Hemant Bhatt
The journey began at 12 midnight on 23th January, as we walked into the Mumbai International airport after saying goodbye to our friends and family. In spite of it being a long day of packing the luggage, everyone was wide awake with excitement and anticipation of the journey that lay in front of us. As we checked-in our baggage, we wondered how we would spend the next 3 hours at the airport. Hanging around, having a midnight snack, watching planes take-off and land and clicking pictures, before we knew it, it was time to board the A380 that would take us to Munich via Dubai. In spite of departing an hour late from Mumbai we arrived at Dubai well in time to roam the airport and shop before it was time to board the next A380 ready for a long flight to Munich. Dubai airport is infamous for making you forget to look at your watch as you browse through world class collection of perfume and liquor. Before we knew it, the airline had announced the final call for all passengers. Games, movies and novel kept us company on this long flight which was as smooth as sitting in a parked car.
Flying over Istanbul and Iran, looking out the window, it was difficult to pull the gaze away from the beautiful snow-clad mountain tops.
Walking off from the plane we got a little taste of as what a sub-zero condition would be like. As we walked out of the airport, Germany welcomed us with gentle breeze carrying with it little snowflakes which made our nose red like cherry tomatoes. Even after traveling for more than 10-12 hours straight and going through 3 different time zones, each of us was wide awake, soaking in the view as we travelled from the airport to the hotel.
Having Indian lunch in a foreign country made us a little homesick. But we were too consumed seeing the snow-covered roads, trams that rumbled across the streets like big buses to actually miss home. Reaching the hotel we had time to freshen up and laze in the hotel room before it was dinner time but we refused to be confined in the hotel room and ventured out at 5 in the evening which felt as if night had fallen because of winter season. We ventured out to take in the local feel and flavour of Munich city.
The very next day on 24th January, we set off to visit Munich Business School. The topic of lecture was Global Supply Chain Management conducted by Prof. Michael Ruediger. The lecture went on for 1.5 hours, packed with examples which gave us all a fresh perspective about the various aspects of international business. Leaving Munich Business School, we headed towards BMW Welt. On the way we stopped at the city centre for a brief shopping spree and had pizza as a quick lunch.
BMW Welt and Museum was breath-taking. Both new and vintage cars were maintained alike. Looking at the finest of cars and bikes aroused the children in us as we went around the museum for 2 hours clicking pictures and gazing at the cars and bikes for minutes completely awestruck. By the time we left the museum it was early evening but it was already sundown and light snowfall had begun. Unfortunately, we didn’t have enough time to hang around so we left for the next shopping destination, Primark. By the time we reached Primark, the intensity of snowfall had risen and the temperatures dropped. Shopping at Primark was different experience altogether. A wide variety of clothes, boots and perfumes to choose from at a reasonable price. Given that it was winter, the days ended early and we headed for dinner.
On 25th January after breakfast we left for Munich city tour. Most of it was done onboard our bus but we got off at Marienplatz a spacious square at the centre of Alstadt. As soon as we got off the bus, bitter northerly cold winds hit us in the face and we hurriedly walked towards the restaurant to get away from the cold. On the way we saw Residenz. Over the centuries, the rulers of Bavaria transformed what had been a simple moated medieval castle into a sumptuous palace laid out around seven courtyards. The Residenz is one of the great treasure houses of Europe, reflecting Wittelsbach wealth, the family’s taste as passionate collectors, and their ability to employ the best talents of the time. Post lunch we hopped on the bus enroute Vienna.
The road to Vienna was 5.5 hours long. The famous Autobahn did not disappoint us, offering breath taking view on both sides of the road. Lush green fields were sheets of white blankets laid across as far as eye could see. Briefly stopping near Salzburg for a bio break, we spend 15 mins collecting souvenirs and clicking pictures of Mondsee lake. Arriving at Vienna early in the evening, we had little time to explore the city given the shops were closing. After dinner, tired from the journey we decided to go to bed.
Unfortunately, on 26th the visit to chocolate factory had to be cancelled due to some internal issues at the factory allowing us plenty of time to explore the city. Schonbrunn Palace was one of the coldest places I have visited so far with temperatures dropping well below zero and gusts of wind adding to the chill factor. The Schonbrunner SchloSSpark extending for 1.2 km from east to west and approximately one kilometre from north to south, it was placed together with the palace on the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites in 1996. The famous vineyard in front of Orangery Garden was frozen because of heavy snow fall in the past few days. Proceeding from the Palace we stopped at Rosenpark which is at the bank of Danube - Danube river’s source is in Germany and its mouth is in Ukraine where it meets the Black Sea- which was partially frozen in this time of the year. One could see white sun, its rays filtering through the clouds, providing no heat on one’s freezing hands. Leaving Rosenpark, we had a brief sightseeing at city centre of Vienna city before going to a local Indian restaurant for lunch. Post lunch we had all the time in our hands. Some of us decided to go for sight-seeing and the rest of decided to spend the evening shopping for our friends and family- not to mention for ourselves- at a Shopping City Sud which was located a few miles out of the city which we travelled by our hired bus. The complex for shopping was big enough to spend hours shopping and in doing just that, we lost our way back to the parking lot, in turn losing 10 minutes of our time (which seemed rude to punctual Europeans.) Having Indian cuisine for dinner after a long day of sightseeing and shopping, we called it a day.
We woke up the next day on Sunday the 27th to a beautiful golden sunrise. We were welcomed in the hotel lobby for breakfast by two excellent guitarists setting the mood for the rest of the day playing excellent music. After having a leisurely breakfast, devouring the finest cheese with a glass of juice, enjoying the music we left Vienna for Prague. But we didn’t want to leave Vienna just so soon. Spending the morning at Karlzkirche Church we finally bid adieu to Austria. The road to Prague was just 3 hours away covered with snow on both the sides. Arriving in early afternoon we had rest of the day left for sightseeing.
The next day 28th, we were awestruck seeing the magnificent Gothic architecture of St. Vitus Cathedral located within Prague Castle and containing the tombs of many Bohemian kings and Holy Roman Emperors. Lucky to have visited it at noon we witnessed the ceremonial trumpet call and change of guards of Castle Guards. Castle Guard is a specific and autonomous unit of the Armed Forces of the Czech Republic directly subordinate to the Military Office of the President of the Czech Republic. With starry eyes we headed for the Skoda manufacturing and Museum. The history of Skoda museum fell short in magnitude when compared to the sheer size of its manufacturing facility. It was a town within the town of Mladá Boleslav, with 20 kms of railway tracks laid within the facility for transport and export. Unfortunately, we couldn’t capture those moments on our cameras as photography was prohibited. Leaving the plant, we went to the city centre as we had some time in our hands for sightseeing before dinner. Venturing into an unknown city after dark, we thought it a bad idea as the shops were closing early due to winter, but all the regret vanished as I could faintly hear violin playing in distance. With local ice cream in our hands we headed towards the source of the music and had the best experience listening to the famous Four Season right there on the streets.
And finally, it was time for our last meal in Europe together.
With bags full of chocolates and hearts full of memories we left Prague, homebound.
