Day 16: Rome (Our Last Day)

Rome was the perfect city for our last day in Europe. I know it is crazy to do Rome in one day. But, if you stick to the highlights of the city it is possible to get a good taste of the Eternal City. Of course, a taste of Rome only leaves you hungry for more. It also pays to have a good tour manager that can effectively manage time and get you into the major sites with no problems. Fortunately for us we have one of the best tour managers in Thomas.

Our first stop was the Vatican Museums to view the amazing classical Roman collection, the Raphael rooms, the Sistine Chapel, and, of course, St. Peter's Basilica. The classical collection is huge, and always amazes me. I think the sculpture of the classical world is some of the most beautiful in the world. The Sistine chapel is always a treat. I especially get a kick out of the guards keeping tourists in line in loud monotone voices, "Shhhhh, silencio! No photo!" St. Peter's is also an unparalleled achievement in artistic expression and architecture. Those sights are are fine, but I prefer Raphael's "School of Athens." No other painting sums up the intellectual renaissance of the 15th century quite like this. Raphael represent all of the classical learning that was reborn during the Renaissance while including portraits of great contemporary artists like Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, and a self portrait of Raphael. He truly believe that the achievements of his generation were every bit as great as those of the classical era.

The afternoon was taken up by a walking tour of central Rome. We started with the Colusseum and the Roman Forum. It's amazing to see a couple thousand years of history stacked up layers like a lasagna. Next we hiked over to the 18th-century Trevi Fountain. This fountain was built by a pope in celebration of the reopening of an ancient aqueduct to bring water into the city. We all did the stereotypical tossing of a coin over our shoulders into the fountain and making a wish, just like Audrey Hepburn in "Roman Holiday." Then we ran over to the Pantheon, the most complete ancient Roman temple in exsitence. This temple was the inspiration for Bruneleschi's dome in Florence. After a quick gelato, we hiked over to Piazza Navona for free time and dinner.

Back at the hotel, we had a little party for Thomas to say thank you and to wish him a happy birthday (It's in a couple of days from now). Now it's time to pack our suitcases and prepare for our early wake up and our long flights back to San Diego.

 

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Day 15: Travel to Rome via Assisi

Today was another big travel day. This time our travel was broken up by a visit to the medieval hilltop town of Assisi and a lesson in making (and tasting) gelato at a gelato factory. I think most of us slept on the bus ride to Assisi. Last night was a bit rough in our hotel. The wind ensemble that played a concert in the old spa in Montecatini came back to our hotel and had a very noisy party down by the pool. At about 1:00 in the morning they all came crashing drunk up the stairs and down the hallways, knocking on all of the doors as they passed. Needless to say, this hotel will not be getting a very good review in my tour evaluation.

This is my third time in Assisi, and I never get tired of this town. It is one of the best preserved of the Italian hill towns. Its important role as a pilgrimage town adds to the sense of tranquility that defines Assisi. Assisi is the home of St. Francis, the patron saint of Italy, and one of the key figures in reviving the medieval church in the 13th century. The main purpose of our visit was to see the basilica and tomb of St. Francis. The upper basilica is covered in the amazing frescoes of Giotto describing the events of the life of the saint for an illiterate medieval populace. Giotto was about a century ahead of the Renaissance in his attempts to depict realistic humans in natural setting with a sense of depth and perspective. He didn't quite get it right, but he did inspire others to perfect these techniques. The tomb, which literally and figuratively provides the foundation for the two basilicas above, is always a very moving experience. This is a very sacred space, no matter what your religion or your feelings about religion. Candles, the only real ones allowed in the complex due to the danger of fire, are always left burning on an altar in front of the tomb. Franciscan monks are often found in this place praying before the founder of their order.

After our little pilgrimage to St.Francis and Giotto, it was time for a little fun. A twenty minute drive brought us to small gelato factory that is run by a husband and wife team of master gelato makers. They gave us an introduction to the fine art of Italian gelato. They explained to us the importance of pure, high quality ingredients (which we sampled). Then, as Thomas translated for us, they took volunteers up to the machines and taught us how to actually make gelato. Ten minutes later it was time to taste. Three more volunteers were quickly trained how to serve gelato. I think we all went a little overboard with the tasting. Four scoops can still be considered a taste, right? This may have been one of my favorite experiences on this trip.

Right now, we're enjoying a little quiet time in the hotel. Tomorrow, we are going to try to do Rome in one day.

 

 

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Day 14: Florence

The baptistery and cathedral of Florence

This morning we took a two-hour walking tour of Florence, first city of the Renaissance. I usually dread these walking tours in Florence. Many of the local guides seem to go through the motions. They don't seem to have any excitement left for their city, despite the fact that they must take a very rigorous exam in Florentine history.

Love the view!

I'm very happy to report that this tour was much different. Olivera, our local guide for the day was very enthusiastic about Florence, and knew a few secrets about touring the city. For example, on Mondays the museum that occupies the first two floors of the Orsanmichele are open. They are only open on Mondays, and on no other days. Orsanmichele is an open loggia that was closed up on all four sides and converted to a church that was dedicated to the guilds of Florence. The top two floors were added to allow the Florentines to continue using the space as a grain market. Those floors now house the statues of the patron saints of each of the guilds that once adorned the outside of the building. The very top floor gave us amazing views over the rooftops of Florence to all of the major landmarks.

Rubbing the pig's nose is supposed to bel lucky.

Our walking tour took us through the Piazza della Signoria and down to Piazza Santa Croce. This piazza is currently being used as a big theater to host a performance of Dante's Inferno by Roberto Benigni. Unfortunately, we did not come here for that. We came here to visit Misuri Leather. There was much money spent in this store, none of it by me. I have always wanted to buy a nice leather bag for work here. However, even the most modest bag in Florence is beyond my budgetary level of comfort.

Modeling jackets at Misuri Leather

The rest of day was ours to explore Florence. Some of us chose to go shopping again. Some of us chose to climb the steps up to the top of Brunelleschi's Dome. Some of us chose to haggle in one of the markets (this worked out very well). Some of us chose to drool over Ferragamo shoes.

Early 20th-century spa in Montecatini

The end of the day found us back in Montecatini. A free concert at the old spa down the street gave us the opportunity to stroll through the spa's gardens, a privilege that usually costs 7€. Tomorrow is a busy day. We drive to Rome, with a stop in Assisi.

 

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Day 13: Travel to Florence & Montecatini

Italian style in Florence

Saying goodbye to Venice is always a little hard to do. It's especially hard when your route out of Venice takes you, by ferry, along the the main waterfront in the morning. The skies were especially clear this morning, allowing a fantastic view of the alps in the distance behind the city. There was no strike to slow our exit this time. We drove right onto the first ferry and slowly made our way out of the lagoon.

Brunelleschi's Dome

Four hours later, over the Apennines and through Bolongna, and we were in Florence, birthplace of the Renaissance and modern Europe. This one city, within the space of three centuries produced some of the greatest minds, artists, and writers of early modern European history; Petrarch, Giotto, Donatello, Brunelleschi, Botticelli, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael, Machiavelli, Galileo. There are really too many to go on listing them here. Our purpose today was to go visit the most famous Renaissance figure still residing in Florence, the David. I really wish I could post pictures of David here, but photos are not allowed inside of the Academia. I guess it is all for the best. No photograph could do justice to this amazing piece of living marble. It has been scientifically proven that viewing the David in person causes women's pulses to rise. Michelangelo was a genius beyond measure. It has been said that he took one look at the huge block of marble that would one day become the David and immediately saw the potential locked in the stone. He believed that all he had to do was set the figure free from the stone. This attitude is very apparent when viewing his unfinished works known as the Prisoners in the gallery next door. These figure appear to be literally struggling to free themselves from the blocks of marble.

Our ride to Montecatini Alto

After a few hours of relaxing and dinner in our hotel in Montecatini, we jumped on the funicular around the corner from our hotel and took a ride to Montecatini Alto, the old medieval town high above the modern resort town. The funicular was built in 1898, but the old town is much older. In fact, we visited a 14th-century fortification located above the main square. The wind was, and still is, howling. It was absolutely spooky up there.

WW I Memorial in Montecatini Alto

Tomorrow, we head back for more time in Florence.

 

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Day 12: Venice!

The Palazzo Ducale and the Piazzetta with the Campanile in the background

Today was an absolutely perfect day to be in Venice. The morning weather was cloudy with light breeze blowin in from the Adriatic. For San Diegans, used to the gloom that dominates early mornings from May through June, this was nothing to be concerned about. In fact, this was welcomed as a way to keep the Venitian heat in check. For the Italian day trippers, however, this was a disaster that ended thier plans to head out to Venice and the Lido to soak up the sun. As a result, the crowds in Venice were not as soul-crushingly thick as they usually are.

We're still able to smile, despite the smell of the fish market.

We began our morning with a long vaporetto ride from the Lido all the way up the Grand Canal to the. Rialto bridge. Rialto is the Venitian contraction of Riva Alta, the high bank. This is where modern Venice was supposedly founded. This was one of the two centers of power in medieval Venice, the other being at Piazza San Marco. Rialto was the commercial center of Venice. We visited the still lively fruit and vegetable market (fantastic peaches) on our way to get a glimpse of the bounty of the Adriatic at the fish market. Although I was amazed at the variety of fish, octopodi, squid, shellfish, and other sea creatures available at this arcaded market, I just could not get over the overwhelming stench. It was enough to put me off of tuna for at least a year. I was thankful for our departure from Rialto and the hike back to San Marco.

He's making a horse!

After a brief stop at Piazza San Marco, we walked back behind the basilica to find what Thomas described as "the best gelato in Venice." The little gelato shop he took us to has not only the best homemade gelato in Venice, but the best gelato I have ever tasted. Most of us gave up any thoughts of having just one scoop upon seeing the tins of this amazingly rich bit of heaven in front of us. I had the hazelnut and the stracciatella (something like chocolate chip). Once we had something cold in Venice, it was time to deal in something hot, something so hot that it has mostly been moved to another island in the lagoon for fear of fire. I'm talking, of course, of the Venitian art of blowing glass. The Venitians are well known for the amazing colors of thier glass, created by by adding various metals to the glass as it was being formed in gigantic furnaces. They used metals acquired in all of their trading across their Mediterranean empire. Deep emerald green glass, for example, was created by adding copper acquired from the Egyptian port of Alexandria. My favorite part of visiting the glassworks is watching a master glassblower fashion a glass horse out of a blob of molten glass in a matter of minutes.

Rialto bridge, as seen from gondola-level

The rest of our day was devoted to exploring Venice on our own. Thomas gave each group a Venitan photo scavenger hunt list that he created. There were items on the list that were easy to acquire, like a photo of ten gondolas. There were the tougher items such as a member of your group with a black tongue, which meant that you ate a pasta dish with a sauce made of the black ink of a squid. Then there was the holy grail of the list, find Marco Polo's house (not as easy as it seems). The basic instruction that all of the small groups recieved from both Thomas and me was to simple get lost in Venice. Don't stick to the main tourist thoroughfares. Take the quieter backstreets to see where they take you. My little group, for example, found ourselves in the old Jewish Quarter of the city, Ghetto, where the city's Jewish population was locked behind big gates at night. On our way back to San Marco, we found Marco Polo's house, a rather plain looking building with a little plaque over the door that says, in the Venitan dialect, "the house of Marco Polo."

The best ride in Venice

Our final Venitian experience was a gondola ride through the smaller canals to the west of Piazza San Marco. I could definitely get used to this mode of transportation. It's much more relaxing than my daily mad dash down the I-15. All of the gondolas in Venice are still made by hand in the city. They have a slight curve built into them so that they will travel in a straight line when rowed by one gondolier. If you ever find yourself in Venice, this is one experience that you should build into your budget.

 

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Day 11: Travel to Venice via Innsbruck

Innsbruck: home of Habsburgs and schnapps!

This is going to be a pretty short entry. Most of our day was consumed by the drive to Venice. We followed the same route that the ancient Romans took, over the Brenner Pass, over 2,000 years ago. Just like those ancient travelers, we made a stop at the last city before our journey through the pass. This city is Innsbruck. Our time in Innsbruck was short because we needed to make it to Venice in time to catch our ferry to the Lido, where our hotel is located. In fact, it was just enough time to buy a bottle of homemade schnapps and to stop by the Cafe Sacher for a Sachertorte and coffee. Then it was off to Venice.

Venitian highways just can't be beat!

Our drive to Venice took us through the northern parts of Italy, the richest and most economically productive region. We drove past miles of green vineyards and through valleys dotted with hillside castles that once guarded and taxed this ancient route. At the end of the road we loaded the bus onto the Lido ferry (after an hour- long wait. There was an unannounced strike in the morning. Ah, Italy.) and sailed to our hotel. This was the perfect introduction to Venice for those who have never been here before. Our trip on the ferry took us past Piazza San Marco (the old administrative center of Venice) on the way to our hotel.

The basilica of San Marco at night.

A quick five minutes at the hotel and then we jumped onto the vaporetto (water bus) for dinner in Venice. After our long day on the bus, most of us were ready to head back to the hotel for a short walk through the center of the Lido and then up to bed.

 

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Day 10: Munich

The weather held out for us in Munich today. There were a few spritzes and sprinkles, and even some very heavy thunder, but it was mostly warm and sunny. There was a very nice breeze blowing through the city that killed the heat. This was absolutely perfect Munich weather.

Today I decided to take a different path than the rest of the group. After seeing the group off on their guided bus tour of Munich and Nymphenburg palace, the summer home of the Wittelsbach dukes and kings of Bavaria, I led a very small, private tour of central Munich and the Residenz, the winter palace. The first stop was the Hauptbahnhof (main train station) to exchange some money. Our short trip on the S-Bahn made some of the differences between the French and the Bavarians very clear. The S-Bahn is very clean compared to the Paris Metro (The Metro always makes me want to take a shower upon exiting). The Parisians will tolerate a little delay, as long as they make it to their destination. The German love for precision and efficiency is also apparent in Munich's public transit systems. The countdown until the next train on display on the platform is exact down to the second. Both systems are very good, it's just curious how national character can be on display in the strangest ways.

Here lies Ludwig II

After exchanging some money, we worked our way south, into the center of town. We walked past the Palace of Justice, through Karlsplatz (Stachus to the locals), under Karlstor, and into the huge pedestrian zone that cuts through the middle of Munich. Most cities in Europe have these large pedestrian zones, free from cars. This is something we could learn. About halfway to Marienplatz, Munich's main square, we turned off into the Michaelskirche (St. Michaels Church) to pay a visit to Ludwig II and the rest of the Wittelsbachs and Leuchtenbergs down in the royal crypt. There is even one of Napoleon Bonaparte's step sons (the son of Josephine) burried with the family. At Napoleon's insistence, he married into the Leuchtenbergs family in order to legitimize Napoleon's rule as Emperor of France, and those of the puppet states controlled by the Bonaparte family. The biggest coffin, however, belongs to Ludwig. 130 years after his death, he still holds a very special place with the Bavarian people, a reminder that Bavaria was a kingdom and is still the only state that calls itself Freistaat, free state.

The ballroom of the Residenz

A quick swing through the Frauenkirche, the former seat of Cardinal Ratzinger, and Dallmayr (chocolate!) we made our way to the Residenz. The Residenz was heavily damaged during the Second World War, and was almost not rebuilt. I'm very glad that the people of Munich decided to rebuild this palace. For only 7€, you get to stroll through 60 rooms! Six months from now an additional 60 will be reopened to the public after a complete restoration. This is more than any other palace I have visited. The ballroom of the Residenz is lined with busts of the Ceasars imported from Rome, an effort to connect the Wittelsbach family directly to the rulers of the ancient Roman Empire (propaganda). One room of the palace, in an attempt to out do thier Austrian neighbors, is completely covered in miniature versions of the most famous paintings of the renaissance and baroque periods. Keeping up with the Habsburgs is much more difficult than keeping up with the Joneses. Many of the paintings in the palace bear knife marks around the edges, evidence of the hasty removal of the canvases from thier frames in order to save them from the Allies' bombs during the war.

We reunited with the rest of the group after lunch in the Viktualienmarkt for a trip to the Dachau Concentration Camp. Opened in March of 1933 (only a few weeks after Hitler became Chancelor of Germany), Dachau served as the prototype and model for all other concentration camps in the Third Reich. This camp served as the training ground for the SS, teaching them how to act with cruelty and hatred. Between 1933 and 1945, over 200,000 prisoners died from starvation, torture, disease, and horrific medical experiments at Dachau. They were Jews, gypsies, homosexuals, political prisoners, foreign prisoners, Catholic clergy, German dissidents, anybody that fell outside of what the Nazis saw as "acceptable." There is no estimate of the number of Soviet prisoners who were brought to Dachau to be executed by SS firing squads. A visit to one of the concentration camp memorials is something that everyone should do at least once. When faced with the overwhelming evidence, it is impossible to see those who deny the exsitence of the Holocaust as anything but complete fools.

 

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Day 9: Neuschwanstein & Munich

It was very difficult to say goodbye to Engelberg and the Edelweiss Hotel. There really is no beating a family-owned hotel like this one. After our last fantastic Swiss breakfast, marched down the hill to our waiting coach and the next stage in our journey.

After a couple of hours and a bit of traffic for some road work (They actually maintain the roads here. Nothing like San Diego.), we drove into the tiny country of Liechtenstein and its capital, Vaduz. There really isn't much to see here, despite the fact that Liechtenstein has the highest per capita income in Europe (92,000 € per year). This country is so small that Chinatown in Vaduz consists of one building (no joke) that they have to share with Thailandtown (also no joke). We paid the 2.50 € to get our passports stamped and then moved on.

Two hours later, we arrived at our second stop, King Ludwig II's Neuschwanstein Castle. Ludwig was a slightly eccentric character, and that is putting it mildly. He had a terrible temper, often verbally abused his household staff, and was prone to daydreaming. He sank a fortune into building three elaborate palaces. Neuschwanstein is probably the best known. In order to reign in their financially ruinous king, the Bavarian state government had him declared mentally unfit to rule, without a proper examination. Two days, and two attempts later, he was arrested and imprisoned in a castle on the Starnbergersee. The next day, Ludwig and the doctor who declared him unfit were found dead in the lake. The mystery of his death remains unsolved to this day.

We arrived in Munich later than planned. We checked into the hotel, ran out the door, and made it to dinner in the Ratskeller on the Marienplatz by 8:00. Dinner was very typical Bavarian food. We had small Nurnburger bratwurstl, sauerkraut, potatoes, and (of course) some of us enjoyed a weissbier (Franziskaner, the best). After dinner, we stopped by a small brew pub for a last bier before heading off to the hotel for bed. Tomorrow will be our only full day in Munich. This is way too short for me.

Sorry there are not that many photos on this post. No free WiFi in this hotel.

 

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Day 8: Engelberg & Luzern

Hot chocolate (NOT Swiss Miss)!

I'm a little sad that our visit to Switzerland has to be so short. It is often said of Switzerland that the Swiss just sit back and let other people do things, that nothing ever happens in this corner of the alps. After all, Albert Einstein came to Switzerland to escape the militarism and intensity of Germany. I personally believe that doctors should be able to prescribe a Swiss vacation for patients suffering from stress and overwork (I guess that would be the entire United States). The alpine air is wonderful stuff for sleeping. The intensely green landscape is enough to melt away even the toughest stress. There is nothing like waking up to a breakfast that includes ingredients that are so local that the cheese has the picture of the dairy farmer who made sitting next to the serving plate. That is the kind of place that Switzerland is.

Fearless!

After that breakfast, we embarked on our most adventurous day trip yet. We climbed aboard three different cable cars to make the ascent to the top of Mt. Titlis, 10,000 feet in altitude. The first cable car was a pretty standard affair, a little six-passenger bubble that took us straight up to the second station on the mountain. The second cable car was more like a city bus. It held 80 passengers and took us to the third station. The final cable car was the most impressive. It was shaped like a giant hockey puck and rotated as it made its way up the final stretch to the top, giving everybody a fantastic 360-view. This was definitely not easy going for those who are afraid of heights, especially when the cars started swinging a little as we crossed each tower.

Is this the line for the Matterhorn?

Once we reached the top, we made a visit to a glacier cave. This was quite an amazing, if a little frigid, experience. I expected to see Darth Vader come swaggering around a corner followed by a squad of snowtroopers. If you know what I am talking about, then I congratulate you on being as big nerd as me. Back to the stuff that matters. We also had the opportunity to walk out onto the glacier itself. The summer temperature at the top was a balmy 0 degrees Celsius. For those of you who don't follow the metric system, that's the freezing point of water. The wind came howling across the summit, pushing the clouds at incredible speeds. Forty-five minutes and three cable cars later we were back in Engelberg, where the weather was 77 degrees and sunny.

Beautiful Luzern

Another 45 minues brought us down out of the mountains to the lakeside city of Luzern. Luzern is an ancient and very important town on the lake. Luzern sits at the mouth of the river that empties the lake into the lower elevations. The people of Luzern are responsible for regulating the flow of the water out of the lake in order to control its level. When the snow melts in the spring they open up the gates a bit more in order to prevent the towns that dot the lakeshore from flooding. Today, Luzern is a relatively sleepy little city (nothing like Paris or London). For me, it's the perfect place to have a little picnic next to the lake, and to buy a sweet Swiss Army knife and some chocolate.

 

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Day 7: On the Road to Engelberg

The beautiful view from Brienz

This morning was another early-morning wake to catch a train (4:45). This was the smoothest ride on the TGV I have ever had. Thomas was able to secure a luggage compartment at the end of our coach to store our luggage. Without this compartment we would have to fight for space in the small racks at each end. Three hours after leaving Paris we were in Geneva. From Geneva, it was another six hours by bus, with a stop in Brienz, to our home in Engelberg.

She's just so... wooden!

The highlight of our short stop in Brienz was a trip to watch a Swiss master woodcarver. It was absolutely amazing to watch him fashion a figure of a man playing the alpenhorn from a simple block of wood. It would have been fantastic to take one of these little wooden figures home, but even the smallest costs 150 CHF (about $160).

Beautiful Engelberg

Arriving at the Edelweiss Hotel in Engelberg is like coming home again. I have stayed at this hotel four times now, and each time the experience is more amazing than the last. Suzanne and Peter, the hotel's owners, are the most gracious hosts. This trip was a very special treat. Peter drove all of us up to an alpenhut above Engelberg for a traditional Swiss dinner and an alpenhorn playing contest. The contest was over who could play and hold the longest note on the alpenhorn. After a furious contest, it come down to the top two finalists, Eddie and Matthew. At the end of it all, Matthew stood alone as the alpenhorn champion, with a time of 29 seconds. His trophy was an alpenhorn playing figurine. After this intense competition, we settled down for a dinner of rösti (potato pancakes with ham and cheese) with meringue and ice cream for desert (very Swiss).

Go Eddie, go!

Our Swiss champion

After dinner Suzanne took us on a 40 minute hike down the mountain and back into Engelberg. Our journey down the mountain took us through some of the most beautiful, green pastures and deep dark forests I have ever seen. We could hear the cowbells somewhere off in the distance, and met up with a couple of Swiss goats (wearing goat bells). This evening was a truly Swiss experience. Tomorrow we have a more civilized wake-up call (7:30) for our trip up (10,000 feet up) to Mount Titlis.

The view from the top ain't bad.

The road home

 

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