Starting on Friday morning at 6 am with the bus, we arrived in Venice at our hotel 12 (!) hours later. And we flew there! Actually the flight was almost the shortest time to travel; the bus and train ride to Schönefeld airport took almost an hour and the bus rides and train ride from Bergamo airport to the hotel took 4,5 hours altogether... Upon arriving at the airport in Bergamo, the difference in climate was noticable. Even though Berlin is only about 800 km south of Venice (air route), it was so much warmer and you could notice the humid Mediterranean air.
Our "kitschy" hotel Villa Dori on the Venetian Riviera.
Our bus from the airport to Bergamo was 15 minutes late and we were sure that we would miss our train. As we arrived at the bus station and saw the horribly long lines at the ticket counter, we decided to just run to the train and ask if it was possible to buy a ticket in the train. The train conductor couldn't speak a word English and our (well my) Italian wasn't good enough to understand what he was saying. It was a funny situation where everyone was talking and waving and finally the man just told us to get in. The ticket was 5 euros more expensive than it would've been at the ticket counter, but the train got us there more than 2,5 hours earlier than the other train, that would've left one hour later. We were really hungry when we got to Mestre, which is the mainland of Venice, and after getting a small bite we got to our hotel at about 4.30 pm.
It would've been amazing to do a gondola ride, but the prices weren't really
suitable for students: 100 euros for 50 minutes... That's what I call a good hours salary!
suitable for students: 100 euros for 50 minutes... That's what I call a good hours salary!
Most streets in Venice aren't actually streets, but canals.
After a quick shower we took the local bus to Venice. Our tourist guide from 2003 made us realize how much more expensive everything has gotten. According to the guide a 72-hour-ticket was supposed to cost 18 euros, we paid 33. But for that money we were able to use the public transports as much as we wanted, so we decided to start our Venice-tour with a ride around the island with a Vaporetto, which is the boat version of a subway or a tram. On the other side of the island we took a short walk on Murano, which is a tiny island next to Venice, famous for its glass art. There were so much beautiful things there, sculptures, glasses, plates, jewellery - you name it! I got myself a small glass magnet in the shape of a bird.
Murano island is the home of many glass manufacturers.
I really need to go back to Venice in February to see the carneval!
A happy tourist
One thing about Vaporettos that differentiate them from trams (except for the fact that they're boats) is that they aren't really very fast. It takes little over an hours to go around the island and taking one of the Vaporettos on the Canale Grande, that goes through the island, takes about 30 minutes. And as you might know, the island isn't that big. So by the time we got back from Murano, we were already quite hungry. We had dinner at a small restaurant on the north side of the island. It was very cozy, but you have to be careful that you get what you order. When you eat fish, the price usually is written for the amount of 100 grams. Well, naturally they don't serve you just a piece of a fish, but a whole one, so the price can be even three to four times what it says on the menu.
The Canale Grande at nighttime...
...and at daytime.
We hadn't really planned anything special for the weekend, so on the next day we came to Venice at about eleven and just strolled around in the city, taking a look at the beautiful small streets and the canals. We saw the Rialto Market and the Rialto Bridge, St. Mark's Square, the Doge's Palace and the St. Mark's Basilica. In the afternoon it was so hot and we got really tired, so we decided to go to the park and take it easy for a while. We found a nice park bench at the Biennale and I took a little nap. Luckily Matt stayed awake, because upon leaving he told me that there were some strange guys walking around the park. One time he closed his eyes for a few seconds and when he opened them, he saw that this guy was coming closer. When the guy noticed that Matt wasn't sleeping he turned back... Probably pickpockets! Well, we were lucky (or smart) enough to not have anything stolen from us. In the evening we had dinner at the most amazing little pizzeria. The waiters were amazing and the service outstanding! One of the waiters actually brought the whole dessert cart outside, just to show us the different cakes upon ordering dessert.
One of the most amazing pizzas I've ever had. With horse meat!
Party people waiting for the fireworks of the Redentore (redeemer) festival.
The Redentore cathedral in the background.
The Redentore cathedral in the background.
The Rialto Bridge and its tourists.
On Saturday we took an earlier start heading to Lido, a long island just outside of Venice. It is a popular luxury resort for famous and rich people, but most of all it is famous for its long long beach. We rented bikes, paying only 8 euros for the entire day and started by biking along the beach. In the middle of the east side of the island there are the tourist beaches with cabins, restaurants, cafes and all kind of touristy stuff. We headed towards the south end of the island and discovered a beautiful part with a lot less people. We went almost to the south end where we took a break enjoying the sun and swimming in the Adriatic sea. It was divine, even though I didn't like the salty water that much, it left a layer on the skin that wasn't very enjoyable. Yet again I realized how careful I have to be with enjoying the sun. Even though I put on sunscreen, after biking around for a few hours, my arms and face were quite red. Luckily it turned out not to be that bad: after bathing my arms and face in aprés sun cream, the red turned into a deep beautiful brown - probably browner than ever! Matt wasn't as lucky - when I told him in the morning to put on some sunscreen, he refused and suffered from an aching back and arms the next night...
The eastern coastline of Lido isn't just sand.
On our last day we took care of getting some gifts and souvenirs. I got myself a beautiful Venetian mask and we bought some colorful pasta. We had to check out from the hotel already in the morning so we were forced to bring our bags with us to the city. After queuing at the railway station for 20 minutes to put our bags to storage I asked at the information point if there's another possibility to store our things for the day. She told us that there was another "left luggage" (like the Italians beautifully have translated it) at the bus terminal, but probably the queues would be just as long because of the people coming from the cruise ships. How wrong she was! There was no queues at all and the only thing we regretted was not asking about that right away. The last day was nice and sunny and we just took it easy, after running around the islands for three days. The last 3 hours we spent on the waterbuses just enjoying the sea breeze and protecting our burned skins from the sun.
Water, water and more water. It's all about boats in Venice.
Looking out over the roofs from the Doge's Palace
The Doge's Palace from the inside. Yes, we did some sightseeing as well.
The Venetian lagoon from above
Fishy business
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