Istanbul, Turkey

Istanbul, Turkey
Originally uploaded by SaurabhA.

Dates: October 12th to 16th

Istanbul is definitely one of the most interesting cities I've ever visited. The blending of east and west, European and Asian, and Islam and Christianity is amazing to see and be a small part of. We only got to spend five days in Istanbul, and we certainly could have used a few more days to really experience all Istanbul has to offer. Istanbul was originally founded as a Greek city-state, it then became the heart of the Eastern Roman empire (Constantinople), and finally the heart of the influential Ottoman Empire.

Here is a brief overview of our stay.

Wednesday:
Dinner in Sultanhamet
Walked around Hippodrome (Ramazan festival)
Thursday:
Hagia Sophia
Grand Bazaar
Suleymaniye mosque (pic2, pic3)
Valens Aquaduct
Traditional Ramazan dinner in hotel
Friday:
Bospherus cruise (Dolmabahce palace, Fishing Village, Black Sea)
Some time at the Hippodrome (Ramazan festival)
Evening at Istiklal
Dinner at Sarabi
Saturday:
Topkapi Palace
Grand Bazaar
Spice Bazaar
Galata Tower
Sunday:
Blue Mosque
Basilica Cistern

Germany Road Trip

Munich, Germany
Originally uploaded by SaurabhA.

Dates: September 10th to 17th

Places visited: Strasbourg (France), Baden-Baden, Heidelberg, Rhine Valley, Frankfurt, Rothenburg, Munich, Fussen, Stuttgart

Ever since we moved to Paris, I've been wanting to get over to Germany. Since it was so close by, and less exotic (compared to Italy, Spain or Greece), we put it off for a while. Well, with Ashish visiting us for three weeks, I finally got an excuse to plan a long road trip to southern Germany. We had already gone to Berlin in August, and absolutely loved it, so it was with great enthusiasm that we departed on our road-trip.

We took the train from Paris to Strasbourg on Saturday morning (after a late night out at Chez Bebert - a Moroccan restaurant - for Julie's birthday). It was a four hour train ride that went very quickly thanks to my new Playstation Portable (on which I played games and watched Frasier). The ride would have been quicker if the line was a TGV line, but that won't be coming to Strasbourg until 2007. We arrived in Strasbourg around lunch time and had to wait a couple of hours before the Hertz rental place opened up, so we had Gyros in the city and wandered around the shopping areas for a while.


Once we picked up the car from Hertz, we headed out of town towards Baden-Baden. First and foremost, I must discuss what an experience it was driving on the Autobahn. I'd be going 160 in the slow lane while cars in the fast lane passed us by as though we were standing still. They must have been going well over 200 km/h. Baden-Baden is a very nice little town with an old center and many shops. It is a vacation resort because of its spas. We spend some time walking around the city and picking up some snacks for the road.

After spending a couple of hours in Baden-Baden, we headed off to Heidelberg, which would be our resting place for the night. We found a cute little hotel and had a great dinner in a pub. The next day we saw the beautiful old city bridge and Heidelberg castle which overlooks the city. Around mid-morning, we then drove out to the Rhine Valley. On our way up to Bacharach, where we would spend our second night, we came across a small town called Bingen which, as luck would have it, was holding a wine festival at the time. This was a really neat thing to witness; all of the town's locals were out drinking wine served from carts and vehicles taking part in a parade. For a quick snack, we had currywurst, a pretzel and some wine. We reached Bacharach in the early evening, so we only had time for dinner and an evening walk up to a tower overlooking the town.

The next morning (Monday), we headed along the Rhine Valley to St. Goar. Here, we saw the town's castle from outside and then visited the world's largest stein shop and Teddy bear shop. St. Goar also has the world's largest free hanging cookoo clock. On our way to Rothenburg, we drove through Frankfurt (had lunch and saw the old town center), Wurzburg, and the Romantic Road. The late night driving from Wurzburg to Rothenburg was a little scary because we weren't quite 100% sure that we were going in the right direction. In any case, we managed to make our way to Rothenburg, find a great little hotel and had dinner in a wonderfully German restaurant. Rothenburg was great; we really loved the little hotel (and breakfast) and the walled town is truly unique.

The highlight of our trip was definitely Munich; it is a wonderful town with a big and small time feeling, markets, beer gardens and all of the modern amenities. On the way into town, we went to the Dacau concentration camp. I certainly feel as though I've now seen my share of Nazi sights. In Berlin, we saw the old SS site, a Nazi train, and a plane. After seeing Dacau, one of the main centers of the terror, I think I don't need to see any further evidence of the dark days of WWII. After we found a hotel right in the center of the city (about a 2 minute walk from Hofbrauhaus), we had dinner at Augustiner. I ate pork knee and a wonderful beer. To continue with Munich tradition, we then went for a beer at Hofbrauhaus (a great old beer house that can hold over 2000 patrons. The next day, we walked around the city, visited an old church and tower, old town hall, had some fresh pickles at the market and had some more beer at an outdoor beer garden. For dinner we ate at a very expensive Thai restaurant (Thaifoon) and then went to the original Augustiner beer house to end the night.

On Thursday, we went over to Fussen to see King Ludwig's Neuschwanstein castle (an absolutely amazing castle in a story-book setting). This castle, situated at the foot of the Alps, is without a doubt the greatest of the castles or palaces I've seen in all of Europe. Just gorgeous. After seeing the castle, we then went luging, which was a first for all of us. Fussentreat to see.

On Friday, it was time to start heading back towards Strasbourg to end our trip. On the way from Fussen to Strasbourg, we stopped in Stuttgart to see the Mercedes Benz museum. The museum was free and so was the audioguide talking about all of the different exhibits in the museum (including the very first cars ever built).

The last day of our trip was just as good as the rest of it. We got to see the wonderful city of Strasbourg, with its grand old cathedral and numerous shops and windy streets. Before catching the train back to Paris, we truly ended the trip in the same manner as we started it - with dinner at the same Gyros place that we had lunch at a week earlier :)

was a beautiful little town located in an absolutely beautiful countryside. The high Alps against the rolling bright-green hills is a combination that is a real Highlights:
- Bavarian dinner in Heidelburg
- Best beer stein shop in St. Goar
- Wine festival in Bingen
- Quaint little Bacharach on the Rhine
- Beautiful little B in Rothenburg and the Romantic road
- Hofbrauhaus beer hall (with capacity for over 2000 people) in Munich
- Crazy King Ludwigs castles near Fussen
- Very beautiful Strasbourg

Berlin

Berlin 2005
Originally uploaded by SaurabhA.

Dates - August 13th to 16th

We arrived in Berlin on Saturday afternoon and checked into Swissotel on Ku'damm by 5:00 pm. After freshening up a bit, we headed out onto the Ku'damm which is West Berlin's main boulevard with lots of shops, resaurants and crowds. We walked around Ku’damm for a couple of hours and saw Kaiser-Wilhelm Gedachtniskirche church which has been kept in its bombed-out state as a reminder of the destruction caused by war (picture), ate currywurst, and then went to a grocery store to buy cheese, bread, snacks and wine. Strangely, the store had a great selection of Australian and American wines (which are hard to find in Paris) so we picked up a few bottles of Hardy's and Gallo wines. At night, we went to Potsdamer platz (which was where Hitler's bunker was located), Saw pieces of the Berlin wall, Brandenburg gate (picture), the Holocost Memorial (picture), Reichstag (picture), and Federal Chancellery. For dinner we ate chinese food at the mall across from Sony Center and picked up some bagels for breakfast.

On Sunday, we went to see the Faberge Egg exhibit at Schloss Charlottenburg (picture). The collection of eggs was surprisingly interesting and, of course, very beautiful (picture). After visiting Schloss Chlottenburg, we headed over to the Technikmuseum. On the way, we stopped and ate sushi at stand in Zoogarden. The Technikmuseum (picture) was one of the most interesting museums I've ever visited. The organization of computers, trains, airplanes and various other inventions over the past two centuries is excellent. My favorites parts of the museum are its collection of old computers (picture), trains (pictures) and planes (picture). Located here are some of the only Nazi artifacts in the city. After spending a few hours at the museum, we headed over to Potsdamer Platz once again for dinner at Tony Romas, after which we explored Sony center a little further.

Monday was our busiest day. We took bus 100 from Zoogarden to Reichstag through Tiergarten. Enroute, we saw the Victory Column (Siegessaule) and Schloss Bellevue (President's home). We began our walk of East Berlin at the Brandenburg Gate (picture) and walked along Unter Den Linden (East Germany's main boulevard) through Pariser Platz, Babelplatz, past Humboldt University (where Einstein taught - picture), St. Hedwigs Church (picture), Berliner Dom (picture), and on to Alexanderplatz. Along the way, we went into an old ghost subway station which was unused during the cold war (West German trains looped through East Germany, through these stations - but didn't stop). For lunch, we went to Gendarmenmarkt (picture) and had sushi at the nearby Sushi Circle restaurant. Believe it or not, this only made up the first half of our day. After visiting this main area of East Germany, we took the U-Bahn to Potsdamer Platz and had iced tea and iced coffee at Alex restaurant at Sony center. Following our little break, we then headed over to the Berlin wall and The Topography of terror (picture), which is an open air museum located on the grounds of the former SS. After a captivating visit to the Topography of terror explaining the crimes of the Nazis during WWII, we walked over to Checkpoint Charlie (picture) and had donairs for dinner (Berlin is known for it's excellent Turkish food). We then visited the Museum of the Wall at Checkpoint Charlie which describes many of the escapes over/under/through the wall during the cold war. Described at this museum is the famous hot air balloon escape in addition to numerous other creative escapes. After a couple of hours at the museum at Checkpoint Charlie, we headed over to the Reichstag (our last site of the day - picture). We expected that our late visit to the Reichstag would result in little or no line. Unfortunately, we had to wait in line for 1 hour until 9:30pm to get in and see the famous glass dome (picture).

On Tuesday, our last day in Berlin, we had just enough time to see the Pergamon museum before catching our flight to Paris. The Pergamon musuem has an incredible collection of Eastern artifacts, including the Pergamon Alter (picture), Market Gate from Miletus, and the Ishtar Gate from Babylon (600BC - picture).

All in all, Berlin was one of my favorite cities. Even though we saw many sights, there are still many others that we didn't get a chance to visit: a concentration camp, world-famous zoo, art gallery, and the Egyptian museum. The food in Berlin was very good, and the prices reasonable with a great selection of shops, arcades, malls and restaurants throughout the city.

Communism museum - Prague

Communism museum
Originally uploaded by SaurabhA.

When we were in Budapest in July 2005, we unfortunately didn't get a chance to visit the House of Terror which is essentially a museum which describes Hungary's history with Communism and Fascism.

However, in Prague, we did get a chance to see the communism museum. It was very interesting, and I'd recommend it to anyone. There are old signs, posters and articles from the communist days. The most interesting is a short video that shows the 1989 protests against communism and the eventual fall of the iron curtain. It was incredible to see the difference between the video and current-day Prague. It is hard to imagine Wenceslas square jammed with protestors, police and tanks during the communist era. This photo gives a glimpse of some of the things in the communist museum.

Prague

Old town square
Originally uploaded by SaurabhA.

Dates - July 14th to July 17th

We arrived in Prague on Thursday afternoon on a train from Vienna. After checking into our hotel, we decided to walk around the town to get a feel for the city. Our first stop was Wenceslas Square, which is really more like a wide boulevard with shopping than it is a square (picture). From Wenceslas Square, we continued walking to the Old Town Square (picture) and then to Charles Bridge (picture). The Old Town Square is the heart of Prague, with restaurants, horse and carriages, and the Tyn church providing a gothic backdrop. It also contains the famous Astronomical clock (picture). The Charles Bridge is an old pedestrian bridge lined with statues and entertainers such as fire throwers and musicians.

On Friday, we took a trip up to Prague's Castle area (Mala Strana - picture) which boasts spectacular views of the city, the Stahov Monastery, St. Vitus Cathedral, St. George's Basilica, and Golden Lane. The Stahov Monastery is located on a hill above the Castle area and is much less visited by tourists. Also located up near the monastery is a statue of Kepler and Brahe (picture). The walk from the monastery to the castle area has some beautiful scenary and provides a nice little getaway from the hustle and bustle of Prague. The Castle area contains the castle (not that much to see in there) as well as the St. Vitus Cathedral (picture), which can be seen from pretty much anywhere in the city. After spending a couple of hours in the Castle area (and watching the changing of the guard - picture), and visiting Golden lane (on which Franz Kafka's house is located - picture), we then strolled down through the Little Quarter, over the Charles Bridge, back to central Prague. For dinner, we went to a restaurant in the Old Town Square. The food was OK but, more importantly, the ambiance of the area was great; especially the buildings all lit up at night (picture).

On Saturday, we spent the day at only a couple of sights, including the Municipal House (picture), Communism Museum, and Havelska Market (picture). The rest of the day, we spent just strolling casually around the city, visiting some of the shops and generally taking it easy. For dinner, we went to a Thai restaurant which served the best Thai food we've eaten since leaving Vancouver; this was quite a treat.

Sunday was our last day in Prague and, since many other sites were closed, we saved all of the Jewish sites for this day. Prague's Jewish Quarter (Josefov) is said to be one of the best Jewish sites in all of Europe. It is comprised of a number of synagogues and a remarkable cemetary. We started our tour by visiting the Maisel Synagogue; here we purchased a Jewish museum pass which covers most of the Jewish sites in Josefov. The Maisel Synagogue was more a museum than a place of worship. Inside, were a number of Jewish artifacts and information on the symbolism that is part of the faith (such as the Star of David) and information regarding the Holocost and what life was like for Jews before and after WWII. After seeing the Maisel Synagogue, we walked over to the Old Cemetary and Pinkas Synagogue (we skipped the Klaus Synagogue). The Old Cemetary was very interesting. This was one of the only places in Prague where Jews could bury their dead and, as a result, the cemetary is layered with years of burial plots and the headstones are extremely close together (picture). The Pinkas Synagogue is a tribute to the Prague Jews that were killed in the Holocost; the walls are lined with the names of all those that perished and a voice over the speakers reads out all of their names. It was quite a touching experience to feel the scope of the tragedy and suffering. The final Jewish site that we visited was the Spanish Synagogue. This is built in a Moorish style and I found the architecture and decorations to be extremely interesting and rich (picture). For anyone that visits the Josefov, this is a must-see site.