I blame Sai Kumar. I don't think I'd have wanted to visit Vienna if not for that one line remark from Aaram Thamburan, where he reminds Mohan Lal of his favorite city. Of all the places in all the world, why Vienna? Eighteen years later, a wife, two kids and a couple of weeks away from work, I decided to find out.
Planning for a European holiday starts at least a year in advance. I wanted to do this the right way, so I spent a few months googling for 'Vacation in Europe'. I then took a couple of months trying to create a Google Map with those nice red pin thingummys spread over Europe, indicating where we planned to visit. Another month was spent in trying to locate the right travel planning site which would take those red pins and give me a detailed travel itinerary, including costs of tickets, coffee and samosas. I spent hours on sites that provided detailed information on the weather, what to wear, food, drink and traveling with children.
Armed with all this, I was ready for the board meeting with my wife and kids. I outlined the principles I had come up with, spoke about the areas we would cover, and was about to get into the do's and don'ts when my six year old promptly vetoed the whole plan as it did not include Paris. Why Paris? Because his best friend has been there and he needs to go too. Not to be outdone, my eleven year old daughter jumped in and asked for Athens. Because Percy Jackson. I was wondering how to include Vienna, Paris and Athens in my proposed tour of theScottish distilleries art museums of Scotland, when my wife, the Chairperson of the board, declared that we will visit Italy and Austria. Because Chairperson.
And that was that.
The fun part of travel is the planning. Sindha and I divided up work equally. She would figure out what to do and where to go each day in each city, and I would nod my head in approval. We quickly arrived at a travel plan in five months. We would fly into Vienna, cover Hallstatt, Salzburg, Venice, Florence, Rome and then return to Vienna before heading home.
Tickets were booked, passports renewed, visas stamped, hotels and Airbnb apartments approved and most importantly, i-Pods, Pads and Phones packed. We were set for Vienna, Mohan Lal's favourite city.
Planning for a European holiday starts at least a year in advance. I wanted to do this the right way, so I spent a few months googling for 'Vacation in Europe'. I then took a couple of months trying to create a Google Map with those nice red pin thingummys spread over Europe, indicating where we planned to visit. Another month was spent in trying to locate the right travel planning site which would take those red pins and give me a detailed travel itinerary, including costs of tickets, coffee and samosas. I spent hours on sites that provided detailed information on the weather, what to wear, food, drink and traveling with children.
Armed with all this, I was ready for the board meeting with my wife and kids. I outlined the principles I had come up with, spoke about the areas we would cover, and was about to get into the do's and don'ts when my six year old promptly vetoed the whole plan as it did not include Paris. Why Paris? Because his best friend has been there and he needs to go too. Not to be outdone, my eleven year old daughter jumped in and asked for Athens. Because Percy Jackson. I was wondering how to include Vienna, Paris and Athens in my proposed tour of the
And that was that.
The fun part of travel is the planning. Sindha and I divided up work equally. She would figure out what to do and where to go each day in each city, and I would nod my head in approval. We quickly arrived at a travel plan in five months. We would fly into Vienna, cover Hallstatt, Salzburg, Venice, Florence, Rome and then return to Vienna before heading home.
Tickets were booked, passports renewed, visas stamped, hotels and Airbnb apartments approved and most importantly, i-Pods, Pads and Phones packed. We were set for Vienna, Mohan Lal's favourite city.
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