Wow so our first few weeks of the trip were fairly comfortable, the weather was moderate and not to extreme (with the exception of some very rainy days). How the tables have turned! for the last week or so it has been really hot and sticky humid. Andy and I took a trip to Venice, Munich, and Piza, where with the exception of Munich it was also very hot. Venice was a beautiful place and the canal systems were very cool. I think I saw one motorized street vehicle the whole time I was there. They even had water buses! We saw the gondoliers giving people rides around the city in their gondolas. We got to see St. Mark's Square and the basilica, the Rialto Bridge, and Santa Maria della Salute as well as much more. The ceiling in Saint Mark's Cathedral was beautifully gilded completely in gold.
I loved Venice, but we had to get off to Munich. We rode the night train that left around 10:50 pm and arrived in Munich at 6:30 am. The train ride was interesting, especially when the Polizia busted into our compartment asking for passports at two in the morning fully clothed in swat-like uniform. Once into Munich we walked around a lot, got our bearings pretty well and headed out to discover the city. We found the town hall and square.
The culture there seemed to be fairly similar to American culture, I found I was very popular there.
There was a long stretch of road delegated only to pedestrian traffic with stores on either side, very similar to a large mall back home. We ate some goooood german food, which was a nice break from pizza and paninis and pasta! German sausage, potatoes, and saurkraut. Awesome. The next day we left bright and early for a long train ride to Pisa, during which we saw some of the most beautiful countryside I've seen yet in Europe. Cutting through mountains on a windy train track I noticed that the geography was very similar to where I'm from, northern Idaho. Some very beautiful scenes.
Once we got into Pisa we stayed a night with some friends (Caty Foye from the University of Idaho, here with the program, and her cousin) and left in the morning to see the leaning tower and the other monuments. We didn't get to do a tour of the tower, as we didn't have time, but I did get to see the baptistry and the cathedral.
The plan of the cathedral actually reminded me of the plan of the duomo in Orvieto, just not as open or unornamented. Andy and I got split up at the beginning of our tour, so when it came time to catch the train neither of us knew where the other was! I left monuments at the very last minute and ran to the train station where I found Andy waiting for me. All in all the trip was awesome and I hope someday I can take a more extended one to the same couple of areas to really see everything.
1 comment:
Finding that bike in Munich was unreal! Meeting a guy that was from Nampa, ID on the railway was just disturbing, and I wish you bought those speedos. Next Time.
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