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Showing posts with the label trip

Vienna Diary

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Vienna is popular for many reasons: it's been ranked as the world’s most liveable city several times, it’s home to the oldest zoo (Schönbrunn) and ferris wheel, plus it’s Austria’s capital. But what really got me enthused was that it’s also known for its cafes. Coffee in Vienna definitely lived up to its reputation, and it ticked another box from my invisible list.  The train station was five minutes on foot from Haus Wasserzeile. Our landlady had two adorable dogs, and I got to meet both, which made my stay all the more wonderful.  A specialty of Haus Wasserzeile was that residents had their breakfast together at a large table. Chatting with fellow guests, who also happened to be from outside Austria, made mornings more animated.  Vienna was more lively compared to Salzburg and Innsbruck, with restaurant hunting becoming a lot easier, and street performers adorning pathways. The four days we spent there went by quickly, and soon enough we were back in Riyadh.

Innsbruck Diary

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After our Salzburg tour, it was time for our next journey, The dazzling photos I had seen online of the picturesque little city made me eager to visit Innsbruck. Snow capped mountains were prominent in every snap, and towered above. Our ride from Salzburg to our destination was heavenly. Views of meadows, farmhouses and towns outside the train windows made the time fly by. Soon enough, we were at our stop. From the Innsbruck railway station, we caught our bus. Like in Salzburg, our hotel here was also away from the city. What made it more interesting was that it was located 2000 metres above sea level. We were to get off at Kühtai, and the bus ride there gave us a glimpse of dreamy, serene Innsbruck. My feet were itching to get off and take in the riveting scenery myself, instead of how I had been doing for too long- through a computer screen. Bus travel between Kühtai and Innsbruck had a benefit-  guests had free access to the bus pass. The next morning, we

Salzburg Diary

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After a five hour train journey with a train change in Munich, we arrived in Salzburg. We had our eyes glued to the window through the entire bus ride, taking in the sights of the quaint city and the tall, rocky Alps. Mom was especially ecstatic about the the tiny shops selling a variety of things. Our lodging was a little far from the hubbub of Salzburg. We got off at our stop, and then it was a short walk to the Boutique-Hotel, Essigmanngut. The view that met our eyes was incredible. It was the kind of thing I had only gotten to see in movies; large green, rolling meadows framed by the ranges, old-fashioned houses with sloping roofs, and no one around for miles. It was a windy day, and the trees were swaying with sunlight filtering through their branches. We had never seen a place so serene. We did face one issue however- it was difficult to locate restaurants nearby. It took us a while before we finally identified a group of them, hidden away from the main street.

Bye Bye, School

Phew! Class 12 exams are finally over, and I'm done with my schooling. The past few months have been nothing but hectic. Now, I can release that breath I've been holding. The day after the last exam, we arrived in Heidelberg, Germany. We had lunch at the Vietnamese restaurant we’re extremely fond of, but discovered that the previous chef had left, so the food wasn't as tasteful as it used to be. Later, Dad left to attend an SAP event where he was to receive an award, while Mom and I went for a walk and made sure to visit the bridge monkey. We aren't the superstitious type, but that doesn't mean we're ready to take a risk. It was a cold, windy day and we ended up shuffling back to our hotel after a while, thinking about going out later. Despite the weather, I bought a gelato because nothing was going to stop me from getting one. The rest of the day was rainy, which left us disappointed. We watched raindrops hit the wet cobblestones mournfully from our

Antwerp Diary

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Before heading off to Antwerp, we visited the Atomium, a huge building consisting of nine spheres made to represent the structure of an iron crystal. At the foot of the Atomium was Mini-Europe, which housed little replicas of important landmarks in Europe, like the Eiffel tower and the Leaning Tower of Pisa. I found Mini-Europe adorable, with the tiny toy people and boats and helicopters. Each replica had a green button in front of it. If the country the landmark was from was mentioned under the green button, pressing it would mean that the national anthem of that country would play. There were green buttons that didn't have any description under it, and on activating them, the toys would move, which made it fascinating. Mini-Europe was definitely entertaining, and the Atomium stood tall and intimidating. Our journey to Antwerp was by train, and we were looking forward to seeing the Antwerp Railway Station, as it is one of the most beautiful railway stations in the wo

The Holy Trinity Of Pissing

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On the train to Brussels, I was nearly dozing off when Mom suddenly realized that she had left her precious notebook, filled with things to do and places to see in Belgium, at home in Riyadh. Dad and I weren't surprised. It would be a lie to say that this was the first time Mom had forgotten or lost the research she had done before going on a trip. Sometimes she would lose the paper she had written on, right at home.  Brussels was picturesque and lively. Huge gothic cathedrals and buildings framed the bustling  streets, dark clouds drifted in the sky and the wheels of our suitcases made miserable noises as we wheeled them over the cobblestones while going to our hotel. Catalonia Grand Place was in the heart of the city. After dropping off our baggage, our next step was to begin a tour of Brussels. According to Mom, her superhuman brain had allowed her to store all the information about tourist attractions she had written down earlier, so even if memory had failed her

Back in Heidelberg

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Last week, my parents and I set off to Europe. Our first stop was Germany, where Dad had to attend an award function in Heidelberg. We marched like soldiers to our favorite Vietnamese restaurant , which was five minutes away from our hotel, Perkeo. Wonderful memories of the food there welcomed us and we breezed in through the door and into our seats like we were home. After a hearty lunch, we meandered to the Old Bridge, where we saw the Bridge Monkey. According to legends, if you touched its hands, mirror, face and the little mice next to it, luck would grant you another trip to Heidelberg. Till now the legends had not failed us, and I wasn't taking any chances. Later, Dad left for the function, so Mom and I bought gelatos and took photos of them to make Dad envious when he got back. We wandered around for hours before buying pizzas from Pizza Hut for dinner. The evening in Heidelberg was something out of a fairytale; the sky was purple, the streets and shops were illumi

Turtle Beach Resort

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Dad, Kunjunni, Kunji chechi and I held hands as the waves crashed on the shore. We could hear the roaring sound of the sea and feel the sand beneath our feet. The cold water pooled around us until we were hip-deep, before rushing back. The private beach was a beautiful one. The horizon stretched on with nothing interrupting its flow. No other people, not a single footprint. There was a breeze and everything was serene. Turtle Beach resort had plenty in store for us. But we were going back home in the evening so we couldn’t try out everything. My parents had arranged for a taxi to drive us in the morning, along with Kunjunni and Kunji chechi, to the resort. Valyamma and Valyachan would join us later. At the resort, we could hear the faint sound of roaring waves at the beach, which proved to be just too good to resist. Mom chose to stay out of the fun and watched us instead because a) she didn’t want to get wet and b) the waves were so huge anyway. “You won’t get wa

Swan Diary

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When the captain announced that the plane had started to descend, at first Mom and I could see nothing but clouds. Then eventually, when we felt the popping sensation in our ears, Switzerland came into view. The aerial view of Switzerland was like one of those pictures you get on postcards. I dont know why I felt so, but it was the first thing that popped into my head. Everything being so proper and perfect. But the real beauty was when the Alps came into view. Even from far away, the sight  was breathtaking. We could see the snow on the peaks of the mountains. We’d never seen snow before in our lives, so it was exciting. Snow was something we had only seen in photos and on TV. The closest chance I had got to see real snow was in Ski Dubai and in Disneyland in France, even though Ski Dubai had technically ice and Disneyland could offer only fake snow, as France had decided not to snow while we were there, but if that was a blessing or a curse, I could not tell, as in referen

Switzerland Diary - Mount Titlis Cliff Walk

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I was standing right in the middle of the swinging bridge, with my hands tightly holding onto the railing. The wind was whispering and moaning while carrying snow particles. It was the kind of strong winds I had never experienced before in my entire life. Not only were they freezing cold, they were also strong enough to push me to the other railing of the bridge if I was stupid enough to let go for a second. Every time I turned my face towards them, it was like receiving a cold, tight slap from nature. My parents were far behind. I could see them struggling against the force too. I was nearly at the end so I spread my arms and ran along its remaining length. This had definitely been scary. My face felt frozen, like my legs and arms. The wind was still howling in our ears. When Mom and Dad caught up with me they had what-were-you-crazy-enough-to-run look on their faces. The two other people behind us came and asked “How do we get down?’ We said “What?” They raised

Heidelberg Diary (Heidelberg Tagebuch)

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Oookayyy, it’s been a pretty long time since I have posted anything and sorry for that. 9 th grade has been taking control of my life so I have barely time to breathe.   Heidelberg looks straight out of a Disney movie. An old castle, river, vintage   bridge, scenic hills, churches,  paved streets - everything together added up to its beauty. I was pretty sure this was the ultimate place for all poets of the world.  We stayed at Goldener Falke . It was right in front of a square with several shops and cafés, and a fountain with a statue of Hercules on top. The hotel was interesting and cool. There was a majestic view of castle outside the window. After getting refreshed and having our breakfast, we set out to explore Heidelberg. Our hotel was very close to the Heidelberg castle. We could see the castle from anywhere. I soon noticed that we had no trouble finding our hotel and that it was in the perfect spot. Somehow we always wound up in front of it. We felt like Fe

German Diary (Deutsch Tagebuch)

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I put down my headphones and observed everyone around me. Mom was sleeping with her mouth open and Dad was nodding off.  I had just watched ‘Night of the Museum 3’ on the TV in front of me, and I gotta admit, it was kinda lame compared to the first two movies. As the plane touched down, I quickly put in my earplugs and felt the pressure on my ears. I looked out of the window and saw Germany’s surface. Mom, who was now awake (and had quickly closed her mouth) looked out with me. Dad’s project had won an award from SAP and the award ceremony was to take place at Walldorf .  So Mom and I came too and we decided to stay in Heidelberg for 5 days. As we neared the exit of Frankfurt airport, I saw someone holding my name. Boy, was I surprised! I mean I have seen plenty of people do that, but for me…… awesome! Germany was amazing; in fact it was beautiful. It’s like how you see in those movies; lush green trees on both sides and then later endless green fields stretching on a

The Disneyland Experience

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The exciting Paris tour ends with a final stop at Disneyland! Fasten your  seat-belts , ’cause you are going on the ride of a lifetime! Let’s go to the Walt Disney Studios Park, where there are only few rides but many theatres. In one theatre they even show you the birth of a character (Hi Mushu!). Go have a look at Cinemagique, where the characters come to life. Don’t miss the tram tour where you can see some artifacts from movies, experience an earthquake and see movie sets (Please keep your arms and legs inside the tram at all times). Scream as much as you can in Monster’s University. There are more stuff you can go to but the line’s too long so keep moving and reach the Disneyland Park. Disneyland Park has plenty of rides for you. The famous Sleeping Beauty castle slowly comes in view as you walk in awe. First let’s introduce you to a ride where you can learn about Pinocchio’s life (No flash photography allowed). Meet Pinocchio, the star of the

Walking-Talking Wikipedia Mom

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Mom was extremely excited about going to France and she had spent lot of days finding information and must-sees. We prepared a long list before going, so that every day went according to schedule. A day at Disneyland. A day of bus-tour. A day at the Palace of Versailles. More and more. The day we went to the museum we took a cab. Dad said ‘Louvre musee’ in 50 different ways ( Loove museum? Lure museum? Loovi museum???!! No?!)  till the driver got hold of the idea. He dropped us off right in front of it. Inside, there were hundreds of paintings, even on the ceiling and many sculptures. We stared in awe and went in the direction of the most famous exhibit- the Mona Lisa. The ‘Mona Lisa’ was tiny compared to other paintings but half of the tourists in the museum were pushing and fighting their way through to see it. Most of them ignored the others. When we got outside, it was really cold and we thought about taking the bus tour. We had to go on a BigBus so as we wo

Crêperies and Sausages

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During our stay at Paris, we stayed at Novotel Tour Eiffel Hotel, which was less than a kilometer from the Eiffel tower. Every day started with a glimpse of Eiffel tower. On our first day, when we were on our way to see the tower, and Mom was ‘oohing’ and ‘aahing’ at everything, Dad’s sensitive nose sniffed a dog. A hot dog, in fact. The street food of Paris is great, and Dad got attracted to them like a fly to a light bulb. We tried a crepe, which was nutella spread on a pancake, only that the pancake was pretty thin and on our choice, they would chop bananas or strawberries and keep them inside too. On our first try, we only bought one, so Dad and I got a molecule and Mom devoured the rest. No wonder experience is a difficult teacher. When we went to the Louvre museum, it was drizzling and strong cold winds kept slapping us in the face. Dad and I ran for shelter while Mom stood there in the open and wrestled with our umbrella. I called ‘Mom! Stop trying to op

Journal de Paris

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Hello! Did you miss me? I went on a trip to …..(drum roll please)……Paris! The three of us had been wanting to go there for a long time. Especially Mom. So this winter vacation, we stayed there for 9 fun days. Let me just say that if my French pronunciation is rusty, it’s Mom’s fault. She said Les Invalides the way we say invalid with ‘s’ at the end and pronounces Les as ‘less’. She said a lot of words that way and got annoyed when I corrected her.  I had bought a small French book with a lot of the basic words in it, so I practiced my Bonjour, Merci and s'il vous plait. Unfortunately, I did not get the chance to use them, but Dad did after learning from me. The highlight of our trip was when we went to Disneyland on our last day. When we went on the Pirates of Caribbean ride, our boat went downhill fast and the camera flashed in front of us. We were right in the front seat with about 10 people behind us in the other seats. In the photo, Dad’s eyes were wide and h