Trip to Netherlands: Day 2 - Amsterdam
Got up pretty late by my usual standards. Grabbed some breakfast and headed back to the city. First stop was supposed to be the Van Gogh museum. However it was to open its doors only at 10am. Spent time at the beautiful park behing Van Gogh Museum. Walked across to Concert Gebouw where the Amsterdam orchestra usually plays.
Headed to the Diamant Museum close by as I had about 30 minutes to spare. It was worth every cent paid. Gave me an insight into the growth of Amsterdam into a major force in Diamond trade. Also understood the importance of India in cutting and polishing of diamonds.
Entered the Van Gogh museum at 10:15am. Took the audio aid so that I could hear the stories behind the paintings of Van Gogh. The paintings were stunning and left me wondering what a genius van gogh would have been. Given the fact that he died in his mid thirties the work he left behind was stupendous. I highly recommend this museum to people touring Amsterdam.
Headed back to the city centre where in a small street called 'Nes Centrum' was a restaurant called van Reijkwik. A dutch friend of mine in Netherlands had recommended the place for authentic dutch food. Boy, was the food good. Had cream of tomato soup and piping hot cheese fondue. After the delicious meal headed to yellow bike company where the scheduled 1pm bike tour would start.
Luckily for me three ladies who had also registed for the 3 hour tour backed off and that left only the guide and me on the tour. It was a remarkable experience. There are more cycles than people in Amsterdam they say. You can find young and old alike riding bicycles. We took a tour of the entire city. Stopped over at the harbour, islands, dam square, haarlem square, van gogh museum, jordaan, anne frank huis, west church, china town, red light district and vondelpark.
It was the best experience I had in Amsterdam. Strongly recommend the bike tour to tourists.
Spent the evening with a friend in Leidseplein. Caught some indonesian food at resturant Bojo. Was good. it was time to get back to London. Found my way to the Eurolines coach station and took the bus to London.
Trip to Netherlands: Day 1 - Amsterdam & Zaanse Schans
Took the bus+ferry ride from London to Amsterdam. One of the longer bus rides I have taken in Europe (10 hours). Reached Amsterdam on a wet and rainy Saturday morning. Didn't let it dampen my spirits though. Collected the 2 day travel pass at the ticketing machine and I took the metro from Amstel Station to Centraal Station.
Amsterdam is a pretty lazy city. 8 'o clock was like very morning without too many humans on the streets. The information office was to open only by 10 AM. Not being patient enough to wait so long I decided to venture on foot into the streets of Amsterdam.
First stop was leidseplein where the holland casino is. Ofcourse it was too early to find any action there. Walked across to Vondelpark and then took the tram to Dam square. D
am square is where the royal palace is housed. It is huge and beautiful. The square also has the national monument which is a sight to behold. Madame Tussauds is also in the same square.
Headed to Zaanse Schans which is in the outskirts of Amsterdam. Had to take an inter-city train which halted at Koog Zandijk en-route. Walked over to the moot where i took the ferry ride to Zaanse Schans. What i saw next will remain etched in my memory. A half a dozen beautiful windmills were in motion and a small estuary flowing by them. There was even a museum at Zaanse Schans. Headed to one of the wind mills and paid the entry fee to go inside and venture. Climbed the ladder to the top of the wind-mill. Saw how the wind energy is converted to kinectic energy of the grinding stones. Chalk powder was being ground. Picked up a small model of the wind mill along with a hot chocolate and walked back to take the train back to Amsterdam.
Decided to check into the Stayok youth hostel in Stadholen. The hostel was pretty poor. There were 12 beds in a room and it wasnt very clean. Wouldn't recommend this to anyone visiting Amsterdam.
Washed up and headed back out again for the infamous (or should i say famous) Red Light District in Amsterdam. It was pretty crowded. Prositution is legalised in Amsterdam and that way everyone appeared safer and better off. Dint find it amusing to stick around for too long. There was eerie feeling about the place. Walked back to the hostel and crashed pretty early.
Trip to France: Day 3 - Disneyland Park
I knew there was a disneyland in Paris only after I came to London. Not being sure if I will be able to visit the one in the U.S i did not want to miss the chance to catch disney characters and rides at Disneyland park. The trip was well worth it.
Disneyland is divided into 3 parts. Frontier Land, Adventure Land and Fantasy Land. Adventure Land is mainly for kids . Fantasy Land and Frontier Land have amazing rides. The best part of the day though was the parade by Disney Characters. It was outstanding. Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Peter Pan and many other characters paraded for about 45 minutes in floats and other vehicles. The crowd was large even though it was a Monday.
The space mountain, pirates of the carribean, peter pan are some of the fun rides which are not worth missing. I would strongly recommend this for families looking for an outing.
That brought to an end my France trip. Took the RER train back to Gullieni for the bus back to London.
Labels: Disneyland Paris, Donald Duck, Mickey Mouse
Trip to France: Day 2 - Paris
Visted the Louvre museum. Saw the grand pyramid at the entrance. It sure attracts plenty of crowds. The Louvre museum is absolutely huge. It is near impossible to do justice to all exhibits in one day. I had only 4 hours time to cover as much as possible. So I decided to see the most important paintings and sculptures.
The Louvre museum is divided into 3 parts. Each section dedicated to sculptures, paintings or other exhibits. I had a chance to view Napolean III's chambers, the famed 'Monalisa', the 'Venus di Milo' sculpture, Raphael's work, Da Vinci's work among other things.
Travelled to Notre Dame de Paris basilica. It is one of the finest examples of French Gothic architecture. The archbishop of Paris is seated there. The architecture is stunning and so are the interiors. The roller skaters around the place also need special mention. Was quite a sight to see them in motion zig-zagging their way past small plastic cups enthralling audiences.
Last visit of the day was River Seine. Took the cruise on the river Seine. The boat starts off opposite Eiffel tower and takes people on a 1 hour tour covering important landmarks. It is one of the most pleasant experiences one can have. Translation are available in 7-8 languages including English.
Labels: Louvre, Monalisa, Notre Dame, Seine
Trip to France: Day 1 - Paris
Arrived by ferry from Dover to Calais and reached Paris by bus at 6am in the morning. Collected Paris visit 3-day pass and city map from the Gallieni ticket counter and proceeded to take a train to Opera, which is in the heart of Paris.
Opera is a very beautiful building. The square in front of it was well lit. BNP and Societe Generale had huge buildings in the square. Moved on towards statue next to Rue du Rivoli. The Jardines des Tullieries (gardens) were also on Rue du Rivoli. Got the first sight of the Louvre building at the end of the gardens. It was a short walk from there which brought me to Place de la Concorde, the largest square in Europe.
Place de la Concorde is humongous given that it is in the centre of the city. From there one gets a view of the Ferris wheel, Obelisk, fountains and the Avenue des Champs Elysees leading up to the Arc Triomphe. The Obelisk had Egyptian encryptions on it. It is a beautiful monolithe stone.
Avenue des Champs Elysees, one of the most beutiful streets in the world, was bordered with trees which had lights all over them. At quite some distance I got a view of a miniature Arc de Triomphe.
Walked down Champs Elysees and took a left to walk towards Les Invalides, the accommodation built by a king for wonded or disabled soldiers. Passed the Science museum and Churchill statue on the way. The Pont Alexandre III bridge leads up to the Invalides. Got my first view of the river Seine in all its spleandour. The Air France main building was also close to Invalides and was it huge?!
Walked back after visiting Invalides towards the Arc de Triomphe. The shops were just about opening in the morning on Champs Elysees. Had a look into the gorgeous Louis Vitton showroom. Finally reached Place Charle de Gaulle where the collossal Arc de Triomphe stands.
Arc de Triomphe was built to honour French soldiers who fought the Napoleonic wars. Climbed the Arc de Triomphe to get an amazing view of the city.
Walked back down Champs Elysees and down one of the sub-lanes to Parc Monseau, which is a beautiful park. Caught a glimpse of the beautiful flower decoration in The Four Seasons Hotel lobby on the way back to city centre. Took the train from there to Tullieries. Queued into Angelina Restaurant on Rue de Rivoli to sample their famous hot chocolate. It is the most delicious drink I've tasted. Managed to grab a croissant to go with it.
Took the train from there to Monmarte to visit the Basilica of the Sacre Coeur. The Basilica is situated right on top of the hill. There was a mass in progress and it was a pleasant sight. Climbed to the top of the basilica to get a magnificient view of the city. Walked out of the Basilica to Place de Tetre where all the artists had assembled. Famed artists like Salvador Dali and Picasso used to live close by. Bought a few sketches of important monuments in the city there. One must pick up paintings there if one vists the place.
Took the metro to visit the Eiffel Tower. I have seen the tower many times on television but seeing it right in front of my eyes was totally different. That someone could think about building it, designing it and actually building it left me stunned. The lighting made it even more mind-blowing. Climbed the stairs to the top. The view was awe-inspiring. Could see the entire width and breadth of the city. Managed to take a few long distance shots of the city from the top.
To bring a long day to an end, took the metro to the 3 ducks youth hostel and snoozed.
Fireworks at midnight in London
Last night was a spectacle. Waited for 3 hours close to the London eye to watch the fireworks at midnight. These are 'Best fireworks on the planet' as mentioned by the announcer over speaker. There were close to 100,000 people on London bridge, Millenium bridge and embankment watching the fireworks.
Sources tell me that the government spends about 3 million pounds for the fireworks. This includes the fireworks, security, running trains etc. It was well worth the wait for us. There was a countdown from 11:59:00 2007 to 00:00:00 2008 which was amazing. The crowd was screaming 10....9....8...7.......3.....2....1!!! And then the fireworks started. It was mind-blowing.
If any of you happen to be around in London for new year's eve don't miss the fireworks. And remember to get there between 8:30 and 9pm to get a good vantage point.
Labels: fireworks, London eye, new year
Supporter Vs Developer
Are you a supporter or developer? This was an interesting discussion which I had with a Delivery Manager at Infosys some months back. What the delivery manager was saying was that people at work can be broadly divided into 2 kinds viz. supporter and developer.
Supporters are people who work efficiently, improve constantly and clearly focussed on their growth by honing their knowledge and skills. You can often see them prepare to do lists at work, complete the tasks, tick mark the list and return home. They support the team very well this way. Consultants and subject matter experts might fall into this category.
Developers on the other hand are people who know their job is to ensure their team members perform exceedingly well. They spend time and resources to develop their skills and knowledge base and ensure that the team benefits through this. Developers might not be the best or most knowledgeable employee in the team, but they lead from the front and ensure the team gets things done and team members are commeded. Project managers and business unit leaders fall into this category.
There is nothing wrong in being in either one of these categories. It really depends on an individual's characteristics, strengths and interests. One's desire might be a supporter while they are naturally cut out to be a developer or vice versa. Self awareness often provides one with the right answers as to which role fits one better.
I am still trying to classify myself into one of these though I very clearly want to be a developer. The reason my mind went back to the discussion was because of an incident which happened today. There is a team member of mine who gave a certification on banking on Friday but did not clear it. She is a software engineer with a technical background. However domain certifications are mandated by Infosys. I clearly saw a need for her to understand banking fundamentals better to clear the exam as well as handle customer queries well. So I voluntarily held a session for about 2 hours explaining the fundamentals and ensuring that all her queries were answered. The kind of satisfaction I derived through this exercise was immense.
It remains to be seen tomorrow whether she clears the certification or not. However rest assured that I took my first step in trying to become a developer.
Labels: developer, supporter
Movie Review: Taarein Zameen Par
Watched Taarein Zameen Par last afternoon and decided to write a review on the same.
This movie is Aamir Khan's directorial debut. And has he done a good job?! The movie is outstanding. It gives viewers an insight into the life of a dislexic child. The child is abused
by his parents and teachers for not performing well in school. His talents however lie in the field
of art and they fail to recognize that. When the child is put in a boarding school, an empathetic teacher understands his problem. How he makes people aware about it and unleashes the child's potential forms rest of the movie.
The cinematography is very good. Visual effects portraying the child's imagination are innovative. Songs by Shankar-Ehsan-Loy are melodious. Lyrics (Prasoon Joshi) of 2 songs are simply superb.
Aamir Khan has taken a difficult subject and portrayed it in a very creative manner. The humor arising out of the child's pranks makes one laugh his guts out. The concluding scene is very touching and there were a few people with tears in their eyes in the cinema hall. Aamir Khan's performance is outstanding as expected.
Overall the movie is worth watching. Not the usual Bollywood naach-gana. It is a different movie.
Labels: Aamir Khan, Taarein Zameen Par
Trip to Switzerland: Day 5 - Glacier Express from Visp to Chur
The tiredness was beginning to show on Day 5. We got up a little later than usual. All other days we were up at 5am and started the day early. We had to catch the 8am train to Zermatt, which is were the glacier express starts. But we were still having breakfast then. So we decided to take the train from Interlaken to Visp and take trains from there.
Glacier express takes people on a 6.5 hour journey through snow capped mountains. The scenary is stunning and I highly recommend it. You don't have to pay anything extra if you hold the Swiss Pass. BUT you have to book in advance. We made a mistake by trying to book the previous evening and the train was already fully booked. Hence we had to take the regular train and change at 2 stations. The route though is the same.
The scenary was stunning. Took a lot of pics. Reached Chur at about 15:45 hours. Chur is a small town. We had a rather late lunch and took the train back to Zurich. We checked into Jugendherberge and snoozed early.
That brought to an end our trip to Switzerland. 5 days is enough time to see all the places. Switzerland is God's gift to mankind. Highly recommended to all travellers - especially honeymoon couples.
Labels: Chur, Glacier Express
Trip to Switzerland: Day 4 - Mt.Titlis & Luzerne
Day 4 of the trip and we set out to the gorgeous Mt.Titlis. We had to change multiple trains to get there. We went from Interlaken to Engelberg (where the 2007 ski world championships were held). From Engelberg we took the cable car to Mt.Titlis. We managed with the swiss pass till Engelberg but had to pay for our trip to Mt.Titlis.
The cable car took us half way up the mountain. From there we took the first rotating cable car in the world - RotAir. It was amazing. The view was mind blowing. Mt.Titlis is 3500 odd metres above see level. It was mightly cold on top, about -8 degrees. We enjoyed the scenary and took snaps. We also visited the Ice Cave on Mt.Titlis. Had some fries and hot chocolate in the cafeteria on top. I also managed to pick up Movenpick ice cream ;-)
Trip to Mt.Titlis was a lot more fun than Jungfrau. Both the journey as well as the scenary. En route to Engelberg the train took us in parallel to lakes and mountains. It was remarkable.
We got back to Engelberg and took the train to Luzerne. Luzerne is a beautiful town 2 hours from Zurich. The lion's monument and Kapel Brucke (Chapel Bridge) are the important sight seeing spots. We managed to cover both within an hours time as they were very close to the station. We got back to Interlaken from Luzerne.
We were dead tired at the end of the trip. Checked into the hostel and snoozed straight away.
One place we missed was Mt.Pilatus. If we had stayed in Luzerne instead of Interlaken, we could have seen Mt.Pilatus and Mt.Titlis. Mt.Pilatus is very close to Luzerne. It is something which travellers can consider.
Labels: Kapel Brucke, Luzerne, Mt.Titlis
Luckily for me three ladies who had also registed for the 3 hour tour backed off and that left only the guide and me on the tour. It was a remarkable experience. There are more cycles than people in Amsterdam they say. You can find young and old alike riding bicycles. We took a tour of the entire city. Stopped over at the harbour, islands, dam square, haarlem square, van gogh museum, jordaan, anne frank huis, west church, china town, red light district and vondelpark.
