European Adventure Saturday September 20 to September 25, 2014--continued

Saturday September 20 continued.

Anette (Natty) suits up for her drive home.

Off she goes!

We had many delightful hours playing Rummykub, Gabi's favorite board game.  We also learned a new expression relating to spoiling the next player's plan by what tiles you lay down. It is "Du hast in meine Suppe gespult, meaning you've spit in my soup!!

Sunday, September 21, 2014

We started the day with a church service at the Evangelisch (Protestant) Church in Kleestadt.  This church dates to 1470 and was restored in 1963.  It was originally a Catholic Church.  There are awesome paintings on the walls which are original to the church.  The minister has a PhD in ethics and studied in England and, according to Gabi, has a very familiar way of speaking, using the familiar form of "you" in his sermons and conversations.  For Communion everyone goes to the chancel behind the altar and receives Communion from small goblets and individual hosts.  Many of the hymns were Deutsch versions of tunes we sing in church.  

There was a Baptism of a little girl about 18 months old who ran around the church freely during the rest of the service.

 

Part of the restored murals in the Kleestadt Evangelisch Church

Ceiling paintings.

After church we went to Gastatta Zum Lamm for our first schnitzel!

Next on the agenda was a visit to a dear friend who was the wife of an American, but since divorced.  Elfrieda has a most upbeat personality and exudes joy.  She served us two kuchens and many laughs.  Her son treated her to a Florida vacation last year and they are repeating it this year.  Wish we could surprise her with a visit!!

We teased Elfrieda about her bare feet (she's a German hillbilly); so we had to take a full-body photo!

After returning home, we played three games of Rummykub and called it a night early as tomorrow we head to Italy!

Monday, September 22

We woke at 5:15, finally on local time.  Final packed to ensure we were under 10 KG for the Ryan Air flight, the limit to carry on vs paying extra for checked baggage.  We drove our rental car to Frankfurt Hahn airport and dropped off the rental car.  We were early for check in which is rather chaotic, not like Southwest which puts people into numbered line in which order you board.  We had seats assigned by Ryan (also to avoid paying extra for choosing our own), but people did not board in any sort of order.  It was interesting to watch the check-in people who were observing the size of carry on bags. Right off the bat one of the customers had a bag which the stricter clerk flagged and  forced him to get it checked.  Ann's backpack which had our toiletries and her clothes for a week was a bit bulky.  So we made sure we went to the less strict clerk and Ann wore the backpack thru the gate!!  

The flight was uneventful and relatively on time.  The flight was only an hour and half so no drink service, but anything served was charged, even water.  The Venice airport is about 30 minutes from Venice, so we hopped a bus which took us there.  

Our first impression of Venice was how crowded everything is.  The streets are narrow and jam-packed with people.  From the terminal we took a water bus, versus a water taxi which is more expensive we'd learned in Frommer's Guide to Italy, which became our Bible, to the Rialto Bridge stop which was supposed to be near our hotel.  We took off dragging our two roller suitcases and Ann wearing the backpack part of the time.  The streets are not well marked and getting lost is a guarantee, according to Frommer's, but also part of the adventure.  We stopped to ask a clerk in a bakery where Hotel Canada was and she just pointed in the direction we were going.  We walked across a bridge over a canal and lo and behold there it was.  The reception desk is on the third floor--walk-up!!  The clerk was expecting us and she was very helpful with advice on finding places.  Our room was Number 1, very near the desk. It has two cot-like beds, a desk and chair, a shrank (independent closet-like piece of furniture) and a private bath with shower, toilet and bidet.  Every place we stayed had a bidet!  The window opens out to an elegant court-yard the height of the building.  This becomes important for the "rest of the story" later.  

Up three flights of stairs to reception and our room!

View out our bedroom window.  It echoed the sounds from the street, especially as the restaurant nearby geared up for the evening.

We relaxed a bit then walked down to the Rialto Bridge and ordered dinner by the Grand Canal.  As we sat observing people and traffic on the Canal, storm clouds were building.  

Rialto Bridge--David is standing just to the right of the yellow door seen through the bridge.

This black-headed gull (later identified as that via email by brother Dan in Florida) floated around the water next to our dinner site. Love the way the colors of the buildings are reflected in the water.

  

The Canal traffic goes helter skelter!!

Storm clouds are building as we sit beside the Grand Canal having dinner.

A gondolier pushes off the wall to propel his gondola.

All supplies must come by boat.  Ann observes the huge amounts of trash to be carried away.  To where we don't know!

We had a lovely dinner and returned to the hotel as it began to lightning and thunder.  We were no sooner back in our room, after pausing for gelato, of course,  than it started to hail.  HUGE chunks of hail began pelting the window which we'd opened and we had chunks on the floor before we got the window closed.  The next day we were told by a local that it was the worst hail storm he'd ever seen.  Hail had stripped the leaves from his fruit trees completely!

Tuesday, September 23, 2014

We slept well and enjoyed a great breakfast of brotchen, jams, butter, cheese, coffee (not too strong with hot milk added) and a small pitcher of orange juice provided by Hotel Canada.  Then we headed off to explore St Mark's Cathedral (Basilica di San Marco).  The tour of the church didn't begin for over an hour and already people were queued up, so we decided to tour the Bell Tower (Campanile di San Marco) first.  The tower soars to 318 feet (97 meters) and is the tallest building in Venice and from which you cannot see any of the canals!!  It was originally built in the 9th century, but has crumbled and been rebuilt several times over the centuries, often using original materials.   One of the original bells is still in the tower.  Today each bell tolls for different reasons, such as death, war, religious holidays and so on.  Ann did fine with the height as long as she didn't get too close to the outside wall!! (She's very acrophobic!)

Highest view in Venice.

The courtyard outside St Mark's and the Doge Palace

I would NOT want to be near when this tolled!!

After the Bell Tower we browsed the courtyard deciding we really didn't want to wait through another queue.  We were planning to go to the Doge's Palace when we were approached by a "representative" of the tourism bureau offering us a free boat ride to Murano Island and the glass factory there.  We looked at each other and said, "Why not!"  It wasn't on our itinerary, but the offer sounded like fun, especially since we'd be going on a private water taxi, the most expensive conveyance, besides gondolas, and the return water bus wasn't expensive.  It was a memorable ride, to say the least.  We zoomed across canals and waterways to the other side of Venice, the northeast corner from our southcentral locale.  Murano glass is exquisite and very expensive!

Zipping along in comfort!

Entering the glass factory

An Artisan removes a chunk of glass to fashion a vase

Master artisan who has been working with glass since he was 8 years old.  He is fashioning a horse.

In less than 5 minutes he had this product!!

Our trip back by water bus was piloted by a female.  Their technique of docking at various stops, is to lightly crash into the dock, reverse engines with a loud gnashing of gears, and an assistant loops a rope on the dock!! We wondered how often they serviced the engines!!

Back at San Marco stop, we decided to tour the Doge Palace which is adjacent to St Mark Cathedral.  The current building was constructed after fires in about 1483.  We were amazed at the vast territory controlled by the Doge in the 15th century. We were awed by the Senate Chamber, Room of the Council of 10 and the vast quantities of art.

The Palace of the Doge

David waits to appeal to the Council of 10 to marry Ann, a woman above his station.  

Council of 10 room with spectacular ceiling paintings by Veronese is humongous.  David awaits his turn to appeal from the end of the room opposite the 10 seats seen in this photo.  

Unique ashtray seen on the street. We were amazed at the number of people who smoked in Italy, especially young people. 

We retraced our steps back to Hotel Canada by not getting lost, following signage for Rialto Bridge.  We rested a bit, had supper and tried to digest all that we had seen today.  

Wednesday, September 24, 2014

After a shower with plenty of hot water, breakfast just like yesterday, we checked out and took the water taxi to the terminal to catch the Fast Train to Florence.  Trains are excellent in Italy and mostly on time.  The fast train zips along at sometimes 160 kph! (100 mph)!  We were surprised by all the tunnels and the length of them, sometimes over two minutes, between Venice and Florence.  As we waited for our train, we observed the luxurious set up for passengers booked on the Orient Express!  Most were dressed to the nines, too.  We arrived in Florence at 1:35.  There we hired a taxi as we didn't have a real good idea of how to get to the hotel B & B Firenzi.  Again we have lucked out with the description of this hotel matching the online description. 

In the luxury of the fast train to Florence

As we had time before supper which is 7 PM or later, we walked to the Duomo, on the route suggested by the hotel staff.  The Duomo is huge.  You are going to get tired of hearing that word! The Duomo was started in 1296 because the city didn't have a church as big as Siena's or Pisa's.  It wasn't truly finished until 1887!  The dome dominates the skyline and was designed and raised by Filippo Brunelleschi between 1420 and 1436.  Unfortunately the museum related to the Duomo was closed for renovation (as were many structures throughout the three cities we visited.)

 Orient Express hostesses set up station next to the track on which the train will arrive.  The train didn't look any different on the outside than other trains, but from what we've read the interior is like no other.

The Duomo

Incredible art in the dome

We ate at a neighborhood restaurant called The Taverna.  Initially we got there at 6 PM (crazy Americano, eating so early!!).  As staff started arriving, we asked if we could sip a glass of wine at their outside tables, while we waited for them to open.  No problemo.  Food was delicious and went back to the hotel and asleep by 9PM, after another exciting day.

La Taverna offers so much more than pizza!

Thursday, September 25, 2014

Great sleep and huge breakfast buffet at the B&B.  Then it was off to the Bargello Museum and Uffizi which house great art collections.  The Bargello houses one of the largest collections of sculptures especially by Michelangelo, Donatello and Ghiberti.  The Uffizi has the most renowned collection of Renaissance art in the world.  By the time we finished these two museums, we felt totally saturated and doubted there were any more Madonnas, Crucifixions or other saints' art anywhere.  We passed by the Piazza Della Signoria and its sculptures and Neptune Fountain. As we neared the Uffizi, a mime in drab gothic attire was standing outside the steps waiting for donations.  Ann approached him with a coin, David poised to take photos and the camera ran out of juice.  So David quickly changed batteries and Ann dug out another coin and the mime understood.  He crouched down and cuddled with me.  I purred and he kinda smiled.  It was very entertaining for us and many others who waited their photo op!  

By the Neptune Fountain in Piazza della Signoria

Communing with the Mime

Michelangelo's David and Ann's  David

Old and older!

A wedding was going on in the Piazza.  The bride and groom arrived in a horse-drawn carriage. 

We tested the pizza of Florence at an Irish Pub in the Piazza. Then we walked to the River Arno to photograph the Ponte Vecchio.  Had to taste Florence gelato next!

The Arno is an ugly green.  We saw kayakers on the river. Ponte Vecchio.

When we got back to the B&B, Ann needed to print our boarding passes for our flight on Ryan Air from Rome to Frankfurt.  She was given great assistance by the desk staff. Ann learned a lot about remote printing, too.  We enjoyed our dinner last night, so we decided to return this night, too, but this time we didn't get there until after 7 PM.  This meal was just as good and we were surprised when our waiter brought us both a Citron Liquer (lime flavored)  after- dinner drink free.  We learned this is a custom when a customer comes back!  It burned nicely all the way down.