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Posted By
Ritesh Chhajer on Saturday, June 04, 2011
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After having a helluva great time in London, I started my 9 day tour of Europe. We started from Brussels in Belgium, moved to Germany, then to scenic Swiss landscapes with some great snow fun at Mt. Titlis in Switzerland, enjoyed the Gondola rides at one of most romantic cities of Italy - Venice, witnessed once home to gladiators - The Colosseum at Rome, St Peter's Basilica at Vatican City, Florence, Pisa, Geneva and last but not the least - Paris. As always, first I have to give out details of visa which in this case would be Schengen Visa. Schengen Visa:Check Consulate locations first for applying the visa. Schengen Visa has to be applied to the primary country of visit which can be either first country of visit or the one where you are going to spend maximum number of days during your Europe tour which in my case was Italy. Also remember that for applying Schengen Visa, you need to have your tickets booked in advance. I had booked my tour from Star Tours. Here are the list of documents that I used for applying the visa:- Schengen Visa Application Form- Passport- Air Tickets- Visa Letter from Star Tours- Star Tours Invoice- Insurance Coverage Letter- Proof of Employment- Latest 3 Salary Stubs- Latest 3 bank statements- H1-B Petition- One 45mm * 35mm photographGetting Started:Two families with kids, push chairs(Remember that's what they call strollers in UK), car seats, loads of luggage(Never forget we are Indians) - everything fit into 1 taxi and off we went to Eastham to start our Europe tour. As soon as we reached the bus, Vikas realized he had forgotten his wallet and we had to literally beg our tour guide who took ages to decide whether we'll be able to come back on time and finally let us go. Well, it was just the beginning. Very soon we figured out how paranoid our tour guide was about timings as he kept harping about it all the time during the tour and scaring us with what would happen if we lost our passport. Quite a character indeed!Day 1(Belgium - St Mark, Atomium):
 Anyways, we went to France Eurotunnel first where our bus got inside the train which then crossed English channel in like 30 mins and took us to Calais where the time changes an hour ahead. Great Indian food was waiting for us at Euston. As part of the tour, the caravan keeps moving along with the bus to deliver awesome Indian veg food for all 9 days for both lunch as well as dinner along with authentic Indian Masala Tea. And the best part was that the cook was from Rajasthan(what else can I ask for:)).
 We started with City of Brusssels - Capital of Belgium and spent some time at St Mark Cathedral. It was quite a grand place and the Belgian waffles were just too good. From there we went to visit Atomium monument which is an amazing piece of architecture.
 Day 2(Germany - Black Forest, Switzerland - Rhine Falls):   We crossed Rhine river and entered Germany from France. We first started with black forest region where we enjoyed a demonstration of how cuckoo clocks are made and bought some souvenirs. Later, traveled to Switzerland and witnessed the largest waterfalls in Europe, the Rhine Falls. From there, we departed for Luzern to view the Lion Monument, bought some Swiss chocolates and walked on the oldest wooden bridge in the world, the Chapel Bridge.Day 3(Switzerland - Mt. Titlis):We took the revolving cable car to ascend 10,000 ft to the summit of Mt. Titlis. The panoramic views of Swiss landscapes were simply breathtaking. We had a great time playing in snow and taking the Ice Flyer ride. This was easily one of the key highlight of the tour. On huge public demand, the bus driver put DDLJ for movie watch so we could enjoy all the feeling of being there in Switzerland. On the way from Switzerland to Italy, we noticed that sound barriers were built on both sides of the highway to prevent noise pollution in residential areas. No end to technological advancements!  Day 4(Italy - Venice): Before embarking our journey for Italy, we learnt quite a few Italian words like bonjorno(Good Morning), gratsia(Thank You), prego(Welcome) and most importantly the key ones for shopping like quanto costa, economica. Having seen so many beautiful gondola rides at Venice in movies, I could barely wait to get down to Tronchetto from where we took the vaporato(water bus) to San Marco(St. Mark's Square) - one of the most elegant squares of the world. We then saw the famous Bridge of Sighs, Basilica di San Marco and visited Murano Glass Showroom to buy some real good quality glass items. And finally the gondola ride with a beautiful view of Venice - One of most romantic cities of Italy. Day 5(Italy - Rome, Vatican City):As a die hard Gladiator fan, I was looking forward to visit Colosseum - once the home to gladiators and all those gory fights. However, we had to wait a little longer for our local guide to arrive. Apparently, only local Italian tour guides are allowed here. Anyways all that wait and historical stories that we had to hear was worth it as the Colosseum was truly one of the greatest works of Roman architecture and engineering. We then went to Vatican City - home to the Pope and the Roman Catholic Church to see the St. Peters Basilica. There was a long queue and it almost took an hour to go inside. After seeing it from inside, we could fathom why so many people are queuing up outside. It was so very gorgeous and huge that it was almost impossible to capture it's beauty in a camera. The meticulously crafted carvings, magnificent statues of saints - Simply awesome! Day 6(Florence):This time around the local Italian guide was much better with an accent that we could fathom easily. We got to watch some of the finest historic buildings of Italy like Basilica of Santa Croce, the final resting place of Michelangelo and statue of David.   Previous night, we also checked out local casinos. However minimum bet being 1 euro was too much to survive for a longer period:)Day 7(Pisa, Geneva):We departed for Pisa to see the Duomo cathedral's bell tower popularly known as Leaning Tower of Pisa - One of the seven wonders of the world. On the way to Geneva, we passed through Mont blanc which is the highest mountain in Europe. While entering the tunnel, we observed that there are big heat sensors to detect over heated vehicles.   We then crossed the Italian/Swiss border and entered Geneva. Interestingly UN building is here but Switzerland is not part of it as it always remains neutral. The Flower clock and Jet D'Eau(water fountain) were pretty nice and serene sight seeing spots. Day 8(Paris - Eiffel Tower): It didn't really matter that the tickets were booked in advance as the queue to go up the Eiffel Tower was so long. But the view that one gets from the top of Eiffel Tower is simply breathtaking. We then took the night tour of Paris and covered Concorde Square, Shanzelize Street, Notre Dame. The city looks so much vibrant and stunning in the night. Need to plan another trip only for Paris as 1 day was just not enough.   Day 9(River Seine Cruise): This was the last day of the tour. We took a ferry to Calais and enjoyed the nice cruise along the River Seine. As all good things come to an end, so did this tour. We traveled almost 4700km over 9 days. We had such a fantastic crowd that even Khushi and Neel enjoyed the tour a lot. One week in London followed by 9 day Europe tour - Shall cherish these memories forever. For now, back to grind.
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