Care for some Mozart's Balls? (Mr. J)

I just realized while writing this out that if I put aside my twice a year visit home, then it's been quite a long time since I took a vacation. But on the other hand, the places i've lived at and been to pretty much makes up for it even though it was just plain business all the time.

Salzburg beautiful salzburg.

Living here for a year I must say that i've fallen in love with the city, country and the culture. Having been to a couple of places around Europe, I think i'm justified to say that Austria is perhaps one of the most cleanest countries in Europe.

Salzburg, situated on the border of Austria & Germany, is more famous for Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and the lesser known Josef Mohr and Franz Gruber who penned the 'Silent Night' song, and not to forget- The Sound of Music.

It is indeed a sleepy city with an easy going, laid back attitude. Locals say that this is one of the reasons why Mozart later moved to Vienna. You cannot miss the huge, always snow capped Alps and the beautiful Salzach river that runs through the city. Surrounded by three mountains from the Alps- Untersberg, Monchsberg and Kapuzinerberg.

A 30 min. train ride and you are in Munich where the world famous Oktoberfest is held every year.

The scars of WW2 still remain and can be seen in the well maintained bunkers, the occasional discovery of an unexploded bomb and so on. Infact every Saturday at 12 noon, the bomb sirens and the bunkers are tested, just in case.

Apart from the usual, Salzy is also quite famous for Swarovski and RedBull. If anyone does happen to visit Salzburg or for that matter Austria, you cannot miss the Almdudler (for non alcoholics), Austrian Wiener Schnitzel and Stiegl beer.

In case you are still wondering about the title of this post, believe me- Mozart's Balls are really tasty.

Also known as Mozartkugel, this chocolate got the dubious distinction of being called Mozart's balls since A) it's named after Mozart and B) they are all round.

And no, I didn't come up with this term. Honest!!

And lastly, The Salzach river. The place on the other side of the river is Germany.

Music And Cherry Blossoms Festival .... (Kathy)

Music, music... yeah definitely we can't live without it ^_^ ... i like almost all kinds of music , depends on my mood. I'm fond of love songs especially those theme songs of my fave movies ... yeah, i usually fall in love with the guy in the movie and to the song itself. ^_~ lol! hehe! But at times i feel like listenin' to some soothing songs too.. like of Enya, sounds of Kenny G. and Christopher Cross. For chillin' times i do listen to Cranberries, Dido , Switchfoot and to some RnB's... like Pharrell, Black Eyed Peas and luv to dance to the songs of Shakira and Beyonce. And speaking of ROCKs!!... it shud be Nirvana, Metallica, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Creed, Green Day, Limp Bizkit, Guns N Roses also Nickelback and Simple Plan ^_^ How can i forget? i'm crazy listening to Indian Music now too.... be it Hindi, Tamil and Malayalam... yeahhh sometimes i dun have any idea what i'm listening to ^_^ hehe but i think it's not the lyrics or the meaning of the song... it's the heart and how we appreciate the song itself na.... coz i think i can relate more of the sounds... i love the sounds of tabla and other Indian instruments. Yup i love to listen to sounds of guitars too, ukulele and lots of others . Hubby actually play trumpet and my lil princess Rina started learning to play drums (japanese drums) she's attending lesson for that for a month now. So wherever i go i have music around me ^_~ ... and i think it's a part of our everyday life. No Music... No Life!!!


Cherry Blossoms!!! (Spring)


Cherry Blossoms (Sakura) season.... it's the time of year that you can see such beautiful flowers (pink and whites) all over Japan. People usually go to parks, shrines and temples with family and friends and hold a "flower viewing party" known as hanami (花見). Hanami festivals celebrate the beauty of sakura, and for many, it is a chance to relax and enjoy the beautiful view. Hanami custom in Japan dates back to many centuries ago...... ( click the pics. to enlarge)

... Do listen to this japanese song titled "Sakura" too ( by* Moriyama Naotaro) and enjoy the beautiful cherry blossoms video as well! ^_^

soul gatherings - senses of her soul (Messy aka Neha)

(this post was written by me last month after my trip to matheran which is my favourite place in the world... it is a hill station near mumbai n i love going there... for more details read here... i am not describing the place here... but what i felt when i was there... hope u like it)

i am her soul… her essence... i live within her... but sometimes i tend to wander around... looking for things that touch me... intensely... passionately... just to see the effect of the events happening around her... how they touch her mind... her body... i look closely at people... at the emotions people try to hide... or the emotions they try to show... trying to decipher them... she doesn't realize what i am upto... but ofcourse that doesn't deter me... i go from place to place with her... gathering things for myself... gathering special moments... special people... special thoughts...

this time i don't move out... this time i am within her... just concentrating on her... her senses... her perceptions... but i realize thats not possible... i feel the vibes of people around her... i feel the aura of things around her... she isn't bothered... she is too busy riding... too busy loving the feeling of it to think about others... busy to such an extent that she doesn't realize the pain she is going through... (the swollen fingers and a deep wound on her ankle where the saddle kept hurting her)... that is the time i take over... i feel things for her that she doesn't comprehend... i take over her consciousness...

sound... i dont like loud sounds... i like soft music... i like the swishing of the flowers more than the howl of the wind... but today it is different... shes galloping... there is no sound in the woods other than that of the two horses cantering to nowhere... or maybe somewhere... i don't bother where... and then i hear the sound... a loud sound... which i generally don't like... but as i said... today is different... it is the sound of the wind in her ears... so loud... so deafening... so blatantly ear-splitting... but still musical... so very symphonic... in harmony with the galloping of her horse and her body... it feels like an orchestra playing... is it the philharmonic playing???

sight... all she sees is the riding track... the horse... the saddle... and nothing else... she doesn't see the animals scurrying away from the galloping beasts... i see them... she doesn't notice the look of awe on the face of other riders... i notice it... she doesn't survey the woods and the valleys around her... i survey them... she doesn't visualize herself on her horse... speeding to nowhere... i do it... i see her clearly... like the way you watch a ballet dancer performing... is she swaying to the music of the philharmonic??

taste... what do i taste here?... the wind in her mouth... she has this inane habit of parting her lips when she is riding... ofcourse she doesnt realize it... its not made up... but i notice it... as i feel the taste of wind in her mouth... cool... refreshing... tempting... and then there is this other taste... mud... the red earth blowing freely... clean earth... delectable earth... tasty earth... the taste remains in her mouth forever...

smell... i smell the balmy wind... i smell the pure clean air... i smell the naturally aromatic mud... i smell the acidic odor of the horses... the sour whiff of her perspiration... i breathe in the aroma of freshly fallen leaves... she doesn't heed them... i take them with me to bring them back to her when she is not there anymore... it will stay with her forever...

touch... i feel her touching the wind... or rather the other way round... the wind blowing on her face... the enticing touch... the feel of the saddle where her thighs touch it... the feel of the stirrups under her feet... as she rides ahead unheeded... the caress of her hair blowing wildly... and the contractions and expansions of her horses muscles... the feeling that was long forgotten... the feeling that had come back... the feeling that will never be lost again... the touch to be savoured all her life... by me.. her substance... her essence... her soul...

Music and Holiday (Poo)

Music and traveling (Both are close to me)

Music is one of the greatest gifts of all. It asks nothing in return. The sounds of the rain slapping on the ground, that's music to me. Music filled with romance which gently pulls u close, and you begin to dance whether you are alone or lost in the crowd. Music has a special place in my heart. I share secrets with music… Music that I can relate to can be anything actually Rock , Hot, pop, Sexy, Slow, Ghazals. I am very emotional person so lyrics of the song is off course important to me that can show my emotions. That’s music to me. Music is like freedom for me that can take away all the tension from me (at least for sometime). Music takes me beyond my creativity and imagination. Music is the food of all my moods. I Like Shakira, Nirvana , Jagjit singh, etc

Music is perfect and I know it’s good for me ^o-~^ and you.

Holiday (Company expenses) ;)

I loveeeeee to travel. My London trip was one of the best trips. I was away from home for the first time in my life for 6 months and did loads of masti(Hum wahan jage bhigad gayee) London is so beautiful, the tube stations, the ice creams, the wine , the clean roads , the London eye, Madam Tussuad's, the parade, the queens place. I saw snow for the first time in life in London. It was not heavy one though but the sight was so beautiful. Then the journey from London to Scotland OMG!!! it was so beautiful, the mountains the fresh air, the black water lake. I can’t even describe it in words. Then the needles trip , the beaches there are only filled with pebbles there is no sand and clean blue waters. The pebbles in all different types, shapes and colors. I almost landed collecting so many of them.

Its special because i was in love for the first time( Many stories to share)!!!

I can go on and on and on about my London trip. And I don’t want to bore you to death phewwww!!! I would love to go there again !!!

Have a great weekend :)

Ye Hai Mumbai Meri Jaan (Ishita)

This was a tough choice. I’m quite passionate about both music and traveling besides blogging of course:p (why else would I have 5 blogs!). But my taste in music can be gauged by the kind of music seen and heard in all my blogs and so I will blog on the topic “My favorite Holiday”. Here again I have a long list but Rajiv’s already shared the Goa experience, used the best pics in his post and posted links to all the posts I've done on Goa/Khajjiar/Chail!!!

I’d love to write about my trips in the North East, Sikkim, Bhutan but that was years ago and I don’t remember details and have just some memories…not enough to make a post out of. So I’ll share what I had written about my first trip to Mumbai. I admit I’m cheating here coz this part of the post from my blog “ishita’s main space” dated 29th Dec 2005 written a month after I made the trip! It’s rather long sooooooo please please let this be my one exception to the rules in place!! *pretty please with maple syrup :)))* Editing the post would take away the fun of it…kya kare?!

“Ever since I got back from Mumbai (my first trip ever there)…a lot of people ask me about my impression of Mumbai and I do end up talking a lot about it!! I guess the city does leave a lasting impression…ummm…good and bad both. Part of the reason why I didn’t write about my trip to Mumbai earlier was coz I was making up my mind about whether I liked the place or not! And to put down the negative aspects would mean another serious fight with Suchi (my best friend!)…she completely loves the city…!!!

My first impression of Mumbai is it’s crowded…so sooo sooooo crowded!! Everywhere u go there are people…people…and more people. It’s overwhelming to say the least. Yes I know the statistics…and I know people who live in the city love it despite the sheer number of people on the streets. The second thing that struck me is that unlike Delhi localities didn’t seem quite defined. Couldn’t figure out when one ended and the other began…the whole city looks the same?! Ummm…though u can’t miss the difference between what one in Mumbai calls town and suburbs! And yeah new Bombay….hmmm!

Then there was the horrific experience of the local train! Less said the better…though I know when I talk about it; it amuses people around me a whole lot. I’d just quote my cousin on this “You asked for it!!” (Coz I kept cribbing ek baar toh jaana chahiye!)…. it was truly scary and I’m sure I’m never going to get on one of them ever again! But I do feel mighty brave for attempting to be on one during peak hours! Esp. since I’m the type who never gets on to a bus in Delhi…well not since I finished college anyway!! And for all the people who told me that “trains are crowded in Mumbai but men are decent”…..now I know for a fact u never went on a train ever (for the women) and for the guys…you’d never know!!

There was this funny experience with ATM’s…every time we looked for a particular bank ATM we’d never seem to find it and when we did finally and got the desired amount out, we’d see ATM’s of the same bank in every damn place!!!!

I think my “most fun” moment was when I was cribbing away about not seeing a single movie personality…or for that matter a TV personality…ya ya…u may say u don’t give a shit but I know u expect to at least see them in a normal state somewhere in the city! Well one night, Suchi, Rajiv and I were having ice creams at naturals…I forget the name of the place…hill road I think…and ohh yes I must say... another big positive the ice cream there is yummmm:-) (Though I’ve always maintained…mother dairy ice creams are the best!! But then I’ve always been very pro dilli!)… Anyway back to what I was saying. So I cribbed and R says ishi turn around… ??? "

**To know which celebrity I saw...plz get to the link given below and read up. The post is way to long :)... Leave your comments here btw and not there :P … easier for me to reply!”**

http://ishipishi.blogspot.com/2005/12/mumbai-trip-finally.html

Watch a youtube user's perspective of mumbai in the video below ....

Family bonding in Goa (Rajiv)

Firstly, I must apologise for not getting here often. I, of course, give all my valid reasons to the wife here! Ok now about the topic(s) this week. I choose to write about "My favorite holiday".

I've been on many trips around the country and out. I've also been organizing my company's annual trip for the employees for the past 4 years and have taken people to Corbett, Pushkar, Khajjiar and recently to Chail (You can read up about the last two trips in Ishita's blog).

But my favorite holidays have been the ones I have had with my family and of those the best by far have been our two trips to Goa. The first one was back in Nov 2005 with Ishita. At that time we left Vedant behind. We stayed in South Goa at resort named "Old Anchor" and had a relaxing time. But hearts of heart we missed Vedant and while in Goa, we had already decided to make yet another trip in 2006 and take him along too.

We made the second trip in October 2006 and this time we stayed closer to Panjim City at a nice resort Cidade de goa. We chose this place as the sea here is not as rough as the one's in South Goa or North Goa beaches and would be ideal for Vedant to play at the beach. He however preferred to be in the resort pool!

The time spent there was truly memorable and fun. Personally I feel Goa each time has been a new experience and I can see myself going back there over and over again with my family. But I have a feeling Ishita is now eyeing foreign shores and would like to explore the beaches of the South east asian countries or make that long awaited trip to her see her brother's family in the US.

You can read up her posts on both the Goa Trips we've made here

and here....and see the pics in her blog "My pics"