The Royal Russian Voyage

Moscow is the heart, and Saint Petersburg is the head

- an old saying

I landed in Saint Petersburg and reached my hotel around midnight to join my parents. On my way to the hotel, my driver being a talkative informed tour guide, gave me a glimpse of the city with name tags of the popular spots which included the calm Neva (river), the magnificent Hermitage and the marvellous Peter and Paul Fortress. St. Petersburg or SPB or Piter as the locals fondly call it, is an erstwhile capital founded by Peter the Great (you’ll find his stories and statues all around the city) is full of culture, art and history.

We started our day with the city tour. Our tour guide was a student but well informed. She took us to the Hermitage (Winter Palace), a renowned site and sometimes the sole reason to attract people to visit the city. The museum in itself has several sites but the main segment to see is the Winter Palace. It has one of the most sought-after painting collections and depicts not just Russian but also European culture. The palace was residence to a lot of kings and queens including Catherine the Great (another admired great figure) who founded it. We then glanced at the Peter and Paul Fortress from outside and moved to St. Isaac’s Cathedral, another architecturally stunning edifice. The saint was Peter the Great’s patron saint and thus it was built after him. The next stop was Church of Our Saviour on Spilled Blood or Church on Spilled Blood. It resembles St. Basil’s Cathedral in Moscow (in the iconic Red Square). We were then free for the evening and thus, decided to take a metro (you can also find trams in the city) and visit Nevsky Prospekt, a hustling bustling street with stores, restaurants, cafes and pubs. One can find people dancing, singing and playing music on the street giving it a great vibe. You can walk and see them perform and relish the evening.

  

The Hermitage (The Winter Palace)

    

The Hermitage (The Winter Palace)

         

The Hermitage (The Winter Palace)

       

  Saint Isaac's Cathedral

        

 Church of Our Saviour on Spilled Blood

     

    Nevsky Prospekt

The subsequent day we left for Peterhof (also called Petergof), as the name suggests, Peter the Great’s summer palace and is also called as the Russian Versailles. The grandeur of the palace with the dancing-singing fountains are the cherry on the cake. As we reached the entrance (a little walk from car park to the entrance), it was about to be 11 am and everyone gathered around the stairs and outer areas of the palace, just then the music started, and the fountains began to swing along. What a pretty sight! After the little show got over, we queued to enter the palace. The entire place is divided into the grand palace, the lower and upper gardens and the grand cascade. The Grand Palace has picturesque interiors, paintings, collectibles and several art-pieces. The gardens and the cascade are equally spectacular if not better. The gardens have many fountains and gorgeous waterfalls. Peterhof is a day’s trip from SPB and you must spend the entire day here to do justice with the magnificence of the place. In the evening we took the canal cruise on the Neva river- a must in every European historical city.

         Peterhof (The Grand Palace and The Grand Cascade)

Peterhof (The Lower Gardens)

View of The Hermitage from river cruise

The following morning, we bid adieu to Piter and reached the railway station to catch the Sapsan train for Moscow. We reached in the afternoon and as booked earlier, we went to see the famous Russian Circus. It was also the last day of the performances and we were lucky enough to catch the last show. It was filled with some fabulous performances. No photography or videography was allowed here so the memories I have with me are not in a physical form.

This day, as strange as it sounds, we planned to take a small tour of the metro stations. Yes, if you’re in Moscow, you must at least check out a few metro stations as most of them are heritage sites and indeed are cultural centres in themselves. The carvings, sculptures, stones and mosaic work are predominant in most stations. Our first stop was Kievskaya, the platform walls are filled with paintings, which you realize are actually mosaic work when you get closer. Our next stop was Arbatskaya, the platform halls have tall arches and the yellow chandelier lights diffuse on the white marbles adding to the beauty. From the station we walked to come to Arbat Street (or New Arbat Street), a pedestrian shopping street with restaurants and cafes in the area. Being Sunday, it was quiet, and after shopping for a few souvenirs (Russian Dolls) and local stuff we sat down on the benches and enjoyed the ambiance.

  Kievskaya (Metro Station)

   Arbatskaya (Metro Station)

    New Arabat Street

The following morning, we left for a trip to Moskvarium- aquarium but a huge one, from nemo and dory to dolphins and octopuses could be seen, followed by Annunciation Cathedral, fine-looking white building with golden dome, alongside a bridge over the Moskva river. We were finally here, the most awaited destination- Kremlin and St. Basil’s Cathedral in the Red Square. The iconic creations could be seen from afar. We walked around in the Kremlin which houses Troitskaya Tower, Tsar Bell, Dormition Cathedral and many more structures and also, surprisingly is the residence of Mr. President! The fortress is huge and is the main attraction of Moscow along with Saint Basil’s Cathedral, the lovely colourful dome speaks for itself. Our immediate stop-over was the Gum shopping centre, old elegant departmental store, for an ice cream which we had heard was delicious and sure it was! Our day trip wasn’t over yet as the final plan for the day was the mandatory river cruise (as I said earlier, a must for any European city) on Moskva river. It was already dark, the boat was moving calmly, we had dinner on the cruise and retired for the evening.

Moskvarium

Moskvarium

 Moskvarium (Nemo and Dory)

Annunciation Cathedral

View from Annunciation Cathedral

    Dormition Cathedral

  Tsar Bell

   Troitskaya Tower

  Saint Basil's Cathedral

  View from river cruise

It was time to say dasvidania! The two-city trip came to an end with mesmerising architectures of palaces and cathedrals and the remarkably interesting sagas of the royals. The country is open for tourism, and has numerous visitors from all around the world, still you will feel some mystery surrounding you. Is it the enigma that we have about the nation or are there truly some stories to be unfolded?

A Tale of Two Cities

Once upon a time in London, someone said, a bad day in London is still better than a good day anywhere else and even after much research I couldn’t find who said it. But whoever said it must have been a native or a true lover of London. The rains might upset your mood, day and your trip but being from Mumbai, it didn’t bother me. My travel buddy, my sister and I bade adieu to Mumbai on 13^th April 2019 and landed at Heathrow. A gorgeous sunshine welcomed us.

We had not planned anything for the first day so after checking in we went out for a stroll around our hotel. We were in the vicinity of UCL (University College London) and opposite a small park with Mahatma Gandhi’s statue (which we found out the next day on our bus tour). The jet lag and the flight made us hit the bed earlier than usual.

We started early morning around 8 for our hop-on hop-off bus tour and it was the best thing we did. It is indeed convenient to have a broad view of a city which is historical yet modern and contemporary, artistic, sports loving, music loving, full of pubs, restaurants and people from all walks of life. The bus took us around the city and we hopped off to see Trafalgar Square, Buckingham Palace, Tower of London, Westminster Pier, Thames Cruise, and crossed Big Ben, London Eye, Notting Hill, Kensington, Oxford Street, Bond Street, Piccadilly Circus, Hard Rock Café, Madame Tussaud's, Sherlock Museum and numerous other famous cliched tourist spots. We visited the museums- Natural History- spent some time with dinosaurs, dolphins, and many other creatures, and British Museum- saw the famous Rosetta Stone, mummies and other collections. It was a tiring but a very touristy day.

We went to the nearest tube station and bought oyster cards (always buy them to see London by bus, tube and cruise). Our schedule for the day included a visit to the mecca of cricket- Lord’s Cricket Ground. We visited the museum, the galleries, the famous Lord’s balcony, dressing room, the ground, media centre, etc. We spent almost half a day there. Then we roamed around the streets near our hotel, went to an old British pub, had dinner at a nearby joint and called it a day.

The next day started with a trip to Wimbledon by tube. Yes, for the love of tennis. I had only heard about the London rains, now it was time to witness them. Initially, I was a little upset as we were restricted to certain areas in the Wimbledon club due to the rain showers, but the tour guide was kind enough and she showed us around- the museum, the centre court, the media centre, the winner’s wall, etc. We spent a great deal of time there. After the tour, we went back to the tube station and took the train to visit Piccadilly Circus, Soho and Carnaby Street. Piccadilly Circus (it is said, if you stay long enough, you will meet someone you know) is one place where though there are many people surrounding you, but you still feel so peaceful, the ambiance in Soho drives you in. We spent sometime there and had a wonderful last evening in London. Maybe it’s right after all, a bad day in London is still better than a good day anywhere else.

As the tale continues, the next morning we went to the St. Pancras station for catching a train (Eurostar), crossing the English Channel and reaching the destination- Paris Gare du Nord station. Audrey Hepburn said, Paris is always a good idea and now I am sure that it was. The city boasts of art, fashion, food, drinks, Eiffel Tower and love. We did not have much planned for the day, so we decided to try some local drinks (french monaco drink) and dessert (crème brûlée) and no explanation needed to describe the delicious tastes. The city is slow-paced as compared to London and has another kind of vibe. It is indescribable, visit yourself to believe it.

The next day was planned for a city tour- Paris in a day! I say this with full convict that if you ever have just a day to spend in Paris and are fit enough to walk for 8 to 9 hours, please take this tour because nothing can give you the insights like this tour does. The main reason for having enjoyed so much was our tour guide. He had the stories, the plots, the exact locations, when, where, what had happened- from Picasso to Dalida to Da Vinci! Unfortunately, the Notre Dame fire incident had just happened a couple of days back and we could only see it from far. We visited Montmartre while walking around many historic locations, old French houses and a vineyard. Then we went to Louvre museum crossing Latin Quarter. Our guide took us through many paintings and art works of Da Vinci, Rembrandt and others alike and then to the main attraction- Mona Lisa. Moving from Louvre, we walked towards the Eiffel Tower while glancing it from far several times between buildings. The structure is a gigantic iron monster and what makes it so beautiful is still a mystery to me. The lift takes you up on the higher floors and you can sit and have a view of the city, notice people posing and proposing. The top space in Eiffel Tower is a small apartment which was built by Gustave Eiffel for his personal use. As suggested by a passer-by, we had the macarons from the café, and they were delectable. After spending much time, we came down and headed for our river cruise on Seine river. By the time we were back from the cruise, the Eiffel Tower was ready to be lit. It is such a mesmerising sight to watch. We sat there for some more time and let the views sink into our memories. That day we walked more than 23000 steps!

We started the day with the metro journey to Arc de Triomphe then walked on the famous Champs-Élysées, crossed Sainte-Chapelle (due to a long queue we moved forward) and Conciergerie (earlier a prison where Marie Antoinette was held captive), spent time in Jardin des Tuileries (garden) overlooking Place de la Concorde. We then walked towards Pont des Arts (love lock bridge), Pont Alexander III (the bridge with the best view of Eiffel Tower) and watched the sunset with Eiffel Tower in the background lighting up. Last evening in Paris, very well spent.

The next afternoon we took a flight from Charles de Gaulle airport back home. Our little voyage came to an end with remarkable tales from both the cities. Both the cities have nothing much in common apart from the fact that they both make you want to come again. Thus, in our hearts both the cities still live happily ever after!

Two shades of Khajjiar

Mountains called!

Thanks to our cancelled plan to coastal Karnataka road trip (somehow road trip plans always fall apart), we headed for the mountains. With only 3 to 4 days in hand, we shortlisted the long awaited Khajjiar. As my sister and I were visiting our maternal house in Agra and paternal house in Jammu, Khajjiar seemed perfect. Researched a bit, booked hotel and tickets just a week ahead and packed our bags.

Along with two cousins, our journey began in 11449 Jabalpur - Katra Express. It was winters and as usual due to the fog, our train was super-duper delayed. We reached Pathankot 4-5 hours late. Got a taxi from the station and the driver was a local Dalhousie boy which turned out to be a boon. We hired his services for the next 3 days to show us around. On our way to Khajjiar, we crossed Dalhousie and it's as difficult to avoid Dalhousie while going to Khajjiar as avoiding aloo in samosas! It was already too late to roam around, being in hills, in winters and a small town. The choice of hotel (Country Resort, Khajjiar Road) was horrible (geyser, bedsheets, blankets, hot water, service... us being extremely adaptive and non-complaining guests, it was surely below par) and I take the whole blame for not researching and reading the reviews. The next morning we were ready to leave when our driver suggested we carry all your bags in the car as we may not be able to return. He said it casually, yet we believed him- and thank god we did!

Our first stop- Khajjiar Lake- breathtakingly gorgeous meadow, surrounded by deodars, lush green grass, oval shaped lake right in the centre. It was like a painting that came to life. It was raining a little but it did not matter, beauty personified. We spent about a couple of hours there. Then headed for our day trip to Dalhousie. 

As we were on our way, we saw some soft cotton balls hitting the windshield of the car. To our surprise, it has started to snow. It was the first experience of snowfall for all of us. We started to click pictures and videos without realising that it was going to get difficult to get to Dalhousie or to go back to our hotel. A bus got stuck ahead followed by three cars then us. We stopped and it started to snow heavily. We were mesmerised, happy and excited with more emotions ready to follow- hunger and fear. We were stranded for another two hours and by that time, the road, the car and the surroundings had turned white; reminded me of the movie Frozen! From all green, it had become all white. Our driver then told us that the only way we could reach Dalhousie was via Chamba as going back to the hotel was useless, we could be stuck for days. With absolute turn of events, we then started for Chamba. It was indeed a beautiful scenic ride but the fear was instilled. Somehow got out of the snow zone, we halted at two places for lunch and snacks, took some photos here and there and managed to reach Dalhousie and it was already dark. As the car was being parked, it started to snow.... and it did not stop until the next day (or till we left). We stayed at a small hotel (unfortunately cannot remember the name but with impeccable service, I wish I had noted down the name, it was near Dalhousie bus stop). 

We checked out the next morning, it was still snowing. The car could not come to the hotel so we carried our luggage and walked about 2 km in sheets of snow. Our socks and shoes were completely drenched (we did not come prepared to walk in the snow). On request, our driver dropped us in Jammu (about 2 hours journey).

It truly sounds like a trip gone wrong but not one of us felt like it did. It was incidentally the first snow of the season, so just before the snow took over, the roads were still open, the pines were still green, the meadows still scenic. We saw the lush green grass, the tall deodars, walked in snow and made memories.  We were extremely lucky to have witnessed the two shades of Khajjiar- green and white!