Ice Caves in Austria

Eisriesenwelt Werfen - The world's largest ice cave.
In 1879,Anton Posselt, a natural scientist from Salzburg, pushed 200 metres into the darkness of the caves and officially "discoverd" the Eisriesenwelt. The cross inside the cave almost at the beginning is the mark he made exactly where he discovered the cave.


From 1924, for about 25 years, the only way to reach the caves was on foot. It is a steep uphill climb.Our guide, Sandra, showed us the path which people used to climb on. Thank god for the developments, i definetly wouldn't have made it to the caves. From 1953 it was possible to drive up the Eisriesenweltstraße in a single lane.In 1955 the cable-car provided an alternative to the steepest part of the climb, reducing the time taken from one and a half hours to a matter of minutes.



From the parking area, everbody has to walk for about 20minutes to reach the cable car. After descending the cable car, another 20 minutes of walk brings you to the foot of the cave.



As soon as you step into the cave, a blast of cold air hits you. For a second i thought i would freeze right there. But its only for a second. We are handed with small lamps to light the way through the cave and while climbing the steps.
It is zero to minus one inside the cave and the warm clothes saved us from being frozen inside the cave.


The caves are formed naturally. The snow from the alps melts throuh the creeks and starts collecting inside the caves and the wind blowing shapes them. I also witnessed what i read in school - Stalactites and Stagmatites.
Walking through the caves, climbing the steps was a nerving experience.


Mother Nature is indeed spectacular. The ice caves are a must-see in everyone's list.Walking down the caves, it was difficult to quieten the rush of excitement.
The sights, the caves and the ice are still slide showing in my mind. :)

Read more »

  

Read more »

Destiantion Belgium PART II

Next in line was the GRAND PLACE.
It is necessary to view the grand place at night. It is breathtaking. The four sides are so massive and towering down on you, all you do is look up in awe and admire the work of the hundreds of sculptors. It is the most beautiful medival squares of Europe.

We visited the Grand place twice. Once around the evening and once close to midnight.
You need to sit down and admire the guildhalls and drink the spectacular sight. It is truly relishing.


DAY TWO
We had breakfast and strolled around to figure out where to buy passes for teh day's tour. While on our way we hit the St.Michaels Cathedral. It around 300 years to bild this incredible Gothic cathedral.
We had to hit our head in our stupidity for not brining our cameras along. Never ever do that.

We further strolled along to visit the Belgium Center for Comic Strip Art. This is dedicated to Herge the creator of Tintin. You will se miniatures of tintin, tom and jerry sold as souveneirs. The museum itself is decorated very innovatively and has information about how cartoons are made from start to finish. Teh sketches, motion pictures and the script. Very interesting place to visit.

We then went Lock, stock and barrel to visit the other sights in Brussels.
Atomium is a wonder to visit.

It was built in 1958 for the International Exhibition. It is a model of nine atoms of an iron molecule magnified 160 billion times. You can climb four of these items with high speed escalators and ofcourse the stairs. The highest atom offers a panoramic view of the city.

Right next to the Atomium is the Mini-Europe.
Here all the important monuments and structures throughout the europe are scaled down and if you cant visit the entire Europe this would a quick finish. While the Eiffel Tower model is a poor representation, the Big ben is scaled down to the minute detail. Definetly worth a stroll.

There ends our trip to Belgium. It was a good time spent with Good company amidst breathtaking sights.

Read more »

Destination Belgium

Last weekend i was in Belgium - land of chocolates and beers.
Belgium is situated between Germany, Netherlands, Luxembourg and France.

I went directly to the capital city - Brussels - administrative capital of the EU.
Many had told us that there was nothing picturesque to visit in brussels but this trip proved them wrong.
Usually, when we go travelling we always have a list of places to visit and then the time-lines and we hop on and off the buses.
This trip was different. We dint have a plan. We knew the important places to visit but we dint know where they were located. In all, we stranded in the streets of Brussels. And to add more excitement, very few people in Belgium can talk English. Merci and Bon Jour the only french i knew wouldn't help either.

We were five in all. Alex a chinese, who was lost in his thoughts but never failed to notice his bretheren. Sumeet the when-in-doubt-ask guy, who always loses his way, we found the secret story though. Billu the man, who needs a top view to find his way or he needs a formula to compute the distance between tha place we are and where the car was parked. Bina with volatile memory and an ever evaporating sense of direction and me - i was the one with all the information which can be credited as useless :)

So we set sail.


From German to Brussels, it takes approximately 4 hr and 30mintes. Traffic is relatively slower on the Belgium bahn. But its a picturesque drive, if u dont doze off. We were drinking in the country side and adoring the cars that zipped past us. With indian music in Germany we were in love with EUROPE.
(If you dont have navigation in your car, map24 would be useful)


The first of the places we saw was the BELLEVUE Museum. There is an entrace fee of about 3 euros and when we went inside, we were wondering why we ever came here. When you dont read your history books properly this museum was a wrong place to be in. I found it totally boring until i saw the old style telephone and a radiophone.
Outside the museum, one can see the entire palace of the king. I wont say anything about the flags. (see previous post). It is a nice cobblestone pathway and the palace looks huge and mammothical. Make up your mind before you step in :)


We decided that we wanted to see the Mannekan Pis. This is a really small statue of a boy pissing. I was shocked to see so many tourists looking at this boy. We even joked that the next time people would come around seeing a dog peeing in the lamppost. Anyways, there is some story behind it all. Apparently the belgians beleive this boy has saved their country from being plundered or ravaged by fire. Its a good luck sign to them. The road signs are really tiny and by the time we got there we all were mighty tired.

If there is one thing that leaves me on a perpetual high, its CHOCOLATES. When i saw the chocolate fountain in one of the shops in Belgium, i even forgot to close my mouth.We tasted some of their handmade chocolates and ummmm.. they were yummy. So i grabbed a few for moi.
(To be Continued...)

Read more »

Belgium Vs Germany

While in Belgium do not get worried about why the German flag is flying so high.
It is easy to get confused.
GERMANY
BELGIUM
While we were wandering in Brussels, we stopped at the king's palace and were wondering why the German flag was placed there.
We stopped a lady and asked her if it was a german king. She must have thought that we had sub-zero levels of history knowledge, 'cos she laughed and said - 'Thats the Belgium flag'.
Whoever said, when in doubt ask :(

Read more »

Willkommen nach Deutschland

I landed in Germany amidst frenzied football crowd.
I still haven't got sight of Ronaldinho but havent given up yet :D

I stay in Walldorf, a quiet village so to say.
But with Worldcup in Germany, not a single place is sparred.
Yesterday at 12.00 in the night we heard a vroom of cars with flags and fans screaming. France and Korea - 1 -1.

The sun doesnt set here until past ten and its a little weird to retire for the day when its so bright outside. I hear the europeans like this. There are times in winter when the sun never comes out (like in Sweden). So they look forward to the summer. And once summer comes they rent caravans and set out for a vacation to the beaches and the like where there's plenty of sun. How much i take the sun for granted and curse it :D

I have also realized the Germans are pretty good at driving. On the Autobahn, you can drive the fastest in Germany. People change lanes depending on their speed and the speed of the car behind to leave way. Its amazing. Also when you cross the border to a neighbouring country you will know the difference.

Germans are also more organized and meticulous about their lifestyles. There is no commotion and everthing is almost always in order. Being in a foreign land open your eyes to a plethora of things. My first lesson here has been time is precious so dont take it for granted.

Read more »

For Business & Pleasure

Worl cup stadium in munich at night
Am off to Deutschland to watch the Worldcup(am an optimist) and do some business.

Read more »

SACRIFICE

A thing is not necessarily true because a man dies for it.

In solitude moments, i think aloud of this one word that alludes me.
We all make sacrifices, some small and some strong.
Some are life altering and some make life easy to go by.

What is it that makes us sacrifice?
Is it easy when it is for people we care about?
And sometimes i wonder, why do we do it?

Some sacrifices are simple and silent that we hardly notice and some are painful and etched in our memory forever.

When a mom sacrifices a meal to feed her children its a silent sacrifice. Nobody awards her for that simple feat. Its the love she gets in return.

When a man dies in enemy lines, the whole nation rewards him. For a life lost and to me war can never be justified.

There will come a time when each one of us will make a sacrifice. Life is never easy.
Sacrifice is a word that symbolises pain, in one form or the other.

Sometimes we fail to notice the little details of life.
When i get to live life only once, sacrificing things near and dear to me would mean rubishing the very cause of it.

Why do we do it then?

Read more »

Whats in a number?

Maradona - Number 10



David Beckham - No 7



Ronaldinho - No 10



Rossi - No 20



Ronaldo - No 9

And then the King of Football



PELE - NUMBER 10

Read more »

Germany Vs Costa Rica

GER CRC 09 Jun Match 1 Group A :Kick Off Time: 18:00
Venue: FIFA World Cup Stadium Munich
Referee: ELIZONDO Horacio

The waiting finally comes to an end as hosts Germany get the 18th FIFA World Cup™ finals under way against Costa Rica at 18:00 CET on Friday before a capacity crowd in Munich.

Germany qualified automatically for the 2006 FIFA World Cup as the host nation. Costa Rica finished third behind the USA and Mexico in the CONCACAF Zone, sealing a berth at the finals with five victories, a draw and four defeats in ten qualifying fixtures.

The sides have never previously met at full international level, although they have twice crossed swords at FIFA U-20 World Championships. The Ticos won 2-1 on both occasions (Doha/Qatar 1995 and Lagos/Nigeria 1999).

Catch all the football mania starting tommorrow.
Am all geared up this year.. So let the game begin!

Read more »

Golden Ball Winners

The adidas Golden Ball award is presented to the outstanding player at each FIFA World Cup™ finals, with a shortlist drawn up by the FIFA technical committee and the winner voted for by representatives of the media.

Read more »

My First Podcast

powered by ODEO


Listen with maximum volume :)

Read more »

The Great Indian Monsoon

If you have to understand India, you first have to understand the effects monsoon has on the indian soul.

There's some charm in watching the rains, the leaves are washed green and they are happy having a good bath. The water gushes down the road with a speed making you wonder who's chasing it. The water kisses my feet as i wade my way home.

From when i was a little girl i love standing in the rain near the gate. We used to have a neem tree, huge and big and though my mom used to scream, my sister and i would occasionally have our clandestine meetings with the rainman. Now i walk back from the stop to home getting drenched in the rain without a care in the world.

The gurgles of the cloud, the hand that clasps the thunder and the lighting strikes are one of the best to watch and relish.

I love to shake the braches of the tree after the rain ceases, to have my own shower.Who says you cant have your moments of joy?

I have come to love rain in a very soft way. I like kids jumping into the puddles splashing water, the flower vendor trying very hard to balance the umbrella and sell flowers, the vegetable cart hurrying to cover the vegetables.

There is an urgency to shelter everything from the rain, yet there is a pleasure to get drenched too...

Now is the time for The Great Indian Monsoon. A time for rains, water, joy and simple pleasures in life. Welcome again!

Read more »

Imsai Arasan 23am Pulikesi

For those of you wondering what the title means, this is a tamil movie name.
Vadivelu, a famous comedian stars as the hero and is supposed to be a full-length laughing riot.
Non-Tamilians(am i being over-confident here??) you might not get a kick out of wathching this trailer but the rest, as we say in bangalore - Ensoy Maadi

Read more »

Managing your managers

Welcome to the world of IT.
A word of caution
Its common place to have managers who screw your happiness, make you forget that a day has 24 hours and damn it you have other things in life to do!!

There are managers who cant spell communication and god forbid some wouldn't have even heard of motivation.

Not all are bad, so there's hope in this planet.

Its only at times, you have these people who call themselves managers because they have spent more time with the keyboard than trying to make sense of what the role demands.
I recently met one such weirdo.

He's an amusing piece of work. Just minutes before, you would have explained why a certain thing is difficult to solve and the problems involved. You just have to wait to catch your breath and you would find a mail in your inbox asking the same things. You think its a mistake.. Nope. You see he suffers from short term memory loss. So what do you do next time. If your smart enough you would stick to mailing him.

Well there are other such incidents that make me wonder if the designation of a manager is one sans brains. According to me the ad for a manager in the IT world should read like,

Moderate communication skills.
Well-versed in sending, updating, deleting meeting requests.
Should suck at inter-personal skills.
Conduct meetings without any agendas and keep rambling for any period of time.
Be good in playing the ping-pong game with onsite.
Should be totally unaware of the project he/she is supposed to manage.

Ofcourse there can be more additions to this...
Some people even learn to sideline these weirdos and get brownie points.

Dont start pitying us, 'cos we are the breed of sheep who wont protest but we are good at cribbing and wiling away time cursing our fate.

May be i will write about the future of this IT world someday.
Its difficult to manage people who lack sense.. and its difficult to manage your manager.
Now now, is there a difference. SMILES

Read more »

Time rolls

Last year this time, i was one of the frequent flyers of KPN Travels. I think i would have donated close to 10 grand with my visits to Chennai. It was never tiring but full of enthusiasm and fun. My only sister was getting married to a lovely man.

Sometimes i think if it was anybody else i would have fought with him for stealing her away from me. But my brother-in-law is cool. He loves playing cards and has a witty sense of humor and he is family. We dint even have to take any efforts in making him a part of it. It all just fitted.

Her wedding day would be etched in my mind forever.. she looked lovely. Am not the appreciative kind, especially when it comes to my sister, then i would get a call from her asking if i was all right. But what the hell .. ;-))

Today when i tore another day off the calendar, it struck me like a bolt. Its been a year.
Has it been that long really? I guess so!! I hate calendars which have those everyday sheets you have to tear off. Then the day just ends. Not a nice feeling.

My family is not the kabhi kushi kabhi gham kinds. We tease, fight, laugh and cry together. We are not constantly updated but we are there for each other. But i realize that more than anything its family thats binds you to the world. Even when everything goes wrong, there is still one thing that lasts forever.

Weddings mean celebration. A coming together of two souls and binding of families. Its when you dont take just one person but an entire family as part of yours. My sisters was one such wedding. I still cant look at their pictures without the lump in my throat and a grin on my face.
Yes its been a year.

There are times when words fail you, when you cant pen or say the emotions that cloud your mind. This is one such moment for me. I wish them a lifetime of happiness and once again am so glad we are family.

Happy Aniversary dude and dudette !!!

Read more »

Revolution

Government to go ahead with 27% reservation
Amidst growing agitation and hunger strikes, the UPA government decided to go ahead with reservation. Clearly this would kindle the burning fire.

We spoke about brain drain, tell me what kind of patriotism would exist in the minds of youth if they are told that you did not get into a med school because your forward caste. Never mind the 99% he would have scored. These are some of the bright minds of the country.


Shouldnt the govt look towards funneling their education and help them reach the zenith. Instead it has reached a conclusion which would nip their dreams and aspirations.

Reservation is a lousy way of tackling the issue of equality for backward classes. It fails to address the root cause. Why are they backward? Is it because they did not get educated in Harvard and Stanford? Is it because they dont drive around in a merc? Primarily because they are financially backward. They cant make ends meet and have no money to feed their howling stomachs. Would reservation solve this problem?

When more a billion people can see this truth clearly, why do people in power fail to open their eyes to this truth? Vote bank i was told. Aren't we fools to vote for such leaders? Oh Yes we are, bigger fools than them.

Read more »

The Battle of life

From Steve McCurry's Journal:
Brindavan, India 1995
I was walking down a street in Brindavan when I saw her. I was fascinated at how someone in her condition could move around the ancient city streets.
I followed her and after a few minutes she noticed me. My translator explained that I was interested in her and wondered where she was going. She invited us into her home for tea and told us her story.
She told me that she had married and was widowed by age 13. In some places in rural India, being a widow carried a stigma, because it was a sign of bad karma. This woman had survived her entire life by accepting a few coins from people for whom she would recite prayers in a temple.
She had a wonderful sense of humor and I was touched by her indomitable spirit.
One can look at her image and feel admiration or pity, but the magic of the picture is its ambiguity. She symbolizes everyone who faces difficult challenges and has the will to persevere and survive.

WHITE RAINBOW is a movie based on the life of widows in brindavan. It is conceived by the nephew of the legendary actor Sivaji Ganesan - Dharan Mandrayar.
Statistics say there are about 10,000 or 15,000 widows in Brindavan, a very small town.
Why is the woman to be blamed when her man dies?

We have come past the days of SATI when women are burnt alive. Now we see living images of women lying like beggars in the streets of brindavan just because their spouse' have reached the end of the road. Why is she the vanquished?

This is not about women's liberation. This is about beleifs.
Question yourself about the thousand beliefs that encircle you and keep you tangled in their web. Are you willing to break free or can you break free? Do you have the freedom to make your own set of values and live by them.

We are the generation who have the power of knowledge with an oppurtunity to view different cultures. If we cant question the past and dictate the future for ourselves. Nobody else can.

Read more »

End of an Era - Maradona

One of colleagues told me that if i give a link to the world cup then he cant comment on it.
So here goes, my feeble attempt to revist some of the pages of this great sport.
Disclaimer: Am a amateur when it comes to soccer, but this year am more than engrossed in this sport. So any errors in judgement or events, feel free to point them out.

When i think of soccer, the first personality that crosses my mind (and many more) is none other than Diego Armando Maradona. He is a legend in this sport. Google has many videos about Maradona Vs Ronaldinho - a separate post on that.

Born on 30 October 1960 in Villa Fiorito, Argentina, Maradona went on to become one of the most famous personalities in the football arena.

Maradona is nothing short of divine in the land of Argentina.
Maradona made the ball an early friend and it was his constant companion in the games of street football that taught him how to compete with older and bigger opponents.
Maradona's physique, or lack of it, almost cost him his career.

Balance was the key - which was ironic given his struggle to find equilibrium elsewhere in life.He shot at journalists with an air rifle, insulted the pope on TV and always roused the extreme of emotions. It was impossible to stop 'El Grande' as he slalomed towards goal; and just as unerring was his accuracy from set pieces.

The last chapter in Diego's FIFA World Cup history was also the darkest. It unfolded at USA 94 where he helped Argentina triumph over Greece and Nigeria. Then, however, he failed a drugs test - showing signs of the banned stimulant ephedrine - and was banished from the competition. The team followed soon after.

Maradona was banned in 1991 after testing positive for Cocaine whileplaying for Napoli. When he returned to play in Argentina the Championship wasplayed over two league stages. He was banned a second time after testing positivefor performance enhancing drugs during the 1994 World Cup.

Its amazing how one person who shot to fame comes tumbling down faster.
Neverthless, anybody who watches him play would accept that this man was a born footballer.
His agility in passing the ball and sledging goals is quite unmatched.
The crowd erupts into a frenzied applause everytime his foot touches the ball. Such is the thunder, we hear long after he has stopped playing.

Maradona - A legend !!!

Read more »

Hand of God

After keeping the mighty Argentinians at bay for much of the first half, England had started to come into their own - but six minutes after the break Maradona took centre stage.
The next 20 seconds would be imprinted on all our minds.
Steve Hodge slices the ball into his own area.
Out comes Peter Shilton, though, and he'll surely punch it clear.
But somehow Maradona - who must stand no more than 5ft 6in - has beaten him to the ball and it loops into the net.
The little Argentinian wheels away towards the corner flag to celebrate, but not without glancing over his shoulder to look at the referee.
Shilton races out of his area with his left arm in the air screaming "handball, handball, ref, he's handled it" (or words to that effect) but the official gives the goal.
The fact that four minutes later Maradona scored one of the greatest goals of all time mattered little then, it was only years later that we could appreciate the quality of that strike.
England had been cheated out of a semi-final appearance.
(Courtesy Reece Killworth )

Read more »