There is a certain allure to being a tourist in Europe. To having a checklist of must-see places and getting a grin of satisfaction on your face as you tick them off.Today I was a whole new different kind of tourist in Europe. The spontaneous one.All we knew in the morning was that we had to go see the Rhine falls. We surprisingly left on time and managed to land up in Schauffausen. We had no clue which direction to head in and managed to reach a place with 500 different sign boards all saying Rhine falls. We decided to walk in one particular direction we felt fondly towards and walked up a slightly inclined road. We could hear it first. Then we took a turn and saw the falls in all its glory. Out came our cameras and our tourist-ness. We photographed anything and everything that looked remotely pretty.We ate a typical European lunch (quick and not satisfying) at a picturesque restaurant overlooking the falls. We then took a boat ride which led us straight to a steep flight of stairs which gave us the most spectacular and breathtaking views of the falls. Then we got ourselves a bottle of coke and two glasses and headed to spot in a park under the shade of a tree. We sat and drank our cokes in states of complete contentment looking at the river flowing and the mountains in the background.We found our way to the station and decided that we had enough time to stop at Zurich for a while. Both of us had not even a remote clue of what to see or where to go. We took the safe way out. We asked for the closest water body and headed straight to Bellevue. My first point on the agenda was to get some ice cream in that heat. With ice cream cones in hand we walked along the bridge enjoying the view and people watching more than anything else. We found a small colourful fair and I insisted that we had to take a giant wheel ride. As the wheel moved higher and higher, the city just got prettier and prettier. All the colours of the boats, the people on the shores, the tulips, the solid, old churches were too much to take all at once.
A little stroll across the shore. An impromptu concert. A Jim Morrison sound alike. Pictures with a painted golden man. A cold can of beer. Window shopping. And we had somehow reached the station again.
We noticed a little park tucked away just before the station and entered it almost on impulse. One of us chose to tuck her jacket around her and lie down on the grass and look at the blue sky while the other chose to take his camera and take pictures of everything around us.
We both go back home with memories of a different kind of Europe. It wasn't special only because of the places we saw, it was the sheer joy of discovering bits and pieces that we didn't know existed.
A little stroll across the shore. An impromptu concert. A Jim Morrison sound alike. Pictures with a painted golden man. A cold can of beer. Window shopping. And we had somehow reached the station again.
We noticed a little park tucked away just before the station and entered it almost on impulse. One of us chose to tuck her jacket around her and lie down on the grass and look at the blue sky while the other chose to take his camera and take pictures of everything around us.
We both go back home with memories of a different kind of Europe. It wasn't special only because of the places we saw, it was the sheer joy of discovering bits and pieces that we didn't know existed.
