Travelogue: Visit Europe –Vienna (Austria), Basel, Interlaken, Zurich – November 8-18, 2021
LOVELOCKS
I got an opportunity to visit Europe on a Schengen Visa during November 2021 along with Dr.Rajiv Arora, who had to attend the Scientex Conference on ‘Food Science and Nutrition as keynote speaker on low-cost nutrition from rice bran and thought of sharing travelogue of important places, events.
Right from Ferozepur to Vienna, Basel, Interlaken, Zurich, it was a pleasant journey by train, airplane, trains, trams, and local buses at all these places.
There was no compromise on security at the immigration points especially on Covid restrictions as to whether the visitor is fully vaccinated or not and having the latest RT-PCR test. All the places visited were mesmerizing, so far as the traffic network is concerned. Everyone was seen wearing masks of FF2 or E-95 mark despite the low number of Covid cases reported nowadays. Vienna to Basel train journey was awesome at a speed of 240 km per hour, which in India we are still thinking of Bullet trains. Thanks to Google, all required information is available on the internet, which one must have before entering Europe otherwise one is handicapped as each one is busy in his business besides facing the communication language problem. The European has not compromised with the language that is why, none of the signboards was seen in English the common language, and only speaks if you don’t understand and ask about understanding the English language.
Since every visit was pre-planned and we got the new SIM from the airport itself, hardly there was any problem in visiting the places by searching on the mobile, Google map and timings of the trains, trams, and buses. So in case, anyone plans to visit Europe, the tour itinerary must be carefully cross-checked to avoid any inconvenience.
The best time to visit is April to September while those who love to enjoy cold weather or snow could plan in the later months.
Let me share one incident when we arrived at St. Gorgeous Hotel in Zurich, the person at the counter while handing over the digital card for opening the room, with a smiling face and one Chocolate pack – said “if you go out to visit the city and coming late, the main gate will be opened with the same digital card expect when there is no light but it has never happened, he repeated, never happened in my life”.
One place I visited in Vienna was the Love Lock Gate on the river in Vienna and a bridge full of locks. I had heard about putting the sacred thread at the holy places with the hope of fulfilling personal wish but not about the locks over the river bridges.
It is now a worldwide custom and since the 2000s, love locks have proliferated at an increasing number of locations worldwide. They are now mostly treated by municipal authorities as litter or vandalism, and there is some cost to their removal. However, there are authorities who embrace them, and who use them as fundraising projects or tourist attractions.
My search revealed that love locks are a symbol of love and commitment as we have been inspired by an ancient custom, which is believed to have originated in China, where lovers lock a padlock on a chain or gate and then throw away the key, symbolically locking their love forever.
The probably most well-known story comes from Florence. Graduates of the local Paramedic Academy started to hang the padlocks from their lockers on the Ponte Vecchio to symbolize the end of their training. This idea also became increasingly popular for couples through its inclusion in romantic novels. However, there are a variety of stories from different parts of Europe.
The love lock is also increasingly popular as a present for men and women on different occasions.
Whether it is legal to hang love locks on public structures such as bridges in your town, depends on the local authority. Many towns tolerate love locks on bridges and other structures, but some towns remove the locks regularly. In other towns, love locks are not allowed on some structures, as the weight of the many locks can damage the building structure. Some towns or cities offer special places for lovelock. Love locks are tolerated here and will not be removed.
Frankly speaking, it is a fact that there is an individual story behind every hanging love lock. You could call it a place teeming with emotions. I wish, I too could have a lock with me to hang with a special wish to visit again and see as to whether it works or not.
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Harish Monga, Blogger
harishmongadido@gmail.com
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