Leaning Tower of Pisa, Italy

With our trip to Venice, we suddenly planned a visit to Pisa by train which is around 4 to 5 hours from Venice mainly to see the Leaning Tower of Pisa which has around four-degree lean, the result of an unstable foundation. Galileo experimented the dropping two cannonballs of different masses from the tower to demonstrate that their speed of descent was independent of their mass. All in all, it was a great trip and we thoroughly enjoyed taking various pics against the leaning tower of Pisa. The weather stayed absolutely fine and the lush green grass next to the cathedral was so pleasant to the eyes. 

Cheers,

Sathish Kumar S

Venice - The floating city

We celebrated our ninth anniversary in Venice, a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is situated on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges also known as “Queen of Adriatic”, “City of Bridges”, “The floating city” and “City of Canals”. It is indeed a very popular tourist destination, an iconic Italian city and has been ranked the most beautiful city in the world. The weather was fantastic and it reflects on the color of the waters. We drove all the way to Venice from Swiss and we could take the car in the ferry to the hotel where we stayed. It was totally a different experience when I went as a Bachelor in 2006 and now again with my wife and son. We thoroughly enjoyed the Italian cuisine with Pizza, Spaghetti, Pasta during the trip.

Cheers,

Sathish Kumar S

Rigi - Queen of Mountains

Recently we had a chance to go to Rigi also known as Queen of the Mountains (1800m above the sea level) located in Central Switzerland. We took the ferry from Luzern to Vitznau and from Vitznau to Rigi with the mountain train and this was indeed the first mountain railway in Europe. While returning back we took the train from Rigi to Arth-Goldau and further to Zurich. The whole area offers many activities such as skiing/sledging in the winter and hiking in the summer. One enjoys a panoramic view of more than 13 lakes and a regular “sea of peaks”. Anish thoroughly enjoyed the mountain ride and it was a great location in Switzerland for a picnic when the sun shines on a summer day.

Cheers,
Sathish Kumar S

Schilthorn, Switzerland

During Christmas holidays we had a chance to go to Shilthorn which is above ~3000 metres above the sea level. To get to the Schilthorn from the valley floor is simply breathtaking. The cable cars begin in Stechelberg leaving to Gimmelwald and then on to Muerren. From Muerren another cable car is taken to Brig which is the final change before the Schilthorn. The panoramic revolving restaurant at the summt, PIZ GLORIA was featured in the 1969 James Bond movie” On Her Majesty’s Secret Service”. During the winter, the Schilthorn is the traditional start for the world longest downhill ski race, “Inferno”. Its so amazing to see the snowcapped mountains with blue skies around. 

Cheers,
Sathish Kumar S

Rhine Falls, Switzerland

We had a chance to explore Rhine Falls, the largest waterfall in Switzerland and Europe. Its located on the High Rhine on the border between the cantons of Shaffhausen and Zuerich in northern Switzerland. It’s a very popular touristic destination and a great picnic spot for a day when the sun shines. The boat ride takes you near to the falls, one can experience the thunderous noise and it also takes you to the German side for around 30 minutes. The falls are still under consideration for hydropower projects where it can add great economic value. 

Cheers,

Sathish Kumar S

Aareschlucht - Aare Gorge

We had a chance to celebrate my 36th birthday in Aareschlucht (Aare Gorge) in the Bernese Oberland region of Switzerland. It’s a section of the river Aare that carves through a limestone ridge near the town of Meiringen. The path through the gorge is accessed by entrances at each end of the gorge, for most of its length the path is a wooden construction on a metal frame cantilevered out from the wall of the gorge, with short stretches in tunnel. It was a picturesque sight with the color of the water in green. All in all, a great birthday outing spent with the family.

Cheers,

Sathish Kumar S

Sub Continent Flavours to Alpine Wonders

After spending couple of years in Chennai, India: we moved back to Europe. The purpose of going to India has been solved, spent good time with dad during his tough times. He got a companion and he is back to good spirits. Anish started his first grade in Switzerland and he has started to speak German. Thanks to my wife who supported this decision of moving back to Europe and raising our son here. It was a great time in India and was a great challenge to survive there after a decade in western world. I have renamed the blog from Sub Continent Flavours to Alpine Wonders.

Cheers,

Sathish Kumar S