Mumbai

Because the longing was so great, my wife, I and our children flew to India for a week in the beautiful Maharestra.
It was supposed to be a beach vacation for us, although beach vacations are not one of my favourite travel activities.

Juhu Beach

So far I had only ever heard of “Juhu Beach”, but I couldn’t imagine what it meant. So this time it was time.

Juhu Beach, one of Mumbai’s most famous beaches, is located on the west coast of the city and is a popular recreational spot for locals and tourists alike. The extensive beach is ideal for relaxing walks, impressive sunsets and a variety of leisure activities. In the evenings, Juhu Beach comes alive with numerous street vendors selling local delicacies such as pav bhaji and bhel puri.

So we booked a hotel right next to Juhu Beach, the Beach Garden Hotel. This was actually a little too expensive for us in terms of category, but it should be nice when we travel to India with our children. The Beach Garden is probably mainly booked for weddings. In any case, it has a large garden for wedding celebrations. From our room and veranda on the second floor, we were able to watch the hustle and bustle of the weddings “from above”.
And there was a food court directly opposite, where there were all kinds of delicious things for the palate to make the day on the beach more entertaining: Idli/Sambar for breakfast, sweets, ice creams and juices but also Pav Bhaji, the delicious and spicy vegetable-ginger-tomato mash with toasted white bread. Fried corn on the cob or sugar wats were offered directly on the beach.

The beach is also used to hold puja for the dead. We found clay figures of deities, mostly Ganesha, on the beach in the morning. These little elephant gods are still with us today, as hardly a vacation in India goes by without us taking one or other of these figures home with us.

Nasik

Our children learned to love trains in India. They still love the open compartments where you can climb to your heart’s content.
Although my wife and I have been to Nasik before, this city is always worth a visit.

Nasik is a historic city in the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is known for its spiritual significance and also for its wine production. The city lies on the banks of the Godavari River and is home to numerous sacred temples, including the famous Kalaram Temple. Nasik is an important pilgrimage site and one of the four venues of the Kumbh Mela, the largest religious festival in the world, every 12 years.

Here there are the places “Ramakund” and “Sitakund”, where, according to the legendary Ramajana, Lord Ram and his Sita are said to have bathed.

However, we only had eyes for the enchanting river landscape in the middle of the city center. This is also where the market and the religious bathing places and temples are located.

And all too soon the week was over and we had to hurry to catch the plane to Mumbai so that my children could be back at school in time for the end of the vacation.