Trip to Split and Plitvice National Park

Trip to Croatia

I got a chance to travel to one of the beautiful places in the world. I think many of you might have heard about Croatia. This place is really famous for its beaches and of course from the locations known from Game of Thrones(I am not really a big fan of the series though).

Day 1 : Zagreb, Croatia

The first day, we traveled from Munich to Zagreb where we had 5 hours of transit time for our next flight to Split. So, me and my friend took a taxi to Zagreb City from airport. The travel time to the city is around 20-30 mins which costed 10 euros per person. We went to the city and found a  street market near to the central square(Ban jelačić square). This square had existed since 17th century. This square is named after Josip Jelačić who was a ruler of Croatia during the medieval time. There is a statue of the ruler in the square.

Josip Jelačić,1848

There are many small shops near this square with nice food and fragrance. We found many products which were made from lavender seeds like lavender soap, cream and oil. We bought some Souvenirs from the market and then walked to the famous St.Mark's Church. The church is located in the old town of Zagreb which is 3-4 kms  away from the square. The path to the church is really amazing. It is on the uphill with houses and shops on either sides. The streets are made with cobblestones which added to be beauty of this place from medieval times.

Path to St.Mark's Church

St.Mark' Church, Zagreb

We could not really go inside the church but the church is really beautiful from outside. Especially the checked roof which has coat of arms of Croatia, Dalmatia and also Slovenia on the left side and the emblem of Zagreb on the right side.

We had  time to visit only these 2 places in Zagreb since we had to take our next flight to Split, Croatia. Split looked really beautiful from the time we landed. The airport looks very small though. We had booked an accommodation from airbnb. Our accommodation was little far from the city so they have sent a taxi for us. We stayed at Enis & Jasmina's place at Strobec. I would always recommend this place to anyone planning to stay close to the beach  which is  really a cool place with an indoor swimming pool.

Day 2: Split, Croatia.

We booked a blue cave tour from TripAdvisor's website. I will add the link for the tour later. The weather on that day was quite okay with a temperature around 15°C. Starting point for the tour seemed really beautiful which i can only express through the below picture which i had captured.

They took us in a speed boat with 6 other people. First, we went to Trogir island. We got down and had about an hour to explore the city. There was really a nice fortress. This town looked really historic with old buildings and narrow streets. The Trogir town is one of the UNESCO World heritage sites. Its a must visit for people who want to just get lost in the beauty  historic buildings and sea on the other side. I really fell in love with this town. I wish I had a chance to just stay there forever. The guide who took us in speedboat mentioned that he studied in this same beautiful town. Along these streets, we saw some more souvenirs shops selling products made from lavender seeds. You will really feel that smell as you cross those streets. Here is a glimpse of the street in Trogir town.

The tour continued and we reached another island Drvenik Veli. The water in this island was in turquoise color. The water was so clear. We did snorkeling for some time. I am not so good at swimming and also the water was really cold therefore , I could not go far from the shore . From there we continued to one more beautiful island named Solta. I can always to go to beaches, stand near the shore and stare at the water for hours  immersed in thoughts. These beaches were so clear and the color of the water adds up to the beauty.

Can you imagine leaving this place? The mesmerizing beauty of the buildings on the other side of the shore, water color and the environment which is a breathtaking view.
I literally wish I stayed at one of those houses near the shore.

Anyway, we had to leave. Later we had lunch and continued to Split city. Explored the city a little and then went to our accommodation by bus. The transportation in Split is easily accessible and comfortable.

This brings us to the end of the day in Split

Day3: Piltvice National Park, Croatia.

We had booked a tour from Split. We went to their office and they took us in a car to Plitvice National park with 5 other people. Travel time from Split to Piltvice National Park is around 3-4 hours.  It is 120km from Split. I would recommend anyone to go to this park from Zagreb instead from Split. I really wanted to go to this place from the time I heard of it. This is also a UNESCO World Heritage. This whole place has a lot of waterfalls. The water here is greenish in color and is very clear like crystal. We happend to meet a very nice guide.

This place is really beautiful and you can see that from the above picture. Water was greenish and  crystal clear. Since it was autumn season, the leaves of the trees were orangish red which added even more beauty to this place. It is a real treat for the eyes to see these beautiful colors together.  Not just that, you could also see the whole reflection of the trees on the water because its crystal clear.

The path inside the park in order to go up and down through the different parts of the park was also made accurately with small rectangular wooden blocks connected together precisely. I was amazed at the way it was constructed. If it was not there, we would have not been able to explore this beautiful park.

                                           
After exploring this beautiful park, we went back to the city. We got a chance to meet really nice and friendly people in this trip.

Trip to Manchester,Leeds and Liverpool

This blog is about my trip to Manchester,Leeds and Liverpool from 13-04-17 to 17-04-17 with my friend.

Traveled from Nürnberg to Manchester with Ryanair on 13-04-17.

1st day - Manchester:

From Manchester Airport, we went to Manchester Piccadily(central station).

Manchester Piccadily

The station was really big an nice. From Manchester Piccadily, we took a ticket to our accomodation in Levensculme(25 Hornbeam road). We also bought tickets for our trip to Livepool and Leeds. Before going to our place, we had lunch at Bundobust(Indian Restaurant). The restaurant was looking more like any normal restaurant in India and the food was really awesome.

Menu in Bundobust

After having lunch and spending some more time there, we went to our accomodation with bus 192.
Later, we went for shopping. We found a really interesting super market ASDA where they had all sorts of Indian spices, snacks, sweets, rice,etc. After buying some stuffs, we went to a library nearby for accesing internet not books though(Unfortunately,we did not have wi-fi in our accomodation) and then retuned home.

Weather in Manchester - Cold and Windy

2nd day - In Liverpool:

We went to Liverpool from Manchester Piccadily using Northern Services Train. The route was from Manchester Piccadily to Liverpool South Park way and from Liverpool south park way to the Liverpool Central and the whole journey took arounf one and a half hour.

After reaching Liverpool Central, we took hop on and hop off bus and got down at Mersey Ferry stop. We took a cruise trip from there and then for down at Space sport stop. There was a description about each planet. There was also a space dome theater. The screen was on the top and the seats were in such a way that we can lie down and watch. We came out and then had lunch. The food was good but not really interesting. Then we returned to the Mersey Ferry. There was a statue of the people from Beatles band in front of this Mersey Ferry. Beatles was a rock band in Liverpool.

The Fab Four Beatles

The next stop was Liverpool Cathedral. The cathedral was good. After that, we reached back to the main station and while coming, we say the Metropolitan Cathedral(which was under renovation). Took a train back to Manchester and went to Bundobust for dinner. After dinner, took a taxi and reached accomodation.

Weather in Liverpool - Really cold and raining whole day.

3rd day - In Leeds:

We traveled from Manchester to Leeds using the Transpennine express and the journey took around 45 mins. After reaching Leeds, we got to know that the city is really small and can be covered just by walking. So our first stop was at the Leeds art gallery and Leeds town hall. After that, we reached the Leeds City Museum. The city museum was really super.

There was a demo session organized by Google and the topic was Virtual Reality. We had not registered for it so we could not get a chance to participate in the demo. We had a chance to go through the history about Leeds from archeology point of view. There was also a description about how wool is extracted from the skin of the sheep. Then we went to Later we went to Red Chilli Chinese Restaurant. The food was good. Then we went to arena.

Later, we did some shopping at Trinity Leeds and returned to Manchester. Had dinner at Bundobust again and then reached home.

Weather in Leeds: Raining little, Windy and cold.

4th day- Machester:

1st destination - Ethihad Stadium - We went to Manchester Piccadily and took a metro shuttle to Victoria Station and then to Piccadily gardens and finally to Ethihad Stadium.

Ethihad Stadium

Unfortunately the stadium was closed for tourists, so we could not explore inside.

2nd Destination - Machester Cathedral - Took the metro shuttle and reached Manchester Cathedral. The architecture was really amazing.

Manchester Cathedral

Lunch - Mougli Restaurant - The food was amazing and it was served in tiffin boxes that we use in India.

3rd Destination - Alan Turing Memorial - Reached the Sackville Garderns and saw the Alan turing memorial.

Alan Turing Memorial

4th destination - Canal street and The Village - This was the gay street next to Sackville gardens.

Canal Street

Finally returned to Piccadily and got some Dairy milk chochlates and some books and then returned home.

Weather in Machester - Cold, Little bit windy

Overall Experience:
The weather was not so good in any of the destinations but manageable. The architecture of the buildings are amazing. All instructions are in English. Trains are in the same way like in India. There are no announcements in the train. The announcement is only for the final destination. The shops are also like in India. Everyplace is reachable by public transportation. People are friendly. Nice atmosphere.

Favorite lines from Wings of Fire

Feb 2017,

Here are the list of my favourite quotes:

"With faith you can change your destiny"

"Seek the truth and the truth shall set you free"

The best performances are accomplised when you are relaxed and free of doubt.

Important functions of prayer is to act as a stimulus to creatinge ideas. Within the mind are all the resources required for successful living. Ideas are present in the consciousness, which when released and given scope to grow and take shape can lead to successful events. God, our creator has stored within our minds and personalities, great potential strength and ability. Prayer heps us to tapand develop these powers.

"Bread baked without love is a bitter bread that feeds but a half man's hunger" - those who cannot work with their hearts achieve but a hollow,half-hearted sucess tat breeds bitterness all around.

"I maintain a working patnership with God.I was aware that the best work required more ability than I possessed and therefore I needed help that only God could give me. I made a true estimate of my own abiliity ,then raised it by 50 percent and put myself in God's hands.In this partnership, I ave always received all the power I needed, and in fact have actually felt it flowing through me. Today, I can affirm that the kingdom of God is within you in the form of this power, to help achieve your goals and realise your dreams".

"Prof. Sarabai can use errors as opportunities to promote innocation and the development of new ideas".

"To manage the performance of specialists, the team leader has to adopt a delicate balance between the hands on and the hands-off approach. The hands on approach takes an active interest on a very regular basis in the member's work. The hands off approach trusts team members and recognizes their need for autonomy to carry out their roles as they see fit. It hinges on their self motivation"

"Beasutiful hands are those that do work that is earnest and brave and true Moment by moment The long day throug"

Don't worry and fret, faint-hearted,
The chances have just begun,
For the best jobs haven't been started,
The best work hasn't been done.

If you want to leave your footprints
On the sands of time
Do not drag your feet.

To strengthen person freedom(freedom with responsibility):
"First, by building your own education and skills. Knowledge is a tangible asset, quite often hte most important tool in your work "

"The second way is to develop a passion for personal responsibiliity. The soverign way to personal freedom is to help determine the forces that determine you.Be active! Take on responsibiliity. Work for the things you beleive in. If you do not, you are surrendering your fate to others."

"Total commitment is not just hard work, it is total involvement"

"To succced in your mission, you must have single minded devotion to your goal"

"To lieve only for some unknown future is superficial. It is like climbing a mountain to reach the peak without experiencing its sides. The sides of the mountain sustain life, not the peak"

"Happiness, satisfaction and success in life depend on making the right choices, the winning choices. There are forces in life working for you and against you. One must distinguish the beneficial forces from teh malevolent ones and choose correctly between them".

"The sweetness we taste in a piece of sugar is neigher a property of sugar nor a property of ourselves. We are producing the experience of sweetness in the process of interacting with the sugar"

"The more you have, the more there is to maintain"

"No matter what you achieve, you should never be completely satisfied and should always be searching for ways to prove yourself"

"Ironically, all through school, we were taught to read, write and speak, but never to listen and the situation remains the same today"

"Before God trusts you with success, you have to prove yourself humble enough to handle the big prize"

"A big shot is a little shot who keeps on shooting, so keep trying"

Four basic factors that are involved in successful outcomes: goal-settings, positive thinking, visualizing and believing.

"Never used any outside influence to advance my career. All i had was the inner urge to seek more within myself"

"Through difficulties and problems, God gives us opportunity to grow. So when your hopes and dreams and goasl are dashed, search among the wreckage, you may fing a golden opportunity hidden in the ruins"

"Let the latent fire in the heart of every Indian aquire wings, and the glory of this great country light up the sky"

"The more decisions you can make avoiding external pressures, which will constantly try to manipulate you, the better your life will be, the better your society will become."

"Your willingness to use your own inner resources to invest in your life, especially your imagination, will bring you success. When you address a task from your own uniquely individual standpoint, you become a whole person"

My version of Reality

We all as human beings expect many things that we want to happen. However reality doesn't work in that way. The expectations can vary over different stages in life and occurs at different levels. It can vary from very small to very big. However, reality just takes over expectations. In some cases it might be the same as we expect and in some cases it might not be what we expect.  And if it happens in the same way that we want, we will be the happiest person in the world and the most gifted person.

When something does not happen in the way you want to, just think that ' Disappointments are God's way of saying 'I've got something better. Be patient..Live Life..Have Faith'. Don't worry. Things will go fine when the right time comes. You will be the happiest person in the world.

Each of us our own set of things to worry. Life just does not go smooth for 80% of the people. Its okay to mourn and worry for some time. But then most of us think is if we express our sorrow to some one, we will feel less burdened and as if our problems will just go away. But I don't think this helps. Not to sound harsh but most people around you are going to be selfish including me except some very very few people. I don't blame anyone for this.Its just human nature. So when you are going to express to someone, they might actually think about their own problems. Its literally a waste of time for you and the person you are approaching. So just think of it for sometime and try to find a solution to get rid of the problem in hand. According to me being independent means you can take care of your happiness, your sorrow, your well being, your environment and the way you accept things happening to you. And just think that you are a very tiny thing in the really vast universe. Its like you are just a very small drop of water in a really big ocean.

There is always a proportion of people who might like you at different levels. Some may really like you a lot, some might like you to some extent, some might like you to the extent that they can bear your presence and there will be some people who might never like your presence/ even you being in the same room might be intolerable for them. You can't expect everyone to like you. In my personal experience, I have seen these proportion of people of different kinds. After reading the book 'The Subtle Art of not giving a f*uck', I know my values for the people around me. So now i really know why/why not should i worry if somebody likes/dislikes me. Now i know i don't need to worry if someone says they don't like me on my face or behind my face. Now I know which relationships i should value and which not. Now I know sometimes its better to not care about their opinion if i don't value them in my life. 

Thanks a lot for the clarification by the author - Mark Manson.

WAR BETWEEN LIFE AND DEATH

The world is facing a very big problem in recent days.The number of people dying each day is increasing day by day due to some or other reason.On one side,the terrorists who mercilessly kill a school going child in the name of some nonsense religion.On the other side,the nature's anger.I dont say I dont trust religion but there is a limit.No God has ever said in their holy scripts to kill people in the name of religion.After all this term was coined by humans like us.I dont even know if God likes this term.But it is very pathetic to see the small kids going to school being killed by terrorists.

As we go on the other side,our mother nature's anger is being shown to us through earthquake killing countless number of innocent lives.Day by day,the count is getting increased.I don't understand what sin was made by people who die in any kind of an incident other than natural death.

I wish there comes a time where there is a full stop for everything.

First of all,everyone in this world should be united and treated in the same way irrespective of whatever caste,religion,state,country he/she belongs.After all we all have the same blood running through our body.I guess everyone would have heard about Shakeshpere's poem where he has written life is a stage and we are supposed to play our role. That's it.Nothing in this world belongs to us.In that case I really get angry when people kill other people in the name of religion.

I just want to ask one question to the people who did this. What rights do you have to kill everyone??? If you hate yourself ,go to hell.Don't make others life miserable.

Mother Nature why do you want to take away ur own people.What we should do in order to reduce your anger.WE  cant bear it if you get angry because the impact is seriously terrible.I still remember the day 26,Dec 2004 when Tsunami hit most of the parts of Tamilnadu and took away the life of many people.Please control your anger.We cant bear it.Please tell us what we should do to reduce your anger.

Inspite of knowing that our life is unpredictable,I really dont understand why people develop hatred over others.Seriously we never know when our life will end.Or dont even know if someone will be there for us in heaven/hell.Just do the task assigned to you.

SAY NO TO LOVE,AFFECTION,HATRED,EXPECTATIONS,HAPPINESS,SADNESS,ANGER.

Nothing is permanent.

Nature

God's Gift:
We are all staying in a world that is thaumaturgical.God's creation is really really magnificient. Have 
you ever felt the essence of the world's beauty.It is nothing but the nature.What persuasion you get when you spell the word nature.For me it is the birds flying together in between a number of trees at early morning with the gentle wind,the surges of the ocean tides,the burning sun,the rainbow on the cloud when it is about to rain and last but not least scent of the sand before the cloud kicks off the water(in the form of rain).OMG even nature express its feelings just like we human beings do.They show their anger- when the sun's heat is at its extremum,when the wind outbursts and when the cloud is not able to give up from crying.They also show their happiness-when the rain is at its level,when the wind's blow is modest and when the pinnacle of the tides of the sea does not come till the height of a human being.Without these lovely things around us,the world would have been really unworthy place to live in.We should really thank God for giving us the world full of beauty.Enjoy the life and make others enjoy their lives.SAVE THE TREES.SAVE THE WORLD.SAVE THE MOTHERLY EARTH.