Cafés of Western Mumbai Suburbs

Cafe La Gwa

Well not entirely from the Western Suburbs. Some of them here, are also from the Eastern Suburbs of Navi Mumbai. I have been looking for interesting cafes in Mumbai to hang out and work from. The ability to hang out and work from was an important criteria for me. Candies and Andora in Bandra are … Read more

Tübingen, Germany

About 30 miles south of Stuttgart, the capital city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg, lies Tübingen, a pretty little University Town. About one third of the town’s population is students, the leading University being the The Eerhard Karls University of Tübingen. But education was not the reason we visited this beautiful town.

We were in Stuttgart in July, and were planning a drive to the Alps, a little to the south. Making elaborate road travel plans, routing towards the Alps mountains, making sure we touched some interesting places, consumed an entire day. We packed our luggage, checked out of the hotel, and went to the nearest car rental shop only to realise there were no cars available. It was summers and everyone drives out. We went to two more rental places, no cars. Not wanting to lose time, we rebooted the plans, and decided to take a train to a nearby place. And Tübingen it was.

Read more

Two Days in Vienna, Austria

Vienna State Opera

When the waiting at the Berlin Airport for our connecting flight to Vienna became agonizingly long, we started panicking. Asking around we figured flights were getting delayed. There were some weather disturbances (this was end of July) which made it difficult for flights to land (it was raining, but the airlines folk know better). The delayed flights soon led to our flight being cancelled. We didn’t have a booking in Berlin and it was already getting late. Compounded with the fact that a lot of the staff was on holiday because of summers, there was a bit of confusion, before the airline finally managed to get us onboard a flight around 4 hours later.

In this process we landed in Vienna past midnight, starving, tired. Most of the eating places in the airport were shut already. The very reasonably priced metro that connected Vienna airport to the city center was way past its last flight. And we were here, only for two days in Vienna, Austria!

Meanwhile at the luggage belt, everyone from our flight had left except us and another family. Our luggage hadn’t arrived. We lodged a lost-luggage complaint with the airlines’ airport office, and took an expensive taxi to our hotel.

Read more

Anegundi Village : Visiting Hampi

The Kishkinda Trust

When visiting Hampi, we chose to stay at a quaint village across the Tungabhadra, called Anegundi. The village, also called Kishkinda, itself is older than the Hampi monuments. You need at least two days to see this village. Lots of people stay at Hippy Island in Hampi, but frankly we didn’t like the place. It’s … Read more

Stuttgart : Not Just The Home Of Mercedes Benz And Porsche

Schlossplaz, Stuttgart

Ok, so it’s a fact that Stuttgart is a home to Mercedes Benz and also to Porsche. Stuttgart is the capital of the German state of Baden-Württenberg, and large German auto companies like Mercedes Benz, Porsche, Bosch etc have their headquarters here. It is for this reason most people associate this city with industry and … Read more

Where To Eat Out In Bangalore

I have been making a small list of where to eat out in Bangalore. While the city has many, many options, these are only a few I have been able to try out myself or recommended by friends. Feel free to add your own choice sin the comments below. Sotally Tober, Koramangala 4th Block for … Read more

A Brief Visit To Lucerne and Safenwil, Switzerland

Waking up one morning from deep sleep we saw an amber glow in the skies. Looking out of the window, we were blown by the magnificent painting like sky of Lucerne. We had our first ‘Why is Switzerland Called So Picture-Postcard Beautiful’ moment. On a brief trip to Paris, we had taken out two days … Read more

Chikmagalur : A Dreamy Misty Coffee Heaven

Misty trails in Chikmagalur

I never thought, for some reason, that I would like Chikmagalur, having been to Madikeri earlier. And I was more than happy to be proven wrong. Located in the foothills of the Mullayanagiri Hills, Chikmagalur has a mild climate suitable for coffee plantations. Nestled amongst the hills and valleys of the fabulous Western Ghats, Chikmagalur … Read more

Haight-Ashbury, San Francisco : Still Vibrant, Still Mesmerising, Still Love

Haight – Ashbury was the epicenter of the 1967 Summer Of Love, a large movement in which more than 100,000 people, mostly young, sporting ‘hippie’ costumes and hairdos, converged here. Also known as Hashbury, this area became the centre of the alternative culture, where people rejected materialism, were suspicious of the government, did not support … Read more