The Cribs

Crib Crib And Crib..................................but do nothing!!

Usual Conversation in the shuttle during my way to office or back..........
The roads are so bad
The traffic is too much
Why can't people follow traffic rules.........
Why does it take more than an hour to cover a distance of 10 kms.........
House rents are going up every month..............
Auto Rick drivers ask whatever rate they feel like at any time of the day to go anywhere.
Another IT professional attacked.............
The same conversation is repeated again many times during the day. I have been part of such conversations so many times.None of us like this, we all have strong opinions about what government should do about it.But i often wonder apart from cribbing are we not capable of doing anything? Does all the responsiblity belong to the government........and none belong to us, are we not responsible for whats happening to this city? Every day we spend hours stuck in these traffic jams. We suffer because of these bad roads. We end up paying these high rents. We pay unreasonable amounts to Auto drivers..........and the list continues. Still the only thing we do is crib about it.

Blaming the IT comapnies (i was surprised with what our honourable minister from the state had to say!! ) for this will not help. I am sure the kind of status Bangalore enjoys now in the national and international community is only because of IT. Berfore the IT boom Bangalore was just a pensioners paradise!! If booming IT industry is the cause of all thses problem, then it is the same IT industry which is reponsible for making Bangalore a very prosperous city too.

I do not expect the Government to build super ways, all i expect is regular repairs of the roads, completion of flyovers and other such projects in time, when roads are dug for any purpose please remember to repair it before you move ahead to dig another one, proper planning of roads and traffic diversions to alternate routes during peak hours. Is it asking for too much?

Speyer(Germany)

Some other Places I visted.......

Speyer

Speyer, the imperial cathedral city on the Rhine, is full of the heritage of 2,000 years as a major centre of politics and culture, with many unique sights and a beautiful historic Old Town.

The Altpörtel is one of the most beautiful and tallest (55m) town gates in Germany. It was originally the main western gate in the medieval town walls.

View of a road towards Postplatz...



Speyer Cathedral, Cathedral Square – The foundation stone of the majestic cathedral was laid in around 1030 by Konrad II. It is the city’s most famous landmark and its striking form is visible from far and wide. Added to UNESCO’s World Heritage list in 1981, Speyer Cathedral is one of the biggest and most important Romanesque buildings in existence. The impressive crypt contains the tombs of eight emperors and kings.

This building was right opposite the Speyer Cathedral and i really liked the flowers arranged in the windows of the building.

We also went to the Speyer Sea-Life Centre, in the harbour offering fascinating, close-up experiences of the local underwater world from tiny shrimps to great sharks. No snaps from the sea life centre!!

Paris

Paris, the city i always dreamt of visiting some day and last month my dream came true when i spent a weekend in Paris. I have fallen in love with the city, the city has so much of beauty and so much of history associated with it. Every building has a story to tell, every street has some history to it. Amazing !!

Here i have shared some of those beautiful memories of paris..................

Thats the metro station, using the metro i travelled all around the city without any trouble!One of the world's best, even if it is among its oldest. In Paris, nothing is more than 500 yards from a Metro stop!!

The first place i visited in Paris was the Louvre Museum. Divided into 7 departments, the Louvre collections incorporate works dating fromthe birth of the great antique civilisations.

The museum presents the main part of its treasures to visitors, in the new Richelieu wing, islamic art collections, oriental antiques, French sculptures, objets d'art,French paintings & paintings from the Northern school (including Rubens).Let's not forget, the ever so famous masterpieces:the Venus of Milo, the Winged Victory of Samothrace, the Mona Lisa of Leonard da Vinci, and so many others.

Here are some more snaps of the museum

Most visitors to the Louvre stand to marvel or be horrified by the now 20 year old pyramid. It caused a huge row when it was begun but has taken its fitting place in Paris's catalogue of the monumental.



The ultimate image of Paris has to be La Tour Eiffel.Built in 1889 for the World Fair, the tower was saved from demolition in 1909 by the need for a radio antenna. The antennae now are television. It can be seen from almost everywhere in Paris but it does deserve a closer look. The classic view is from the Trocadéro with its great fountains below.



Cross the bridge to foot of this amazing 320 metre high structure, and, if you are prepared to queue, take the lift to the top (always scout to see if there is a ticket window with no queue). The view is like seeing Paris from a light aircraft.

Watch the beautiful illuminated bridges and monuments of Paris slide by as you cruise along the River Seine.The Eiffel tower looks simply spectacular lit up at night time... the image of the tower lit up in the night was breathtaking.



Arc de Triomphe, the Arc that Napoléon intended as a celebration of his victories was not finished when the Battle of Waterloo brought his downfall. It now stands guard over the remains of an unknown solider from World War I, with the eternal flame burning under it. Radiating out from its honking, jammed centre are major roads in all directions.

The Champs Elysées was designed as part of a triumphal way out from the Tuileries and planted with elms a century before Napoléon planned his arch. To one side lies the Seine, to the other grand houses of the 18th century many of which are now airline offices. It still has a splendour of its own and hints at the wealth of the Triangle d'Or that stretches away from it towards Faubourg Ste Honoré.

Talk about Paris and not about fashion..........well that wont be fair, so here the last snap which is display window of a huge showroom .



A great City, somewhere i will love to go again and again!!