Proud of its history and gloating in the glory; Italy and I welcome you to our story!

Long, long ago…

Okay; actually not that long. 😃

Just a few days back; 😊 friends, you and I were astonished in the unbelievable Austria.

I hope that you enjoyed the experience!

Taking the euphoric celebrations through Europe another country further…

To see if our knowledge can cross the pizza/pasta boundary…

Yes friends. You’ve joined me in Italy!

Just like the well-known bliss of the Swiss,

So a Shakespeare play made this place famous?

You guessed it right! Our first stop happened to be Venice.

Freshening us up was the wet, cool evening breeze… like it was there just to tease.

I thought, the weather’s just perfect!

To go to the island, we boarded a boat.

As drops of water began dancing here and there…

For the first time in the entire trip,  everyone made use of a raincoat.

The sea has always fascinated me… Can’t say why, but it attracts me like the glue…

The waves are ever so calm… The surroundings so charmingly blue....

All this was so nice… We were in the Gondola ride…

Everyone was reminded of and my Indian readers also might remember this song…

दो लफ्जों की है, दिल की कहानी…

कुछ याद आया?

After the gondola ride, we visited a glass factory.

There, we saw a glass horse being made within a minute!

The Venice attractions, such as the Doge's Palace, Bridge of Sighs and others

Welcomed us onward to take a stroll through the city.

The next day excited us as we travelled to Florence…

We took a photo-stop at Piazzale Michelangelo, a hilltop square having a great view of the city.

And now… It was time…

That we see our most awaited Italian world-wonder…

The Leaning tower of Pisa!

Cameras/smartphones were clicking… collecting lifetime moments one by one we were picking.

What wonderful memories were we making!

Have you ever eaten a grilled sandwich or a bread roll? I tasted the Italian version… And the surprising fact? There the locals call it Panini/Panini…

Panini also happens to be the name of an Indian grammarian who is also considered the father of linguistics… Info source.

We entered the smallest country in the world, the Vatican City… there we were

In the Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel.

The cleanliness, discipline and the artwork of the great Michelangelo impressed us all…

The Roman Forum, the political and commercial center of

The historical Roman Empire attracted our attention…

With a visit to the Trevi fountain, we saw the Circus Maximus, the entertainment square

And a chariot racing stadium the of ancient Rome.

Cherishing lifetime moments we said goodbye to Rome…

And were off to our home sweet home.

Astonishingly unbelievable Austria! 😲

Very rarely; it so happens that,

We not only travel… We not only visit/go places… but,

We simply glide… float… Get lost in an experience! 😊

Hello everyone! Welcome aboard our wonderful journey through Europe.

Overwhelmed by the bliss of the Swiss,

We began the journey towards our next wonderland.

I’ve surely reached this conclusion that traveling and surprises   are always the best of friends.

For as we were moving towards our next travel curiosity,

A beautiful tram ride whistled out to us in Vaduz, Liechtenstein!

Showing the country’s cleanliness,

Greenery and natural wonder; the tram ride seem to ask,

How are you doing? Didn’t this make your day?!

Refreshed by the tram ride,

We arrived at the Swarovski Crystal World and Museum

At Wattens in the astonishingly unbelievable Austria!

The Swarovski Kristallwelten, better known as the Crystal Worlds,

_{Is a museum that was built in 1995 in celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Austria based crystal company Swarovski.}

_{The museum is decorated with many showrooms, each containing a different, eye-catching theme created from the} Swarovski _crystal.

_{The trip through the crystal world was truly mesmerizing.}

_{Energized by the creatively crystalline beauty,}

_{We took a walk through the streets of Innsbruck… observing the delightful wonders such as the Inns River, Maria Theresien Strasse, etc.}

_{The next day had decided to gift us with a truly astonishing experience…}

_{For as we began our drive towards Salzburg; meaning the salt fortress,}

_{We were, once again, lost in viewing the simply creative beauty of Europe….}

_{Be it the nicely built wooden balconies and houses… Neatly maintained gardens… What to pick? How much to click? 🙂}

_{Admiring the surroundings,}

_{We took a walking tour of the city of music…}

_{The morning flew away as we were engrossed in seeing the various attractions of Salzburg}

_{Such as the birthplace  of Mozart, Salzburg Cathedral, the Salzach River, etc.}

_{The afternoon smiled upon us,}

_{As we visited the Hallein salt mine or the Salzbergwerk Dürrnberg, an underground salt mine /museum in the Dürrnberg plateau above Hallein.}

_{To me, it was much, much more than just a visit… it felt like a magical adventure… 😲}

_{An adventure filled with inspiration, wonder and lifelong memories.}

_{In all, Austria is, I feel somewhat like this.}

Rarely it so happens that we not only visit a place,

But, get lost in the experience!

Hoping you’ll join in the euphoric celebration…

See you soon at another wondrous destination!

There are some things in life that no one should miss? at least once, do visit Swiss!

Hello everyone! Welcome!

Inspired and excited by the journey  through Germany/Deutschland,

The cool, fresh breeze

Embraced us as we moved towards the scenically serene Switzerland!

Beauty was abound…

Be it the sky, the mountains or even just the ground.

The snowcapped mountains… glittering with inexpressible splendor… neatly growing trees… wow! Just breathtakingly beautiful….

All this was there, we were having fun!

To me,

 It really felt as if god had ornamented this environment to welcome us into earth’s heaven.

_Just wandering around our hotel was a great delight,

_{However the clocks were saying, it’s time already. Just sleep tight!}

_{We obeyed the advice,}

_{For the experience that we had the day ahead can’t be valued at any price!}

_{Good morning! Called out the sunrise,}

_{We opened the window. The view was anything beyond the word; surprise!}

_{Just... just wow!}

_{With a really fast,  breakfast there we did, for everyone, be it young or old, was as eager as a kid!}

_{Falling in love, is only once, as they say.}

_{For the few minutes of walking, we were again charmed by the surroundings…}

_{Walking? Sorry. Such boring English. To me it was like; we were gliding away.}

_{Now, we could only exclaim, wow! Bravo! Awesome!}

_{Be it the cable car or the rotating Titlis Rotair,}

_{That lifted us high through the snowy air,}

_{The world around had just turned stunningly Wight, the mountain giving the message to dare.}

_{Climbing up, up and up…. we were there just to admire,}

_{At 10000 feet above sea-level,}

_{I realized that you’ve got to aspire at a very high level to reach your desire.}

_{On the mountain? It was superbly spectacular!}

_{Be it the fantastic ice-flyer ride….}

_{Or the wild, crazy snow slide!}

_{Indeed a fabulous experience… The magnificent sites…}

_{All this was as if we were in an ocean of delight!}

After this the nice Jacuzzi warmed us out by drinking our iced chill.

_{Stay in touch friends. Coming with another travel pill!}

This country attended 2 major war calls. Today it smiles through the beauty of Rhine falls!

An entire country was divided by a wall…

But today this place smiles through a beauty called the Rhine Falls.

Hello friends! Welcome to the land of poets and thinkers, Germany!

Herzlich willkommen in Deutschland, dem Land der Dichter und Denker!

Everyone was under the hangover of the naturally beautiful Netherlands.

The evening signaled of restless curiosity.

For we were entering Cologne, Germany’s fourth most populous city!

The Cologne Cathedral, being a world UNESCO heritage site and the largest Gothic church

In Northern Europe, attracted us all for a photo-stop.

After experiencing this first German fascination,

Dinner and sleep got our attention.

Having spent some time in cologne,

We wished each other Guten morgen/good morning in Stuttgart, our next German travel zone.

Because I am learning German as a foreign language/ Deutsch ALS Fremdsprache,

All this was like a dream come true!

From now onwards,

I was able to make real, practical use of my German language with native people!

The day started with a memorable visit to my most awaited attractions,

The Mercedes-Benz Museum!

This 8 leveled automobile museum,

Displays all the passed Mercedes-Benz models and the history of the luxury car brand.

With our cameras being in the; I  am busy! Mode

And an audio description about the museum complimenting the whole thing,

The journey of the car maker was an inspiring experience as we explored its story.

Besides the amazing sites of Germany,

What I enjoyed most here was the polite,

Friendly nature of the people I interacted with!

What’s the time? A bird answer’s this question!

The day followed on with a visit to the Cuckoo clock factory in Titisee.

A 4 to 5 minute presentation told us the story of the cuckoo clocks.

Be it shopping for the clocks,

Or simply strolling around the area of the factory taking in the nature’s beauty were the ways in which the remaining day flew away.

Friends? Have you ever eaten/heard of the black forest cake?

The morning greeted us in the black forest region.

The black forest is an area with closely growing trees,

So close, that sunlight does not reach the ground!

Surprisingly, the black forest, Or at least the area where we were was empty of wildlife except for some birds blending in the atmosphere with their sweet sounds.

Cruising through the region,

We saw half-timber houses, ruined castles and much more!

The clean, splashy Rhine River and a warm atmosphere became the cherry on the cake!

Although not as high as those usually found in India,

We experienced some really jolly moments at the Rhine falls!

Be it the refreshing beauty that surrounded us as we took a boat ride to the source of the falls,

Or the cleanliness,

Everything there was amazingly amazing!

The journey through Germany or Deutschland,

Was so fun-filled and fantastic,

That the experience set our hopes on an even higher travel stand!

See you! Tschuss!

The world’s a beautiful place. This thought suits the country that brings a happy smile on the face. 😊

And there it dawned upon us, that this is love….

Hello friends! Welcome to the continuation of our experience through the euphoric Europe.

The beauty of Europe started working

It’s real magic on us as we arrived in Holland, Netherlands.

Every day when the sun rises,

It brings new surprises.

We saw these words turning into reality;

For the thing that we were going to see was beyond any of our imagination!

With the perfect weather on our side and excitement reaching the peak,

Wow!.... The 🌷tulips…

It was all so, so scenic.

The Keukenhof or the garden of Europe, got us spellbound by its splendor…

The vibrant, fresh tulips, lost in their own beauty...

Soothing the mind and spreading peace all around.

Perfuming the already pleasant atmosphere with their sweet fragrance.

Admiring the tulips, daffodils and other flowers there got me wondering,

Is this what we call love???

For us, it was as though time had stopped, for we knew not how the morning had gone by.

The rest of the afternoon took us on a canal cruise of Amsterdam.

The evening was spent in visiting the clog factory and cheese farm.

The day had given us memories that would be cherished for lifetime.

Smitten by the beauty of this nation…

See you at our next destination!