Paris July 2008

Starting our journey to Paris in a TGV.


TGV is the high speeds trains in France. The TGV's are operated by SNCF -the french national rail operator.
TGV's speed up to 320 kmph (200 mph) in commercial use. A specially modified TGV reached speeds of over 550 kmph on test runs.
We reached Paris from Stuttgart in just over 3 hours covering a distance of over 600 kilometers.


We stayed here during our visit to Paris. Thanks to Susan and family for hosting us.

Paris s the capital of France and the country's largest city. It is situated on the River Seine, in northern France.

Europa Park, Germany

Europapark is the largest ThemePark in Germany and one of the biggest in Europe.
The park is divided into different sections named after European countries.
f.e Germany, England, Scotland, Russia, France, Italy, Scandinavia etc.
Rides in the park are spread across these sections/countries.
Each country is modeled out of houses, market place and other attractions in the country.




Feema with Steffi and Karsten












This is the most awesome roller coaster ride in the park known as the SilverStar.
Its the biggest and highest roller coaster in Europe, the Silver Star

A ride on the Silver Star is pure thrill: with a height of 73 metres, a high speed of up to 130 km/h and enormous centrifugal forces of up to 4 g, the ride offers a great combination of speed and weightlessness.

It is just fantastic, how slowly the train moves over the highest point – enough time to increase the body tension. Hardly recovered from the first steep fall, the train rides with much airtime over the next hill to start on further drops. Towards the end of the ride it enters the “horse shoe”: the train rises up like a rocket, takes a turn, rocks to the side and throws itself into a 120 degree bend with breakneck speed. After a length of 1,620 metres, the train finally enters the entrance and exit area, which is integrated into the Mercedes-Benz-Hall.

Silverstar is maintained by a team from Mercedes Benz.

Taroby in Exhibitions

Taroby, a product developed by Advanced Millennium Technologies, was showcased at various expos around the world during the month of May amd June 2008.
Taroby was exhibited at

• The Great Indian Developer Summit held at IISc , Bangalore between 19 - 23 May 2008.
• Startupcity - held at NIMHANS convention center, Bangalore on 24 May 2008.
• International Ecommerce Congress - Wiesbaden, Germany at 19 - 2
  

In a conversation with Jesse James Garret founder of AJAX and Blog.



Tobias giving a presentation @ the International Ecommerce forum in Wiesbaden, Germany.

Backwater Kerala - An unique experience

Alappuzha (Malayalam ), also known as Alleppey - for non mallus, is a town in Alappuzha District of Kerala state of southern India. A town with picturesque canals, backwaters, beaches, and lagoons, also known as Venice of the East.
Kuttanad, the rice bowl of Kerala with the unending stretch of paddy fields, small streams and canals with lush green coconut palms , was well known even from the early centuries. History says Alappuzha had trade relations with ancient Greece and Rome in B.C and in the Middle Ages, as well as with other parts of India.

Beautiful Backwaters... ;)



House boats in Alleppy - Kerala.
Its truly a unique experience to stay in the house boat.
These boats are generally well maintained and cleanly kept.
This is my friends Boat !!!!!! :) Voila.. If you need to rent it mail me .. :)
From the Deck...
The kitchen
Air Conditioned Bed room.
The corridor.
Its from this place called "Finishing Point" all the boats start their journey daily.









This is the public transport Boat run by State Government. It ferry people across various islands.

Roads in Kerala - Gods Own Country

Road in Dubai..


In Oman ..

In Germany.. Autobahns..


In Riyadh.. In Singapore...
:) Gods Own Country - Kerala..
Fishing in Roads.. :) a Reality. Latest Tourist Attraction..

India Australia One Day International Bangalore 29 September 2007

It was our first experience in watching a cricket match LIVE.
Venue : Chinnaswamy Stadium - Bangalore.
Date : 29 th September 2007
The match was played between Australia and India.
The Crowds..




Beginning of second half.
At last rains came..
Result Match abandoned .. :)

Dubai - Abu Dhabi

Its the pace where east meets west.
Birth place of extremely beautiful people..
Extremely rich. One of the few places where you can see The Lamborghini's ,The Bentleys, The Hummers, The Mercs The Audis etc parked side by side.
The Arabs are too crazy about cars. Those who stays there, swears to have seen the giant Land Cruisers been driven on 2 wheels.



The Largest building - Burg Dubai. It is already the world's tallest structure and is expected to be taller by several hundred feet, once construction is complete

Worlds largest FLAG -in Abu Dhabi

What a sight .. Hummer Limousine

Feemas sister Femi and her husband Sunil.


On a desert safari trip.. By far the best driver i have come across.






Wheeeww.. ..breath taking..The e ase at which they drive these vehicles in the desert is something amazing.






Burg Al Arab .. One of the finest hotels.. Next time I visit Dubai I plan to stay there .. :)

Old friends.. when we meet after 7 years.

The leaning tower of pisa

Rome..

Rome is the capital city of Italy,in the banks of River Tiber.


St Peters Square and St Peters basilica.
Inside St Peters basilica you can see the tomb of St Peter in the center.

Gold plated walls of St Peters Basilica..
The Tomb of St Peter.
The Vatican guards.
At St Peters Square
The Vatican


The Famous Spanish Steps..in Rome.



One of the symbols of Rome is the Colosseum (70-80), the largest amphitheatre ever built in the Roman Empire. Originally capable of seating 50,000 spectators, it was used for gladiatorial combat

Assisi

This was by far the best place which we liked in Italy. Very peaceful and calm.
It is the birthplace of St. Francis Assisi, who founded the Franciscan religious order in the town in 1208, and St. Clare (Chiara d'Offreducci), the founder of the Poor Clares. Saint Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows of the 19th century was also born in Assisi.


An ancient tile displayed in the church.

The town of Assisi.
The streets in Assisi.




Window gardens.

The Basilica of San Francesco d'Assisi (St Francis), the mother church of the Franciscan Order, is a World Heritage Site in Assisi, Italy.
Its a 13 th century church.
The tomb of St Francis Assisi is here in this church.
On September 26, 1997 Assisi was struck by an earthquake. The Basilica was badly damaged (part of the vault collapsed, killing four people inside the church), and was closed for two years for restoration.



Basilica of Santa Chiara (St Clare)

Florence

Florence (Italian: Firenze) is the capital city of the region of Tuscany, Italy.
We arrived in this historical city in the evening of 15 th July 2007 - sunday.

One of the main attraction in this city is the Florence Cathedral (Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore). It was build during 13 th century. The basilica is notable for its dome designed by Filippo Brunelleschi its exterior facing of polychrome marble panels in various shades of green and pink bordered by white.

This cathedral was, the largest in Europe when completed, with room for 30,000 people. It is now only exceeded in size by Saint Peter's Basilica in the Vatican City, Saint Paul's Cathedral in London, the Seville Cathedral, and the Milan Cathedral.





The dome of the church -






Piazza della Signoria an L-shaped square in front of the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence, Italy. It was named after the Palazzo della Signoria, also called Palazzo Vecchio.

It is the focal point of the origin and of the history of the Florentine Republic and still maintains its reputation as the political hub of the city.It is the meeting place of Florentines as well as the numerous tourists.

Benvenuto Cellini's statue Perseus With the Head of Medusa in The Loggia dei Lanzi gallery on the edge of the Piazza della Signoria.



The Arno river, which cuts through the old part of the city, is as much a character in Florentine history as many of the men who lived there. Historically, the locals have had a love-hate relationship with the Arno — which alternated from nourishing the city with commerce, and destroying it by flood.
In the background you can see a bridge which cuts across River Arno.


This bridge in particular stands out as being unique — The Ponte Vecchio (Old Bridge), whose most striking feature is the multitude of shops built upon its edges, held up by stilts.
This bridge has a lot of gold shops on both side..
Warning for men: Dont bring your wifes or credit card near this place.


We said good bye to Florence with a lovely (surprise) Indian dinner at the Fiesole hills. The restaurant "India" was excellent and the dishes delicious.

Venice.. The city of canals.

Venice (Italian: Venezia, ) is a city in northern Italy, the capital of region Veneto, and has a population of 271,251. Venice's nicknames include "Queen of the Adriatic", "City of Water", "City of Bridges", and "The City of Light".

The city stretches across numerous small islands in the marshy Venetian Lagoon along the Adriatic Sea in northeast Italy. The saltwater lagoon stretches along the shoreline between the mouths of the Po (south) and the Piave (north) Rivers.

This city doesnt have roads or vehicles.
All you see is boats and canals.


We can reach Venice only by boat from the main land.
this was our first glimpse of the land which we had heard the a lot from the Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice.



Piazza San Marco, often known in English as St Mark's Square, is the principal square of Venice, Italy. Its very famous for its pegions. Visitors often feed them and they are obliged by posing for a photo shoot.


A crowded bridge in Venice.

The grand Canal in venice, something similar to a national highway on Indian roads. :)


The Rialto Bridge is a bridge spanning the Grand Canal in Venice, Italy. It is the oldest bridge across the canal and probably the most famous in the city.


A busy Venintian Market.
The classical Venetian boat is the gondola, although it is now mostly used for tourists, or for weddings, funerals, or other ceremonies. Most Venetians now travel by motorized boats.

St Mark's Basilica (Italian: Basilica di San Marco a Venezia), the cathedral of Venice, is the most famous of the city's churches and one of the best known examples of Byzantine architecture. It lies on St Mark's Square and is a 9 th century beauty.


paintings on the walls of the cathedral.







Small canals in Venice.

Camping in Venice

We arrived in Venice on 13 th August 2007. Before visiting Venice we decided to go camping in Venice for 2 nights. Staying in downtown Venice is really expensive. so camping was a good alternative. We choose Union Lido camping ground.
It was our first camping experience and it was unique.
Its not really easy to confine urself to a small tent for couple of days.
Changing cloths was a challenge.



Compared to other tents in the ground ours was a mini version.
For 2 nights I think it should be okey.
People stay in camping grounds for 2 - 3 weeks.

Many Europeans prefer to have holidays like this.
This was our room for the next couple of days.Girls busy cleaning the dishes.. :)

Gardens..
Pirates of the carrebian . .



My new vehicle..
Feema loved playing mini golf.

At the beech.

Miran --

Garda Lake Italy.

At Garda Lake in North italy.