Visuals of country bike rides

I didn't go for any cross country bike ride. Rather I bikes from Nuremberg to Furth, our neighbor city. It is all of 4.5 kilometers from my apartment but the biking trails in Europe are a level above the world. Really! I was satisfied with the bike lanes marked on the roads until I came across the bike lanes marked in parks and natural parks along the river, precisely all the way to the neighboring cities.

What's more?

• The biking lanes are the shortest route from city-to-city. 
• That is the route with jo traffic blockages. 
• And they are the most scenic routes.

Welcome Sunny Days!

Have a warm and sunny weekend folks!

Here's to all the lovely lonely train stations and quaint platforms of Europe ... Ta da...,

Video: Prague at Night

From the Italian Rivera

Some flowers I photographed during my last trip to the Italian Riviera. We were in Viareggio, the southern most town of the Italian Riviera for a weekend. Although it is Spring, the sun was lesser than the clouds and most of the weekend was heavy rains. But that ain't not spirit dampener!

Quaint holiday homes and good old fashioned villas sporting creepers full of flowers are in every lane. The town is also well structured. roads meet at 90 degrees, I mean. Much easier to navigate your way around, unlike most old European town where the heritage lanes are preserved and they meet each other at random angles, and you end up walk in circles!

Viareggio promenade has italian cafes and Gelaterias all along the ~2 kilometer stretch. Almost all cafes serve you italian coffee and croissant/ cookies for breakfast, Pizza and Pasta for lunch/ dinner and then choose your gelato...

What makes the place a rich boys' playground is confirmed by the presence of designer brands all over the town center. I mean, how many small towns really have big brands? I have seen them in Frankfurt or Munich, not even in Nuremberg. But a tiny Viareggio has them. Like the tourism website says, you find more Lacoste clad sailors and families
A little lilac and some reds is all the heart longs for, to declare a smile and success of travel!

Under the Tuscan Sun

I was in Pisa last weekend. Pisa Tower is really much smaller than I expected or even the last time I saw it. sometimes I think, the tourist attractions don't really live upto the hype. However, the special feeling I experienced this time was by walking straight into the Chapel. I skipped the tourist lines and sat down to pray. No queues, no noise, just me, solitude and a medieval chapel.

Under the La Torre de Pisa or the leaning tower of Pisa, I sat for a long time doing nothing but people watching. Everyone loves the same photo pose of pushing the tower. Wen they don't the pose, they copy; but it is the same pose. There is no more than posing with the tower in a stereotypical pose. I don't condemn it. I can't. I don't have an idea if any of the tourists wished to go to Italy and pose with the tower, all their lives.