It’s Germany Calling

2016 has been a busy year so far with several important work and personal commitments. On the personal front, I moved into my own new house and am looking forward to decorating it with all my travel memorabilia and books. This obviously has resulted in my staying in Mumbai and I have not been able to explore new places which was making me quite restlessness. But finally it’s time to pack my backpack, wear my walking shoes and hit the road again!! Yay!!  🙂

The Römerberg – Frankfurt’s Old Town Center – Pic Courtesy – http://www.planetware.com/tourist-attractions-/frankfurt-d-hs-fra.htm

Brunch with Books and Coffee at the Book Munch Cafe in Dubai

I love Books and I love Coffee. Add “a quaint colourful coffee shop” to the mix and viola – it’s my perfect mix for spending a lazy sunny afternoon.

Thus on a recent trip to Dubai I was researching quaint cafes to visit when I came across this article on “How Cool are these Dubai Cafes”.  A quick read of the article and a run through, of the name, through my cafe filter test (basically checking the menu for maximum vegetarian options) I decided to visit the Comptoir 102 and the Book Munch Café. While I wasn’t able to visit Comptoir 102 (I reached late and they had closed for the day), I managed to visit the Book Munch Café for a lazy Sunday brunch.

Book Munch Cafe, Dubai

A Traditional Slovenian Vegetarian Lunch in Bled

During our day trip to Bled , from Ljubljana, we had a lovely time walking upto and around the Vintgar Gorge – Walking amidst rainbows at the Vintgar Gorge. But all this walking left us pretty famished and we started looking for a good place to eat some traditional Slovenian cuisine. But finding vegetarian food in these traditional meat eating countries, although not difficult, can be rightly described as being a bit tricky. But after numerous trips I have grown wiser and have devised my own mini questionnaire that helps me find restaurants where I can get some vegetarian food. And in Bled, while randomly walking around, we chanced upon a local traditional Slovenian restaurant called the Gostilna Murka.

Gostilna Murka, Bled, Slovenia

Taste of Europe: Bled’s Kremna Rezina or a Cream Cake

No matter which part of the world you visit one of the most important elements of that visit is sampling the local food and cuisine. So much so that it warrants in-depth research and also a significant allocation from the travel budget. For me though, more than the food, its coffee and deserts. I have a major sweet tooth and no travel research is complete without a thorough analysis of the local deserts and a short list of “must haves” from the local ‘specialty stores’.

Bled Cream Cake at Hotel Park. Pic courtesy – Hotel Park website

5 Must Try Local Vegetarian Dishes in Switzerland

Sampling local food is an important aspect of any travel journey especially when it comes to exploring local cultures. Food is that essential link that helps us understand the place we are in better and bond with the locals. However traveling as an Indian vegetarian can be quite challenging in many countries. But on my recent trip to Switzerland I got a chance to sample numerous local dishes that were vegetarian. As one of our guides explained to us, Switzerland was traditionally a country of farmers and hence they ate what they grew or made. Thus potatoes, milk and cheese were and still are an important part of their cuisine. Also geographical proximity to Germany, France and Italy have also lent their character and flavor to Swiss food. The resulting cuisine is a vegetarians delight with a beautiful combination of local produce, flavors and traditions.

And based on my own experiences, please find below 5 local Swiss dishes that should definitely be on the must try list for every vegetarian visiting this country –

Taste of my visit to Europe – Lunch at Restaurant Furri, Furri

After spending half a day up at the Klein Matterhorn, we were all quite chilled (it was – 12 degrees there) to the bones and also felt the after effects of low air at that height. Hence we decided to finally move downwards and have some hot lunch. Tanya had already made reservations for all of us at Restaurant Furri in Furri; so we first took a ski lift and then a gondola and got off at the Furri station. From the station it was a quick walk to the Restaurant Furri.

Restaurant Furri, Furri

Taste of my visit to Europe – at Romantik Restaurant Julen, Zermatt

Switzerland as a country reminded me a lot of India with its varied multicultural and regional influences. Depending on which part of Switzerland you find yourself in, you can actually experience a bit of French, German and Italian in everything – from culture, to language, to cuisine, to landscapes. However it still has many things, originally Swiss too. During my own visit to Zermatt, I learnt that Switzerland was historically a country of farmers, hence traditional Swiss dishes tend to have potatoes and cheese as its core ingredients. But with Zermatt’s proximity to Italy (it’s just across the Alps here) there is a distinct Italian influence in the local cuisine.

Romantik Restaurant Julen, Zermatt

A Chocolate Show and Sampling the famous Swiss Chocolate

Just like a dream, I was recently invited by Swiss Tourism, Maison de Voyage and Rock-On Holidays by Thomas Cook India to experience Switzerland in a unique way. While enough has been said and written about the romantic / family vacations of Switzerland our idea was to leave out all the famous / touristy activities and instead  explore this country through a new lens i.e.  through the eyes and activities of a single budget traveler. Hence our itinerary included all kinds of adventure sports, walks and many new experiences that people normally don’t associate with Switzerland. And I continue my tales from where I left it in my previous post.

Chocolates 🙂

Our Irani Cafe Walk has been featured in DNA Downtown Edition today

I am on cloud 9 today and extremely excited to share with you all, that our Irani Cafe walk (which many of you may have followed on Facebook and Twitter on November 17) has been featured in today’s DNA Mumbai Downtown Edition, in an article titled “Old World Charm and Irani Cafes”.

The Article

Living my own short Swiss Dream

Have you ever dreamt of waking up, expecting it to be another normal day full of mundane regular work and suddenly a surprise travel opportunity (one which you were secretly hoping for to come along) COMES!! Well, for me this surprise came true recently when I was invited by Swiss Tourism, Maison de Voyage and Rock-On Holidays by Thomas Cook India to visit my dream destination – Switzerland on a quick 5 day FAM trip.

A Japanese Garden, Interlaken, Switzerland