Zaanse Schans can be reached in 40 minutes by bus from Amsterdam Centraal. It was rather windy when we visited. The day was mostly sunny.
Wooden Windmills in Zaanse Schans
What caught the eye first were the old wooden windmills. There are a few of them which are being maintained in good working condition. The mills are used for sawing wood and grinding oil, flowers and spices.
Fresh Cheese
There are several shops selling souvenirs, gifts and cheese. I tasted different types of cheese and finally chose smoked cheese. It was delicious.
Getting Out of Water
We found ducks and sheep all over the place. The duck in the photo above walked out of the water and stood motionless till I clicked the shot.
Eiffel Tower was on my to-visit-list when I was planning our trip to Paris, I tried to book entry tickets to the top floor of Eiffel Tower. But I did not meet with success because tickets were fully booked more than a month in advance. However when we reached Eiffel Tower on a rainy evening last month, the queues were not long. As luck would have it, we could buy the tickets at the counter within 10 minutes, We got into the lift and reached the top floor.
The views are magnificent. River Seine stretched out in front of us with cruise boats moving around below. On another side we could see Jardins du Trocadero and the business districts. There was also a game of football in progress down below.
Jardins du Trocadéro
The Tower has two restaurants which we did not try out. Champagne Bar serves rose or white champagne. A glass will set you back by Euros 12 to 21.
Notices warned visitors of pickpockets. It will be advisable to not carry valuables or sizeable amounts of cash.
History
Paris hosted an Exposition Universelle (World Fair) in 1889 to celebrate the centenary of the French Revolution. More than 100 artists submitted their plans for the monument. It was to be built on the Champ de Mars in central Paris. The commission was handed to Eiffel et Compagnie, a consulting and construction firm owned by Alexandre-Gustave Eiffel. Eiffel collaborated with a structural engineer named Maurice Koechlin to come up with the final concept.
Eiffel Tower
Record Construction Time
It only took five months to raise the foundation and twenty one to assemble the metal pieces of the Tower. The construction work began in January 1887 and was finished on March 31, 1889. Considering the basic processes available at that time, this was indeed commendable. On the narrow platform at the top, Eiffel received his decoration from the Legion of Honour.
Floors
The structure is on four floors, ground plus three. The first and second floors are accessible by stairs as well as by elevators. The first floor has the Le 58 Tour Eiffel restaurant and other facilities.The second floor houses a restaurant named Le Jules Verne, a gourmet restaurant with its own lift going up from the south column. It gets its name from the famous science fiction writer Jules Verne. This restaurant has one star in the Michelin Red Guide. Michelin star chef Alain Ducasse ran it from 2007 to 2017. As of May 2019, it is managed by three-star chef Frédéric Anton.
Enjoy onobstructed views of Paris on the third floor. The champagne bar is on the top of Eiffel Tower. The bar also offers alcohol-free beverages such as lemonade and mineral water. Access to the third floor is exclusively by elevators.
Getting to Eiffel Tower
The tower is in central Paris at Champ de Mars, 5 Avenue, Anatole France, 75007 Paris, France. The swiftest and easiest way to get to the Eiffel Tower is by taking Metro line 8 toward Balard from Chaussée d’Antin La Fayette or Opéra to École Militaire. If you are close to Pigalle, take bus 30 from Pigalle in the direction of Hôpital Européen Georges Pompidou and get down at Tour Eiffel.
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Mount Titlis is a great tourist spot in Switzerland. The Bollywood blockbuster DDLJ was shot in Engelberg and other parts of Switzerland. The area has hence become popular with Indian tourists. Mount Titlis on Swiss Alps has snow all the year round. It goes up to around 3,200 m and if the weather is good offers superb views of the distant mountains. …
Gengenbach Germany is a small medieval town in the Black Forest. From Offenburg, it is 11.4 km (16 min) by road. Black Forest Railway serves Gengenbach . The railway station is small. You have to buy train tickets using ticketing machines.
Chapel Atop a Hill
A Walk Around the Medieval Town
Near the Bahnhof is a small chapel on top of a hill. It is surrounded by vineyards. At the bottom of the hill are grand heritage houses.
Church of St. Marien
Church of St. Marien is near the market square in Gengenbach Germany. It is a beautiful church. We could not enter as it was past 6:00 pm when we reached there.
Town Square
Market Square
Gengenbach also boasts of a charming town centre. An eighteenth century gate with a medieval spire dominates the market square. It has cobblestone roads leading to it. Half-timbered houses line both sides. There are pretty flowers in stone planters and even an old wishing well.
Water Wheel at the Cloister Mill
In my walks around the town, I came across this ancient water wheel at the Cloister Mill.
Vineyards in Gengenbach Germany
Benedictine monks planted the first vines more than 1,000 years ago. High quality wines are still grown today. These include Riesling, Müller-Thurgau, Grauburgunder, Weissherbst and Spätburgunder Red.
A mild climate preserves the vineyards. Many hours of sunshine boosts the production of excellent wines. Among the well-known wineries in Gengenbach are Burg Stauffenburg, Weingut Danner and Schworer Weingut Weinhaus. Some wineries offer wine tasting tours.
Getting There
Gengenbach is on the Black Forest Railway in Germany. It is 10 km from Offenburg and can also be reached by bus or taxi. Further down the line is Triberg, home to cuckoo clocks and a waterfall. From Basel’s SBB station, ICE trains will take you to Offenburg in 1hour 14min.
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