London - A City Fantastique!

I Love London!
Yes, the capital city of The Great Britain is a phenomenol place to be in. London has so much to see and do that even 15 days in London may seem short. Hence I have divided my visit to London into many blog posts, first of which is this.

Small Introduction of London - even for those who are familiar with the city!

London, the capital of England or Great Britain is a city whose foundation dates back a long time. With a very rich history combined with all modern amenities of a developed city, London is the heartthrob of its nation. Its a very diverse city which people from different parts of the world have made their home.

Right from theatres to river cruises to cathedrals to famous bridges to historical buildings, palaces, museums, sport centres like Lords and Wimbledon to its pub culture, London has practically everything for everyone thus making it world’s most vibrant, lively and exciting city to be in. Therefore it is not surprising that London is visited by more than 15 million tourists’ year on year.

You can reach London via one of the many flights connecting the world's busiest airport - Heathrow to various destinations or via EuroStar trai which connects London with mainland Europe.

We had taken a flight from Grenoble (France) to Stansted Airport, London and then from the airport we took a bus to the city. But here is the detail of various airports of London and different ways to travel to and fro from the city.

To and Fro Airport

Gatwick Airport – www.gatwickexpress.com from Airport to Victoria Station every 15 minutes, from 5 AM early morning to 1:30 AM past midnight. One way adult ticket is £16.90 and a return ticket is £28.80. Children ticket (5 -15 years) is just half of these prices.

Heathrow Airport – www.heathrowexpress.com from Airport to Paddington Station every 15 minutes, from 5 AM early morning to 12 AM midnight daily. One way adult ticket is £14 and a return ticket is £26. Children ticket is half these prices. This is a high-speed but costly option. Cheaper option from Heathrow is to take the London Underground, also known as ‘Tube’. You can take the Piccadilly line to central London or change lines at appropriate stations to reach your final destination. Tube takes much longer (at least an hour) but is very convenient and easy to navigate if you have a tube map. You also have the option of taking a bus to central London from Heathrow. www.nationalexpress.com connects Heathrow with London and other destinations. I suggest you to check out their website before your travel for latest fares and discount schemes on offer. You can also book your ticket online in case you get a nice discount otherwise for the sake of flexibility, you can always take the tickets once you land at the airport.

Stansted Airport – www.stanstedexpress.com is a train from Airport to Liverpool street will cost you about £24 for a return ticket. Children (5-15 years of age) go at half the price. The trains depart every 15 minutes from 5:30 AM early morning to 12:30 AM past midnight. Apart from this National Express buses connect Stansted to various parts of London and other destinations. You can check out the latest fares, discount schemes and timings from their website www.nationalexpress.com

I am tired now... will tell you more about the fabulous and most convenient transport system in London... in the next post.

Switzerland - Zurich

Zurich, the largest city in Switzerland is a major business center in Europe. It is also an important center as the cultural capital of Switzerland. The two museums of Kunsthaus and the Rietberg, act as important centers of Art. Zurich has a lot of churches, museums and since it is an important business center, there are over 400 pubs and bars.

A day trip to Zurich is more than enough from a tourist's point of view. Main attractions:

• Kunsthaus Museum has a large collection of classic modern art from around the world
• Church of St Peter has the largest clock face (8.7 mt) built in 1534
• Church of Grossmunster which was built around 820
• Church of Fraumunster built in 874
• Lindenhof which is site of Roman and Medieval castle near St Peters
• Lake Zurich, the lake side is abuzz with lots of activity on weekends and in the evenings
  
  

If you really want to see the financial district, you can head to Parade-Platz in the middle of Bahnhofstrasse.
The most famous areas for night life are Niederdorf and Langstrasse with bars, restaurants and lounges.
Here are a few pictures of Zurich:

Switzerland - Lucerne

This was day 3 of our Switzerland trip. We are staying at Interlaken and make day trips to various places in Switzerland. Lucerne was another of those day trips, but the amount of sightseeing the city had to offer, we could have stayed for another day.

Lucerne, situated at the shores of Lake Lucerne, is a city of town squares and churches and most populous in Central Switzerland. It is one of the most coveted of tourist stopovers in Europe. Most tourists make it a daytrip and visit the 'must-see' attractions of the city which includes:

• Kapellbrücke- The wooden chapel bridge built in 1333, has around 120 triangular paintings from 1500's. These paintings capture the city's history through the years. Kapellbrücke was destroyed in a 1993 fire, but an excellent restoration work has recreated the magic.
• Lion Monument - In a small park off Lowenplatz, this famous carving of a dying Lion was made by Bertel Thorvaldsen. This monument commerates the swiss guards who died during the French Revolution. The beauty of the monument is that it has been created using a single giant stone.

• Church of St. Leodegar, with their twin towers is a popular tourist spot. The church is popularly known as the 'Hofchile' locally. The present structure was made in 1633.

Apart from these places, one can take one of the many cruises on the scenic lake. For more adventurous tourists, Lucerne offers an opportunity to get up-close with mountains with an excursion to Pilatus or Rigi. You have options to take a cable -car all the way up or trek around the mountains for a beautiful panaromic view from the top.

But one place a tourist should definetly visit in Lucerne is the Altstadt (Old Town),having many traditional Swiss houses decorated with frescoes lines and picturesque old squares with fountains. The only way to explore Altstadt is on foot.

For shopping, Kapellgasse is the street you should be looking for. The street also leads to the Kornmarkt (Corn Market). Very close to the Kornmarkt is the Weinmarkt (Wine Market), another of the many popular traditional squares which Lucerne has.





We had a great trip to Lucerne. The old part of the city is amazingly beautiful and tells you a great deal about the traditional ways of the Swiss.

Do send me an email if you want to know more about Lucerne.

Switzerland - Mt. Titlis

We went to Mt. Titlis from Interlaken. Mt. Titlis is famous for having world's first revolving Cable Car. The truly panaromic car is not the only one in the world but it is certainly one of the most beautiful journeys. To reach Titlis you first have to reach the base station of Engleberg by train.

There are frequent trains from Lucerne and Zurich. Since we were staying in Interlaken, we took an early train from there to reach Engelberg. From Engelberg to Titlis is a three-leg cable car journey, Engelberg–Trübsee–Stand–Titlis, the last leg of which is the 'Rotair' or the Revolving Cable Car.

Here are a few pictures of the same:


We made the mistake of not checking the weather beforehand, so when we reached the top, the weather suddenly became very bad and we lost some precious time. But fortunately for us, the weather started clearing a bit and we could do the Ice Flyer over glacier.
Here are some more pictures of Titlis and the Ice Flyer:



Ice Flyer is an open cable car which sort of 'flies' over the glacier. It is a must do for all adventurous people. The main attractions of Titlis include:

• Glacier Cave - checkout the glacier from inside
  
• Ice Flyer - adventure adrenaline on an open cable car over the glacier
  
• Glacier Park - rollick on snow tubes
  
• Glacier Hike - explore the glacier on foot with a guide
• See a panaromic view from the wind protected Toporama or the so called 'South Face Window'

Unfortunately for us, the Glacier Park was closed due to bad weather!

For latest prices check out: Titlis Prices

Restaurant in Titlis are good with an option of a complete vegetarian meal. I had a vegetable soup (served with bread) and a plate of a very good tomato pasta, all for CHF 16.00.

It was a very good trip to Titlis, with the rotating cable car and the ice flyer being the highlights for us.

If you have a Swiss Pass, the journey to Engelberg will be free for you. Further, you will get almost 50% discount on the cable car ticket. The ticket will cost you $52 whereas the full fare price is $98 (Please check the current prices).

More to come ... Lucerne and Zurich ...

You can send me an email, if you want to know more.

Switzerland - Jungfraujoch

Jungfrau (pron. yoo-ng-frou) is the third highest mountain of Bernese Alps, but at 3454 mt is the highest train station in Europe. The entire journey from either Grindelwald or Lauterbrunnen through Kleine Scheidegg to Jungfraujoch is fantastic and an experience in itself. You have to change trains at Grindelwald and then at Kleine Scheidegg. All the three trains timings are connected with one another and these stations are very small, hence do not worry about missing the trains.

In the last leg of the journey from Kleine Scheideg, the train runs inside the mountain, stopping at Eigerwand. There is a large window at this station inside the mountains for a breathtaking view of the snow covered valley.Here are some of the pictures taken from the train:



After reaching the Jungfraujoch station, you have to take a lift to the top. There is a hotel, two restaurants, the Sphinx observatory research station, and the glistening "Ice Palace" at Jungfraujoch. The Ice palace has a collection of ice sculptures. Here are a few pictures of the Ice Palace:




There is a flat, snow-covered area on the plateau, where one can walk around and play in the snow. There is also a 'Top of Europe' Glacier Restaurant, where you can sip hot coffee overlooking the magnificient glacier. Here are the pictures for the same:



The trip to Jungfraujoch was an exciting trip with the train journey being the highlight of this trip. In the evening we returned to Interlaken to the cosy interiors of our hostel. Later in the night, post dinner we made bonfire in the hostel and slept satisfied with our visit to Jungfrau and looking forward to our next day trip to Mt. Titlis.
Some Tips:

• If you are staying in Interlaken, take the first train (6.35 am but please check the correct time in Interlaken) to Grindelwald or Lauterbrunnen
• The holders of Eurail Pass, Swiss Pass, Swiss Card get a special discount almost amounting to 25 to 50% of the actual fare from Interlaken to Kleine Scheidegg and then onwards to Jungfraujoch
• If you have Swiss Pass or Eurail, the journey from Interlaken to Grindelwald is free, included in the Swiss/ Eurail Pass
• If you have Swiss/Eurail Pass, you get a discount of 50% from Grindelwald to Kleine Scheidegg thus a 2nd class return ticket will cost you only Euro 16.6 (please check current ticket price)
  
• If you have Swiss/Eurail Pass, you get a discount of 25% from Kleine Scheidegg to Interlaken Ost, thus a 2nd class return ticket will cost you only Euro 34.1(please check current ticket price)
• If you don't have any passes and are planning to buy a ticket, try getting the 'Good Morning Ticket' which is priced at CHF 157.80 (Please check for the latest fare) and is for the first train leaving Interlaken. This discounted ticket is only for Interlaken to Kleine Scheidegg. Thereafter you have to pay for the actual ticket price.
  
• Check the weather before your journey. If its cloudy, you may be wasting your time.
  
• Take warm clothes. They will be required in Jungfrau even if its summer
  
• During summers you can do skiing. So be prepared and take extra cash to rent the equipment and skiing gear
• There is a ski training school as well at Jungfrau for those new to skiing
  

Mt Titlis's coming up in the next post...

Switzerland - Interlaken

Interlaken is truly heaven on Earth. If you are a nature and peace loving person, you will simply love it. Inter-laken literally means 'in between two lakes'. Imagine a green piece of land in between two lakes and surrounded by mountains from all sides! That's Interlaken for you.

We went from Geneva to Interlaken using our Swiss Eurail pass for day 1. It took us approx. 4 hours to get there. Here are some of the pictures of Interlaken:































You can sense from the pictures, that it is an absolutely amazing serene place.

What to do in Interlaken?
Really for me Interlaken is more about relaxing and taking in the beauty of nature. Sit at a cafe with friends and just enjoy. It's about photography and long walks. But thats not all you can do here. If you are more adventurous type, you can go sailing, windsurfing and mountain hiking. Then there is the most famous trip to Jungfrau (Top of Europe) which we took, but it will come later in a different post.

Where to stay?
There are many hotels in Interlaken set in beautiful settings but we preferred staying in youth hostel, as we did through our entire Europe trip. The youth hostel in Interlaken is half an hour walk from the city center, set at the shore of Lake Brienze. There is internet access, table tennis and you can create your own bonfire at the hostel. Breakfast was as good as we had in any of the youth hostels all for CHF 31.00 per person per night. Here are some pictures of the hostel :






In the next post I will write more about Jungfrau and the adventures... :)

Europe - Switzerland - Geneva

Hi, With this post I am starting a long series of posts on my Europe travel. I undertook this travel towards the end of 2006 (October to December). Three months of travel and stay in Europe, I covered almost 10-11 countries in Western Europe. I hope this series on Europe gives you insight into what to see in which countries, how to do low cost travel (Europe is damn expensive) and which places you can give a skip and others which you should not.

I have tried to include as many tips on cost saving which I experienced and practiced myself during this trip. In addition, I have tried to put in the latest prices, facts and figures wherever is possible as on day of publishing this post. Please bear with me and cross-check the prices before planning your trip.

We began with Switzerland - Geneva as this was the first place I visited. But before we delve into Geneva, here's a little how we planned our Switzerland travel:

• Ours was a 4 day trip and hence we purchased a Swiss Eurail Pass (approx. $180 each) for 4 days which included all local travel. There were a couple of boat rides free on it as well.
  
• We entered Switzerland from France through Geneva (the western most point) and reached Interlaken the same day. We based ourselves in Interlaken for the remaining days and utilized our train pass to the fullest.
• The Eurail pass also entitles you to heavy discount (50-75%) on other special tickets, like that of travel to Jungfrau etc. I will tell you as we proceed with the series.
  

Geneva is truly a business center with a business type buzz associated with it. It is the second most populous city of Switzerland and is on the border of Switzerland and France. It's charm is lake Geneva but it also has HQs for two world agencies - UN and Red Cross. The main places to visit in Geneva:

• Geneva Lake and a cruise in the same
• Jet d'eau (fountain in the midst of the lake)
• Reformation Wall
• UN Building (If you are a common traveler like we were, you will not be allowed entry)

The pics of these places are given below:

Cruise














Lake Geneva:














Jet d'eau:



















UN:



















Accommodation
We did not stay put in Geneva during our visit, but on our way back from Switzerland to Lyon, we did put up in one of the youth hostels, the Hostel Geneva close to Lake Leman. You can book the hostel here (www.hihostels.com). I would recommend the hostel, nice facility, good breakfast which is included in the price. The current price is 29.00 CHF per person. There is an extra charge of 6 CHF for non youth hostel members. You can even get the youth hostel membership over here. I would strongly recommend that you bring along youth hostel membership from your native country if you are traveling across Europe on your own.

Travel within Geneva
You can travel within Geneva using tram, trolleybus or bus servcie which is very frequent and very good though you might want to walk, as Europe is all about walking in the cities and soaking in the culture. You can reach center of the city by bus or tram and then walk around.

Cruise on Lake Geneva
A cruise on lake Geneva is a must though it's slightly expensive (approx. 20 CHF per person). Your Swiss Eurail pass though will entitle you to a free ticket on the cruise.

Museums
Geneva has more than 40 museums (like most of the European cities). But you can give them a skip as there are many other museums across Europe which should not be missed.

Food
There are three Indian restaurants in the city which I know of :

• JAIPUR: Tandoori food
• SHAHI: Again tandoori food
• ROYAL INDIA: This is more like a mixed version of Indian and European Cuisine.
  

I hope this is useful for your Geneva travel. If you want to know more, send me an email.

Lots to come on Europe... I will try and write about more European cities as frequently as possible.