The Swiss experience

Hey! Hey! People

How are you all.. Summer is here and I think all of you might be as excited as I am.
Summer brings with itself so much fun, barbecue, smiles, food and holidays.
I live in the UK and as you all must know, Summers are short lived here :P. We have to make the most of it and rest part of the year, we like to holiday at other summer place :) hehe

Moving on, I am an all time holidayer.. Summer, Winter, Spring, Autumn, I like to holiday in all seasons. The sheer idea of getting out my daily routine and  doing something good fills me with so much energy that I love doing it over and over again. But You know what really helps when you go on a holiday? some pre-planning about the place you are going to, what are you going to do there, the place you would like to visit there and so on. I love to read about places and mark my favorites before I visit any place.

Well I think through this blog, I can make the same thing easy for you when you plan to visit Switzerland. Yes! today I am going to tell you about my amazing Swiss trip. Its one of the most beautiful countries in the world. I had heard that before but when I went there I realized that all those stories were not wrong. I was completely spell bound by the extreme beauty  and simplicity of the country.

 So let me introduce this beautiful country to you, the country to fall in love with, the country of scenic beauty, country of the lovely Bollywood movies, country where you would want to wear a saree and roll in the snow, Switzerland!

If your only inspiration to go to Switzerland are the Yash Chopra movies, then you are not alone. Every year hundreds of Indian couples and families pour into Switzerland to live the movies and I was one among them. Although each and every part of this country is full of beauty, we chose a few.


BASEL

A cute little city full of surprises. Located on the banks of river Rhine, this city is as peaceful and as modern as Switzerland is. The interesting fact about the city is it is surrounded by 3 different countries, France at one end, Germany at other and Switzerland at third. Hence you can either walk to France or take a train to the German Black forests or just stay in Switzerland. I decided to stay in Switzerland itself.

Going along the city , We were attracted by the magnificently flowing Rhine river and its banks.
Basel Munster is a nice place to look the the old architecture of the city and also enjoy the views of Rhine.

Rathaus is another such building which gives you the impression of the architecture. Located in the city center, it is one of the main tourists attraction.

Walk along the city, If you are not too much interested in museums etc , like me :P, you can simply walk along the city and enjoy yourself. The city has different contours, some steep road, hills etc but I am sure you'll love it. And as you walk, you will pass along some of the master pieces like the Tinguley fountain , Cathedrals, museums etc and also some amazing shops and Cafes.

Nightlife this is a disappointing aspect of visiting Switzerland, the nightlife is not that amazing as say London or Berlin. Shops close in the evening and only a few bars, restaurants are open. Hence if you are a nightlife animal, set your expectations right.


LUCERN

The next destination in our travel plan was Lucern. It was then when I first time saw the real Switzerland, the snow covered mountains, lush green grassland, just like in the movies.
As we had bought the Swiss 4 day travel card, the trains, bus, tram, ferries  etc were free for us for whole 4 days. The views from the train were beyond words, I and my camera were busy capturing them all the time.

Boat Ride  The first thing you should do when you land in Lucern is take a boat ride. The boat/ferry terminal is just opposite to the train station and the rides are very frequent. The ferry takes you across the lake Lucern with views that will make your jaws drop. I enjoyed every single moment of that ride, even though it was cold, I was on the deck all the time with my eyes full of surprise. I didn't want to blink them at all :)

Mt Rigi The boat ride stops at a point where you can take a train to Mt Rigi, which again has magnificent views of the city etc. We decided to skip it as Lucern was still to be discovered. Hence we headed back to Lucern.

Chapel Bridge  The cutest and the most photogenic place in Lucern. It is an old wooden foot bridge constructed to cross over the channel and is now a favorite tourist spot. There are market, Cafes and eateries all along the channel for tourists like us.

Mt Titlis On of the most famous mountains in Switzerland where there is a Cable car to take you to the top and then you can play in the snow. We planned to go but our plans cancelled because the day was too windy. Booo0... :( but you can give it a try for sure.

Lion Mountain This is also one of the famous sculptures of Lucern and was built in the memory of the war soldiers. One of the must visits in Lucern.

Walking Along  The thing which I like doing best, taking tour of the city. There are many beautiful cathedrals, souvenir shops , high class shops, restaurants. There were kids along the Lake coast playing with the birds and that's how my beautiful day came to end.

Train Rides No matter whichever part of Switzerland you are, you must have a train ride. Laden with scenic routes, lakes etc these rides will leave you wanting to travel all day. There are some designated routes called the Golden routes,  but I must say the non designated ones are amazing as well. Almost all the major train stations are high class with shops, restaurants, lockers. Zurich train station is the biggest in the world with almost more than a big mall in it.


BERN

And we came to the Capital city, Yes! Bern is the capital city of Switzerland and not Zurich or Geneva. lol!

Bern itself  Being the capital city and being near the river, the city has lots of walks to go through. We reserved a day to do that and thoroughly enjoyed it. Too many shops, Fountains and so much more.

Bear park Never knew this could be interesting to me but it really was the bears were so cutee.. coming out of their dens and enjoying the weather or sometimes cozing around in their houses.

Home of Einstein Yes if you are Einstein's fan, you can go to Einstein museum or Einstein house.

Federal Place  Located in the heart of city this is the green tomb building a nice to watch.

A day for Jungfraujoch If you are in Bern, you must spare one day to go to Interlaken and Jungfraujoch. Jungfraujoch is the highest mountain peak in Europe and there is a train which runs from Interlaken and takes you to the top. With views like you have never seen before.

The train goes slowly between the valley, ridges and steep mountains. Stopping at points for photographs.

When you reach you cannot believe you could be that high, you can go out and take pictures and in the building there are other special tings like Lindt store, souvenir shop and also a Bollywood section.



ZURICH

If you miss the cosmopolitan and a big city feel, you can come here. The biggest city in Switzerland and the financial capital. Everything is so high class, right from the train station to the streets and buildings.

Rhinefalls Highest waterfall in Europe. Its located in the outskirts of Zurich, you'll need to catch a train until there. What a treat for the eyes and the soul. Large amount of water gushing through the steep fall. A must visit when you are in Zurich.

Lake Zurich Another beautiful lake in Switzerland. Ferries run all the time around the lake. As we had bought the travel card which gave us free access, we didn't mind going for an hour  ride of the lake.

Bahnhofstrasse  is the main shopping street of Zurich. With one of the most expensive showrooms in line, this street is a treat for the shoppers. Although I didn't buy anything, I just enjoyed window shopping.

Go walking again My favourite bit again, when you walk along the city you will automatically come across, the famous and known buildings like the Grossmunster, Fraumunster and Lindenhof etc.

The other city like Geneva is same as Zurich hence if you want you want , you can plan.. its not that necessary.

And my few days trip of Switzerland ended.
I had covered all the major points.
I hope this will  help you in planning your trip along Switzerland.

See you guys again soon :)

Prawn Fried Rice

Hi All,

Has been a long time since I wrote, I have so many recipes in my mind which I want to share buuuut I am also going to repeat the old cliched comment "Time hii nahi milta" aka "I don't get time only". I know its a shame and I must criticize myself, which I am right now. Seriously, you should not be so busy in you professional life that you don't even get time to do what you love doing! Ridiculous!

Anyways, leaving my self-criticism behind, lets get started with another new recipe.
I must have told you about my fondness with prawns, if not, its quite clear from my blog hahaha, every other recipe is a prawn something recipe and here once more I am sharing a prawn pulao recipe.

Its simple , easy to make and amazing to eat , hence on my favorite list.

Lets get started now.

Ingredients:
    
     

1	Boiled rice	1cup
2	Raw Prawns	15-Dec
3	Baby corns	10
4	Spring onions	5stems
5	Beans	10
6	Soya Sauce	3tbsp
7	Sesamme seeds	1tsp
8	Schezuan sauce	2tbsp
9	Chili powder
10	Pepper	1/2 tsp
11	Salt	to taste
12	Oilve oil	3tbsp

Method;

1. Chop the bulbs of the green onions and keep the green stems separate.
   
   
2. Chop the beans and baby corn in the same fashion.
3. Marinate the prawns with salt and pepper and add soy sauce and sesame seeds to it.
   
   
4. Take a pan and add oil.
5. Add ginger garlic paste
6. Add the chopped green onions and saute.
   
7. Add beans and baby corn.
8. Add salt, chili powder and schezuan sauce
   
9. Add prawns and saute.
10. When the prawns turn pink, add rice, reduce the flame and let it cook.
11. Chop the green stems of the onions and add in the end.
    
    
    
    
    
12. Serve hot and enjoy.
    

Hope to see you again soon :)

Proteinicious Paneer Chilla

Hello Readers,

With the world going crazy about calories and healthy eating, I thought I should join the league too, not only that, share some recipes with you as well.
Healthy recipes are not always boring, they could be as good as or better tasting than samosas or bhajji.

The recipe I am sharing today is Paneer Chilla. Paneer as you know is indian cheese and chilla is a kind of salty crepe made with either gram flour or lentil flour.

I call this Proteinicious because paneer is a high source of protein and so is the gram flour. Also because there is no frying involved it makes this dish high in protein.
Lets get started now.

Ingredients:     
    

Paneer	200 gms
Onion	1
Besan (gram flour)	100 gms
Baking soda	pinch
Carrom seeds(ajwain)	1/2 tsp
Coriander	few leaves
Green Chilli	1
Roasted Cumin powder	1tsp
Red chilli powder	1tsp
Salt	to taste

Method:

1. Take the gram flour in a bowl and add salt, carrom seeds and salt to it.
   
2. Add about half cup of water so that the mixture becomes runny and keep aside.
   
3. Soften the paneer by soaking it in some boiling water. If the paneer is already soft, then you don't need to do this step.
   
4. Grate the paneer, chop the onion, chilli and coriander leaves. Mix all of them in a bowl.
   
5. Add salt, red chilli powder and roasted cumin powder to the above mixture.
6. Heat a pan and lightly grease it with some oil.
   
7. Take a scoop of the flour mixture we had prepared before and spread it on the pan. Let it cook
   
8. After the chilla has left its sides, flip it and heat the other side.
   
9. After both the sides are crisp golden brown, lower the flame and put the prepared mixture on top of the chilla.
   
10. Lift up the sides so that if forms a wrap.
    
11. Flip and heat from the other side.
    
12. Cut from the center for ease of eating and serve hot with chutney or ketchup
    
13. Enjoy!!!
    

I hope you liked the recipe, do let me know if you tried it. Thanks for reading. See you again :)

Málaga Diaries!

Hello Everyone!

Here I am again with a new tale to tell. This time I am really really excited because I have so much to tell you about. Also because I wasn't expecting much from the place but it wonderfully surprised me in so many ways.
The place I am going to tell you about today is Malaga! Its a city in the South of Spain which is usually known as Andalusia.
Although there are many good beaches in the whole of Andalucia, we chose Malaga mainly due to the easy accessibility from UK. Expecting nothing more than a beach from it, Malaga surprised me with its fusion of cultures.

On one hand the city has preserved the old castles, Arabian theaters, baths, museums etc and on the other hand has an amazing public friendly city center, modern port, restaurants, shops and beautiful beaches which leaves every one mesmerized. So here I am going to share my two cents not the old traditional way by telling you where to go and what to do but in the new fashioned way of telling you 10 reasons why you should definitely visit Malaga :)

Reason 1: Easy accessibility

Being one of the major province in Andalucia, Malaga is quite well connected and accessible from the neighboring countries and regions. Malaga has its own airport which is a 30 mins drive from Malaga central. Bus service to Malaga Central from airport is available every half hourly and is super cheap.
You can reach Malaga via the sea as well, it has a magnificent port and most of the major world cruises find its way to it. Buses and trains also connect it to major cities within Spain. And as mentioned above its easy accessibility was the main reason I picked Malaga over any other beach destination.

pic source google

Reason 2: Cheap Accommodation

Although Malaga is a tourist destination, still you can find easy and cheap accommodation. There are numerous hotels in the city center and along the beach. For single travelers there are youth hostels providing cheap lodging. We booked in advance and got a really good deal at the Las Vegas hotel which was just next to the beach, had big luxurious room and yummy breakfast ummmmm....


Reason 3: Cheap Food and Wine

Yes! all you wanted to hear. The first thing we found out as soon as we landed in Malaga was that the food was so inexpensive. Most of the eateries have a selection of Tapas (small portion of a dish)   which is served at 2 euros each max and 6 tapas for 10 euros is the tagline of many. There are restaurants at each and every corner of the Malaga city and all of them have nearly the same prices. If you happen to go to any of the interior alley ways in the city you might find beer as cheap as 0.40 euros and Tapas @ .90

The famous drink of Spain, Sangria is as common as beer and also as cheap. Malaga also offers a summer wine served over ice which is the perfect drink in a hot weather.

The happy hours in Malaga last for 5 hours :P from 4p.m to 9p.m so you can easily drink yourself to death :D(just joking). The most common drink flowing in the happy hours is Mojito! Hence if you are a foodie and love drinking, this place is next to heaven for you. Here are a few more pictures.

Restaurants near the beach serve grilled sardines which you can give a try.

So all you foodies, add Malaga to your travel plans now!

Reason 4: Great Weather and People

Every where we went in Malaga, people were very friendly, warm and welcoming. I think that's one of the qualities of Spanish people, humility. Everybody whether it be a receptionist at the hotel, waiter at the restaurant,drivers, helpers or even strangers on the street will greet you with "Hola" without fail :). Even though common people knew little English, they tried really hard to make their point clear. Sometimes it had to take the form of sign language which I found so cute, well it's just me being crazy.

The weather is as good as the people there. All the days we stayed were warm, sunny with clear blue sky. Temperature ranging from 25 degree Celsius to 30. Sun rises early and doesn't set until 10ish in the evening, giving you plenty of sunshine. I still feel quite nostalgic and keep checking the weather in Malaga, sitting in the rainy UK just to make me feel warm.. haha crazy! But this is to assure you that the people in Malaga or the weather will not disappoint you.

Reason 5: Beaches

Here comes the main reason why I am writing this blog. It all started when I was looking for a beach holiday and found this win-win option. Malaga has very beautiful beaches along the Coasta De Sol.

Not only Malaga but the adjacent beaches of Torremolinos and Marbella are breathtaking as well.

Tourism being the major source of income, kept it beaches very clean. Police patrols the beaches, glass bottles are not allowed, restaurants, changing rooms and showers are spread all across the beach for the visitors comfort. This make Malaga a must visit beach destination.

Reason 6: Cultural Heritage

Although people think that South of Spain is just meant  for a beach visit, that's wrong. Malaga beholds such a rich cultural heritage. It has influence of the moorish culture which is the medival muslim period, preserving their architecture, theaters and Hamams.Being in Spain, you can find Flamenco dancing, Bull fighting events every now and then.

We also had a chance to see a cultural festival where people from Africa presented their traditional dance. So if you like the mix of cultures, you should visit this place.

pic source google

Reason 7: Lots of places to visit

Apart from the beaches, there are a number of things you should visit when you are at Malaga. The Gibralfaro castle which is at the top of a hill,

View of the bull ring from Gibralfaro

Alcazaba , Malaga Catherdral , Picasso museum , Thyssen museum are the ones among the must visits.

Malaga Cathedral

Even if you spend time roaming about in the streets like Calle de Lores etc you will be amused with the sheer magnificence of the city.

Plaza de Merced

Reason 8: Amazing Nightlife

For you the youngsters and also the one young at heart :) this place is amazing to have a cities nightlife experience. With clubs and pubs opening from 10p.m until late, serving cheap alcohol and Tapas, this is definitely a place to be. There are a few pub crawls which start at around 11:30 p.m (way past my sleeping time :P) and last until the early hours of morning. I also found the city completely safe and no mysterious or hooded men hitting the streets even at late night. So all those who want to party until late! you just found your destination.

Reason 9: Port of Malaga 

The port of Malaga is also a famous place to hang around. With big ships doced at the port, fancy parties going on the yachts, designer shops and plenty of restaurants, this places is a hit among the families and also young couples.

Reason 10: Artists at every corner

Although there are many other factors but this one is truly a winner. Malaga has given birth to world renowned artists like Picasso but the art resides in common man too. Painters , musicians , dancers etc can be found at every corner specially the city center.

We came across a man who was painting small piece of glass by rubbing colors with his fingers in a matter of 1 minute. It left me totally spellbound. Here are few of his painting that I bought.

Hence to sum up I would say that Malaga didn't fail mesmerize to me with its beauty and culture. I hope it'll be the same for you.

Adios!