Schönbrunn Palace, Vienna

• Early morning on a weekday is ideal to visit Schönbrunn Palace. There are multiple public transport connections available.
• You will appreciate the grandeur of the palace if you acquiant beforehand with the layout and the history of palace.
• Be ready for a small climb to the top of hillock behind the palace. It is a place to be with the entire Vienna visible in the horizon.

Schönbrunn Palace is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and crown jewel of the capital city of Vienna. We were on a four country tour of Europe and this was the very first morning. We had landed in Vienna last evening and spent most of the evening exploring the neighbourhood. Our hotel was a walking distance from the Danube river. Palace is on the other side of this beautiful city.

Schönbrunn Palace Gardens

Jodhpur

We were in Jodhpur for a day to attend a wedding. Jodhpur has become famous for lavish destination weddings. However ours was a modest one. Our direct flight from Delhi landed on time and we were settled for a brunch at our hotel by 11. At 12 the Haldi ceremony was scheduled which we did not want to miss.

Main exhibition building @ Mehrangarh Fort

Orchha Fort

Jhansi - Orchha

Orchha Fort was in my checklist since I missed it on my trip to Khajuraho. I had heard so much abut this bastion of Bundelkhand rulers that it would have been a tragedy to miss it twice. We left Jhansi Fort around 1 and reached Orchha by 2. Mauranipur, our destination for wedding we were here to attend, was still couple hours away.

Orchha Fort

Jhansi Fort

Jhansi - Orchha

We took at 8.10AM Gatimaan Express from Nizamuddin and we were at Jhansi before lunch. We were still about two hundred kilometers away from our destination Mauranipur. We were here for a wedding so we had ample time. We booked a cab that will be at our disposal till midnight when we had to take the returning train back to Delhi.

Jhansi Fort Entrance

Moscow

Soumenlinna - Helsinki - Tallinn - St Petersburg - Moscow

• Try to learn Russian in bits, its not very different from English. Keep a map of metro lines with you as it is a lifeline in Moscow.
• Most of the attractions are concentrated around Red Square. Kremlin's armoury show is most sought after and you should reach early to buy tickets there.
• Dont forget to try the river cruise and the Russian way of drinking vodka - that is quick shots in succession.

Moscow was convenient and exhausting at the same time. The capital of Russia is grand in every possible way and yet broken into clusters that stand by themselves. Moscow is a city of cities just like any major capital in the world. It has couple of jewels, just like any major town, that fall in many a traveller's bucket list. It has a river flowing right across it. Add to that the football fever that was peaking when we reached with the host city inaugurating the FIFA world cup in a week time. We were at the right place before time.

Arbat Street

Saint Petersberg

Soumenlinna - Helsinki - Tallinn - St Petersburg - Moscow

• Take a hotel as close to Winter Palace as possible. Not only most of the attractions are around this but also the buzz on the street with various kind of artists performing is truly engrossing.
• Book the ticket for Hermitage in advance online. It is bit costlier but will save you lots of time as the entry queue for online tickets is separate.
• Cathedrals are closed on different dates of week so plan ahead if you want to cover a particular one. River cruises are a great way to cover some of them.

Russia is as foreign as I have been to a country. There is almost nothing written in English and almost nobody speaks English. You depend on google to do most of your navigational work and Uber to take you around. We reached Saint Petersberg on a windy midday and immediately felt the handicap of not knowing Russian.

View from Hotel Terrace

Himeji Castle

• Go all the way to the top. You will appreciate the thick wooden pillars and beams on which this massive palace is built from ground up.
• The armoury on the third floor is amazing with a collection of Japanese Katana Swords from Samurai era.
• Try to walk around the castle. The beauty from inside is architectural, from outside Himeji Castle is a giant work of art.

We covered Himeji Castle on our penultimate day in Japan. It would have been big miss had we not decided to go for it. The architecture, construction and accessibility is unparalleled even by the open standards of Japan. Given that it is in opposite direction to Tokyo from Osaka, we took some effort and it paid off handsomely. While the castle is visible from railway station itself, it hardly justifies what's inside.

Himeji Castle, Himeji

Chail

• Visit during March-April for 3 days. Nights are cold but it is less crowded and more pleasant weather wise.
• Stay at Chail Palace for a royal experience. Plan a visit to nearby market for lunch as the lazy morning and cold evening are mostly to be spent inside the resort.
• Drive / trek to Kali Tibba, Cricket Ground and Wildlife Sanctuary. Chail is small town for a relaxing weekend. 

Taking a detour from Kandaghat, it takes one hour to reach Chail - a small hill town near Shimla. Being small works in favour for those seeking seclusion amid a decent infrastructure. We had booked two rooms in the Himneel Block of Chail Palace which is an actual palace converted into a hill resort by the Himachal Tourism. We were the only ones staying in this block and the sense of freedom this gave us was a very happy one.

Sunset from Chail Palace

Udaipur

Jaipur - Ajmer - Chittorgarh - Udaipur

• Book a hotel on the lake side preferably facing the palace. This would also mean you are in the old part of Udaipur which has a different air about it.
• The City Palace is among the most preserved ones I have seen. The paintings and even utensils are kept for view. Area around palace is also full of artistic work.
• Go for Monsoon Palace for the sunset. There is a restaurant at the top that serves good snacks which along with the location makes it very special.

We reached Udaipur by noon and started searching for a suitable hotel. It was serendipitous for us to find Hotel Lake Pichola at such short notice. It is one of the hundreds of hotel adjacent to Pichola Lake but also has a view of palatial complex across the lake. Our room was modest in a royal fashion.

City Palace across Hotel Lake Pichola @ Udaipur

Gwalior Fort

Trip: Delhi > Gwalior > Khajuraho > Raneh Falls & Delhi

Gwalior was a quicky. We were on our train to Delhi from Khajuraho when we saw the fort palace and decided to pay it a tribute. We had to look for a hotel or take Shatabdi @ 7.

View from right flank @ Gwalior Fort

Daulatabad Fort

Trip: Aurangabad > Ajanta > Lonar > Daulatabad > Ellora > Aurangabad

• A full fledged 7 tiered fort, Daulatabad is worth studying on the defense systems of forts used by early rulers of India. At worse its a healthy trek to the top.
• Dont miss the bat cave, a set of staircases to the top only few hundred metres long but full of squeaking bats. You need to cross it to reach the top.
• Within few miles of Daulatabad are the grand Ellora Caves and Grishneshwar - one of the twelve jyotirlingas, both dedicated to Lord Shiva.

Daulatabad Fort is impregnable by the look of it - a layer of seven increasingly difficult barriers from bottom to top. We arrived at the foot of this hill fort through a shared auto that runs frequently from Bawa Petrol Pump in Aurangabad City. The entrance is a massive wooden gate that opens to view of a high watch tower and the fort itself. The gate is not counted among the seven layers of defence.

View from Bharat Mata Mandir

Mysore

Trip: Bangalore > Ramnagaram > Srirangapatna >  Mysore >  Bandipur >  Mudumalai >  Ooty >  Coonoor >  Bangalore

The royal city of Mysore awaited us in its splendour. We had covered Ramnagaram and Srirangapatna the same day. We knew that special lighting is arranged for the Mysore Palace on Sundays and we were right on time. Staying at Prateek's cousin's place we started for the Palace at 7. By the time we reached the place was buzzing up with an amalgamated crowd of locals and foreigners.

Mysore Palace is lighted on Sundays

Rome

Trip: Zugspitze > Pisa > Rome > Vatican City

The original idea was to cover the five points of the cross decribed in Angels & Demons. However at 3PM the three of us were only checking into a hotel room. It was walking distance from Station. We now had exactly 24 hours in Rome  By 4 we had a definite plan which was bit different from the original one. Colosseum was the closest and hence we found ourselves walking towards the grand structure in no time.

The Colosseum@Rome

Helsingor

Trip: Copenhagen > Helsingor > Copenhagen

We reached Helsingor at 4 PM. That may well be enough to tell what we were able to do there. What we managed was visit to a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a couple of miles walk in the windiest of conditions.

Kronborg for upgradation@UNESCO World Heritage site

Jaipur

Jaipur - Ajmer - Chittorgarh - Udaipur

• From Aamer at one end to Chokhi Dhani at another,  Jaipur is full of must go places.
• Budgets boutique hotels are readily available here thanks to being a tourist hotspot. Decide based on where you want to go after Jaipur.
• Don't miss the amazing top view of entire Jaipur from the window Of Madhavendra Palace. 

The two of us started at 10.30 AM on 23rd, December, 2009 from Delhi for a long drive. The road was smooth and the drive was fun. Somewhere on the way we decided that we should go all the way to Jaipur. Consequently we were standing in front of Aamer Fort at 4 PM. It is an old majestic fort stretched in few square kilometers. We walked on the walls of the fort before getting hungry.

Front View of Aamer Fort@Jaipur

Windsor

• Windsor Palace has a well defined path and audio guide to help. It takes couple hours to cover end to end. Walk around the village of Windsor as well which is equally charming.
• The outfit and gear of Tipu Sultan was the highlight for me. The sheer size of the outfit meant he was a giant and a fearsome warrior.
• The ferris wheel outside the castle is good for a high point view of castle. The sentinels are perfect to take a picture with them still and you enjoying.

It was one of those weekend trips in UK. This time we planned for Windsor Castle. The Castle of Windsor is the winter residence of the Queen. The place is well connected with London. We started from Sheffield at 8 and were in Windsor by 12. We started of with lunch near the station. Being a weekend, there was a good crowd there.

Souvenir Shop, Windsor

The trip within the castle is well set and the crowd moves in a sequence. There are points within the castle from where the outside is visible and one can see the large spread of area in which the castle is built. There are a lot of royal stuffs kept there but the most captivating article we found was the armour of The Great Tipu Sultan. It was huge.

View from Ferris Wheel, Windsor

We came out of the other end of the palace and wanted to buy some souvenirs but they were costly. Instead we decided to spend the money on a ferris wheel which was located just outside the gate. From the top of it not only we had a top view of the castle but the entire Windsor city.

London

• A combination of underground tubes and ferry along Thames can take you anywhere within London within half hour. Use both at tandem for highest efficiency.
• All the landmarks are well spread across London but the one to be attempted first is London Bridge which in itself is a museum and is close to London Eye.
• Trafalgar Square and Piccadilly Circus are two most buzzing places in London during day time. Hyde Park is another hot spot.

Although the first time I was in London was in the first week of April, it was only by the end of June that I feel I truly explored the city. That was a weekend when Raghunath mama took me around the city on his new Volvo.

Near London Bridge

We started early morning for Tower of London. It is where the famous Kohinoor diamond is kept among other articles that the Britishers collected during their colonial reign. The establishment and its surrounding is charming enough at the bank of the river Thames. The London Bridge is adjacent to the Tower. We spent the afternoon eating light and sauntering around the place.

St. Paul's Cathedral, London

Started in the noon, we reached Trafalger Square in no time. The place was suppose to open up with a large ground in from of the British National Library. Instead there was a giant structure temporarily built resembling the Jagannath Temple of Puri, India. Free food was being served to an enormous crowd, mostly Indians, gathered at the Square.

Buckingham Palace, London

We ate Indian food quite delightfully and then moved on to a nearby park. Later on we visited Buckingham Palace and clicked few photographs.