Wednesday, December 20, 2006
Sunday, December 17, 2006
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
Am I not a man and a brother?
Well definitely not brother. There will always be difference between one human being and other. One person will always feel the others are inferior in some way or other (power, money, colour, caste, religion and if one is short on these, there are always morals to compare). It is the difference between people which actually translates into a parameter of comparison. Is there a place in the world where one can avoid this? Possibly no, everybody has to live with it.
I am watching Dom Jolly's Happy Hour on Sky One - and can feel the ridicule for whatever is different. Dom and Pete, looking for booze in and around the temples of Hampi, were purely offensive (atleast to Indians?). Of course, they did not think so.
On the BBC News at Ten, a news story to find out the cost of translation services for immigrants - the story ends in Brick Lane.
The title of this post is a very famous slogan representing the campaign against the slave trade.
I am watching Dom Jolly's Happy Hour on Sky One - and can feel the ridicule for whatever is different. Dom and Pete, looking for booze in and around the temples of Hampi, were purely offensive (atleast to Indians?). Of course, they did not think so.
On the BBC News at Ten, a news story to find out the cost of translation services for immigrants - the story ends in Brick Lane.
The title of this post is a very famous slogan representing the campaign against the slave trade.
Saturday, December 09, 2006
Tuesday, October 17, 2006
Mummy Pappa in UK
Mummy Pappa arrived in UK for the first time. Photos to be found here ... http://www.flickr.com/photos/sandy_meher/
Sunday, August 20, 2006
Pitch Black, Solaris ...
Saw both these movies last week. I am not a big fan of sci-fi movies (hmm... I enjoy Matrix, Star Trek a lot - but I am sure that does not make me a sci-fi fan). But I liked both.
Pitch Black is like many of the space travel/sci-fi movies where a spaceship crashes or gets lost and then the crew/passenger tries to fight aliens. A few of them indeed deserve to die and some do not deserve, but still die and some who are supposed to save the remaining and do that eventually. Pitch Black has similar bits but it is different on many points, too. There is an alien here, but the powers have been balanced in an interesting manner. Without Pitch Black, the aliens are powerless, rather highly vulnerable. Watch it if you get a chance.
Solaris is based on a Russian story and you can make it out by the pace of the movie. No that is not a negative comment - the movie moves very slowly but that gives the viewer a lot to think about what's happening and believe me I cannot write a lot about it. The whole story is based on an almost abandoned spaceship where a doctor (George Clooney) goes to find out what's happening and, of course, gets involved in the happenings. This one is unmissable.
Pitch Black is like many of the space travel/sci-fi movies where a spaceship crashes or gets lost and then the crew/passenger tries to fight aliens. A few of them indeed deserve to die and some do not deserve, but still die and some who are supposed to save the remaining and do that eventually. Pitch Black has similar bits but it is different on many points, too. There is an alien here, but the powers have been balanced in an interesting manner. Without Pitch Black, the aliens are powerless, rather highly vulnerable. Watch it if you get a chance.
Solaris is based on a Russian story and you can make it out by the pace of the movie. No that is not a negative comment - the movie moves very slowly but that gives the viewer a lot to think about what's happening and believe me I cannot write a lot about it. The whole story is based on an almost abandoned spaceship where a doctor (George Clooney) goes to find out what's happening and, of course, gets involved in the happenings. This one is unmissable.
Thursday, August 10, 2006
Trying my hand(s) at the Piano
Tuesday, August 01, 2006
Back on the blog
... settled in the new place after a long time and hope to start blogging regularly.
Sunday, June 04, 2006
What is in a name?
Some discussion about Apple
.
.
.
9. What kind of name is Gundeep anyway? Can anyone with a name like that be trusted? I don't think so.
Posted at 11:38AM on Jun 3rd 2006 by Rob
.
.
.
11. quote[What kind of name is Gundeep anyway? Can anyone with a name like that be trusted? I don't think so.]quote
Well, it certainly better then "Rob," a word that as a verb denotes thievery.
As an aside, it is a Punjabi word
Posted at 11:52AM on Jun 3rd 2006 by Gandhi
... :-)
.
.
.
9. What kind of name is Gundeep anyway? Can anyone with a name like that be trusted? I don't think so.
Posted at 11:38AM on Jun 3rd 2006 by Rob
.
.
.
11. quote[What kind of name is Gundeep anyway? Can anyone with a name like that be trusted? I don't think so.]quote
Well, it certainly better then "Rob," a word that as a verb denotes thievery.
As an aside, it is a Punjabi word
Posted at 11:52AM on Jun 3rd 2006 by Gandhi
... :-)
Tuesday, May 09, 2006
Web 2.0
The dot com era is making a comeback. Last time it was e-commerce, this time the buzzwords are social bookmarking, tagging, folksonomy, rss, rich user interfaces, wikis, and, of course, blogs.
Tim O'Reilly's What is Web 2.0 and Wkipedia article Web 2.0 are good starting points to understand this phenomenon.
As expected, Google and Yahoo are the big players in this game. But the innovation is oft led by start-ups which are then bought by these big companies. Try searching for "Google buys" and "Yahoo buys" in news search and you will get the point.
Flickr and Google Maps are often cited as examples of the rich user experiences. And they also known for their extensibility by providing API's(Google APIs and Yahoo Developer Network) for other developers.
Some of the names which are oft repeated in Web 2.0 articles and discussions are:
- http://del.icio.us/
- http://www.digg.com/
- http://www.technorati.com/
I am still trying to understand what these ideas are meant to deliver.
Also, if you are a Yahoo user, try the My Web 2.0 Beta(I think it is based on http://del.icio.us/, which it bought in Dec-05). And Google members can check orkut.
We all are affected, directly or indirectly, by these waves of technological changes and it would be interesting to see how long Web 2.0 lasts and what if finally evolves into.
Btw, don't forget to check the Webby Awards 2006.
Tim O'Reilly's What is Web 2.0 and Wkipedia article Web 2.0 are good starting points to understand this phenomenon.
As expected, Google and Yahoo are the big players in this game. But the innovation is oft led by start-ups which are then bought by these big companies. Try searching for "Google buys" and "Yahoo buys" in news search and you will get the point.
Flickr and Google Maps are often cited as examples of the rich user experiences. And they also known for their extensibility by providing API's(Google APIs and Yahoo Developer Network) for other developers.
Some of the names which are oft repeated in Web 2.0 articles and discussions are:
- http://del.icio.us/
- http://www.digg.com/
- http://www.technorati.com/
I am still trying to understand what these ideas are meant to deliver.
Also, if you are a Yahoo user, try the My Web 2.0 Beta(I think it is based on http://del.icio.us/, which it bought in Dec-05). And Google members can check orkut.
We all are affected, directly or indirectly, by these waves of technological changes and it would be interesting to see how long Web 2.0 lasts and what if finally evolves into.
Btw, don't forget to check the Webby Awards 2006.
Sunday, May 07, 2006
Posting in देवनागरी
A lot of bloggers are posting in देवनागरी - मराठी and हिंदी. Some of which I had stumbled upon:
मराठी साहित्य (Marathi Literature)
॥ उगाच उवाच ॥
Chayachitrakar - छायाचित्रकार
मराठी साहित्य (Marathi Literature)
॥ उगाच उवाच ॥
Chayachitrakar - छायाचित्रकार
Saturday, May 06, 2006
Chaplin
IMDB Plot Outline for Richard Attenborough's Chaplin - A film about the troubled and controversial life of the master comedy filmmaker.
After watching the movie, I disagree with the above - Chaplin's life was neither troubled nor controversial, as compared with so many from the entertainment industry. In the film, Robert Downey Jr. has done justice to his role as the great filmmaker. Anthony Hopkins plays the narrator.
Chaplin comes out to be a genius not only in filmmaking but also in managing his money (there is a reference where he says that he had sold all of his stock before the Wall Street crashed next year), managing the entertainment industry politics, managing his many affairs (he married four times and fathered 11 children), and managing his life. Born a British Jew, immigrated to USA, he refused to take up American citizenship and finally left the country in 1952 and settled down to a quiet and peaceful life in Switzerland. I didn't know anything other than his great movies - The Kid, Modern Times, Gold Rush, The Dictator among so many others. And this movie tells you what happened behind the scenes and much more.
Thursday, May 04, 2006
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan
NFAK is one of my favourite artists. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nusrat_Fateh_Ali_Khan
The range of music he has produced is immense - he has fused his qawwali with different genres and produced some mesmerising tunes. Here are few of my favourites (not in any particular order - but yes, the first two are special):
The range of music he has produced is immense - he has fused his qawwali with different genres and produced some mesmerising tunes. Here are few of my favourites (not in any particular order - but yes, the first two are special):
- Tumhain Dillagi Bhool Jani
- The Face Of Love (Dead Man Walking)
- Tere Bin Nahi Lagda
- Tu Mera Dil, Tu Meri Jaan
- Yeh Shaam Phir Nahi Aayegi
- Piya Re, Piya Re
- Mere Haath Me Tera Haath
- Mera Gam Aur Meri Har Khushi
- Pyar Ka Diya
- Aey Jaaneman
- Ishq Da Rutba
- Mera Piya Ghar Aaya
- Afreen Afreen
- Allah Hoo Allah Hoo
- Tanhai
- Tum To Na Aaye
- Ab Kiya Soche
- Shaman Paiyan
- Soona Soona Din Lagta Hai
- Yeh Jo Halka Halka Suroor Hai
- Allah, Mohammed, Char, Yaar
Tuesday, April 25, 2006
A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
contrary to what i mentioned in one of the previous posts, 'a fine balance' is not just about a parsi (yes the first 100 pages or so were). it is an anthology depicting the lives of different people in india who finally converge in mumbai. mistry tries to touch upon many of the ills that the indian society has faced and for a long time. though some (including me) may find that it is a one sided view.
the novel is grim. it shows despair, kindles hope, and then pushes the characters in a hole. and these fluctuations in the fortunes of the characters takes the reader for a ride.
i am half way through the novel and would come up with a detailed review as soon as i complete it.
the novel is grim. it shows despair, kindles hope, and then pushes the characters in a hole. and these fluctuations in the fortunes of the characters takes the reader for a ride.
i am half way through the novel and would come up with a detailed review as soon as i complete it.
Sunday, April 23, 2006
Being Cyrus
i was expecting a comedy about parsis in mumbai. i don't know why? but somehow the way parsis have been depicted previously in the bollywood or for that matter even in 'pestonji', didn't many of us expect the stereotypes (especially with a title like 'being cyrus'? the movie is about a young parsi guy trying to be an apprentice with an eccentric artist in panchgani - and getting involved in the artist's family affair which spreads to mumbai - where the artist's brother and father and his money is. but it is the female characters, wives of the brothers, who are the prime force behind the story. the movie keeps you guessing right from the beginning and you never know what's going to happen the next minute. the only aberration being a shot where a stereotype parsi neighbour does come into picture to provide comic relief.
surprisingly, i am currently reading rohinton mistry's 'a fine balance' about a parsi in mumbai - set in 1970's - during emergency. more about it later.
surprisingly, i am currently reading rohinton mistry's 'a fine balance' about a parsi in mumbai - set in 1970's - during emergency. more about it later.
Wednesday, April 19, 2006
Beautiful Switzerland
we r back from one of the most mountaineous regions in the world, switzerland to the flattest regions, norwich :-). exploring switzerland is such a philosophical experience - you suddenly realise that nature has so much to offer in abundance. whatever wonderful thing one hears about the swiss alps has not a pinch of exaggeration in it. it is indeed impossible rather than difficult to capture the whole experience in words or photos or videos - you have to be there to immerse in the beauty that is alps.
Leaving Norwich in a Fokker 70
we landed in zurich in the noon. zurich is just like any other european city. lots of places to shop. from the airport, we went to zurich hb, which is a main station from where trains to all the parts of the country and beyond depart (i think there are 28 platforms). there is another station zürich oerlikon which is between the airport and zürich hb, so visitors sometimes get confused.
Zurich airport transfer
buy the swiss pass - it is a necessity, not just convenience - you are entitled to travel throughout switzerland on trains, buses, trams, and boats(!). there are only a few special routes where you need to buy tickets (and with the swiss pass, you get a 50% reduction) e.g. if you are going to jungfraujoch, highest rail station in europe, interlaken to grindelwald is free on the swiss pass, grindelwald to kleine scheidegg and kleine scheidegg to jungfraujoch and return is not, but you get 50% discount on the tickets and yes these tickets are expensive, so a 50% discount is lot. the swiss pass can be bough online from http://mct.sbb.ch/mct/en/reisen.htm
In the train from Zurich - Luzern
the swiss trains are legendary for their service (timings, connections, frequency, views) and i had planned to cover at least a couple of special routes and one of them was the zurich-luzern-interlaken-montreaux-geneva which is called the golden pass route. luckily, i had selected a hotel in interlaken for all the three nights and i think it was a very good decision (interlaken is perfect if you plan to travel a lot on the trains to various other parts of the country). after luzern, we were treated with the breathtaking views of the swiss alps from the panaromic trains. the train windows are huge, clear and look out through them from any seats in any direction and you will see the numerous lakes (clear, clean and huge) and mountains all around (snow capped, waterfalls) and the vast expanse of greenery. small towns with different types of houses (those made out entirely of wood are beautiful) scattered far flung.
Golden Pass Line from Luzern to Interlaken
tip #1: if you are going to land in zurich and stay in interlaken or nearby, avoid the train via bern (it might be faster, but you will miss the golden pass), instead take the train via luzern.
And the postcard views start
Another one...
tip #2: don't forget to collect the train timetables from the main stations or the stations that you will be using often to take the trips. each of these timetables have the train times for all the main cities in the country and if you also get the train map, it is very easy to plan journeys.
interlaken has two rail stations - interlaken ost and interlaken west - yea, you guessed it ost means east. our hotel was just a few minutes walk from interlaken west, so planning the trips for the next 3 days was easy.
One of the many small stations along the way
In a green valley...
And then suddenly on top between snow
Die Post bus
Nice and Sunny in Interlaken
Main road in Interlaken
we expected cold weather but it was rather pleasant and sunny. late evening, got some beer and had a large dose of kebabs. there were around 20-25 channels going on in the hotel tv, but only 3 of them were english. and to my surprise, one of the german channels was showing kareena kapoor's asoka (oh yes, shahrukh also features - but i was just watching the songs which were in hindi, whereas the rest of the movie was in german).
though german is the most spoken language here, most of the people do speak english (and some also greet indians in hindi - the bollywood effect) and it is very rare not to be able to communicate. after checking in the hotel, we went out to explore this very famous (and rightly so) tourist town of interlaken. there are lot of souvenier shops and restaurants around. the shops were open late and lots of choice of places to eat - from kebabs to authentic swiss cuisine. coop and migros are two superstores (and some small outlets) if you need one (they dont give out plastic bags for free though and i thought that is a very good way to avoid too much use of plastic bags - esp. when you compare the supermarkets in uk - anyway, it is a good idea to have a couple of carry-bags with you).
the next day, i had planned the round trip .... jungfrau, top of europe, in the first half of the day and a boat ride on the burnisse lake in the later half. heck, that is not very easy - you could do that if you start very early. anyway, had a good breakfast (plenty of coffee, bread, salami, cheese, eggs[the shells are coloured :-)] ) at the hotel and then started for jungfrau. on the train journey from interlaken to grindelwald, a japanese girl perched her legs on the front seat and the ticket checker who came just shouted sternly 'SHOES OFF THE SEATS PLEASE' startling her and then you understand why interlaken is so spic and span. on the way to grindelwald, there are numerous touristy towns with hotels aplenty and you can spot a lot of them. when we got down at the small station at grindelwald, we were amazed to find the crowd - a variety of them, many with the skiing gear and soon we realised that we are going to a very cold place completely covered with snow. well...
Towards Jungfrau
Enjoying the views
Train crossings
Another one
Welcome to Grindelwald
Bahn
Chor Police
Snow everywhere
From Kleine Scheidegg
Bollywood style :-)
it was not covered with snow, it seemed the mountains were made with just ice and snow. skiers were having a fantastic time. we did not take the jungfrauch train immediately, instead explored kleine scheidegg for an hour. mili was excited with all the snow around and we did the normal tourist's rites - taking lot of photographs. i am not a skiier, so cannot speak for the facilities there, but it did seem to be good ones with lots of cable trolleys taking the skiiers up the mountains from where they can ski down.
Skiers arrive
Another song
Skiers arrive
Ice Palace
the trains which take steep rides up are cogwheel trains, they have a special track in addition to the two for the outer wheels. the weather of the top of europe was a let down, it was snowing heavily and cloudy so could not see any of the breathtaking views as expected from the top. but it was amazing how easily the trains take you 4000m on snow topped mountains in ardeous conditions. how else can we mortals (non-snow-mountain-climbers) have an experience of what goes on at that height. it was great. the facilities provided at that height are great, and it is money well worth spent. the last train from the top leaves at 16.55, so you understand why it is very important to start early for jungfrauch.
Double trouble
Jungfraubahn
On top of the world, er, of Europe
Puffed crisp packet - due to the low pressure at the high altitudes
Amidst the snow
Postcard
Interlaken Ost Station
Interlaken West
I like Colours
General-Guisanstrasse - our hotel is the one with the coloured top
Hotel Lotschberg where we stayed
The original Swiss beer - seriously don't know much about this
View from the hotel room
Another one
the next day we started a bit early for the boat trip (you can either take one on the lake thurn or lake brienz, guess why the region is called interlaken), but again it was not as early as required as we missed the boat to thurn (from interlaken west) and i was sure we will not make the brienz (from interlaken ost) one. so we decided to take the train to thurn and catch the boat back to interlaken west. it was a good decision. the 2 hr boat ride is an altogether different experience.
Waiting for the boat in Thun
Boat ride
we also got down in the small, quiet and serene village of merlingen and got a taste of what an alpine village looks like. after an hour of exploring, we took the next boat to interlaken west.
Approaching Merlingen
In Merlingen
Bells
Romance blooms
Award-winning photo :-)
In the woods
View from Merlingen
Dining area on the boat
Enjoying the Sun
now we had a complete afternoon to do something worthwhile, so decided to go to bern (1 hr ride from interlaken) and check out what the capital city looks like. bern is a typical european city - we took a tram and went around. snapped a few nice photographs and bravely decided to take the golden pass from montreaux. now bern to lausanne and lausanne to montreaux was a 1.30 hr journey but we had seen how the swiss train system works and how they are never a minute late. we made it on time to catch the golden pass train back to interlaken. fantastic. reached late night in the hotel and picked up a pizza from a local shop.
Interlaken West
Bern Station
Bern Station
Me in Bern
Singer machine - don't know what it was doing there
And all fall down
Vineyards, town, lake and the mountains
Panaromic views from the train
on the last day, after some quick souvenir shopping in interlaken, we caught the golden pass train to luzern, enjoyed the last opportunity for enjoying the beauty of swiss alps and then headed towards zurich.
Shopping in Interlaken
Enjoying the Swiss beer
After just one drink
Me and my house
at zurich hb station, we spent half an hour for finding lockers or airport check-in (unfortunately the airport check-in didn't have facilities for klm). so we found the lockers and dumped our luggage there and took the couple of hours to explore zurich in the trams
Mili on the bridge
Zurich
the klm norwich to zurich and return flights are via amsterdam. and i found this very amusing - people trying to get in a plane like a mumbai local train (well, not that bad :-))
Catch the plane, literally
Leaving Norwich in a Fokker 70
we landed in zurich in the noon. zurich is just like any other european city. lots of places to shop. from the airport, we went to zurich hb, which is a main station from where trains to all the parts of the country and beyond depart (i think there are 28 platforms). there is another station zürich oerlikon which is between the airport and zürich hb, so visitors sometimes get confused.
Zurich airport transfer
buy the swiss pass - it is a necessity, not just convenience - you are entitled to travel throughout switzerland on trains, buses, trams, and boats(!). there are only a few special routes where you need to buy tickets (and with the swiss pass, you get a 50% reduction) e.g. if you are going to jungfraujoch, highest rail station in europe, interlaken to grindelwald is free on the swiss pass, grindelwald to kleine scheidegg and kleine scheidegg to jungfraujoch and return is not, but you get 50% discount on the tickets and yes these tickets are expensive, so a 50% discount is lot. the swiss pass can be bough online from http://mct.sbb.ch/mct/en/reisen.htm
In the train from Zurich - Luzern
the swiss trains are legendary for their service (timings, connections, frequency, views) and i had planned to cover at least a couple of special routes and one of them was the zurich-luzern-interlaken-montreaux-geneva which is called the golden pass route. luckily, i had selected a hotel in interlaken for all the three nights and i think it was a very good decision (interlaken is perfect if you plan to travel a lot on the trains to various other parts of the country). after luzern, we were treated with the breathtaking views of the swiss alps from the panaromic trains. the train windows are huge, clear and look out through them from any seats in any direction and you will see the numerous lakes (clear, clean and huge) and mountains all around (snow capped, waterfalls) and the vast expanse of greenery. small towns with different types of houses (those made out entirely of wood are beautiful) scattered far flung.
Golden Pass Line from Luzern to Interlaken
tip #1: if you are going to land in zurich and stay in interlaken or nearby, avoid the train via bern (it might be faster, but you will miss the golden pass), instead take the train via luzern.
And the postcard views start
Another one...
tip #2: don't forget to collect the train timetables from the main stations or the stations that you will be using often to take the trips. each of these timetables have the train times for all the main cities in the country and if you also get the train map, it is very easy to plan journeys.
interlaken has two rail stations - interlaken ost and interlaken west - yea, you guessed it ost means east. our hotel was just a few minutes walk from interlaken west, so planning the trips for the next 3 days was easy.
One of the many small stations along the way
In a green valley...
And then suddenly on top between snow
Die Post bus
Nice and Sunny in Interlaken
Main road in Interlaken
we expected cold weather but it was rather pleasant and sunny. late evening, got some beer and had a large dose of kebabs. there were around 20-25 channels going on in the hotel tv, but only 3 of them were english. and to my surprise, one of the german channels was showing kareena kapoor's asoka (oh yes, shahrukh also features - but i was just watching the songs which were in hindi, whereas the rest of the movie was in german).
though german is the most spoken language here, most of the people do speak english (and some also greet indians in hindi - the bollywood effect) and it is very rare not to be able to communicate. after checking in the hotel, we went out to explore this very famous (and rightly so) tourist town of interlaken. there are lot of souvenier shops and restaurants around. the shops were open late and lots of choice of places to eat - from kebabs to authentic swiss cuisine. coop and migros are two superstores (and some small outlets) if you need one (they dont give out plastic bags for free though and i thought that is a very good way to avoid too much use of plastic bags - esp. when you compare the supermarkets in uk - anyway, it is a good idea to have a couple of carry-bags with you).
the next day, i had planned the round trip .... jungfrau, top of europe, in the first half of the day and a boat ride on the burnisse lake in the later half. heck, that is not very easy - you could do that if you start very early. anyway, had a good breakfast (plenty of coffee, bread, salami, cheese, eggs[the shells are coloured :-)] ) at the hotel and then started for jungfrau. on the train journey from interlaken to grindelwald, a japanese girl perched her legs on the front seat and the ticket checker who came just shouted sternly 'SHOES OFF THE SEATS PLEASE' startling her and then you understand why interlaken is so spic and span. on the way to grindelwald, there are numerous touristy towns with hotels aplenty and you can spot a lot of them. when we got down at the small station at grindelwald, we were amazed to find the crowd - a variety of them, many with the skiing gear and soon we realised that we are going to a very cold place completely covered with snow. well...
Towards Jungfrau
Enjoying the views
Train crossings
Another one
Welcome to Grindelwald
Bahn
Chor Police
Snow everywhere
From Kleine Scheidegg
Bollywood style :-)
it was not covered with snow, it seemed the mountains were made with just ice and snow. skiers were having a fantastic time. we did not take the jungfrauch train immediately, instead explored kleine scheidegg for an hour. mili was excited with all the snow around and we did the normal tourist's rites - taking lot of photographs. i am not a skiier, so cannot speak for the facilities there, but it did seem to be good ones with lots of cable trolleys taking the skiiers up the mountains from where they can ski down.
Skiers arrive
Another song
Skiers arrive
Ice Palace
the trains which take steep rides up are cogwheel trains, they have a special track in addition to the two for the outer wheels. the weather of the top of europe was a let down, it was snowing heavily and cloudy so could not see any of the breathtaking views as expected from the top. but it was amazing how easily the trains take you 4000m on snow topped mountains in ardeous conditions. how else can we mortals (non-snow-mountain-climbers) have an experience of what goes on at that height. it was great. the facilities provided at that height are great, and it is money well worth spent. the last train from the top leaves at 16.55, so you understand why it is very important to start early for jungfrauch.
Double trouble
Jungfraubahn
On top of the world, er, of Europe
Puffed crisp packet - due to the low pressure at the high altitudes
Amidst the snow
Postcard
Interlaken Ost Station
Interlaken West
I like Colours
General-Guisanstrasse - our hotel is the one with the coloured top
Hotel Lotschberg where we stayed
The original Swiss beer - seriously don't know much about this
View from the hotel room
Another one
the next day we started a bit early for the boat trip (you can either take one on the lake thurn or lake brienz, guess why the region is called interlaken), but again it was not as early as required as we missed the boat to thurn (from interlaken west) and i was sure we will not make the brienz (from interlaken ost) one. so we decided to take the train to thurn and catch the boat back to interlaken west. it was a good decision. the 2 hr boat ride is an altogether different experience.
Waiting for the boat in Thun
Boat ride
we also got down in the small, quiet and serene village of merlingen and got a taste of what an alpine village looks like. after an hour of exploring, we took the next boat to interlaken west.
Approaching Merlingen
In Merlingen
Bells
Romance blooms
Award-winning photo :-)
In the woods
View from Merlingen
Dining area on the boat
Enjoying the Sun
now we had a complete afternoon to do something worthwhile, so decided to go to bern (1 hr ride from interlaken) and check out what the capital city looks like. bern is a typical european city - we took a tram and went around. snapped a few nice photographs and bravely decided to take the golden pass from montreaux. now bern to lausanne and lausanne to montreaux was a 1.30 hr journey but we had seen how the swiss train system works and how they are never a minute late. we made it on time to catch the golden pass train back to interlaken. fantastic. reached late night in the hotel and picked up a pizza from a local shop.
Interlaken West
Bern Station
Bern Station
Me in Bern
Singer machine - don't know what it was doing there
And all fall down
Vineyards, town, lake and the mountains
Panaromic views from the train
on the last day, after some quick souvenir shopping in interlaken, we caught the golden pass train to luzern, enjoyed the last opportunity for enjoying the beauty of swiss alps and then headed towards zurich.
Shopping in Interlaken
Enjoying the Swiss beer
After just one drink
Me and my house
at zurich hb station, we spent half an hour for finding lockers or airport check-in (unfortunately the airport check-in didn't have facilities for klm). so we found the lockers and dumped our luggage there and took the couple of hours to explore zurich in the trams
Mili on the bridge
Zurich
the klm norwich to zurich and return flights are via amsterdam. and i found this very amusing - people trying to get in a plane like a mumbai local train (well, not that bad :-))
Catch the plane, literally
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