Part 3 - Austria - April 2019

An evening walk around town, and the next morning to Tirol for our scheduled ski lessons. Which turned out to be super fun for the boys, and they actually learnt to ski. Both the adults managed a load of falls and gave up quite easily, what with the realization that skiing was like doing yoga on a floor smeared with oil. The Ski boots are super heavy (3 kgs on each foot) and skis and sticks and the stiff walking and in and out of cable cars, this was hard. But we had fun, and actually were happy to know that given so much heavy duty walk and weight, the cold didn’t even affect us.

With Tirol & Skiing behind us, we drove out the next morning to Leichenstein, which is a 25km long principality is a German speaking country. Beautiful, quaint with alpine landscapes and medieval castles, we walked all over its capital Vaduz. We then drove to Appenzel Village through the narrow winding roads up the hill to take in the gorgeous view.  After stopping for some hot chocolate and muffins we drove back to Innsbruck.

Our next day began with a drive to Salzburg, where the evening was spent walking through the ‘Sound of Music’ famed Mirabel Palace, the Abbey, the Cemetery, and the Fountain. Since we had nothing much planned for Salzburg, we decided to drive to Munich the next day. Regretted not spending more time here – we saw the Marienplatz, Frauenkirche and the BMW Museum, but missed the English Gardens.

Our next morning was spent with the Von Tropp family locations on the second part of our Sound of Music tour in Salzburg. With a lovely Mexican meal near the Mozart home, we wound up for the day. We drove to Vienna the next morning and drove around the city, caught some views and a lot of traffic and renovations. But our highlight was the much-needed Fondue fix, now we were truly ready to get back to Dubai.

Part 2 - Switzerland - April 2019

We took an early morning train to the cutest, quaintest, smallest car-free town of Zermatt. Our best meal through the trip was lunch at an organic restaurant here, where we had the tastiest healthy sandwiches made from bread that was freshly baked by a family run bakery in town.

We spent 5 hours outdoors walking around, getting drenched in the rain, and riding the underground funicular up the canton of Valais, to see the beautiful Sunnegga lookout. It was snowing hard up there and was freezing cold – it was like silent rain and felt so serene. We spent a night in Zermatt so we could take the early morning Glacier Express to St. Moritz – most expensive tourist spot in Switzerland.

Glacier Express - The 9 hour ride through the Alps gave us the most spectacular views – of lakes, meadows, quaint villages, snow capped mountains, valleys, and several tunnels and bridges. Parts of the tracks in some valleys were cleared off snow just a few minutes before the train passed, giving us a beautiful snow path view.

St. Moritz welcomed us with a strong drizzle and light snow. But, this didn’t deter us, we checked in and immediately went on a long walk on the banks of the River Staz. The river was frozen solid, but not safe enough for ice skaters, so it was empty but for the runners and dog walkers around its bank. We then found our way to Devil’s Place, a bar that houses 2,500 different kinds of whiskies. We needed the stiff drink, and the boys enjoyed a yummy mugs of hot chocolate after the cold tiring walk.

It snowed all night, and the morning view from the hotel room was a heavily snow covered city. Since our plans to do another funicular ride up the Alps could not happen, we did the next best thing on a mini-blizzard day. We went for a 2.5 hour tennis session to an indoor academy and enjoyed ourselves.

                                     

We waited at the lobby of the hotel the next morning, before the high-ways were cleared off the avalanches. We then picked up our car from the beautiful village of Samedhan. We drove through mountains covered with snow into green green Austria. We checked into an Airbnb place in the cute little town of Igls in Innsbruck.

Part 1 - Switzerland - April 2019

This was a holiday that needed to be put together in a hurry. With the Botswana plan turning out to be beyond budget, Zimbabwe losing connectivity, Zambia being off season, and Namibia not having an embassy outside Delhi for Indian passport holders, we were left with Europe to plan. In a span of two weeks, we completed the research online, and made flight, train, car and accommodation bookings.

We took off on a Friday and landed in Zurich around mid-day. With nothing much for us to see in Zurich, we took in the green meadows and the snow-capped mountains in the distance as we drove west towards Lucerne. After an evening of walking around the little town, and seeing the beautiful Lion monument, we spent a tired yet cozy night here.

The next morning, we drove towards Lake Geneva and spent a night at Lausanne. A walk around the busy town to see the animated clock tower that strikes every hour. This is accompanied by an automated puppet show with a history based audio. We then drove to the cathedral to see the newly planted tulip buds for the Tulip Festival and the first view of Lake Geneva. We then headed to Montreaux for a really good slow walk on the promenade. Taking in the Lake, the Alps, some quirky statues, Freddy Mercury’s famous statue, the view of the Chillon cathedral and returned to Lausanne for the night. 

The next day marked the beginning of our snow adventures. We drove to Interlaken, checked into a cute apartment, and drove up to Grindelwald to see skiers enjoying the day on the mountains, and a lot of snow around town, including roof and treetops. The kids had a lovely first time with snow.

We returned the car the next morning and walked to the train station and went up to Jungfraujoch. This is the most popular tourist spot in Switzerland and is the highest railway in Europe, that gets you to experience the glaciers of the Bernese Alps. After a cold and freezing day up there, we took the train back to Interlaken, and retired for the night.

Part 3 - Greece - March 2018

We landed at Athens, checked in to the not-so-great Pan Hotel, and quickly stepped out for a 4 hour walk all around the area. We walked through Monastraki Square, Exarchia to see some Graffiti and street art, saw the Hadrian's Library, a bit of the Ancient Agora, Tower of the Winds, and saw the Acropolis on the hill top from near the Thissio Metro Station.

We began with brunch at Cafe Diogenese, followed by some gelato in Marabello near Monastraki Square, some cold beer near Exarchia, and on our way to the Syntagma Square stopped for some fresh hot falafels at Not Just Falafel. With another 45 mins to go for the Changing of Guard ceremony at the Monument, we sat down for a bit while the kids played around the garden like maniacs.

We saw the ceremony and headed for dinner to a lousy Indian restaurant called Babaji, easily the worst food we have had in this trip. Our night was very disturbed in the dingy room, and we chose to check out the next morning, before our guided day tour with Private Greece Tours.

We went straight to the Acropolis, to be able to see this beauty just when the gates opened and ahead of the crowd of tourists. We then drove through some of the places we had visited the previous day, and then through the most gorgeous coastline we have ever been on. A bright sunny day, the blue skies, perfect blue sea to match and the white sails, oh we didn't want this drive to end. But it did, at Cape Sounio where we saw the Temple of Poseidon.

We then returned to Athens and stopped at Zaxos Grill for some really tasty gyros lunch, well deserved after a long day out. We then checked into Holiday Suites, showered and went out for dinner to the lane near Thissio Station. Kuzina served some fresh Tzatziki, bread and soup. We were strategically seated outdoors to enjoy the view of the Acropolis lit up at night.

After a taxi ride back to the room, and a goodnight's sleep, we woke up really late the next morning. We went to the Acropolis Museum, visited the Ancient Agora, Temple of Hephaestus, did a bit of shopping near Monastraki, lunched at Cafe Diogenese (once again), ran a couple of laps around the Olympic Stadium, and finished the evening with gelato at Le Greche, something that the kids really wanted to have before leaving the city.

In the next two hours, we had checked out, changed, and reached the airport to take our flight back home. 

Part 2 - Greece - March 2018

We took a short flight from Athens to Mykonos. A little "toy" town, we had to walk with our luggage from the main road to the Carbonaki Hotel. After checking in, we went up to the waterfront and had a sumptuous meal at Captain's, our first time tasting and enjoying anchovies.

Although it was a bit cold, we decided to walk up to another part of the island called Ornos. It was raining, and we were on a twisty, winding main road up the hill, for almost an hour and a half. There was nothing to see at the end of it, so it was quite a disappointing hike, but thankfully found a cab back to the room. Quite hungry after that walk and a hot shower in the room, we stepped into Sugar & Salt, a cozy little place for some lovely pizza and wine.

We woke up to a sunny day, clear skies, and the blue blue sea. Our plan to go to Delos had to be cancelled as the seasonal boats were cancelled for the week. Though, the good food and beauty of the white and blue island totally made up for the disappointment we felt.

After some hot egg sandwiches at Trio Bambino, we walked all day through town, stopping to take pictures, having some coffee, some whiskey, some hot chocolate (yes it was sunny, but cold winds needed something to keep us warm) some hot snacks at Attica bakery and returned to our room. We also managed to watch Cars, yet again! We stepped out to view the sunset, had some authentic Greek food at Appaloosa Bar & Restaurant before calling it a day.

We took a Super Sea Jet to Santorini the next morning and checked into Aura Caves in Thera. Grabbed a sandwich nearby, a rental car from Spiridakos and drove around the island. We saw the red beach, black beach, a wasted effort to see the white beach and finally to Oia to see the sunset. It is truly one of the most beautiful sunsets, the expanse of the Mediterranean waters, many islands in the distance, blazing red sky and the sun going down. A spectacular sight indeed.

We also saw the full moon's reflection on the surface of the water on our way back. Stopping quickly at the crowded Jaipur Palace Restaurant for some roti, dal and chawal, we returned late to the room.....I mean, cave!

The next morning began with walking through the village on the hill, Pyrgos Kallistis. After a bit of shopping, seeing some lovely views from the top, we climbed down to have a refreshing brunch at Franco's. Our next stop was at Santo Winery to taste some wines and cheese, which ended with a puncture (probably from the failed white beach trip on that horrible path downhill). After fixing, rather replacing the Tyre, we drove to Oia to see that part of the island.

We saw the bright white and blue buildings, hotels with pools, the famous blue domes and bell towers, and climbed down 300 steps to view the Ammoudi beach. The highlight of the evening was of course, our visit to the Atlantis Bookshop (by far the cutest we have seen) and returned to the room with sandwiches from a street side stall.

We flew to Athens the next morning to take our flight to Crete. We drove out in our Auto Rentals car from the Airport. Disappointed with our booking at the Erofili Apartments, we checked into Sundance Apartments & Suites.

We then drove through Mountain ranges, to view canyons, gorges (did not attempt hiking though.... I could come up with some excuses, but I know I won't buy them). We then went to Plaka, to see some great views of the sea, the small island of Spinalonga from a distance and to our destination....Delphini. A family run restaurant where, in true Cretan style, we chose fresh fish from their kitchen and got them to cook it for us. Needless to say, it was divine.

We left really late, and it was a very dark, eerie drive back through the mountains to the room. The only company we had was the full moon reflecting the sun's red hue from its surface. It was gorgeous.

We woke up with a long list of things to do, which began with a visit to the laundromat, freshly baked croissants from a bakery nearby, a drive to the Lasithi Plateau, up the hill towards the Cave of Zeus. This was a 40 minute exciting hike up and down, that ended with the most refreshing glasses of orange juice. We then went to Knossos & Phaistos Palaces both a couple of hours from each other. Saw some Ruins of the Temple of Apollo, picked up our laundry and a sandwich in between.

When the evening ended early, we were happy to return to the room, pack, shower and go for a relaxed dinner and beers at Mythos next door. We were up the next morning, heading back to Athens, this time to see the city and not just the Airport.