Nashik, India. Monday, 26th May, 2014
I have seen a fairy tale ! I have experienced a fairy tale! I have enjoyed being in a fairy tale! Yes, the Hansels and the Gretels with their chocolate houses; and wicked witches do exist. So does Goldilocks with her bears, in a land of milk and honey. The gingerbread man who taunted a poor old lady saying, " Run, run, as fast as you can, you cannot catch me; I am the gingerbread man!" also exists, as does the old lady!
No, I haven't lost my mind or my senses. At the age of 51, I experienced what I had only read about in pretty, colourful story books at the age of 5 or 6. I have been to Cesky Krumlov, an amazing town on the banks of the Vltava, situated 180 kms. to the South-West of Praha, the mesmeric capital of the beautiful country of Czechia!
Cesky Krumlov has everything that a visitor or a tourist can look forward to - a fairy tale setting, a town square (recognised by UNESCO as a World Heritage site), a castle, cobbled roads with pavements to match, buildings seemingly dating back to medieval times, shops with colourful facades and tastefully decorated show windows, houses with low, curved ceilings, trapdoors with the sternest looks leading down into possibly dark dungeons where ill-fated prisoners were tortured, etc. etc.
Sipping draught beer by the side of the happily gurgling river and gazing up at the castle walls on its opposite bank, opened up realistic possibilities of the innocent Terry Kane, kidnapped by the sinister Pottersham, appearing at one of the windows of the castle in one of his rare moments of freedom during days of captivity. { refer Enid Blyton's book no. 11 in the Famous Five series - Five have a wonderful time}. It was an exhilarating experience, travelling back in time, without having entered that contraption called the time machine which modern day science has been unable to create! Undoubtedly, Cesky Krumlov was the highlight of this trip. We would have loved to stay there for at least a couple of nights and completely explore the pretty town.
The route from Praha to Cesky Krumlov, passing through the elegant Bohemian countryside, was a sight for sore eyes. The town of Cesky Budejovice deserves special mention for its neatness - two storeyed houses with chocolate coloured roofs arranged neatly in colonies, complete with narrow, white roads leading up to the front of each building with an occasional pond or canal adding to the ambience. The lemon-coloured railway station building boasted interesting architecture. The expressway was perfect and the bus travelled on it as smoothly as a sled on snow.
Praha(Prague) far exceeded my expectations. We were blessed with perfect weather during our entire stay there, making our experience richer. The capital city of Czechia is simply amazing! Spread on either side of the Vltava, it has so much to offer the visitor - abundant greenery, mind-boggling town square, impressive cathedrals and churches with tall spires, pretty red-roofed cottages, robust buildings dating back two or three centuries with their incredible architecture intact, trams vying for attention with high-speed cars and modern buses, metro trains quietly and efficiently performing their duty underground while tourists mill around on the surface above them, strip shows, beer gardens and pubs, restaurants easy on the pocket serving excellent cuisine, castles, river cruises, dungeons, nuclear bunkers, etc. etc. As mentioned elsewhere in my notes on Praha, I had yearned to visit Praha since childhood as it had always held a certain fascination; and as mentioned above, it far exceeded my expectations. Perhaps the city had known of my love for it and thus put on its best show for me. On the morning of our departure from Praha, it drizzled for a while and I would like to interpret it as the city shedding tears on my leaving it. I would love to visit Czechia again. The very friendly people of Czechia deserve a mention this extended to Vienna and Zurich too.
The one thing (among many others!)that stands out in Europe is the discipline. Everything is properly planned and executed. On escalators, people stand to the right, allowing those in an extra hurry to pass on the left; zebra crossings are sacrosanct to both-pedestrians and motorists; no one plucks flowers at a garden, no one litters the ground around a bench after munching chips; people wanting to board a tram, a bus or a metro patiently wait for passengers to alight; dustbins at every stage and in every nook and corner are religiously used; and elderly people and invalids are given that extra respect. Europe has a system in place, that works. It is the denizens who make it work. They want to live like human beings and be treated like human beings, so they behave like human beings. Of course, laws are in place and the fear of punishment is real.
Vienna is a magnificent city. It is extremely 'user-friendly', with signboards free from handbills clearly indicating the name of the place and routes, in German and English. It has its own share of beautiful houses, awesome museums and massive palaces. The architecture on each old building is to be seen to be believed! Buses, trams and the U-Bahn function very, very efficiently. Pedestrian plazas are present in certain parts of the city and in the main shopping area Mariahilferplatz; the pavements are broad with the road being narrow! It is a glittering and glamorous city.
Zurich is blessed with a huge lake to the backdrop of verdant hills and snow-capped peaks. I would call these parts of the city, well-manicured. The trees are neatly and uniformly shaped, the hedges outside homes neatly trimmed. The roads are so clean that one is almost afraid to walk, so as not to leave footprints! The area of the lake and its environs provides a striking contrast to the town centre, which is full of vehicular traffic, shopping arcades, tram-lines and pavements. The area near the airport is still different, dominated by high-rises. This seemed to be the main commercial area of the city. I would call this gem of Switzerland a well-planned city. It was the most expensive too, with a bottle of mineral water purchased at our hotel costing an incredible INR 591/- !
Among the hotels that we stayed at, Holiday-Inn Vienna South is easily the number 1. A huge building painted in a pleasing mustard, it is located away from the city centre, at Wienerberg City. The rooms are large and well furnished, in addition to being well lit. The reception area was huge, complete with a well stocked bar.
At second place is Hotel Ibis-Messe Airport, Zurich. This building is huge too and is painted in a very pleasing shade of grey. Its restaurant occupies a huge area on the ground floor and the buffet breakfast is very neatly and attractively arranged. To use the lift, one has to swipe one's room card. The room itself was small, but neat. We should have spent more than a solitary night here.
Hotel City Central Deluxe was housed in one of the many beautiful stone buildings that adorn each side of a Prague road. The reception and lobby were small albeit neat. Pamphlets of the various delights that Prague had to offer were prominently displayed at the reception and were there for the taking. The colourful chairs in the lobby gave a friendly and informal feel. The room was smaller than we would have liked. The staff here was the friendliest we had experienced on the trip.
We travelled on the Vindobona Eurocity train from Vienna to Prague. The train was fast, on time and the seating arrangement (cabin in second class with seats for six) was good. However, the aircon was ineffective and we felt hot at times during the journey. The dining car was nice too - the first time I was seeing a dining car on a train (except in movies, of course!) The Czech countryside as mentioned in my notes on Praha, is pretty; with the two elements necessary to make it so - water and greenery - available in abundance. The third element - sense of symmetry and proportion when it comes to man-made structures - added to the prettiness of the surroundings. Each village that we passed by had tiny dwellings bearing red/brown coloured roofs, set around a church rendered prominent by its tall, standing or should I say 'outstanding' turret.
The main railway station of Praha named Hlavni Nadrazi was huge and awesome. While making our way to the 'C' metro line on the day of our arrival at Praha, we had passed under a dome painted with frescoes; and knew that we had come to a special city. We had planned then and there to revisit the station which we did; and were richer for that experience.
The roadside restaurants - basically an extension of the main restaurant onto the pavement - make a very pretty sight. The chairs and tables are very neatly laid out and the tables are often bordered by beautiful flowers. The sitting arrangement is often sheltered by either a shamiana-styled roof or by a huge, bright, colourful golf umbrella advertising a beer brand, with 'Pilsner Urquell' being the most prominent. A town square is an informal place for meetings - business or leisure. The square is bordered by incredible constructions dating back three or more centuries and lend it an aura. At the centre is usually a fountain that actually works, with statues, gargoyles and other figures around it. Roadside musicians - glorified beggars - add a charm of their own to the place, with their simple country music or their juke box. The entire ambience can be easily described by a single adjective - charming!
Terminal-2 of Vaclav Havel airport, Praha, is small but clean. Its unique feature was a life-size chess board on the floor on one side, complete with life-size pawns, rooks, etc. A map of the world in three parts was painted on the floor, on the opposite side. Zurich airport was huge. The common feature of both these airports was the lovely view of their respective country-sides that each had on offer. from the waiting concourses and boarding gates.
I generalise by saying that the tourism infrastructure of Europe is firmly in place. Though a trip to Europe is fairly expensive for the average Indian who earns in rupees and performs a quick mental calculation each time he spends a Euro, it is certainly worth the money. The entire experience more than compensates for what he loses through his wallet or plastic currency. A visit to the continent is an eye opener. The distinction between a civilised nation and a 'developing' one becomes abundantly clear. The old maxim about the grass being greener on the other side certainly holds true here.
European grass, especially the one in Zurich which has many expatriates including Indians, is certainly greener.
