Buongiorno!
I took two opportunities to visit Italy recently, trips as different as night and day. As a matter of fact, one was mostly night now that I think of it, where in some sort of apparently weakened mental state, I let Zuzka talk me into a bus trip to Venice for Carnevale. It was one of those junkets that sounded good in early January but left you with the question, "What the hell was I thinking?" come February. The tour was scheduled to leave BA at 10:00 PM on Friday, drive through the night and arrive in Venice the next morning. After spending the day at Carnevale we would get back on the bus at 8:00 P.M., again drive through the night returning to BA about 6:00 Sunday morning. And now you're also going, right, what the hell WERE you thinking?! I'm still not sure. Yes, it got me to Venice for Carnevale, but the tour definitely goes in the do-not-recommend pile.
And at first it looked like we wouldn't even get out of Slovakia let alone to Venice. Within an hour of leaving Slovakia you are doing passport control at the Austrian border. Last fall when I took a bus tour to Austria they had required all our passport numbers beforehand. At the border control no one needed to exit the bus and we went through in the fast lane.
This evening, however, we all got off the bus, showed our passports and returned to our seats aboard the bus. It was then that we were told that there was an issue with weight of the bus, we were being fined 75 Euros AND not allowed to cross the border. There must have been more to this but that is the line the tour guide fed us, as translated by Zuzka to me.
The whole thing smelled fishy to me: the inefficient way of checking five busloads through passport control, the overweight issue with tourists who had no luggage except for pillows and blankets, and the fact that after we paid our fine we were going to the other, less convenient passport control to supposedly try our luck. What was to to keep one control from phoning the other to tell them we were overweight? Were we suddenly about to become underweight at the other station? I guess so because we did not need to get off the bus, got waved through and added about one hour to an already dreadfully long trip.
Along with other EU newcomers, Slovakia is scheduled to sign the Schengen agreement this December, 2007. This agreement means that document checks between two countries which are members of EU are abolished, more like domestic travel. Most EU countries participte; UK does not. In order to be included countries need to secure borders with other non-EU countries, in Slovakia's case with Ukraine.This date has been pushed back a number of times but from what I gather it is due to complications in putting the technology in place, December, however, is a long way off and the Austrians looked to be taking advantage of us Slovaks. (Notice how I say "us"!)
After two rest stops were made it to Italy. Another passport control roused anyone still asleep, but this check was thankfully uneventful. And finally...Venice! As the bus rolled in from the two miles long causeway and you see the city of Venice in the distance, all I could think of was, "I'm going to Disneyland!" it was that unreal looking. Our bus parked, the tour guide gave us some directions and told us to be back here at 8:00. Now we're also thinking out of all these hundreds of buses, how will we ever find ours?
We navigate the kitchy souvenir stands to find a gondola and set up a ride to share with another threesome later that afternoon. Zuzka and I continue to walk toward the center to begin our Carnevale experience. Carnivale literally means "farewell to meat" and centuries ago was celebrated for the two months leading up to the Lenten season. Wearing a mask apparently gave you leave to do pretty much anything with anybody. Nowadays, the celebration is like Mardi Gras and lasts a mere 10 days, but the masks are still a Venetian trademark.
We walked Venice's confusing alleys heading for one of its famous bridges, the Rialto Bridge along the Main Canal where we decided we needed capuccino and teramisu. It was exhorbitantly priced but the canal-side table was worth the euros. (It's so much effort to haul in everything to Venice; everything consumable is expensive.) Refreshed and renewed with our excellent stop we follow the signs per San Marco, leading us to the main district.
Venice has 400 bridges and 2,000 alleys and much of the time it seemed we were headed down a dead-end, but that's just how you get around. We saw lots of push-carts loaded with goods to stock in stores; old Venice is car-less and even bike-less (!) due to its fragile infrastructure. (as in almost none) Venice is sinking! Many years ago before the Grand Canal even existed, Venice's river emptied into the Adriatic sea. When this closed up it formed a lagoon with numerous barrier islands separating it from the sea. Venice was built on marshy land by piling millions of trees atop the mud that covered the clay soil; its Grand Canal is the leftovers from the river.
Venice also floods about 100 times a year; no surprise that its population has gone from 200,000 to 65,000. As Chicago weatherman Tommy Skilling would enthusiastically explain (because weathermen love weather), when south Egyptian winds blow in and combine with high barometric pressure on the lower Adriatic sea, the water gets pushed up to Venice, the top end of the sea. Later when we took our gondola ride we saw many bottom floors under construction and/or vacant, with real life continuing above the salt water line.
Arriving at Piazza San Marco, we began to see costumed couples parading the grounds, pausing to oblige tourists for a Kodak moment. Most were dressed in the height of Venetian 17th century fashion, color coordinated and of course, masked. It was all very elaborate, elegant and stately; this wasn't New Orleans and it definitely wasn't Rio. I visited St. Mark's Basilica, its amazing cathedral covered with mosaics. Built in the 11th century St. Mark's replaces an earlier church and even houses the saints' bones. The cathedral relates more toward Eastern-style architecture, reflecting its connection with the Byzantine Empire which protected Venice from Charlemagne and yes, here it is again, his Holy Roman Empire. I had hoped to visit the Doge's Palace next door but time didn't permit. (Doge is like Duke and for some 400 years this was power-central and the hottest real estate in Europe.)
We later hopped a vaporetto, one of the bus-boats that are part of the public transit system. This put us back at the start where we met up for the gondola ride, followed by a late lunch. (I'd like to say the ride was romantic but sorry, I wasn't feeling it, and no, he didn't sing or even talk for that matter.) Our timing was totally off though, as it took so long to navigate both by boat and on foot as we tried to return to the square to see the costume parade. As we were walking IN toward the square we could tell that parade was finished because everyone was walking OUT in the opposite direction. At least we saw many of the costumes that way, but missed the experience of viewing it from the square.
I passed up the every-other-mask stores, wondering how you ever made a living on THAT? Instead I bought a small beaded necklace and earrings made of glass on the Venetian island of Murano, another place I wouldn't get to see. Can you tell this wasn't my kind of trip? I like to really experience places, get off the beaten path and talk to locals I visit; this was more of a tease. And the last frustrating part was that just as we were making our way across town (for the fourth time) you could tell things were heating up on the square. Live music was starting, there was dancing, both choreographed and improvised. Where children (also in costume but more like bunnies and bears) had been leaving the city, the adult party was gearing up. And like a child who feels she has been excluded from all the cool "big people" stuff, I returned to the bus. Here we waited for the same couple who had kept us waiting at every single stop (I guess there's always one.) and also for the tour guide, who, turns out, had been pickpocketed. We drove out the causeway, retracing our route to the mainland, with me thinking, "So much for Disneyland."
And at first it looked like we wouldn't even get out of Slovakia let alone to Venice. Within an hour of leaving Slovakia you are doing passport control at the Austrian border. Last fall when I took a bus tour to Austria they had required all our passport numbers beforehand. At the border control no one needed to exit the bus and we went through in the fast lane.
This evening, however, we all got off the bus, showed our passports and returned to our seats aboard the bus. It was then that we were told that there was an issue with weight of the bus, we were being fined 75 Euros AND not allowed to cross the border. There must have been more to this but that is the line the tour guide fed us, as translated by Zuzka to me.
The whole thing smelled fishy to me: the inefficient way of checking five busloads through passport control, the overweight issue with tourists who had no luggage except for pillows and blankets, and the fact that after we paid our fine we were going to the other, less convenient passport control to supposedly try our luck. What was to to keep one control from phoning the other to tell them we were overweight? Were we suddenly about to become underweight at the other station? I guess so because we did not need to get off the bus, got waved through and added about one hour to an already dreadfully long trip.
Along with other EU newcomers, Slovakia is scheduled to sign the Schengen agreement this December, 2007. This agreement means that document checks between two countries which are members of EU are abolished, more like domestic travel. Most EU countries participte; UK does not. In order to be included countries need to secure borders with other non-EU countries, in Slovakia's case with Ukraine.This date has been pushed back a number of times but from what I gather it is due to complications in putting the technology in place, December, however, is a long way off and the Austrians looked to be taking advantage of us Slovaks. (Notice how I say "us"!)
After two rest stops were made it to Italy. Another passport control roused anyone still asleep, but this check was thankfully uneventful. And finally...Venice! As the bus rolled in from the two miles long causeway and you see the city of Venice in the distance, all I could think of was, "I'm going to Disneyland!" it was that unreal looking. Our bus parked, the tour guide gave us some directions and told us to be back here at 8:00. Now we're also thinking out of all these hundreds of buses, how will we ever find ours?
We navigate the kitchy souvenir stands to find a gondola and set up a ride to share with another threesome later that afternoon. Zuzka and I continue to walk toward the center to begin our Carnevale experience. Carnivale literally means "farewell to meat" and centuries ago was celebrated for the two months leading up to the Lenten season. Wearing a mask apparently gave you leave to do pretty much anything with anybody. Nowadays, the celebration is like Mardi Gras and lasts a mere 10 days, but the masks are still a Venetian trademark.
We walked Venice's confusing alleys heading for one of its famous bridges, the Rialto Bridge along the Main Canal where we decided we needed capuccino and teramisu. It was exhorbitantly priced but the canal-side table was worth the euros. (It's so much effort to haul in everything to Venice; everything consumable is expensive.) Refreshed and renewed with our excellent stop we follow the signs per San Marco, leading us to the main district.
Venice has 400 bridges and 2,000 alleys and much of the time it seemed we were headed down a dead-end, but that's just how you get around. We saw lots of push-carts loaded with goods to stock in stores; old Venice is car-less and even bike-less (!) due to its fragile infrastructure. (as in almost none) Venice is sinking! Many years ago before the Grand Canal even existed, Venice's river emptied into the Adriatic sea. When this closed up it formed a lagoon with numerous barrier islands separating it from the sea. Venice was built on marshy land by piling millions of trees atop the mud that covered the clay soil; its Grand Canal is the leftovers from the river.
Venice also floods about 100 times a year; no surprise that its population has gone from 200,000 to 65,000. As Chicago weatherman Tommy Skilling would enthusiastically explain (because weathermen love weather), when south Egyptian winds blow in and combine with high barometric pressure on the lower Adriatic sea, the water gets pushed up to Venice, the top end of the sea. Later when we took our gondola ride we saw many bottom floors under construction and/or vacant, with real life continuing above the salt water line.
Arriving at Piazza San Marco, we began to see costumed couples parading the grounds, pausing to oblige tourists for a Kodak moment. Most were dressed in the height of Venetian 17th century fashion, color coordinated and of course, masked. It was all very elaborate, elegant and stately; this wasn't New Orleans and it definitely wasn't Rio. I visited St. Mark's Basilica, its amazing cathedral covered with mosaics. Built in the 11th century St. Mark's replaces an earlier church and even houses the saints' bones. The cathedral relates more toward Eastern-style architecture, reflecting its connection with the Byzantine Empire which protected Venice from Charlemagne and yes, here it is again, his Holy Roman Empire. I had hoped to visit the Doge's Palace next door but time didn't permit. (Doge is like Duke and for some 400 years this was power-central and the hottest real estate in Europe.)
We later hopped a vaporetto, one of the bus-boats that are part of the public transit system. This put us back at the start where we met up for the gondola ride, followed by a late lunch. (I'd like to say the ride was romantic but sorry, I wasn't feeling it, and no, he didn't sing or even talk for that matter.) Our timing was totally off though, as it took so long to navigate both by boat and on foot as we tried to return to the square to see the costume parade. As we were walking IN toward the square we could tell that parade was finished because everyone was walking OUT in the opposite direction. At least we saw many of the costumes that way, but missed the experience of viewing it from the square.
I passed up the every-other-mask stores, wondering how you ever made a living on THAT? Instead I bought a small beaded necklace and earrings made of glass on the Venetian island of Murano, another place I wouldn't get to see. Can you tell this wasn't my kind of trip? I like to really experience places, get off the beaten path and talk to locals I visit; this was more of a tease. And the last frustrating part was that just as we were making our way across town (for the fourth time) you could tell things were heating up on the square. Live music was starting, there was dancing, both choreographed and improvised. Where children (also in costume but more like bunnies and bears) had been leaving the city, the adult party was gearing up. And like a child who feels she has been excluded from all the cool "big people" stuff, I returned to the bus. Here we waited for the same couple who had kept us waiting at every single stop (I guess there's always one.) and also for the tour guide, who, turns out, had been pickpocketed. We drove out the causeway, retracing our route to the mainland, with me thinking, "So much for Disneyland."
posted by Joan Vande Velde @ 3:34 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home