Saturday, July 11, 2009

I ....

I care,I don't care.
I smile,I don't smile.
I enjoy,I don't enjoy.
I am tough,I am soft.
I do mistakes,I don't.
I am Good, I am Bad.
I am rude,I am polite.
I am brat, I am cherub.
I am amiable,I am nasty.
I am Help full,I am mean.
I get hurt,I don't get hurt.
I am Type A,I am Type B.
I talk a lot, I don't talk at all.
I am humorous,I am serious.
I am lovable,I am not lovable.
I am Extrovert,I am Introvert.
I am a lazy lion, I am energetic.
I think from brain,I think from heart.
I am imaginative,I am unimaginative.
I am a great friend,I am not a great friend.
I Like some people, I don't like some people.
I have friends,I don't have friends sometimes.
I do realize what I did, I don't realize what I did.
I expect something from others,I don't have expectations.
I want to do lots of things, I don't want to do anything at all.
I have all things with me, I don't have a single thing with me.
I have good impressions on others,I have bad impressions too.

Sunday, July 5, 2009

Quick Tips For Munich

1. After coming out of Munich Airport Terminal 2, you will get Surface train to go in Munich City.If you don't have heavy luggage than you can board either S1 or S8 both will go to Marienplatz city center.You can take a single ticket or you can take a partner ticket of 16 Euros if you are more than one.A partner ticket is valid for one day and maximum 5 persons can travel on it.You can roam in whole Munich with this partner ticket of 16 Euros.You need to get it stamped by machine available when you are about to enter the platform.

2. S-Bahnn means Surface trains,
U-Bahnn means Underground trains,
Guten Morgen means Good Morning,
Guten Tag means Good Afternoon,
Guten Nacht means Good Night,
Danke schön! means Thank you.
Haupt bahnn hoff means Central train station.

3. You can take an Taxi from Airport to any point in Munich which will cost you in between 45 Euros - 80 Euros depending on distance.

4. If you like to travel through local trains than it is good to have an weekly pass.Weekly pass is valid for 7 days for some rings i.e. Whole Munich city is divided in 16 rings, you can take 3 ring weekly pass for 13.8 Euros and you can also increase the ring on weekly pass with an increased fare.Fare details can be found at https://www.mvg.de/en/

With a 3 ring weekly pass you can travel between 3 rings n no of times with in a time span of 7 days.After 7 days you will need to buy a new weekly pass.Local train maps are available at
http://www.ayurvedagarden.com/mvv.jpg

5. There are many Indian restaurants available there.I recommand Radha Restaurant at Malingerstrasse and Shaan at Thalkirchen.

6. There is one Indian Grocery store named as Kohinoor which is very near to Hauptbahnnhoff and Sendlingertor.

7. Normall there is no ticket checking in train,buses and trams but dont do a mistake to travel with out ticket as some times Ticket checker and Police comes to check in civil dress.
8.If you have taken an wrong ticket by mistake than it can get cancelled as I did so,normally people there at Munich dont know about this because when i asked normal people they told me that it is not possible but it is possible.

9.People at Munich are very helpfull and understand English so don't hesitate if you get lost or need any help.

Sites to visit in Munich:-

1. MarienplatzStart your sightseeing tour at Marienplatz which has been Munich’s central square since thefoundation of the city in 1158. There are many brilliant sights clustered at and around Marienplatz thatused to be a corn and fish market with the name “Schrannenmarkt”. In 1638, Elector Maximilian Iordered the construction of the “Mariensäule” (Column St. Mary) because Munich was shielded fromthe Swedish occupation during the Thirty Years’ War. When the corn market was finally moved to thearea of the Viktualienmarkt and the Schrannenhalle in 1853, the square received its present name“Marienplatz”. Where the “Fischbrunnen” (Fish Fountain) is now, fish used to be sold here. In the eastof Marienplatz, there is Munich’s Old City Hall that was first mentioned in 1310 and redesigned manytimes. Now, the Marienplatz is dominated by the New City Hall, an impressive building of Neo-Gothicstyle that was constructed between 1867 and 1909 according to plans of the Austrian architect GeorgHauberisser. The famous “Glockenspiel” in the tower of the New City Hall is not only a major touristattraction, but also the fifth largest in Europe.

2. Frauenkirche (Dom)
Near Marienplatz is the Frauenkirche (“Dom”). With its height of 99 m and its two towers with onionshapeddomes, it is the landmark of Munich and dominates the city center together with the New CityHall. The Frauenkirche was constructed between 1468 and 1488 in late Gothic style due to plans ofJörg von Halspach in order to replace an older church. In 1525, the towers received their copperdomes in Renaissance style. Although the design of the Frauenkirche is quite simple, this catholiccathedral is an amazing building.

3. Viktualienmarkt and Church St. Peter (Alter Peter)
Also next to Marienplatz, there is the “Viktualienmarkt”, Munich’s largest fruit and vegetable marketwhere you can get nearly everything you want including spices, exotic fruits as well as Bavarianspecialities. For a brilliant view of the city, you should visit Munich’s oldest church and probably itsorigin, St. Peter, also called “Alter Peter” at Viktualienmarkt. If you manage to climb about 300 steps tothe top of the tower, you might even see the mountains around Munich when the weather is clear.After this exhilarating experience, the beergarden in the middle of the Viktualienmarkt is a great placeto recover and regain your energy.

4. Odeonsplatz and Church St. Kajetan (Theatinerkirche)
North of Munich’s historic city center, there is the Odeonsplatz with the beautiful church St. Kajetan(Theatinerkirche) of baroque style and the Feldherrnhalle. In 1790, crown prince Ludwig decided onthe construction of the Odeonsplatz instead of the northern city gate as well as a luxurious main roadto the north of Munich and put Leo v. Klenze in charge of the design in 1816. In addition, he wanted todesign the exit from the Residenz to the royal path (now Briennerstrasse) to the Nymphenburg Castlein a more attractive way. The "Feldherrnhalle" at the Odeonsplatz was designed by Friedrich v.Gärtner on the model of the Logga dei Lanzi in Florence and is a victory monument for the Bavarianarmy and its generals.

5. Residenz and Hofgarten
Also directly at the Odeonsplatz is the Residenz that used to be Munich’s city castle and residence ofthe Bavarian dukes, electors and kings as well as the entrance to the Hofgarten, a small garden with agate by the famous architect Leo von Klenze. Although quite small, the Hofgarten is Munich’s most
central garden and very suitable for a break during your sightseeing or shopping tour in the center ofMunich.

6. English Garden
When you leave the Hofgarten in north-east direction, a path leads directly to the English Garden. Withan age of more than 200 years and a size of about 4 km², the English Garden is the oldest and largestpark in Munich. The English Garden is not only a must-see place for all visitors to Munich but is also agreat park for relaxation and leisure activities. There are quite a few amazing sights in the park suchas the Chinese Tower with its’ huge beergarden, the artificial lake “Kleinhesseloher See” as well asthe highest viewpoint of the park, the Monopteros.

7. Königsplatz
After enjoying your time in the English Garden or the beergarden at the Chinese Tower, you shouldexplore other areas of Munich, maybe on the following day. The Königsplatz (constructed between1817 and 1862) in the Munich area Maxvorstadt was created by Karl v. Fischer and later by Leo v.Klenze on the model of European classicism which in this case was the Acropolis in Athens. Thissquare is highly impressive and there are also quite a few exhibition halls in its buildings such as theGlyptothek with antique statues. If you want to explore more exhibitions, you should head for the Alte,Neue and Moderne Pinakothek as well as the Lenbachhaus which are important exhibition halls inMunich near Königsplatz.

8. Nymphenburg Palace
If you still have time left, the Nymphenburg Palace in the west of Munich in the district Neuhausen-Nymphenburg is really worth a visit. The history of the origins of the brilliant Nymphenburg palace ofbaroque style and its gardens covers a period of more than 300 years. Because a successor to thethrone, Max Emanuel, was born in 1664, the elector Ferdiand Maria and his wife Henriette Adelaide ofSavoy put the Bolognese architect Agostino Barelli in charge of constructing a summer residence witha small ornamental garden for her. In the park of the Nymphenburg Palace, there are quite a fewimportant places to visit such as the Amalienburg and the Pagodenburg. Next to the NymphenburgPark, there is the Botanical Garden of Munich, one of the most important botanical gardens throughoutthe world.

9. Olympic Park with Olympic Tower
Another important, but very different and rather modern park is the Olympic Park in the north ofMunich. In the summer of 1972, the XX. Olympic Games were held in Munich. For this purpose, theOlympic Park was created between 1966 and 1972 on a barren area. One of the most striking featuresof the Olympic Hall, the Olympic Stadium and the Swimming Centre is their common tent roofconstructed of acrylic glass and designed by the German architect Günther Behnisch. With a size of 3km², the Olympic Park is the second largest park in Munich and despite its still artificial character, it isquite popular not only for sports, but for other leisure activities and events as well.

10. Oktoberfest (Wies’n) at Theresienwiese
Late September every year, the Oktoberfest, one of the most famous public festivals throughout theworld, starts at the Theresienwiese and lasts for about two weeks.Of course, there are much more amazing sights in Munich. If you are in Munich in summer, you shouldnot miss visiting one of the numerous beergardens in the capital of Bavaria.
Note:Above points are taken from www.mytravelmunich.com

11.Thalkirchen Zoo:There is a Zoo at Thalkirchen.You will find many animals there including lions.

12. Deutsche Museum:-
This Museum is very big and it is good if you spend whole day at this Museum.There are many things placed which belongs to every Technology.Museum opens at 9 am and closes at 5 pm.Entry ticket is of 8 Euros per person.

13. Arena:-An Stadium which changes light in night.

14. Garmisch:-
It is outside Munich and you can go by train by taking an partner ticket to Garmisch which will cost 28 Euros for 5 persons.If you are alone than find out people at station who are looking for other people to form a group of 5 to go in a cheap way.If you buy ticket from machine than it will cost you 28 Euros and if you buy it through counter than it will cost you 30 Euros.

15. Lake Königssee!
Information is available at http://www.seenschifffahrt.de and www.bahn.de

16. For shopping you can go to Real Store at Machitalfinger strasse, Muller at Marienplatz,1 Euro store at Hauptbahnnhoff.You will get many soveniour shops at Marienplatz city center.

You can find my experience to Munich in below post.

Saturday, July 4, 2009

Business Trip To Munich,Germany

Guten Tag, was the first word in German which I heard when I landed to Munich after a continuous 8 hour long flight from Delhi.
Well before proceeding ahead, lets get in to flash back for a while,the day when my boss informed me and my colleague that we have to fly to Munich for a Business trip we both were stunned at that time and we were not able to believe what we heard at that time.Ohhh mannn.....yes....we are going to client site...finally we got the opportunity....humara number bhi aa gya...we both were very excited as this trip was our first trip outside India.We both were used to saw snaps of our friends on orkut who are onsite and who used to post their snaps every week,we both used to discuss with each other that "yaar hum kab jayenge...humara number kab aayega".
I don't know why,suddenly whole atmosphere around us got changed as soon as people around us come to know that we are going to Germany.We both were busy in filing visa forms and completing all visa formalities,planning of what to take what not to take there,scheduling dates and times for shoppings and arranging other stuff.Along with us other people around us,our relatives,parents,cousines all were excited.We used to get phone calls every day from friends and relatives,all asking same thing "Dude,whats going on? when you are flying".I was able to feel excitement in their voice and they were able to feel excitement in my voice.Finally the day arrived and we were at IGI Airport,Delhi and left India for Munich.

(Flash Back over...)
Guten Tag, said a taxi driver when we came out of Munich airport.This was the first German word which i heard that day.Taxi driver was saying some thing in German and we were not able to understand what he was trying to say although he was not able to understand what we were trying to say in English.A man who was passing us came to know that we both were not able to communicate and he came for help.He acted like a translator to both of us and helped us to get to the Hotel by explaining hotel address to Taxi driver in German language.Well hear I saw how help full Germans are.When our taxi arrived,it was Mercedes and we were looking at each other and thinking in our minds that we are going to sit in a Merc....wow....we never imagined that we will get a chance to sit in a Merc.When we were on Freeway the speedometer was over 120 kmph, we came to know that it was an normal speed there,in India our speedometer ends at 180 kmph if I am not wrong.
Well, we reached our hotel and checked in.Next day we went to office by train,that day we came to know the system of trains there.Whole Munich city is divided into 16 rings,there are Bus,trams,surface trains (called as S-Bahnn) and under ground trains (called as U-Bahnn) which are used as public transport.With a single ticket you can travel in any of these public transport.There are also various schemes available for the tickets like you can have a partner ticket in which 5 persons are allowed on a single ticket for a single day.Such partner tickets are available for various rings like for 16 rings which covers whole Munich city you have to pay 16 Euros and you can roam in the city for a whole day.There system also have weekly passes for certain rings like we used to take a weekly pass for 3 rings on the cost of 13.8 Euros.Advantage of having such kind of weekly pass is that you can travel up to three rings at any time in any public transport.There is a central railway station from where you can get trains for going outside Munich.Central railway station is called as Hauptbahnnhoff, Haupt - Central,Bahnn- Train/railway,hoff-station.
As we started work in office we came to know the work culture of Germans,there is a rule by German government that no one is allowed to stay back at office more than 10 hours in a day, a person is not allowed to work more than 10 hours in a day.When we were at office some times we used to exceed this limit,next day our manager came and asked us to leave office at 6:30 pm at any cost if we are coming to office at 9 pm.People there at office used to do only work i.e. in 8 official working hours they just do only work no gossiping or friend visiting in that time,work means work.They believe on a mantra, work hard, party harder and they follow this mantra too.On weekends people used to go for outing.They took their children and go for tracking or bicycling,they spend whole day out.If there is a sunny day than they all go to near by river bank and take sun bath whole day,they take beers,food with them and cook food on a barbecue near river bank and enjoy whole day there.Generally sunny days are only for 15-20 days in a whole year so they do not want to miss sunny days.Germany's temperature remains between 10 - 25 degrees in Summer and below 3 degrees during Winter season and it rains there very frequently through out the year so we used to check whether forecast before going out.
German people are very fond of music, we saw many people in trains and buses who have just put on their head phones and listening music.People there just don't care about others i.e. they don't care what other person is doing,they are involved with themselves.This thing we have observed when we were in trains and buses, we saw many peoples either reading novels,listening music or simply siting with closed eyes.We saw many musicians there who used to play music in night for free at Marienplatz city center.People used to listen them by gathering around them and they also used to give them some money if they liked there music.Many peoples can be seen playing Guitars and pianos and entertaining peoples.German culture is very different,people there used to do things what they want to do but by not breaking any law or rule.If a person have to express his/her feeling towards other person than they will do it right there, they will never think where they are and on which place they are.For example: We saw many couples there kissing each other in trains,trams,buses or on a station.Couple do not include only boy friends or girl friends but it includes young guys and gals,husband and wives,old man and woman.This is there way to express how much they care about each other.Well I must say that German girls are really beautiful and very fashionable.I have never seen such beautiful girls.
German people are very open and friendly.We made some German and Slovakian friends there.I remember a day when we were going in a train and we were talking to each other.One German lady was listening our conversation and she was not able to stop herself and she asked us "I am sorry to interrupt you but in which language we you are talking".Actually she knows about India and she have been to India some years back so she started talking to us.She told us that "this is Germany,so just chill".She also told us some interesting things like on the escalators every body should stand at right side,left side is kept for those who have to rush or those who don't want to stand at escalators.There they have rule of keep right as in India we have rule of keep left.On the roads also we need to walk on right side instead of left side.
There is a separation in the footpath also i.e. one lane is for cycles and other for pedestrians.There people use bicycles most as they are very health conscious.We found many peoples doing cycling and running at any point of time.It seems like every body has fixed his target that he/she has to do this much bicycling or running.They used to do it to stay fit and healthy.Normally private vehicle level is like First vehicle - bicycle, second vehicle - Car.Few people used to have bikes there.
I am not very well aware about the food culture of Germans as I don't eat non-veg food so I used to cook my food myself in the Hotel.But I saw that people used to have pizzas with red wine or beer or some kind of meat every time.They used to eat chickens,lambs,beef,pork and other things.Well there is an very old Beergarten in Munich,Beer garten means beer garden where you will get beer.Beer is the cheapest drink there,no body drinks plain water there if they want to than they will add soda in it.There is an very old beer center named as Hofbräuhaus which is serving beers from 1800.There you can get 1 liter beer in a big mug for 7 Euros.If you really like wines and beers than Munich is the right place for you.You can get wines there at a cost of 2 Euros - 10 Euros.
In Germany, young generation is less as compared to old peoples, in our office there were no young peoples as like us.We used to say Young generation there as smoking generation because we found many youngsters smoking all the time specially girls.Girls used to smoke a lot there.During our business trip, we worked a lot and enjoyed a lot.We were out on every weekend to see many things in Munich.We went Garmisch which is outside Munich.From Garmisch we went to Alps valley which is at the highest peek of Germany.There were lots of snow and we enjoyed a lot there.I had a very good time and experience there moreover I can say that I have a life time there.