You're No Square, Vienna

I emerge from the U-Bahn, easily the busiest place in Austria, and into the Stephansplatz.

While Vienna is the heart of Austria (and perhaps a romantic's notion of Europe), in Vienna's heart itself lies the Stephansplatz square. Named after the  looming Stephansdom cathedral right out of Tim Burton's Gotham, the Stephansplatz is surrounded by Kärntner Straße and Graben- the twin shopping streets.

Facing the Stephansdom is it's architectural opposite, the Haas-Haus. All shiny glass and cold steel, this building was initially criticised by the puritans for it's modernism, but now it's been embraced as the gospel on how to mix Gothic with the modern.

The Stephansdom at the heart of Vienna is one of the tallest churches in the world.

The Stephansplatz Square with the buzzing U-Bahn station. That's the Haas-Haus on the right.

Every Man is An Island

Riding through the scenic upstate New York on the way to the Niagara, I come across a neat little wonder tucked upon the Lake Ontario- The 1000 Islands. (In truth, there are 1,864 islands, but in the name of poetic license, who's counting?)

Some of these islands as tiny as your living room, they are Thoreau's solitary fantasy come to life. Most of these have one or two houses complete with boats to get to the mainland. As you would have guessed, and rightly so, these are owned by old money. Oh, the things, money can buy.

Glittering Tower on a Rainy Night

Almost 11 pm and I decide to walk the streets of Tokyo. In my experience, the streets are particularly prone to divulging their city's secrets at this hour. And isn't Tokyo one of the safest cities in the world, especially for tourists? Soon it starts to drizzle. To my surprise, I find that my hotel isn't too far from the famous Tokyo Tower- that glitters a dream-like fluorescent orange in the night.

Scenes from Siena

If you love walking as much as I do, you're going to love this town. Walking the cobbled streets of Siena feels like stepping into a medieval fantasy.

This quaint hill town in Tuscany, Italy is so well preserved, all it needs is a jar label. No wonder the downtown city centre-  Piazza del Campo, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This is also where Palio, a famous horse race that's held twice an year, takes place. (And now you know the inspiration behind the Siena and Palio models of FIAT).

Yet another trivia for Potterphiles (remember Remus Lupin- the DoDA teacher who was a werewolf?) and werewolf-lore aficionados. The town emblem carries the original werewolf twins- Remus and Romulus, suckling upon a she-wolf.

As I approach the Duomo di Siena (or the Siena Cathedral), the clear blue sky behind it's towers dazzles me almost as much as the imposing Gothic structure itself.

But the real beauty of Siena is along it's narrow streets, scattered with architectural relics from another time. The views around every other corner that take you by surprise. Don't worry, there's time enough to pick your jaw off the street.

Duomo di Siena (or the Siena Cathedral)

Ye Olde Streets of Siena

The Piazza del Campo, City Centre, Siena

Expect a knight's steed, find a Superbike instead.

Jaw-dropping Views

The Feline Phenomenon

Tokyo's cat obsession is most evident at the National New Art Museum in Roppongi, Tokyo. 5 floors filled with graphic art, sculpture, modern art, and quite a few inspired by the feline form.

Park Strangers

I've been walking through Ginza for hours. So I try to catch a quiet meal at one of the nearby parks, the said meal comprising cool Asahi Beer and a cold sandwich with unknown ingredients. Soon I realise I have company. Fearless glittering eyes demand the cat's share of my meal.

The Cult of Doraemon

One of the most popular TV phenomena, and not just in Japan, is the flying robot cat Doraemon that pulls reality-bending, time-warping gadgets from its pocket to aid its sissy human protege- Nobita. Doraemon is omnipresent across the TV Asahi HQ building. All my kids' return gifts came from a shop in the premises.

Doraemon at TV Asahi Headquarter

Divine Comedy

If Japan were a word, it would be an oxymoron.

In Tokyo thrives a subculture of pop cuteness, right under the nose of hardcore tradition. And when it comes to cuteness, interweb would have you know- cats rule. No wonder they are a national obsession.

The moment you alight at Narita, the Maneki-nako (literally Beckoning Cat, also known as Lucky Cat or Fortune Cat) souvenir with it's iconic waving-right arm greets you in its various avatars. And she would be the last one to wave you goodbye when you leave.

Cats are revered like local deities at every shrine in Japan.

The Cat Priestess at Atago Shrine, Tokyo

Time Travel in Downtown Tokyo

In every city, there exist portals to another time for those who can find them. Tokyo has several. 

Atago Shrine is one such. I find it tucked not too far from downtown Tokyo, although a century away in the past. 81 steep steps to the shrine, as some suitclad young men eye me suspiciously, a mildly overweight Indian man solemnly soldiering up, and give me collective thumbs up when I look back panting from the top.

The shrine is an olden Japanese structure clad in old trees and a kind of hush, a sleepy cat lording over this shaded kingdom. (The priestesses of Bast, or perhaps the kin of Hello Kitty, are everywhere in Japan.)

Alongside the shrine is a pond rippling with huge well-fed red, orange and white fish, that swarm and fight like a pack of street dogs to earn scraps from the visitors.

I would love to spend an hour or two, but there's so much to see.

The gates of Atago Shrine

A peep down the stairs

The Fish Pond at Atago Shrine, Tokyo

The fish flock to the feeders

The Wheels that turn Tokyo

Tokyo is quite densely populated. A boon then, that the residents love to move around on bicycles as colourful as the fish in Japan sea. And if the destination's too far, well, they just chain their bicycles along the road and dive into the subway.

Tokyo on Wheels

The Sun Never Sets

2am in the empire of neon-lit skyscrapers. The mightiest of them all exhales in the heady fumes of the insomniac city. Tapering into a needle, sewing stars in the black satin fabric of the night sky.

Empire State, 2am

The Spires of Gotham

I drift out of the Grand Central and there it stands- the spire of Chrysler stabbing the hazy sky of New York. Like a Steampunk rocket bound to Saturn. Perhaps the sky will bleed all over Lexington and 42nd tonight.

Immortalised in movies- from Woody Allen's classics to Spiderman and Daredevil,The Chrysler is perhaps the most popular icon of New York's Art Deco skyline. It sets you in 'Phantom of the Opera' kinda mood right away.

Oh, and did you know that Batman's Gotham City is inspired by NYC. To quote New York Times journalist William Safire, Gotham City is "New York below 14th Street, from SoHo to Greenwich Village, the Bowery, Little Italy, Chinatown, and the sinister areas around the base of the Manhattan and Brooklyn Bridges." Writer/artist Frank Miller has stated, "Metropolis is New York in the daytime; Gotham City is New York at night."

The Chrysler, NYC

The tree that travelled

For the longest time, I lived in familiar places.

Only recently have I taken to travel, like an Irishman to whiskey.

Still new to it, I prefer to travel in my own company. I walk the city and soak it in. I try anything I can. I notice things that only a stranger in a strange place can. And I collect experiences, that I hang in here to dry.

Most of these travels are as a representative of Tristar Holidays, India, hosted by various travel bodies across the world.

All the words and images in here are the property of Tristar Holidays and myself, covered under creative commons.