The Olympic flame was lit at the Louvre, Paris, recently. We visited the Louvre, where the most famous and expensive painting in the world, Monalisa is housed. It was a different world at that time, when the Covid virus had completely disrupted normal life.

East Europe is underrated as a tourist destination. Beautiful, safe, cheap, countries such as Hungary also score, especially during summer, when tourist traffic and prices are at their peak in West Europe.

Swiss trains are a marvel . They are efficient, state-of-the-art, safe and clinically on time. They are expensive for sure, but there is perhaps no other rail system in the world that traverses mountains, lakes, gorges, slopes, villages, towns, the way the Swiss do it.

Lisbon is one European city that I found to be closest to an Indian one, whether it is Mumbai or Bangalore. People are friendly, food is great and there is no language barrier as English is spoken.

Winter activities in Switzerland take various forms. The most popular, of course, is skiing. But, there are many ways that the Swiss like to enjoy winter, one of which is snowshoeing, which essentially translates to hiking in winter. But, one needs to be careful while walking on snow and cold conditions.

I have seen the Taj Mahal many times. The grandeur of the monument is such that one can see it again and again, and never cease to marvel its magnificence.

We had heard a bit about vast expanse of wild flowers that are a special feature of summers in Switzerland. In the past, we did get a glimpse, but nowhere near what we got to see in Emmental, the comparatively low-lying part of Switzerland.

We had heard a bit about vast expanse of wild flowers that are a special feature of summers in Switzerland. In the past, we did get a glimpse, but nowhere near what we got to see in Emmental, the comparatively low-lying part of Switzerland.

We had heard a bit about vast expanse of wild flowers that are a special feature of summers in Switzerland. In the past, we did get a glimpse, but nowhere near what we got to see in Emmental, the comparatively low-lying part of Switzerland.