This article is written by Rishiraj Pruthi. Rishiraj is a family man, an avid traveler who loves his wife and his car (in that order!) – he believes in wandering into the off beaten tracks and exploring the local culture and savoring every moment of his Wandering Ways. He celebrates life and believes in living every moment of it to the fullest!

Starting off the tour to the Arctic Circle !!!


Commenced the long jpurney to Helsinki via Franfurt… Slept throughout the plane journey to Frankfurt, only to get soaked in football fever in Germany. Kind of a festival atmosphere at the airport. Ventured out in the 7 hour stopover with Kiran, my wife. Met a Brazilian named Euginia in the subway train to Frankfurt city central. The helpful localite took us to the old city as against her plans to show us around. What a sweet way to start the soujorn !! enjoyed the tranquility of the atmosphere there in, feasting on a fantastic pork pizza and strawberry cake along the way only to end up having yummy pasta on the onward flight to HELSINKI. And now its 11:30 pm here and we can still see daylight and scores of youngsters soaking in the atmosphere. Sitting in a pub called Teerenpeli wherein the Jack Daniels and amazing scenes have helped get over the jet lag!! Not to forget the picturesque Hotel Helka where we are staying … DAY 2 will take us to Rovaniemi.

A Colourful day in HELSINKI …

Helsinki had a lot of surprise in store for us. Instead of booking city tours, we set off on our own for a walk around to the main places in the city. All the key locations were nearby, the market, the station, STOCKMANN- the departmental store for bargain lookers like us and the main attarction – The Senate Square + the Lutheran Cathedral. With green and white decorating the beautiful monument, the Square bore a very lively look. The entire youth brigade with balloons, had descended in thousands on what was a parade. Crossdressers as airhostesses, decorated canines, even a few nude chicks, varied hairstyles, bavarian girls… The coulours were endless and to back it up was live music. A localite called Oulen briefed us on the significance of the party atmosphere. Headed further to the Orthodoxan Cathedral and then to the Esplanade market, studded with souvenirs. Bought some tasty fresh strawberries and even witnessed a Finn wedding. A long walk for 4 hrs and we had seen the heart of the city. Made our way on foot to the station in the evening to head for the Arctic Circle. A cute twin cabin and a cozy bed. Santa here we come…

Rovaniemi – high up in Lapland !!!


Rovaniemi was full of nature which one could come across only in Lapland. Luckily we were there when the Jutajaiset fiestival was on and it was actually the last day – 4th July. A Folklore Festical with World Music… so we had Finnish, Europeans, Africans and Asians amongst the performaers.
Post a quiet soothing walk across the Ounaskaki river which passes through Rovaniemi overlooked by the Ounasvaara peak, we crossed the CANDLE BRIDGE to reach the venue for the festical. Luckily the finale of the evening – a Finnish Band Piirpauke was left and we decided to go for it. Had a kick-ass pizza at Valde – Mari, studded with reindeer meat and then were witness to amongst the best music for a long time. With Ghanians joining the impromptu Jugalbandi with Piirpauke, it just proved one point – music builds relations very strongly. The music still rings in my years. The same day we visited ARKTIKUM – an encyclopedia on the Arctic Circle – quite an experiential tour.
The next 2 days were a wildlife toast, the Ranua Wildlife park which had the polar bears, musk ox, brown bears, wolverines and the snowy owl (finally saw a park without lion, tigers and elephants) and the Reindeer Park Safari which was the actual place where we crossed 66.32 latitude – THE ARCTIC CIRCLE.
The reindeers were against our assumptions extremly noble guys, clean and furry and even WHITE – one in 1000 is white and we saw 2.
But the cheery on the cake was the husky dog Safari, ferocious looking cute canines. The customey visit to the Santa Claus village filled in the itinerary. With Lapland done the definition of Finland was complete – a large forest with a 1000 beautiful lakes and rivers and a few inhabitants. A truly different experience…

Fascinating Tallinn – Estonia !!


The last day in Helsinki was an extensive tour of the city by foot, and studded with loads of shopping – KARLFAZER chocolates are a must and designers clothes if the pocket helps the same. The clothes are bizarre and beautiful at the same time – prove the fact that Helsinki the the WORLD DESIGN CAPITAL. A visit to Soumenlinna – an adjoining Sea Fortress and sipping on coffee at the beautiful cafes therein relaxed us before the coming hectic schedule.
The next day was Tallinn – Estonia and undoubtedly the most picturesque city which we would have ever seen. Surprising to find how beautifully an Old Town has been maintained – complete with Cathedrals, Mosques, passages and culture. Felt a part of History at St. Catherine’s Passage, tried my hand at archery and roamed a lot at the marketplace which was complete with localities in traditional costumes selling traditional wares. Made a pretty sight. Had a stage wherein performances, recitals, fashion shows (dressed up as Russian Czars) rounded up the beauty.
Tallinn made the trip complete. Finished off the first leg of Europe – Finland and Estonia in the traditional Finnish SAUNA – a must do for every tourist in Finland. Relaxing and Unique!!!

Unplanned trip surprises us – SALZBURG …


After a good fulfilling tour of Finland, Munich was a little bit tiring esp as the flight was at 6.55 am. Sort of trudged our way to the hotel and then rested till afternoon. The restlessness of not touring took us over as well as the eagerness to see SALZBURG in AUSTRIA as was recommended by a good friend.
Unplanned, spontaneous and exciting – left the hotel at 3.25 pm, got tickets from Hauptbahnhof at 3.38 and caught the 3.42 train to Salzburg to see something which could match Talinn in all its grandeur. Salzburg Old Town” (Altstadt) with its world famous baroque architecture is one of the best-preserved city centres north of the Alps and made a picturesque location with its green domes and the castle in the background.
It is the place where “Sound of Music” was shot, the art and culture inclination was visible in every aspect – the Mozarts, the Cathedrals, Riverbanks et all. Saw the Panoramic view of the city from atop the Museum of Modern Art.
On the way back we caught with a Somali student and an Egyptian national in the train and imagine what connected us and got us talking – SHAHRUKH KHAN. They would literally know each and every movie of his with the release year – believe that he connects to their emotions !!!

Atop Germany – Zugspitze !!


10th of July was atop the highest peak in Germany – Zugspitze – laden with snow and giving a great view of 4 countries surrounding it. Was a perfect goodbye to a fantastic tour of Europe.
The evening saw us catch Germany in its fullest as the 3rd place play-off of the FIFA WOrld cup – Germany v Uruguay was on … roaming around Marienplatz we saw all cafes jumping for joy at each goal. A German victory it was to get the entire town on the streets, in cafes, in front of screens. The lit and lively city saw with street performers as well rounded off a long holiday !!! Too many must dos on a tour like this and too diverse a holiday to match …………

Rishiraj Pruthi

29 July 2010

http://www.thewanderers.travel/blog/index.php/a-wanderer-story-around-europe/

Average Rating: 4.4 out of 5 based on 272 user reviews.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

ten − 6 =