an amusing discussion of confusing situations, language difficulties , followed by an insight into the German and Swiss history, we somehow started talking about work, career goals and happiness in life.
It was then that he casually talked about being a journalist at one point. And that was enough for me to bombard him with a series of questions.
So, Jason started off his career as a journalist, and had to travel to remote locations often. He stayed at home and drove long distances for work. On one uneventful night, he broke the speed limit on a German highway, and his driving license was suspended for a period of six to twelve months (I’m not exactly sure). Since there were no public transport connections to get to the area he was working in, he was forced to stay at home.
“But, why couldn’t you find another way to go to work? Or find a temporary flat close by?”, I asked him. He told me that none of the options worked out for him, and after trying out a lot of things, he just stayed at home, dejected and frustrated.
His father had a business related to civil engineering, and asked him to help out with Computer Hardware , since he ‘wasn’t doing anything anyway’. ‘But, how can I help you out? I only know how to switch on a computer and do some basic things!’, Jason’s remarks had no effect on his father, who got him enrolled in relevant computer courses.
Though reluctant at first, Jason gradually started taking interest in the courses. It was a whole new world waiting to be discovered for him. He started working hard on the lessons, trying out new things at home, and then started helping out his father’s business. One day,as he was working on setting up some computers in office, a client of his father observed him from a distance. He then asked him if he could take a look at his computer, as it was having some problems. Jason volunteered to do so, and fixed the problem. The client was impressed and recommended him to others too.
As time passed by, Jason got a lot more work requests and he helped expand his father’s business too. He was good at his new work and was happy about it. He decided to continue working in this field and after a couple years, joined another company.
“That computer illiterate person was me twenty years ago.I have come a long way after that.” I was gaping at him already while he narrated his story to me, and when he said that we had nearly reached his office, I was even more surprised to see where we were heading…”Welcome to the (Company) Headquarters. I am the Head of IT department here.”
At this point, I was deep in shock. There was a barrage of thoughts speeding across my mind. Neither of us had enough change, and so, he suggested going up to his office and asking someone. As I waited at the reception and saw all these people suited up, starting off their daily work, my mind kept replaying Jason’s story and I just could not get over it.
Pursuing a career that you love is what everybody wants, but not all of them get around to doing so. I guess, what I mainly thought about ,was:
1.Merely getting a degree does not qualify you to pursue the career you want. If you have the determination to learn something new , and work hard, experience gets you far in life.
2.It is never too late to discover your passion or things that you may be good at. Never stop learning.
3 Career switches are not impossible. It all depends on your interests and how serious you are.
4.Be open to new situations and challenges.
5.Make the best use of opportunities you see.Do not be afraid if you are put of your comfort zone. Expecting the unexpected may land you in a good place too! Or as quoted by Paulo Coelho,
“Sometimes a wrong train can take us to the right place.”
Travellers’ Tales is a new series on this blog, inviting travellers to share some of their inspiring or memorable experiences.If travel has made a difference to your life, inspired you in any way,or given you cherishable memories, feel free to get in touch and contribute to this series.You can mail in your posts to admin@europediaries.net
To begin my #MythicalMondays series, I decided on starting off with Switzerland. The idea for this post had come to me for the first time last year, during the Fasnacht, as I started asking my friends what the Basilisk was. So, I read up on some of the myths and legends , and here are a few of them from the beautiful country of Switzerland.If you know of any more, do let me know.I will be focusing on a different country each month.So, you are most welcome to get in touch with me if you would like to contribute towards the blog.So, let’s get into exploring some myths,legends and stories from Switzerland –
1.The Basilisk – If you happen to visit Basel, you will see mentions of ‘Basilisk’ around the city. You will also notice several fountains and statues of a strange creature, that partially resembles a dragon or a snake. On asking around, I got introduced to the story behind it. The Basilisk is a mythical creature, that dates back to as far as the 1400’s.It is said to have been extremely poisonous and could kill people in one glance alone. The Greek word ‘Basileus’ means King, and the creature could have been referred to, as the King of snakes. Apparently, it was born when a cockerel laid an egg that was incubated by a snake.As bizarre as this sounds, it has been mentioned in various stories,plays and even in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.The Basilisk was a powerful creature, that is depicted as a small dragon, with the tail of a snake and the head of a cockerel. It would not glide like a snake but walk upright, and could even kill the grass if it moved across it. The only way to kill it was to show it it’s own reflection.
A Basilisk fountain along the Rhine in Basel. Picture source: Souvik Ghosh
The Basilisk has been an important symbol of Basel for at least 500 years, and is seen holding the coat of arms, even today. A monument commemorating the great destruction of the city in the 1356 earthquake, has an epitaph which says:
“Basilisk, you poisonous worm and fable, now you shall hold the shield of the dignified city of Basel”.
2.William Tell – A lot of you may be familiar with the legend of William Tell, who was forced to shoot an arrow across an apple off his son’s head. This is said to have happened in Uri, located in Central Switzerland. Legend has it that a tyrant bailiff called Gessler demanded that people greeted his hat on a rod, when they saw it in the streets.When William Tell refused, he was taken captive, and was forced to shoot the apple on his son’s head.He had a second arrow ready for the tyrant, incase he would have harmed his son, but luckily, his aim was perfect. Later on, he was responsible for killing Gessler. Historians have argued over the existence of Tell and this story, but Wiliam Tell became an important part of the Swiss culture.He became a symbol of liberty, and was looked upto, during times of war and revolution.The Museum of William Tell is located in Bürglen (Uri, Central Switzerland), where Tell lived according to the legend. You can also attend an open-air theatre performance based on this story at Interlaken.
3.Heidi – Heidi is a story about a young girl in the Swiss Alps, written in 1880 by Johanna Spyri. Several movies and cartoons have been made based on the novel, and the book as well as the adaptations have been extremely popular throughout the world.
4.The witch of Belalp – Witch hunting was common in Europe in the Middle Ages. But, there is one story that is remembered even today.A certain witch in the Belalp region was accused of being responsible for her husband’s death, and was burned at stake. Now, this story is commemorated by a week long skiing event (in January) in Belalp , in which people dress up as witches,wear masks, and participate in the 12 km long ‘Witches’ Descent’. Meanwhile, cries of „D’Häx isch los!“ can be heard, which translates to “The Witch is loose!” However, I came across an elaborate story in an article written by Christina Pfeiffer at traveltherenext.com,
“Legend has it that a witch who was married to a pious man fell in love with a sorcerer. Whenever the lovers wanted to meet, they turned themselves into black ravens.One day the witch was at the top of the Aletsch glacier boiling soup in a cauldron, she discovered that she had run out of garlic and raced down the glacier to her herb garden for some fresh garlic. On her way, she spotted her pious husband perched high up on a branch of a cherry tree picking fruit. The witch turned herself into a black raven and flew up to greet him. At that very moment, the pious husband had decided to say his afternoon prayers and as he turned his face towards the sky, the raven inadvertently deposited bird droppings into his eye. Blinded, he fell off the tree and died instantly. The village authorities accused the witch of using her cauldron to cast an evil spell on her husband and she was burned at the stake.Centuries later, the Belalp ski club formed the Belalp Hexe in honour of this poor misunderstood witch. The finishing line or the race is believed to be at the very spot where the pious husband dropped dead in the cherry tree. ”
All set for the Belalps ‘Witches’ Descent’ skiing event! Picture source:Acecabana.com
5.The dragons of Mt.Pilatus– Mount Pilatus in the Lucerne region is a hotspot for tourists.However, interesting stories and legends stem from there. For instance, one legend says that dragons with healing powers lived in the crevices of the mountain. Another story also details how a young cooper was stuck on Mount Pilatus, but stayed safe in a dragon’s cave through the winter. A different legend also stems from the region, according to which, the body of Pontius Pilate was sunk in the Lake Oberalp on Mount Pilatus,after trying to sink the body in other rivers.The ghost of Pilate appeared to cause thunderstorms in the area. People believed that it rose every year on Good Friday, ‘to wash the blood of Christ from its hands’. He is said to have ultimately found peace in Pilatus.
6.The Dwarfs of the Alps – I came across some stories of ‘The Dwarfs, or Earth-men’ of Switzerland, who are said to have been lively,helpful and very kind. They were mainly involved in rearing chamois, a type of cattle whose milk was used to make a tasty and special kind of cheese. This cheese had the property of re-growing, after being cut. But ofcourse, the owner had to make sure that he did not finish off the entire piece of cheese, and left a little portion at the end to let it sprout.Several interesting stories about these dwarfs can be found on this website.
7.Teufelsbrücke or Devil’s Bridge– This is a bridge located in Central Switzerland, in the Schöllenen Gorge. It was extremely difficult to construct it, and a myth says that owing to the level of difficulty, the Devil himself agreed to carry out the task.But ofcourse, he had a condition. He wanted to take the soul of the first to cross the bridge. When the time came, the locals chased a goat over it. Tricked by the villagers, the Devil was so angry that he wanted to smash the bridge and went ahead to get a huge stone- which is referred to, as the ‘Devil’s Stone’. On his way, he saw a woman carrying a cross, and got scared by it. In that moment of fear, he dropped the stone and fled. The stone can be seen near Göschenen.
8.Vogel Gryff Basel- I am ending this blog with another legend and tradition observed in Basel. On one particular afternoon in January, the city of Basel observes a tradition in which three symbolic figures of the societies of KleinBasel – Wilder Mann (the savage man), Leu (the lion) and Vogel Gryff (the griffin) meet at Mittlere Brucke and dance, while facing KleinBasel. Basel is divided into two parts: Gross , meaning ‘large’ and Klein, meaning ‘small’. In earlier times, the different societies served political purposes, but in 1841, they moved to the same building and started having a joint celebration every year.Switzerland Tourism offers more information on their website.
Being a culture buff, I love exploring places, connecting with people and finding out about the history,art and culture of places I visit/live in. Legends and stories related to cities or countries fascinate me, and I find it very interesting to learn about people’s beliefs, thoughts, and how it shaped their culture.Some of these legends have gone on to be an integral part of the city/country, and are remembered by people even today.
So, well, I have been thinking of starting a series on my blog for long, related to this, and it is time I put it into action.Welcome to my monthly series called #MythicalMondays, in which I will be posting an article titled ‘Myths,Legends and folklore from (country) ‘ on the first Monday of every month. In preparation for this, I will be reading up on the country, talking to locals and seek to collaborate with you folks!
Come get involved!
If you are aware of any legends, stories or myths from your city/region/country, you can send in your idea or story to me at admin@europediaries.net , along with your blog url (if any) and Twitter handle/Facebook page (as per your preference). I will include it in my country-specific post.
If you would like to contribute a longer article, you are most welcome to write a guest post for this blog:) Just get in touch with me via email /contact form or social media.
You can also connect with me on Twitter or Facebook using the hashtag #MythicalMondays and I will get back to you!
Since this idea first came to me regarding Swiss legends , I will be starting off the series with Switzerland in April, and then doing it for Spain in May.
For Switzerland, please send in your contributions by 3rd April, so that I upload the article on 6th. For Spain,please get in touch by 25th April!
For all other countries too, do mail me your thoughts and I will write back.
So, join me on this journey and look out for #MythicalMondays!
On the occassion of a dear friend’s birthday today, last night we decided to bake a cake for her. The type of cake to be baked needed some pondering though. The birthday girl loves cats and coffee and is extremely creative. So, when a friend suddenly got the idea of baking a Schwedentorte (Swedish cake) and incorporating cats on it, we (figuratively) jumped in excitement and rushed to Coop to buy Marzipan and the other ingredients needed.
Some of the things we bought:Marzipan,Marmalade,candles
She found the recipe online,and we just worked accordingly. Fortunately, we had a cat shaped cookie cutter, (apart from a donkey and other things), and so we flattened out the Marzipan rolls and cut out cats in different colours. My friend made the grass patches in green, and we tried to make different types of cats. Honestly, I have never been a cat person, but doing this was so much fun! I felt like a kid playing with mould and making different things out of it. I think it is a good idea to do such spontaneous things and get creative with friends. Certainly a stress buster 🙂 I am sure that none of my friends back home would ever think that I could co-bake a cake or do any kind of Arts&Crafts, based on what they remember from school.But hey, there is a first time for everything and you are never too old to try out anything new!
Top:Sleepy Cat and Meh Cat, right after production. Bottom:The first cats and grass patches made.
After about two and a half hours or so in total, we had finally made the cake and lots of extra vanilla sauce. Here is what it looked like:
Cat themed cake (Schwedentorte) for a cat and coffee loving friend:)
I have always felt that the best way to explore a city is by walking around. Infact, this is a part of my routine whenever I move to a new place – just walking around and discovering small and big shops, landmarks, local eateries,supermarkets. Ofcourse, I have Google Maps to bank upon, incase I go too far and get confused while coming back! I also like doing the same thing when I am visiting a new town or city, although I end up asking people and not Google Maps most of the time.
So, this week, I attended a conference in a small southern German town called Tübingen, which is quite close to Stuttgart, and lies in the historical Schwaben region. Tübingen is primarily popular for the university and attracts several exchange students each year. I had visited the town once earlier in 2013, when a very close friend was working there for a while, and had found the most incredible dumplings with mushroom sauce in a restaurant called Neckarmuller. So, naturally, when I got to know that I would be re-visiting the city, I was really hoping to visit the restaurant again! And, well, imagine my surprise when I reached my hotel room and saw this:
View from my hotel room: The Neckarmuller Restaurant and Brewerie overlooking the river.
Although we had a hectic schedule throughout the conference, my colleagues and I did not want to miss out on exploring the town. So, we set off walking around, asking people for directions and recommendations. Also, none of us had internet on our phones while roaming, so a preliminary research and then the local people were what we were banking upon.
Luckily, we were located quite close to the city centre, and did not take long to reach the old town. The old town or the Altstadt is quite intact,and gives a great feeling while walking around the narrow,cobbled lanes, passing by houses built several centuries ago.
A local recommended we visit the farmer’s market and gave us directions to the castle also. After walking around for a little bit, I stopped to buy a postcard , one of my favourite travel souvenirs.
It was a sunny Saturday morning , just perfect to stroll around 🙂
After asking for directions once again, we reached the castle – Schloss Hohentübingen , which has been taken over by the University, and houses an archaelogical/historical museum, apart from offering a great view of the town. The Schloss is also an important location in the history of Science, as Friedrich Miescher (from Basel) had first extracted and identified nucleic acid,w hile working there. This was way back around 1869 and was a great achievement in the field of genetics.In his memory, several inscriptions can be found on the walls of the castle,including an indication of where his laboratory was located. A long time later, in 1953, Watson and Crick discovered the double helix structure of the DNA at Cambridge University, and a coloured replica can be found in the city, commemorating the work of all these scientists.
Outside the castle
Schloss Hohentubingen
View of the town from the castle
The DNA structure, in memory of Meischer,Watson and Crick.
Through the tunnel
A 32,000 years old horse figurine is located in the museum of the Schloss Hohentubingen.
We went back to the castle in the evening, and watched the sun go down.It felt very soothing to just be sitting on one of the benches, watching the sunset and talking to each other. We would certainly do so every weekend, had we been living there.
One another day, we saw one more interesting piece of art, located at the Institute of Microbiology and Virology. Take a look at the image below.What do you think it is?
Pi Chacan: The symbol of rebirth
This sculpture is known as Pi–Chacán, and is a symbol of rebirth, made by the Peruvian artist Fernando de la Jara in 2001. We found a few news reports online, stating how a tourist entered the structure and got stuck. He had to be rescued by firefighters!
Overall, I would say that we had a busy but good stay in Tubingen. Honestly, none of us found the general food to be very good. But, the dumplings will always be fondly remembered by me.
What about you?Have you visited South Germany?What food or places did you like?Let me know:)
Before travelling to any new place, I am generally busy looking up things, making notes of what I could do or see, and am very excited about exploring a new town/city/region. Each experience is different, and memories attached to each place vary greatly. However, before I return, I almost always buy a souvenir to bring back with me, that serves as a reminder of the trip and brings back memories whenever I see it. l also love safekeeping small things associated wth my travels.I must admit though that many of the souvenirs I buy are for my house in India, and my parents love showcasing them and listening to my stories about it.
Hence, when I saw a post on Travel souvenirs written by my blogger friend Allane on Packing my Suitcase, which was inspired by a post written by Indah on Indah’s:travel story and photography, I could not resist the idea of writing one myself! So, here is a list of some of the souvenirs I have collected in the past three years. Maybe I’ll keep adding on to the list in the coming months:)
1.Postcards- I really like buying postcards whenever I travel to a new place. While I keep some for myself, I occassionally post a few either to my parents or to some of my friends.They are light,inexpensive and are definitely on my list of collectables.
2. Magnets- These are another category of souvenirs I love collecting. I put them all up on my fridge or on my cupboards back home.
3.Souvenir plates- Several years ago, when my father used to travel around the world, he often got back a few of the small souvenir plates from different countries, apart from other things.I wanted to expand our collection, and have bought a few of these myself.
4. Other souvenirs – Some of the other souvenirs include this flask from Heidelberg, lace coasters and bookmarks from Belgium, paintings, christmas market mugs,etc. I also often take back the local food specialities, such as cheese,chocolates,sweets,etc.
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Glasses from the Christmas market in Bonn,Germany.
5.Keepsakes – There are a lot of things from my travels that I just don’t want to part with. Sometimes, I keep my boarding passes, bus tickets, museum passes, city maps, flyers and other such things. I also tend to keep notes left by friends or maps/directions drawn by people I have met while travelling/Couchsurfing, etc.Oh, and also coins from different countries!
Coins from six countries
What about you? Do you also like collecting travel souvenirs?What are your favourites?Do let me know!
A few months ago,I decided to visit Milan en route to Budapest.It was the first Italian city I would visit, and so, was super excited! I just had the most common notions about the city: that it was the fashion capital and a very touristic place. I was told to take the metro from the central station, to get to the city quickly. I could get off at Cadorna , or otherwise, at the Duomo. I got off at Duomo, but hadn’t anticipated the beautiful sight that awaited me shortly after coming out- the magnificent cathedral: Duomo di Milano, in all its glory! Enthralled by the sheer beauty of the structure, I knew I had to grab my camera and take a picture.However, I somehow kept delaying posting the pictures on this blog. Hence, a few days ago, when I was told about the #NoFilter Milan project, organized by the London City Airport, I knew I had to take the opportunity to post a few unfiltered and unedited pictures of the city.
What struck me most about Milan, was the sheer contrast of people you find in the city.I was mostly expecting to see shopaholics frequenting the luxury malls.But, that wasn’t the case. The area around the Duomo was extremely lively, with all sorts of people. I was surprised by the huge number of hawkers outside the station, trying to sell varied products to the passerbys. There were, ofcourse, a lot of tourists, some of whom, like me, were moving around with their suitcases.Then, there were those, who sat in pairs or in groups, observing the numerous selfies being clicked all around, and sometimes, offering to take their pictures too. There were some who kept trying to talk to random strangers, asking for donations or help. And, also those who toiled in the sun, trying to make a living by selling food,gelato or other products to the tourists. Quite a few policemen were spotted in the area too, and were extremely helpful when I tried asking for directions.
While in Milan,you can visit some of the art galleries and museums, like the Brera Gallery or the Leonardo Da Vinci Science and Technology Museum, depending on your interest. Da Vinci’s famous painting of the ‘Last Supper’ is preserved in the church of Santa Marie delle Grazie, which is about 15 minutes away from the Duomo.
After a few hours of walking around, I wanted to just sit somewhere peacefully and get something to eat. I spotted a chic cafe/gelateria, but with such a huge queue that put me off. I wanted to acess the wifi somewhere, and get in touch with Aila, who had offered to host me at her place. Milan offers free wifi at many places in the city, though I got connected while sitting at one of the McDonald’s cafe in the area. By the time I reached Aila’s place (after getting up on a wrong tram and wasting an hour or so), I was quite tired, and also worried about catching an early morning flight. If you intend to spend a whole day travelling around Milan, getting a day ticket for 4 euros or so would be the best option.
I like that many of the residential buildings in Milan are old, and give you a feel of the architecture of the olden days. You can of course, find a number of stylish skyscrapers and multi-storey buildings in other parts of the city, especially on the way to the Milan Malpensa Airport.My host was very welcoming, apart from being very quick and creative with everything; from cooking to home decor. Apparently, it is very difficult to find work in the city if you don’t speak Italian. I must say that I was surprised seeing the budget-friendly rates at several hair saloons and eateries in her area. We went out for a walk at night, and I saw some more places, that I probably would not have seen, if I was a lonely tourist. This is why I love meeting locals and staying with them; you get a much better perspective of the city and the culture. Later that night, I wrote down a few Indian recipes for her,and we exchanged a lot of stories, apart from addresses for keeping in touch. Here are some of the raw pictures from the city:
The magnificent Duomo: an iconic symbol of Milan
The radiant glow
Food on the move: Spotted outside a high-end fashion store.Who wouldn’t love a gelato?
The mesmerizing roof
Flying out of Milan!
Here’s a more elaborated post about Milan by a blogger friend, incase you are looking for tips about where to eat, what to do, etc. Have fun!
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