Kayak Attack :))

For the team outing event,  majority of us overwhelmingly voted to go "Kayaking" at the Pacific. Couple of  Fridays ago, we arrived at the "La Jolla Shores" beach by noon, had  a nice BBQ lunch at the beach and  played Cricket and Volleyball for some time.

It was a hot day with clear blue skies and the Pacific was inviting.

Soon, the Kayak guys arrived and gave us paddling practice at the beach

Teamed up with my friend and colleague Prasanna. Here we come Pacific :))

I have done "River Kayaking" at Boston which is almost the same as Canoeing. This is the first time I was about to venture in to the Ocean with a Kayak. What we were told is that crossing the waves while entering the ocean and returning to the shores is the most challenging part.

Climbing the waves!

The waves kept pushing us back and we had to paddle fast and furious to get past the waves.

There are seven sea caves that make up the  La Jolla Caves. One by one the guide took us inside the cave.
The famous La Jolla Seals were howling inside the caves :))

We spent almost 2 and 1/2 hours kayaking and playing around.
Just like swimming, I really enjoyed just floating with the Kayak in the Pacific Ocean.

Finally, it was time to return to the shores. We were told again to lean back all the way and keep the Kayak straight and perpendicular to the waves.

We rode up the big waves and almost made it to the shores.

We celebrated a tad second too early and lost our focus.
Our Kayak turned a little sideways, a big wave hit us on the side and spilled us over.

Another magnificent spill while coming back to the shores :))

If you are ever going to try Ocean Kayaking, call me for tips. I can definitely tell you what not to do :))

What Is Your Ithaca?

Journey to Ithaca

When you set out on your journey to Ithaca,
pray that the road is long,
full of adventure, full of knowledge.

The Lestrygonians and the Cyclops,
the angry Poseidon - do not fear them.
You will never find such as these on your path,
if your thoughts remain lofty, if a fine emotion
touches your spirit and your body. 

The Lestrygonians and the Cyclops,

the fierce Poseidon you will never encounter,
if you do not carry them within your soul,
if your heart does not set them up before you. 

Pray that the road is long.
That the summer mornings are many, when,
with such pleasure, with such joy
  that you will enter ports seen for the first time;
stop at Phoenician markets,
and purchase fine merchandise,
mother-of-pearl and corals, amber and ebony,
and sensual perfumes of all kinds,
as many sensual perfumes as you can;
visit many Egyptian cities,
to learn and learn from scholars.

Always keep Ithaca fixed in your mind.
To arrive there is your ultimate goal.
But do not hurry the voyage at all.
It is better to let it last for long years;
and to anchor at the island when you are old,
rich with all you have gained on the way,
not expecting that Ithaca will offer you riches.

Ithaca has given you the beautiful voyage.
Without her you would never have set out on the road.
She has nothing more to give you.

And if you find her poor, Ithaca has not deceived you.
Wise as you have become, with so much experience,
you must already have understood what Ithaca means. 

 Constantine Cavafy ( 1863 - 1933 ),  a Greek Poet
Translated by Rae Dalven

This is a magnificent poem, a nice parable about Life, we all could relate to, in our own way. I had read it long time back but completely forgotten about it until I read it recently in the book, "The Zahir" by Paulo Coelho. 

I am sure each one of us have our own Ithaca. What is yours ???
Whatever your Ithaca is, as the poet says, "Do not hurry the voyage at all"  :))
Enjoy "The Journey" !.

Beer, The Universal Language :))

The cab driver spoke only very little and broken English. We were on our way to our apartment from the train station in Vienna.  He was very quiet until I asked him to recommend the best local beer. As if a switch was turned on, he lit up and rattled off the names of all his favorite beers. He immediately opened up and started showing us the landmarks of Vienna describing them with sign language and his funny & broken English! The girls were laughing at me and the driver trying to communicate. Immediately it dawned upon me that "Beer is the universal language that brings together people instantly :))

Starting from the Nova Scotia trip we did in '95,  I have developed the habit of tasting the local beer wherever I visit. I can never drink more than 1 glass of beer but absolutely enjoy trying out the local beer flavors.

Here is a sample for your future visit to these cities:

Enjoyed RUGEN BRAU  @ Kleine-Scheidegg Train Station, Swiss- after the adventurous hike!
Best Beer at the Best Location :))

FELDSCHLOSSCHEN  @ Bern, Swiss.

OTTAKRINGER HELLES - on the train from Luzern to Salzburg

ZUM MONART @ Salzburg

OTTAKRINGER  @Vienna

PILSNER  URQUELL @Praha

When I was studying at the University of Oklahoma, Norman - I had been to an Ale House near the University. They used to claim they have more than 100 beers from all over the world.  I don't have any fotos from that time and they didn't have a website in 1989 :))  I searched online and found a similar one ( not the  same ) that has more than 200 beers. Checkout their Beer Guide @ the link: McNellie's @ Norman, Oklahoma!!!

Photo Credit: McNellie's @ Norman, OK.

Photo Credit: McNellie's @ Norman, OK.

Aaahaa in Praha :))

Prague, the capital of Czech Republic is locally called as Praha. I like Praha better than Prague since it rhymes with Sneha, Neha and Aaahaa :)) We spent 3 days in Prague and loved every bit of it.

Czech Republic being an "Eastern European" country, I expected some differences compared to other EU countries. While Praha is 100% like any other EU city, the real shock came during the train ride from Vienna to Praha.  Once we entered Czech, all the smaller, village train stations looked pretty bad with broken platforms and rusty roofs. These stations looked like they were hit during World War II and were never repaired afterwards.

The two places we really enjoyed in Praha are the Charles Bridge and the Old Town Square. Both these places are always throbbing with people and have plenty of action going on. From our apartment, we were able to walk to both these places within 10 minutes.

Charles Bridge:
The Charles Bridge, completed in 15th century spans the Vltava river and connects the Prague castle with the old town.  It is a very unique bridge with 2 towers on either end and series of religious statues adorning the sides of the bridge.What makes the bridge come alive is the vendors selling jewels, painters painting the scene, caricature artists, musicians playing live music and of course crazy tourists from all over the world taking fotos ;).

Charles Bridge

Vendors, artists, musicians and beautiful tourists :))   @Charles Bridge

Live Jazz  @ Charles Bridge

Old Town Square:
The Old Town Square dates back to the 12th century and definitely, the liveliest place in Praha. The massive square is surrounded by historic buildings and a maze of narrow lanes and side streets with a large number of restaurants. Wherever people go in Praha, I think they show up in Old Town Square for dinner. The square was always packed with people during our multiple evening visits.

Tyn Church @Old Town Square

Old Town Square

Old Town Square

Astronomical Clock:
With my interest in Astronomy, before we visit any place, I always do some research (aka Googling) and find out if any astronomy related buildings or paintings are there. Once we finalized Praha as one of the places, I was keen on checking out the Astronomy Clock in Praha's Old Town Square. This clock was installed in 1410 and displays amazing astronomical details.

A huge crowd of tourists waiting near the Astronomical Clock @ Old Town Square....why? Read below :))

Note the clock has a 24 hr. dial. The top greenish color represents the day and the bottom orange represents night.
Two arms show the position of Sun and the Moon in the current Zodiac sign (inner dial).
Other lines represent the Twilight time, Sun set time and Sun rise time.
Each one of the lines and colors mean something astronomically.
Time is shown by a golden hand (just under the Sun in this foto).

At the top of ever hour, the two trap doors above the dials open.
A huge crowd gathers near the clock to watch the procession of Jesus Christ and his 12 Apostles.
This is an experience definitely not to be missed :))

For all the astronomical details this clock displays, checkout: Praha Astronomical Clock

Praha Castle:

At the entrance of the Praha Castle.

Stained Glass Window @ St Vitus Cathedral inside Praha Castle

Vibrant Vienna!

As we got off the train from Salzburg and stepped out side the train station in Vienna, we could feel the heat. We thought we are going to get roasted during the day, just like Salzburg.

Once again, Sheila had selected an outstanding apartment - "The Pension Sacher" - for us to stay. The apartment is right in Stephansplatz, managed by a very sweet & nice family and we were given a warm and hearty welcome. To visit Stephansplatz, all we need to do is just step out of the apartment building!

Stephansplatz is the name of the square at the center of Vienna and is named after the famous Stephansdom
( aka St. Stephens Cathedral ). The Stephansplatz was alive with people until late night and it was almost like living in an apartment right in the middle of Time Square, NY :))

St. Stephen's Cathedral, the tallest in Austria and ranked as the 14th tallest in the world.
What struck me most is the beautiful tile patterns on the roof. 
I don't remember seeing a tile-roofed church anywhere else!

Stephansdom - St. Stephan's Cathedral

Views of St. Stephan's Cathedral and Stephansplatz from our apartment - The Pension Sacher.

Sculptures on the outer walls of St. Stephens' Cathedral.

Vienna Opera House, walking distance from Stephansplatz.

During our many walks around the city, we found fountains with sculptures reminding us of our 2006  trip to Italy.

Karlskirche (aka St. Charles's Church). The two tall pillars are modeled after the "Trajan's Column" in Rome.
I checked our 2006 Italy trip fotos and found a foto of the Trajan's column (refer next foto).

 

Trajan's Column in Rome (foto from our 2006 trip). The Karlskirche's columns are modeled after this.

Karlskirche

Golden piece above the altar of Karlskirche

@ The Belvedere Palace Gardens

Taking a break at a fountain during one of our city walks on a hot day.

As we crossed a park and rounded a corner, heard nice music and enjoyed watching these couples dancing.

Perfect sync!

Entertainers @ Stephansplatz.

As we were leaving for Prague the following morning, we enjoyed 
Stephansplatz at night,  one last time - on this trip; who knows we may be back here again :))

Salzburg, the Salt Castle!

Before the EU trip, when discussing the trip details with my colleague, he mentioned that Salzburg means "Salt Castle" and  1000s of years ago, Salzburg produced a large amount of Salt. "Salz" is salt in German. Since Austria is land-locked and assuming salt can only be produced from sea water, I was wondering how come Salzburg produced salt. After digging up further, I learned that the salt was from the mines near Salzburg and the city was built by the rich folks who owned these salt mines.

Among many other things, Salzburg is famous for Mozart (who was born in Salzbrug) and the backdrop for the musical,  "The Sound of Music".

We took the train from Luzerne to Salzburg. As I checked out the dining car menu, I was really surprised to see the entree "Chicken Curry with Jasmine Rice". The 7-feet tall German waitress explained that they have this entree in almost all of the the train routes :))

Waiting in Luzerne train station. We have whittled down our luggage to one carry on item and one backpack each.
It really helps to travel light :))

Though not spicy, Chicken Curry with Jasmine Rice was tasty and enjoyable.

The nice and spacious pent-house apartment we stayed - "Wolf Dietrich" - is walking distance from the old town, the Mirabell Gardens, many restaurants and is conveniently closer to the bus stops.  

Construction of the the "Hohensalzburg Castle" was started in 1077 and it continued expanding until 1519.
It is one of the biggest in Europe.  While you can climb the steps, we took the easy - lazy way, a Funicular :)  

The Golden Bed Chamber was impressive. We opened a door on the wall and saw an
elevated sitting place with a hole - an attached Toilet in the bed room, supposed to be most modern in those days :)

View of the Salzburg Old Town (forground) and New Town (background) from the top of the fort.
The Salzach River separates the old and new towns. The Salzburg Cathedral is prominent in this foto.

Mirabell Gardens is where we spent time every evening, enjoying the flowers, fountains and watching people.
Many scenes for the song "Do Re Mi" from "The Sound Of Music" were shot in these gardens.

View of the Salzburg Castle from Mirabell Gardens.

Salzburg Cathedral

Inside the Dome of the Salzburg Cathedral

Salzburg Cathedral

Outside Mozart's house. The birth place museum has his entire life history on display.
Of course, the girls are Piano wizards and knew much more about Mozart - like his elder sister was
more talented than Mozart but was never given or got the opportunity to shine.

During travels, while I enjoy the history, culture, local food and local beer, there is nothing to match the simple joy of
watching  people - locals and from all over the world ;)

One Small Step ...

"That's one small step for a man, a giant leap for mankind"

I was in 3rd grade. Appa bought the first transistor radio at our house so that we can listen to the live radio broadcast of an American stepping on the Moon. I remember listening to the radio broadcast sitting around the table under the கீற்று கொட்டாய். That is the beginning of my interest in Space and Astronomy.
As a kid, I used to day dream about joining NASA and going on inter-galactic missions :))

Link:  Neil Armstrong

 

Dedicating this picture I took to Neil Armstrong.