Discoverurself - Travel and Explore

24/08/2020

**Update 08/23/20 @ 07:45UTC – An ANA spokesperson gave more information on the lottery and charter flight; details…

05/06/2020

Bucket list destination. 😍😍

27/05/2020

We now come to the end of Germany Posts. We will soon start with series on another city, Till such time enjoy return flight from Frankfurt on Dream-liner...

26/05/2020

Mercedes-Benz Museum at Stuttgart can not be explained in words (similar to Speyer Technip Museum). You ought to see it to believe the story of Automobiles and history of Mercedes-Benz brand. Stuttgart is home to the Mercedes-Benz brand and the international headquarters of Daimler AG. Enjoy some pictures of the museum exhibits.

14/05/2020

Serene and beautiful...

11/05/2020

Technic Museum, Speyer – There are two museums in Germany which are a feast for Aviation lovers – Technic museum at Sinsheim and at Speyer. They are about 50 kms apart and each has its unique list of exhibits. I could visit only one at Speyer and my visit was worth every minute ant penny. High-lights at Speyer are
- Lufthansa donated a retired Boeing 747-200 aircraft
- a Soviet/Russian Buran spacecraft, OK-GLI
- an Antonov An-22
- and several other aircraft types, locomotives and submarine U9 of the German Navy
Enjoy few pics here !!!

11/05/2020

Picture worth a poster

08/05/2020

Mesmerising

06/05/2020

stunning

04/05/2020

Frankfurt Glimpses - was there for just a day so could capture only a few pics. Frankfurt is like Manhattan of Germany.

04/05/2020

Wonderful Japan

03/05/2020

Unbelievable beautiful of Fujisan

30/04/2020

Berlin Tegel Airport – Berlin currently has two airports – Tegel (TXL) and Schönefeld (SXF). A third at Brandenburg is being built, but has been delayed significantly. Many of the Europe’s airport like few in US have plane spotting galleries or open spaces from where aviation lovers can view plane movements and active runway operations. I was told that Tegel has one such for a minor charge of EUR 3 per person. So I tweaked my site seeing plan slightly and could give one morning half few hours to this activity and I was not disappointed at all. Here are some pictures of the same. A special bus numbered TXL operates between Tegel and Berlin Hbf at a very good frequency. Enjoy the pics. Will try to upload few videos in a separate post.

27/04/2020

Berlin - the capital of Germany, also bear a historic importance due to its importance before, during and after WW-II. Berlin as a whole was inside the so called East Germany between 1950 and 1989. But West part of Berlin still belonged to West Germany making its a land-locked part of West inside East territory. Horrific stories during Berlin Wall construction during 1961 bring shivers even today. But finally it all ended in 1989 with collapse of the wall and re-unification of Germany. Berlin is a big city and has some thing to offer for every type of visitor. But you will find a big difference between Bavarian (Southern) Germany and north part of Germany including Berlin. Enjoy few picture of this great, vibrant city.

26/04/2020

Nuremberg (Nürnberg) is another Bavarian city of historical importance. It is a place where N**i movement used to carry annual party convention popularly known as Nuremberg Rallies. It was a huge propaganda event, During WW-II it was the head quarters of Military district and an important site for military production - air crafts, submarines and tan engines.

After WW-II it again became famous for the world famous Nuremberg Trails - German officials involved in war crimes and crimes against humanity were brought before an international tribunal. Its a place worth visiting for WW-II history buffs. Have a look at some pics of N**i Rally Grounds, Nuremberg Market area and Imperial Palace and DB (Deutsche Bahn) Museum

24/04/2020

Salzburg - A very scenic city and famous for "Sound of Music". Though in Austria, it's just a 2 hour train ride from Munich Hbf and can even be done as a day trip the way I did. But a one night stay is recommended to savor its beauty. Enjoy few pics

22/04/2020

Füssen is a bavarian town in Germany at a 2 hour train ride from Munich. It is very close to Apls and has some beautiful castles. One of the prominent among those is Neuschwanstein Castle from where Walt Disney took inspiration to build his iconic Sleeping beauty castle in Disneyland. It also became his famous logo. Two others are Hohenschwangau Castle and Linderhof. I could visit first two. Enjoy some beautiful pictures of castle and surroundings. Last image is of Disney castle for reference. (PC for last image - https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/)

21/04/2020

Olympic Park, Munich - 1972 Summer Olympic, officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad was held here. Unfortunately it is remembered more for a barbaric terrorist attack. But for now enjoy the pictures. Few pictures of surrounding areas show BMW office and factory.

20/04/2020

Nyphemburg Palace, Munich. A very scenic palace easily reachable from Munich City Center. Usually a half day tour.

19/04/2020

BMW Welt and Museum, Munich and Surrounding. Feast for Car lovers.

19/04/2020

If you are an avaiation lover, enjoy this video of Landng at Abu Dhabhi on the way to Germany EY 205

15/04/2020

Some Munich-Germany Photos. Local site seeing at Marienplatz, TU Munich, English Garden, area near Hauptbahnhof (Munich Hbf)

14/04/2020

I know it is not a great time to travel now and may be for another 3 to 6 months probably. But its definitely a great time to research on your bucket list destinations. As you all know, every thing "good or bad" ends. So we all are sure that this difficult phase will end too after imparting a solid lessons to human race. Our future journeys will be more responsible and eco-friendly.

But when things start getting to normal, there will be a frenzy of work load to compensate for current loss and you all will not get the time to even think of a trip, let alone research for it. So utilize this time to research your future bucket list travel destination along with WFH, family bonding, health and other things that are your passions.

If yo are too new to such research then let me know and I can send you a excel template to start with. Invest in some e-books (and physical maps, guide books if deliveries are happening in your area. Below are some of the books that I have used in last few years.

04/03/2020

Japan Travel Tips from Lonley Planet

The Land of The Rising Sun has changed in recent years - here's what modern travel throughout the country is like.

26/02/2020

Our Next topic will be Germany. So beginning with a related article

Even with a small budget, you can still enjoy almost everything Berlin has to offer.

13/02/2020

06/02/2020

There are people who are happy visiting 8-10 countries (typically European) in 10-15 days. Sometime its just a day in a country or at time even few hours. They are also happy eating Poha, Upma, Idli-Vada in a foreign county. They seat in a coach most of time (Seat-in-coach system) and visit various cities, attractions but are not able to get a feel of the place. There is nothing wrong in that – as everyone has own taste, liking's, priorities and various constraints – Time, money, energy, age, family, Inquisitiveness etc. and there are plenty of travel companies offering a plethora of options under various discounts schemes.

There are people who want to research a lot and plan their travel. They want to explore few select cities -from just 1 or 2 countries or some time just one country in 7-10 days. They want to explore available public transportation and plan their own local sightseeing. This gives them a feel and vibe of the place and give a direction sense of where we are and where we are heading next. This also gives them a flexibility of spending more time at a place where they found joy, serenity, tranquility and if needed skipping a not so great attraction or adding a newfound place or attraction. Such travel gives you an opportunity to explore local culture, cuisine and a possibility of connecting with locals. Staying at home-stays, B&Bs, Legal Rentals enhances these possibilities greatly. Such travel also some time means learning a new language at least to transact in touristy places. The journey of this entire planning and preparation in itself is equally enjoyable than the travel itself. Such people and they families (especially kids) experience a different trip altogether. They also learn from their parents and get prepared for some hard work, uncertainties, surprises and become ready to face world better. There is a feel of accomplishment, joy, pride and most important memories of planning and visiting a new place.

There are people who hate option of planned group tour But does not have time, energy, resources or plain willingness, patience, acumen to do the required research and planning. And we are a solution to them. We are a team of enthusiastic globe trotters who help you plan the entire trip in your budget and liking, giving you a pleasure of a well-researched itinerary as per your choice. And you also get remaining pleasure of exploring as per itinerary of your own and making few changes as you like when you are there. This all comes at a very reasonable cost. If you have a location / city / country in mind shoot a mail to [email protected]. We will send you samples of what you will get.

If you are not from any of the above categories of travelers, help spread the word with your friends, colleagues, family. Thanks in advance.

10/01/2020

JR and Shinkansen Culture

Lastly, it is observed that to make and keep this high-speed train a success is considered as a national pride and every person involved directly or indirectly does his/her job with a strong sense of purpose. Their dedication to their duties and passengers’ well-being embody the spirit of the Japanese work ethics. “This railway was completed through the wisdom and efforts of the Japanese people,” is the inscription on a plaque at the Tokyo Railway Station where the Shinkansen made its inaugural run in 1964. Such a complex and vast organization is bound to have usual human issues like – egos, hierarchies, politics and so on but the beauty of the base ethics is – none of these are visible to customers nor they come in way of customer service, safety, reliability and punctuality. It is very inspiring to see that such a work ethic exists across the organization from the top most boss till lowest rank employee. A lot to learn from Shinkansen story and if you haven’t yet then make it a bucket list item to visit Japan and experience the Shinkansen – An institution of speed, perfection, reliability and safety.

09/01/2020

JR and Shinkansen Culture - 2 Pointing and Calling” (Shisa Kanko)

In spite of a routine, they do not take their Job performance for granted and are always vigilant. This kind of seriousness is usually displayed by airline pilots where every flight (specially take-off and landing) is given equal and perfect attention considering risk involved and low or zero tolerance for a mistake. JR staff is also seen following something called as “Pointing and Calling” (Shisa Kanko). Pointing and calling is a method in occupational safety for avoiding mistakes by pointing at important indicators and calling out the status. Pointing and calling requires co-action and co-reaction among the operator's brain, eyes, hands, mouth, and ears. (Source: Wikipedia). Some time it looks quite funny when a White-gloved employees in crisp uniforms pointing smartly down the platform and calling out—seemingly to no one—as trains glide in and out of the station. On-board is much the same, with drivers and conductors performing almost ritual-like movements as they tend to an array of dials, buttons and screens. According to one 1996 study, this method is known to reduce workplace errors by up to 85 percent.

Those of you who are more interested can have a look at various YouTube videos like this one.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etUejYb48BE

Railways in Japan use a safety system called “pointing and calling.” This method of physically pointing toward an item to be checked while vocalizing its nam...