Germany: Berlin

We arrived Berlin from Prague in the morning by train. It was an early train and we reached to our hotel by 10AM. I wanted to join the walking tour of Berlin , but my dear friends took so long that I did not have time for lunch. The tour was for 3 hours and covered quite a few places like The Reichstag, The Berliner dome, WWII Battlefields,ย Checkpoint Charlie,ย Remaining Berlin Wall, The Brandenburg Gate. The guy was awesome and was almost apologetic about Nazi past. He narrated loads of stories about Berlin's…

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Germany : Munich

๐Ÿ‡ฉ๐Ÿ‡ชย ๐Ÿ‡ฉ๐Ÿ‡ชย ๐Ÿ‡ฉ๐Ÿ‡ช We stayed the last day of Austria trip atย Seegasthof Gamsjaga. This place is on the bank of lake Wolfgangsee. It was a very scenic location food was great specially fish from lake and local game meat. ย Next morning I walked around the lake and walked towards St Gilgen along the lake. St Gilgen is a very pretty village on the north bank ofย Wolfgangsee. From St. Gilgen it was almost 2 hours train journey to Munich. We had our return flight in the evening. We took a hop - on hop -…

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Austria: Salzburg

๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡นย ๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡นย ๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡น Train from Innsbruc to Salzburg takes approximately 2 hours. Salzburg is renowned for its baroque architecture and is one of the best-preserved city centers north of the Alps. Salzach river is the tributary of Inn and main river in Salzburg. We visited Hellbrunn Palace & Trick Fountains. This was a pleasure palace for Salzburg prince - archbishops. Trick fountain is quite spectacular. Hellbrunn Mountain is a naturally abundant source of water, which inevitably became a central design feature of the palace grounds. The centerpiece is provided by Mannerist trick fountains that…

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Portugal : Porto & Douro Valley

๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡นย ๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡นย ๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡น Porto was the last stop in my itinerary. Porto is the second biggest city in Portugal. ย This place was the origin of port wine. It is also famous for its iconic bridges. In fact it is the only city in Europe which has 6 bridges. I stayed in Porto for 2 days. Weather was not at its best but there were intermittent clear sky. There are few unique charm to this city, Lello Bookshop with its amazing neo-gothic interiors (Harry Potter shooting happened here, it was Hogwarts library) . Then there…

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Portugal : Lagos & Albufeira Region

๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡นย ๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡นย ๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡น I landed in Faro airport at 12 PM. Faro is the capital of famous Algarve region of Portugal. I booked my transfer to Vilamoura from Airport.ย Vilamoura ย is one of the finest resort towns in Porugal. However due to wet weather my boat tour was cancelled . I spend the day walking around town.ย Vilamoura is famous for its beach , resorts and million dollar yachts parked at the marina . Vilamoura Marina   My next destination was Lagos. The town is famous for its old town, cliffs and Atlantic beaches. Still sea…

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Spain : Andalusia region – Seville

๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡ธ ๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡ธย ๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡ธ Seville - Granada - Ronda Day -1 ย Sevilleย  Seville is the capital of Andalusia region. There are 17 autonomous communities in Spain, Andalusia is the most populous and 2nd largest by area. I missed my original flight to Barcelona so Iย had to knock off Barcelona and Madrid from my original itinerary and instead arrived Seville two days latter. First thing I noticed are orange trees, they are an integral part of the landscape. If you make the mistake (like I did )ย of biting one of the oranges you will understand…

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Gibraltar

๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ฎย ๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ฎย ๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ฎ Day 1 I started early from Ronda. It was 9.18 train to Algeciras from Ronda. Weather was not good , it was raining incessantly from morning. At Algeciras I had to wait for sometime to catch a local bus to La - Linea. From La - Linea bus stop it was 10 min walk to the border checkpoint and then another 15 mins walk to my hotel in Gibraltar. Gibraltar is a tiny patch of land (less than 10 Sq Km) still part of British oversees territory. It has its own…

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Sisimiut : Driving a Snowmobile

๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ฑย ๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ฑย ๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ฑ Snowmobiles have become the modern replacement of dog sled. This was roughly 4 hour excursion from the town. Snowmobiles are pretty easy to master because there is no gear ; its just brake and throttle. We first went to the top of Solbakken. This is a vantage point with a good view across the town. We also went toย Aappilattorsuaq . Overall this was pretty cool experience.

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Ajanta , Ellora & Elphanta Caves en-route to Mumbai – Elphanta & Mumbai

๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณย ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณย ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณ ย  From Aurangabad I boarded an early morning Jana Shatabdi Express to Mumbai. I reached my hotel near marine driveย early afternoon. I had two days in Mumbai before I catch my flight to London. There wasย nostalgia associated with this city, my first job was here , I lived here almost 4 years before I moved to Bangalore. First day I roamed around city , went to Haji Ali shrine, enjoyed vada-pao and took some much needed rest. Day 2, I started early from my hotel to catch ferry to Elephanta islands.…

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Ajanta , Ellora & Elphanta Caves en-route to Mumbai – Ajanta

๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณย ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณย ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณย ย  On my way to Mumbai, I decided to spend few days in Ajanta andย Ellora. From Kolkata I took Gitanjali Express to Jalgaon. Ajanta caves are approximately 63 Km from Jalgaon. There are over 30 caves which were developed duringย Satvahana period andย Vakataka period. The caves are located nearย horse-shoe shaped bend build by Buddhist monks during monsoon season. Nobody knows how did the artists paint so well, with such precise use of colour, in the dark recesses of these rock-carved prayer halls and monasteries. ย I stayed in MTDC Ajanta T junction resort which…

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