Featured Post

Great Tastes - Pineapple Crab

-
Image
  From Ruby's Kitchen Crab in Pineapple Crab in pineapple served with corn pulao, salad and chutney Recipe & Method of Preparation Ingredients for Crab (dressed) -500 g Onion Paste -  2 tbsp Garlic paste - 1 tbsp Ginger Paste - 1 tbsp Green Chilli paste(deseeded) 6 pcs Tomato paste ( deseeded ) 3 tbsp Coriander 1 tsp, Cumin 1/2 tsp, Fennel 1 tsp, cloves 1 tsp, black pepper 1 tsp, sesame seed 1 tsp. (All spices to be dry roasted and powdered) Grated coconut 4 tbsp ( ground to powder form ), Basil leaves 2  tbsp              Cooking method Crabs to be thoroughly washed and then mixed with turmeric and salt. Sauté the onions and garlic ginger paste using 2 tbsp oil in a kadai till the onions turn light brown. Next, place the crabs in for frying. After about 5 min pour the dry roasted masala and coconut tomato paste. Keep frying till it dries. Add salt to taste. This process should be carried out in low flame. Meanwhile, slit the pineap...
Post a Comment

Sound of Music

-

Follow my blog with Bloglovin


In the Country of Symphony - AUSTRIA



Sometime in mid-nineties, my young journalist brother Ambar returned from an official trip to Austria. He invited us to a party, where, over sips on Scotch, he shared his wonderful moments amidst the beauty of nature in Salzburg. With a glint,  mesmerized and carried away, I listened. The scenes from the musical classic ‘Sound of Music’ flashed across in pieces. But somewhere the traveler in me felt jealous. The very thought that I never get what I long for kept on recurring at the back of my mind. It is true that we humans do not get everything we long for in our lifetime. But this was amongst very special and dear to my longings.  So while preparing my itinerary for the Europe tour in 2017, I requested my sister and brother in law to join us from Frankfurt, where they stay. We drove down the autobahn, with Arindam at wheel, from Frankfurt to Switzerland and after spending 3 days there we moved into Austria. We were at Salzburg, my ‘dream city’. The historic town of Salzburg was once the capital of the Archbishop of Salzburg (part of the Holy Roman Empire). The city, with picturesque surrounds, boasts of some famous residents like Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Christian Doppler of ‘Doppler Effect’ fame, musical family von Trapp on whom ‘Sound of Music’  was filmed. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, a musical prodigy, came out with his first composition at the age of 5. Born in 1756, he quickly became competent on keyboard and violin. He performed at Dom Quartier, a baroque architectural complex in the heart of Salzburg. This complex was once the center of the Prince Archbishops’ power. Mozart’s original piano(multitier construction) is located here. Maintained well and intact, this instrument was played by a today’s pianist in a concert. A bewitching moment! So was the orchestra on Mozart and Strauss in Vienna. Accompanied by ballet dancers and opera singers at Schonbrunn Palace in Vienna, this captivating show was held at the Palace Orangery, where Mozart himself often played. The Palace grandeur, wine available from a bar counter on this occasion conjured a Royal feeling in us. It is said that when the cute little Mozart performed before the Royal gathering at Schonbrunn Palace, the Queen was so captivated that she picked up the child on her lap. Excited, Mozart had planted a kiss on her cheek.

 To avail a ‘Sound of Music’ trip while in Salzburg has always been ‘one of my favorite things’. The buses start from a stand opposite Mirabell Platz (Mirabell Palace). Built in 1606, this palace garden serves as a venue for most romantic weddings in Austria. We were lucky as we saw quite a few weddings that day. The song ‘Do Re Mi ‘was filmed at the Palace Gardens. The ‘Sound of Music’ journey was like a tryst with fond memories we nurture throughout our lifetime. Our guide, a remarkable man, sweetly dressed in ‘pied piper’ style attire kept all the bus inmates in a trance with renderings of ‘Sound of Music’ songs. As the bus moved through the picturesque dales and vast lakes on the outskirts of Salzburg, the music resonated through the crystal clear air and appeared to entwine with nature – as if the ambiance was designed and created by nature with ‘Sound of Music ‘in mind. Our first stop was at Leopoldskron Palace- the Trapp family home. A popular boat scene was filmed in the lake over there. Next was the Glass Gazebo in the Hellbrunn Palace compound, where ‘sixteen going on seventeen’ was filmed. It was here that the kissing scene between Maria (Julie Andrews) and Baron von Trapp (Christopher Plummer) was shot. We caught glimpses of Lake Fuschl and Lake Wolfgang while passing through the Lake District Area to reach Mondsee, a tiny Austrian town where St. Michael’s Basilica (also known as Mondsee Cathedral) is located.  The wedding scene of Maria with Baron was shot here. Coincidentally, we were fortunate to see a real wedding in the Cathedral. Outside the Cathedral, on that day, a small country fair was being held. We were lucky to try out some delicious Austrian foods at small food cartwheels set up in the fair. The wedding ceremonies, the food, raindrops, and drizzles at Mondsee were rejuvenating. So rejuvenating that while on our way to Salzburg our guide sang, our driver sang and we all joyously sang in unison our favorite song ‘Raindrops on Roses and whiskers on kittens; bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens; brown paper packages tied up with strings; these are a few of my favorite things’ 






Photo Courtesy: Arundhati Sengupta (Ruby)

Mozart's Birthplace in Salzburg



Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart


Mozart's House




Mozart played on this keyboard

Mirabelle Palace Area, Salzburg. The Sound of Music trip starts from here.


Leopoldskron Palace on the outskirts of Salzburg

Leopoldskron Palace - von Trapp family's home

The Glass Gazebo in Hellbrunn Palace compound

Picturesque Salzburg



Our Sound of Music tour guide





Salzburg's Lake District

Picturesque Salzburg


St. Michael Basilica at Mondsee

A real wedding inside the Chapel



Wedding in Mirabelle Platz Garden





House of Christian Doppler



Outside Dom Quartier





A view of Salzburg city




Tram stop near River Danube in Vienna




Fiddlers at Karlsplatz, Vienna


Vienna




A portrait of child Mozart on the path leading to Schonbrunn Palace




Schonbrunn Palace compound




Schonbrunn Palace Garden


Schonbrunn Palace Garden






Vienna Ring Tram




Schonbrunn Area Vienna


Schonbrunn Palace Concert Hall

Concert at Schonbrunn Palace

Schonbrunn Metro station


Guide to 'Sound of Music' trip at Salzburg & Schonbrunn Palace at Vienna:

AC Coaches for 'Sound of Music' start from the terminal in front of St. Andrew's Church located opposite Mirabellplatz in downtown Salzburg. It is a scenic drive through the rolling countryside of the Austrian Lake District. The drive is up to the pretty little Mondsee town. 

Schonbrunn Palace: We were staying near Karlsplatz and River Danube in Vienna. To visit Schonbrunn Palace, we availed the metro from Karlsplatz station. Karlsplatz is on lines U1 (red), U2 (blue) and U4 (green). All trains on U4 line going towards Hutteldorf stop at Schonbrunn station. Please note that the preceding station is Meidling Hauptstrasse.


                                





Booking.com


India 68, 3, Pratapaditya Rd, Near 27 Pally Park, Sahanagar, Kalighat, Kolkata, West Bengal 700026, India

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Granada

-
Image
Granada   ANDALUSIAN SPAIN Granada The bus journey from Madrid to Andalusia was strangely inviting. Andalusia is the southernmost part of Spain, also known as the Iberian Peninsula. The bosky landscape around was wild and cultivated. Cultivated with fleeting patches of olive orchards, which at some places spread far into the horizon? Traversing through the heart of Spain and somewhere at the back of my mind the landscape triggered the swashbuckling identity of the historical country. In search of El Dorado maybe one of the reasons why the Moors from Africa invaded Andalusia after crossing the strait of Gibraltar in the early 8 th century. They ruled this part of Spain till the 15 th century. Spain’s heartland, known as the Meseta, is a large plateau with an average elevation of six hundred meter above sea level is located in the centre of the Iberian Peninsula. Since Madrid lies on this plateau most of the journey up to Granada was through this fas...
Read more

Florence

-
Image
FLORENCE     Florence –  the capital of the Tuscany region and the cradle of Renaissance   We opted for Flix Bus while traveling from Venice to Florence. The road journey takes about three and a half-hour. In Florence, it terminates at the rear end of Santa Maria Novella (SMN) train station. One of Italy’s busiest stations, it got its name from Santa Maria Novella Church just across the plaza from the main entrance. We debarked at the station and refreshed ourselves at McDonald's before hiring a cab for our hotel. Florence, popularly known as ‘Firenze’ by the Italians, is located in central Italy. This dreamy city with a romantic name is the regional capital of the lovely Tuscany region.   Columbus Hotel, where we stayed, is located in Lugarno District. We always prefer to book our hotels through Booking.com as we always land up getting good hotels at good locations. Despite being a little away from the heart of the city and...
Read more

A Roman Holiday

-
Image
ROMA - Ancient Rome & Papal Rome Imagine going back 2000 years in time and space while standing on the stone floor inside a colossal amphitheater. Amidst thousands of Roman spectators. The booms of drums reverberate as the ceremonial parade enters the stadium. After saying ‘Ave imperator; morituri te salutant’ (those who are about to die salute you) to the Emperor, the gladiatorial combat begins. The crowd shouts jeers and throw their hands up in excitement. 60000 spectators? Like the excitement at Eden Gardens in Calcutta while watching a Cricket match. The gestures, the excitement, the uproar may be different from our present-day Mexican waves. But how does that matter? After all, a stadium is a venue for entertainment – be it the bloodiest sport in the history of mankind. And how the Romans loved watching violence and killings. Historians remain befuddled as to how Romans who are regarded as the precursor of human civilization could have indulged and e...
Read more

Phnom Penh - from Killing Fields to a Humane City

-
Image
Phnom Penh-a great Cambodian City Time began with the Big Bang about 13.77 billion years ago. Our universe originated and began expanding from Day One which included the formation of our planet Earth. But not so long ago, on 17th April 1975, a Cambodian school teacher Pol Pot (who had been to Paris on scholarship to study Radio Electronics and returned to Cambodia to take up a teaching assignment) declared Year Zero in Cambodia. That was in line with the concept of Year One declared during the French Revolution. The idea was to discard and destroy all culture and traditions within the society and bring in revolutionary culture. President Lon Nol fled Cambodia on 1st April 1975 following a bloody civil war that lasted for five years. And on 17th April 1975, a swarm of locusts in the guise of Khmer Rouge descended on Phnom Penh to devour teachers, artists, and intelligentsia of the Cambodian capital. Pol Pot’s intention was to eliminate threats to his idea of agrarian society. That wa...
Read more