Viking River Cruise ( Part 1)

Let me take my readers to my another very adventurous journey, to a wonderful River Cruise in Europe . River cruises are very different from ocean Cruises ,as you are always near the habitation & not in amidst of the  vast unending body of water . I have done couple of Ocean cruises as well as a River cruises. My first River Cruise was in Russia . It was on Mighty River Volga —- our journey was from Moscow to St. Petersburg .The cruise was extremely enjoyable & educative . But now we are going to talk about my Viking River Cruise on the River Danube . I found Viking Cruise Company very profesional & Technology savvy . 

  Me , and my friend Sue Malik , took a United Airline flight from LAX to Prague ( Check Republic) — a land tour for 3 days as an extension tour offered by Viking Travel Company . We were very happy to find that our hotel Hilton was centrally located in the beautiful city of Prague. Viking staff was very hospitable & helped us with  all the travel arrangements we had decided to take . You know Viking Travels make a personal portal for all the guest & one can log on to note all the details of when ,where ,what time , duration , details of the cite we were going to visit . Our local guides were very knowledgeable & professional, very helpful to us at all times . We were given hearing aids so that we can listen to all the explanations narrated by our guides 

. Prague is like a diamond in the trajectory of Historical landmarks of Europe, History comes through its Breathtaking Landmarks and diverse architectural styles. There are stories from its medieval beginnings to its vibrant present, museums, cycling through the street gliding along the Vltava River.

Prague , capital city of Czech Republic is bisected by the Vitava River nicknamed “ the City Of Hundred Spires” it is known for its old Town Square , the heart of its historic core , with colorful baroque buildings, Gothic churches ,and the medieval Astronomical Clock ,which gives an animated hourly show .

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PRAGUE CASTLE 

Prague castle is the  collective name for an aggregation of palaces , churches,offices,fortifications,courtyards and gardens in Prague.It is sprawled on an area of 43.5 Square miles. It is sitting on the hill , built in the 9th century for Prince Borivoi . 

CHARLES BRIDGE 

Charles Bridge , spanning the Vitava River with 16 pillars, is rich in status & decorative lamps . It is possibly the most iconic Prague landmark . It goes back to 14th century , nearly half a kilometer long , made of stone . It is always very crowded, a pedestrian only bridge . No visit to Prague is complete without crossing the Charles Bridge . It connects Prague & old town . We were instructed not to lose each other’s hands as one can easily be pushed around & fall . All the visitors are busy clicking pictures with the varios sculptures beautifully made on the pillars . Small vendors were selling their very arty souvenirs , we too bought few & clicked some pictures. 

WENCESLAS SQUARE 

Wenceslas Square is one of the main city squares and the center of the business & cultural communities in the new town of Prague . 

KUTNA HORA CHURCH :-

This place is about one & half hour drive city east of  Prague . It is known for the Gothic St. Barbara’s church. 

So we did visit the market to buy some souvenirs for back home for family & friends . But we could not get any thing local , actually these days where ever we go for shopping, markets are selling only items made in China . It is really surprising that Chinese people make all the items ——- small purses . Keychains, magnets , crockery—-putting “ logos “ of the country where they are selling . I have visited many countries & bought items from all countries—- same old story . The quality of manufacturing is also sometimes different . Things bought from USA ,UK may be Chinese made but the quality is definitely better. 

From Prague we were going to Budapest, Hungry. This journey was for about 6-7 hours by motor coach . 

It was very comfortable . The driving distance fromPrague to Budapest is about 350 miles. We crossed many small towns—— Bratislava , Kutna Hora & Bruno . Bratislava is the capital of Slovakia , a charming city along the River Danube. We did not stop anywhere for site seeing , took one break for lunch . We were excited to see new county Hungry, especially its capital , Budapest. 

  Viking Cruise company is very professional, our visit to Prague was part ( Extension Tour ) of Danube River Cruise. This Cruise run from Budapest to Bucharest ( Romania ) up & down . Some tourist start from Bucharest & some start from Budapest. We were to start from Budapest. 

  So friends , we settled in our new hotel in Budapest in the evening. We had to take the city tour the same evening. 

  I will continue with this spectacular tour in my next Blog ——- Viking Cruise Part 2 

 Good bye .

Trip to Japan

I am going to write about my international Trip taken after the great pandemic of 2020 to 2022 . This COVID pandemic was an absolutely new phenomenon for us . I had never seen such a deadly threat to  humanity in my seven decades  of life . 

Actually we friends were booked for our International Trip to Croatia, for August 2020 but the onset of COVID had cancelled our plans . It seemed frustrating but for all Valid reasons, traveling was prohibited & there were strict ban on tourism . 

So when the opportunity came , we went to Japan in October- November 2023 . I had been traveling since 2007 with a group of about 10-12 single women friends but lately the number of women traveling has reduced dramatically. We were 12 ppl in 2007 to Peru &  ,Ecuador . This number reduced to 11,10 ,8, 8,6 ,4, 9 , 3, & 2 to our Trips to Alaska , Africa ,Turkey , Scandinavia,Spain Portugal,South America, Panama ,Russia , Israel & Greece . OMG we used to have a lot of fun — all like minded women . We learnt so much from different parts of world . I am of the opinion that human emotions , thoughts , behavior & character are similar but the socio - Economic factors influence our lives .

So our Trip to Japan consisted of Three friends , many more were interested but due to some unavoidable issues ,could not make it . Our trip was for about 13-14 days . We took the flight from LOS ANGELES to Tokyo on 8th October 2023. We were truly very excited to visit a very beautiful , very small but very modern country . 

Tokyo is a very clean , crowded but very disciplined city . My unforgettable journey to Japan was really exciting . Our spirits were very high & we were all ready to venture out to unknown surroundings. I ,frankly did not feel the discomfort of feeing tightness of my economy class seat where I was sitting for eleven hours . Oh , poor me . 

We reached Tokyo at about 5 pm local time & our Local Guide Eric Menager Shuji met us very warmly . We were comfortably put in our Very grand Hotel —- Keio Plaza Hotel in Nishi - Shinjuku . It was a very grand & Beautiful hotel , very centrally located .I cud judge its popularity as there were lots of travel groups staying in this hotel . 

Next morning , 10 October we headed for our first Tokyo landmark & it was “ The Tokyo Tower “ . This Tower is a communication & observation Tower situated in Shiba - Koen district of Minto , Tokyo. It is a blended color of white & orange .

So our next destination was very interesting, well it was “ Art of Making Sushi “ , it is a special type of Japanese food which has become very popular all over the world 

Its base is rice, sea food ,wasabi & certain type of sea weeds .The master chef ,who taught us the art of making Sushi was an interesting & good teacher —— accompanied by his a very smart son , a kid 8 years old . Child was really very smart , knowledgeable in the art of making sushi .We all made sushi & it was part of our lunch.

We were taken to a local exciting GINZA district, known for its street food & local shopping . We did not like anything as it is full of “ Sea Food “ items . I do not eat sea food so it was not of my taste but market was over crowded & i think local people were doing lot of shopping . 

We visited Asakusa Kannon , most sacred Buddhist Temple. It was a very calm & serene place , but we could not understand the sermon given by a priest as she was speaking in Japanese witch was Greek to us .Then we visited a beautiful Japanese Meiji Shrine which is situated in thick forests . 

Let me explain the difference between “ TEMPLE “ and “ SHRINE “ . Both are the places of worship in Japan . Shinto religion uses the word “ Shrine “ . Shinto Shrine use the suffix “ Jingu “ . In the simplest terms— “Temples are Buddhist” and “Shrines are Shintos “. 

On 3 Day we went to Mt. Fuji , it is the tallest mountain in Japan . We could not go to the Fifth Station as it was engulfed in Clouds but we enjoyed the beautiful weather & splendid country side of Tokyo . Actually Mt.Fuji is a dormant volcano which erupted 300 years ago . 

Our day concluded with a scenic boat ride on the lake “ ASHI “. Later we had a góndola Ride on the “ Komagatake Ropeway . I found it scary but it was an adventure . 

Next day was a free day for us , we just went to local markets ,not taking the risk of getting lost as language was a barrier . Most people were speaking Japanese ,& we did not understand it . This put us in a really difficult situation as we nearly got lost in one of the railway stations. You know ,in Japan , Shopping malls are situated on the Railway stations . We landed in a very difficult situation on the station , we had to take Bullet Train & there was some free time so we decided to roam around the shopping mall but kept on walking the wrong side —- we tried to ask ppl about the platform for our train but nobody could converse in English. Thank God . One girl guided us in the right direction & we took our journey.

I will like to appreciate the punctuality of Japanese Railways , these are punctual up to a second . It is really a great deal .There are vending machines on the platforms we had very tasty ice creams before getting on the train . 

 So next , I will catch later , Goodbye,

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 Hi all , it is almost 5 years since I wrote something on my blog . Actually the difficult circumstances in the whole world were little bit responsible for my being inactive. We all were in a state of shock & miserable because of dangerous COVID pandemic, This pandemic had affected our lives in a shocking way. We lost so many lives all over the world . I also was affected by this calamity —- loosing 3-4 loving lives . 

In Hindu Mythology,we are told that there are four periods affecting our universe . These cycles of different phases keep on repeating—- known as 4 Yugas or Epochs of the Huge Hindu Time Scale .

Satya Yuga , Treta Yuga , Dwaper Yuga & Kala Yug . Their time scale refers to a generations,a long period . Running into millions of years . 

Kala Yug is the most difficult time for humanity . When the suffering of people keep on multiplying in the form of wars , volcanos , floods , pandemics , killings  & lots of moral degradation.

 

Travels 2023- 2024

 Today I am writing almost after a gap of 2 years. Actually the year

2023 & 2024 have been quite busy as I was traveling a lot.I had been to India for almost 6 months & went to Kerala ,Mumbai , Kashmir & Varanasi.

India is a country of Diversities ,I will like to talk little about all the places I visited. 

First of all We went to Kerala —- Kovlam Beach — the Resort

Udaya Samudra , it was a beautiful property, situated on the ocean with fantastic views of dense forests , walkways , Theater, gym and other facilities. South Indian Food was excellent . We had the luxury of private car with Driver7. But the problem we faced was , the driver could not converse in any language which we could understand. This barrier of conversation was a stumbling block in our travels . 

We went to Kochi ,another coastal town with Naval Headquarters. We stayed in a boat at Kochi & enjoyed the hospitality provided by the Travel company . 

Now let me talk about Mumbai , I always visit Mumbai during my visit to India as my sister lives there . She is a great person , full of life ,very caring , loving & loves me a lot . We get so nostalgic when we talk about our childhood, college life & other sisterly talks about life . I visit her friends & other relatives for dinners or other festivities . I always cherish such activities. I did lots of shopping at Mumbai —- Diamond jewelry, clothes, some sweets , spicy snacks & tit bits.shopping is another obsession, I like to shop where ever I go . It is fun especially if I am visiting some new country or location .

Next destination was Varanasi , a very famous Temple Town where

Hindus like to visit & die to achieve “Moksh “ —- salvation from this “ Birth- Death “ cycle of humanity . We had gone there for visiting Famous Kashi Vishavnath Temple . I had visited this place 20-25 years ago , but now what a transition, it is beautifully remade with huge corridors made with marble & granite , it is spic and span , very pretty but full of millions of people ,so crowded . Pious river Ganges is another attraction of Varanasi. We did witness Ganga Aarti , another attraction of this place . In nutshell visiting this historical Temple town was worth the effort .

We also visited Sarnath ——— It is one of the most important Buddhist pilgrimage destinations in the world . It is located 13 kilometers north east of Varanasi . It was here that Buddha preached his first discourse in the deer park . 

After that we had enjoyed the famous street food of Varanasi before ending our journey & returning to Delhi .ok good bye 

 

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