A visit to Western Europe

Our member Ms. M. Banerjee while visiting her daughter and son-in-law in Frankfurt had toured Germany, Switzerland and Austria. She shares her thoughts related to these places and marvels the discipline and beauty there.
In the month of August, 2023, I had gone to visit my daughter and her family and they took me to visit a few European countries. Since there wasn’t any direct flight to Frankfurt, I went from Kolkata to Dubai and from Dubai to Frankfurt. My experience of Germany was of mesmeric beauty, peace and cleanliness. Like various other cities this too had quite a few places to offer to tourists like me.
The most well-known there is the Black Forest in Germany. People often visit this to view the world’s largest cuckoo clock and sample the Black Forest cake which originates here. The castles found within the Black Forest look majestic. The Kingzig valley has a Museum of Traditional Costumes. The younger generations enjoy outdoor activities here, especially during the winters.
The St. Peter’s Cathedral in Cologne is beautiful. The façade itself catches attraction of all tourists. Cologne’s Cathedral was built in the medieval period. This is the oldest and also the most significant masterpiece of exceptional intrinsic value. Its tall structure is mesmerizing.
The water of the Rhine river is soothing. People usually go on a cruise to Amsterdam, Switzerland and other places. It has a long history, during the Roman period it used to be used for commercial purposes.
The best thing I liked about Switzerland were the numerous cows. Maybe the presence of so many cows have some relationship with Swiss chocolates which are world famous. Switzerland is visited by most people for its beauty, the Alps etc. But frankly, since I had gone there from Germany, I didn’t find it strikingly different.
Germans I found are very disciplined and they keep their country very neat and clean. In fact, the European countries look beautiful as they are dust free. All places are beautiful, everything is green, the plants and trees, basically the scenic beauty is worth seeing. Moreover, population is less here so it feels good to walk on the neat and clean beautiful roads. People don’t honk horns, so there’s no disturbing sounds around. The views are picturesque. No animals are visible on the road publicly in Germany. But people who want to keep pets are aided by the government. Austria was another country that I visited with mesmerising landscapes, picture-like grasslands and meadows. The best are the villages that are serene and beautiful.
Overall, all the countries that I visited intoxicated my senses and made me feel I had been to an ideal vacation destination.