Bengaluru city centre

Last trip we have finished following the holy cows. Tracking them we arrived to the Bengaluru city centre and its main building as the capital of Karnataka state.

Ladies, gentleman and horses, welcome to Vidhana Soudha, the building of the Karnatak state perliament. You can think it is "just" a state legislature, but remembering about Karnataka population of over 60 million inhabitants, its decisions influence a population similar to those of largest European countries. As everything in India it is huge, 700 m long, 350 m wide and 50 m heigh.

Just in front of the building there is a statue of the father of Indian constitution, B. R. Ambedkar.

On the other side of the street stands the seat of the High Court of Karnataka.

Next to it comes also an entrance to the Bengaluru metro.

Coming back to the parlimant buidling, you can admire its interesting style, sometimes described as Mysore Neo-Dravidian. It incorporates elements of Indo-Saracenic and Dravidian styles.

South of the central building you will find the Sri Chamajarendra Park.

Great place to rest from the rush, noise and heat of the city.

Some of the trees are really impressive.

This is also the case for some of the avenues.

In the middle of the park you will find the State Central Library of Bengaluru. I really think this is a great idea to be able to borrow a book, lie on the grass and rest in the shadow.

The park ends just next to the Bengaluru Town Hall.



Quite close, at least by Indian standards, there is a memorial of all the brave Indians, that lost their lives in the First World War.

And the place where the next generation of soldiers can present to the society.

  

It is really hot in India. Before we move to the next attractions I suggest that we take a sip of fresh coconut milk.

Royal Canal Tour

Today we will spend another day visiting Stockholm. But unlike last time, we will visit it not on foot but on a boat. 

We will take a tour on the Royal Canal. Djurgården Canal has been royal land since the 15th century.

As we start, we can admire the Parliament Hall.

And the National Museum.

Then we move on to the canal itself.

On the shores we see churches ...

... and old huts.

When you look back, you will notice a large marina. Every tenth Swede owns a boat.

Actually, the whole Scandinavia is very close to water. They use it for travels - short and long. Just like the Vikings.

But they also live on water. at least from time to time. This ship is a youth hostel!

And of course they have fun on water as well.

I hope that you had fun as well today. We are not yet living Stockholm - tomorrow we will visit one more special place that got its place on a very special List.

Luxembourg

I am so happy to tell you that we are not yet done with new countries! Last week we were in Belgium and today I will take you to the last of the Benelux countries - the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg.

To be more specific, we will visit the capital of Luxembourg, called (what a Swiss idea) Luxembourg as well. The city of Luxembourg is over a thousand years old.

The reason why the country is called "Grand Duchy" is because it is ruled by the Grand Duc who lives, no surprises, in the Grand Ducal Palace.

The emblems on the front porch represents the lion from the coat of arms of Luxembourg.

Obviously in twenty first century Grand Duc is not having an autocratic rule. The country has a parliament and a government. They are located in buildings adjacent to the palace.

The Town Hall of the city of Luxembourg is also a few steps away.

In front of the Town Hall you will find the statue of William II (and his horse!) who ruled Luxembourg in the middle of the nineteenth century and gave the country its first constitution.

What I liked in particular about the constitution of Luxembourg is that since many years the ducal title could be also inherited by women. One of the most respected was Grand Duchesse Charlotte whose statue is also in the city center of Luxembourg.

The city of Luxembourg is inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

The listing includes the old quarters and the fortifications. Mostly the latter I guess. Let's take one of the many narrow streets and head towards the city walls.

And here they come - the monumental city walls of Luxembourg.

Deep below you see the Pétrusse river, bordered by nice houses and small gardens. You can see them on the right ...

... and on the left. The tower next to the river belongs to the Neimënster Abbey.

To cross the river one needed of course to use a bridge. In the old days, this had to be the Old Bridge.

On the other side of the valley you can see a castle. I tried hard to find out what castle it is but I was not successful. Any suggestion, dear readers?

The clouds are getting darker and darker. Let's return to the city and look for a nice and cosy cafe we could rest in.

Bern

Over the last twelve months we have visited numerous cities and villages in Switzerland. But we did not have the chance so far to visit the Swiss capital. As a matter of fact, Switzerland does not have a capital at all. At least not from formal perspective. After all, it is a confederation of cantons, each of which is to some extent a separate state. Still, there exists in Switzerland one special city, called the "federal city", where the parliament of the Confederation resides. Ladies and gentleman - welcome to Bern.

Bern lies on the banks of the river Aare.

On top of the hill you will see one of the most prominent buildings in the city - the parliament house, known as the Federal Palace.

The Federal Palace was built at the beginning of the twentieth century, in neo-classic style.

My Postcrossing friends surely know that Bern is not only the seat of the Swiss parliament and government, it is also the seat of the Universal Postal Union. Which even has a special monument in the city center.

The Old Town of Bern is centered around the main street, which is bordered by similar houses, all of which are decorated with flags of Switzerland and the canton Bern.

In the middle of the street you will find fountains. But they are not just fountains. They date back to the sixteenth century and each of them is different. That one represents the Piper.

The arcades of the buildings facing the street constitute one of the longest covered shopping promenades of Europe.

You might have noticed the tram rails on both sides. They go in waves, since the trams have to respect the fountains. That one is the Carrier of the Flag.

The tower in the back is the Zytglogge, an old guard and clock tower, built in early thirteenth century. It includes a huge clock on one of the sides.

Well, on the other side it includes two clocks! The fountain representing a bear in full armour  is a memorial to the founder of Bern, Berchtold von Zähringer. According to a legend, Berchtold shot a bear on the Aare peninsula as he was searching for a site to build a city. Since then, the bear is a symbol of the city of Bern. And it is not the last bear that you will see today.

The Zytglogge and the fountains, together with the rest of the Old Town, has made UNESCO to inscribe Bern on its World Heritage list.

Look up. And yes, yet another bear, this time painted on the wall.

Let's move in the direction of the river Aare.  The high gothic tower belongs of course to the Bern cathedral.

On the hill you surely noticed terraces. And yes, the capital city of Switzerland, in the very heart of the Old Town, conceals vineyard. And possibly some vegetables as well.

The river is divided by some kind of dam.

As we cross the river, I need to ask you to look on the other side. The hill looks unusual, isn't it?

Let's come closer. It includes again some terraces and a little brook.

No, it is not yet another farm in the city center. It is the Bear Park, house to the living symbols of the city of Bern.

As you might have guessed, the bears are not excessively enjoying the interest of all the tourists, especially taking into acount the high fence that does not allow to treat them as lunch. So what would any wise bear do in such a case? Obviously - take a nap.

Let's not wake him up and turn back on our tiptoes in the direction of new adventures.