Austria: Salzburg

The hills are alive.....

Is what kept playing in my head as we ventured around the scenic town that inspired the Sound of Music.

When we arrived in Salzburg, we were feeling a little culture shocked. The city was clean and orderly-- People actually stop for you at crosswalks! No one hassles you to eat at their cafe or restaurant. It felt a bit like home.

When we arrived, we were tired and frazzled. Our 8 hour night train had been our worst commute of the trip thus far, but we were partly to blame.

We arrived at the Venice train station 30 minutes early, and were ready when the train pulled up. It was a very busy train with many people getting on, and so we pushed into our car with all of our bags and quickly found our carriage. When we opened the door, a man and three girls looked up at us.

"Hi" Said Steve, "I belive we have seats 56 and 57."

They stared blankly at us.

"Are you sure?" Said the man.

"Yes," Steve said.

Still no one moved. They looked at eachother again.

Meanwhile, the small hallway was filling up with people unable to get around our large turtle-backs, and I was feeling impatient.

"See, here's our ticket" Said Steve.

The man mumbled in reply and the girls still didn't move. Behind us people were impatient and starting to close in on us.

"Well, you should maybe just get up and let us in so we can let the 100 people behind us get to their seats" I heard my voice say, in it's most authoritative and teacher-like tone.

Ooops. This is going to be a looong ride.

They moved and one girl shuffled out to a different car. Steve grabbed my hand to calm me down and did his best to smile and smooth things over.

It turned out our seat-mates were a teacher and some students on their way back to Vienna after a short field trip to Venice. We chatted and made small talk until the Italian train ticketer came to check our tickets. Steve handed him ours through mid-conversation.

"This is for yesterday" The man interrupted.

I felt my face begin to drain.

"I could kick you off and fine you" He said.

Steve and I looked at eachother.

Shoot....

"We bought it yesterday from a teller.....she might have misunderstood" Steve said.

"Well, you're lucky. It's a busy train, but I will let you stay. Next time, check the ticket."

The teacher and his students began to laugh. We felt so stupid!

Now we felt like invaders, making the small carriage extra crowded when they could have had it to themselves. I felt even more like a dummy for being so rude. It was a good reminder of having patience and grace for all situations.

We spent the next 7 hours in the cramped car, with broken a/c (again!), unable to sleep. By the time we arrived in Salzburg it was 4am and we spent another 3 hours in the station waiting for a coffee shop to open so we could eat and figure out how to get to the hotel.

When we finally arrived the hotel we were informed check in was not until 3pm. We were so exhausted. We stored our bags and took my travel blanket to a park where we found a patch of grass and napped until our room was ready. I'd say we played the part of dirty backpackers very well that day!

Fortunately, the rest of Salzburg was not like the trip to get there. The town is a beautiful medieval city placed at the foot of the gorgeous alps, with a green glacial river running through it. At times it almost seemed like we were in Banff, until we looked up and saw beautiful castles and fortresses pearched on mountainsides.

While were were there we visited Mozart's childhood home, which was fascinating to see. We also went to the Hohensalzburg Castle, a fortress overlooking the city. It was built orginally by the romans, but was re-created by one of the archbishops in 1077 and is one of the largest fortresses in Europe. It was expanded over many years and was only under seige once in 1595 when a few peasants tried to oust one of the archbishops. In the 1800's it was used duirng the Napoleonic war, and in the 1900's it was used as a barracks for the army, and then became a prison during both world wars. It eventually became a museum.

It was very interesting to see how it had changed over time, and some of the rooms are still set up with displays from the world wars.

Aside from the sights, we mainly enjoyed getting out in the fresh air. I went for a few runs along the river and enjoyed running toward a beautiful castle. On one of my runs, I had quite the shock! I almost tripped over a hedgehog! It took my brain a few seconds to adjust, but there it was--fat and waddling around, looking for some food to scavenge. Steve was excited to get the report when I came back, and we googled and learned that they are all over Europe. Crazy!

After a very relaxing time in Salzburg, blessed with hot weather, we hopped on the next train to Kaufering, Germany to visit some friends.

Italy:Venice

Venice is famous for Gondolas and Canals, bright colored buildings and romance.

We arrived in Marghera, a suburb of Venice in the late afternoon. The sun was very hot, and the airconditing on the train had stopped working at the start of our journey so we were sweaty and tired.

Our hotel was a cozy inn close to the train station that was run by a Chinese-Italian family and was marketed specifically for Asian tour groups. It was an interesting blend of cultures, and from the start we enjoyed sitting in the lobby and watching the owner speak Italian with a Chinese accent.

Because Venice is very small, it is hard to find accomodation right on the island, and it is also very expensive. It was only a 10 minute train to get accross, so it made it worth it for us to stay where we did.

When we left the train and walked up to the Grand Canal we were both stunned. Venice in person is even more beautiful than we could have imagined. Some people notice a smell from the sometimes stagnant water of the canals, but we came at the right time of year when the water levels are still high and moving from the spring rains.

We spent hours just getting lost. We walked through tight back alleys and walkways that led to a dead ends at the water or an ancient brick walls. We watched flocks of Asian tourists take gondola rides through the canals with singing drivers and stopped every few blocks to taste something new. It was a great way to enjoy Venice.

Because one of the obvious tourist things to do is take a boat ride, we toyed with the idea of renting a water taxi to drive through the grand canal, but it was pricy. Instead, we decided on the public transport boats. These boats are set up similar to city public transit, and are relatively cheap compared to the huge inflated prices of other comercial or private boats. It seemed like a great way to see the sights at a low price... until we hopped on one. Once we got to the dock we were herded in like a bunch of cats and it was absolute chaos-- people stopping in the middle of the traffic flow to take pictures or pushing their way to the outside edges of the boat. Apparently everyone had the same idea. By the time we got moving, we were stuck in the middle of a hot and sweaty mob with a transit worker yelling at everyone constantly in order to keep the flow when we stopped at different stations. We couldn't see past everyone and so it was quite pointless, but worth the experience I guess!


One of the things I found most interesting about Venice was venetian culture. I didn't realize that masqurade balls and mardi gras were started here. It began as the carnival of Venice, where people would come wearing elaborite masks. It begins on the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday. It was started as a victory celebration in 1162. People would dance in the square, and it became especially popular in the renaissance period. It was eventually outlawed for religious reasons by staunch catholic Austrian powers, and did not begin again until the 1970's when the Italian government sought to bring the festival and history back to Italians. There were hundreds of shops selling beautiful masks and figurines.

Our last day in Venice was spent killing time before we were to catch our train to Salzburg, Austria. The train was an overnight train and so we stored our bags and headed over to the island again to find some tasty snacks. Steve really wanted to eat a big merangue puff covered in chocolate, so we hunted one down while I tried some homemade gelato. Life was grand.

At nine we made our way back to the hotel to pick up the bags for our spur-of-the-moment trip to Austria.

Next stop:Salzburg!

Italy: Florence

When I pictured Italy, my sister's favorite movie, Under the Tuscan Sun, always came to mind.

The movie is about a woman who moves to Italy to have a second chance; she buys an old house in the Tuscan countryside and fixes it up. It portrays Italy as a romantic and spiritual place. Arriving in Florence by train through the Tuscan wineries and rolling hills brought on a strange sense of nostalgia ; false memories of events I haven't lived through, yet have made an impression on me. After visiting Florence there is no wonder why it is attractive to so many.

We stayed in an Italian woman's childhood home through a website we sometimes use for accommodation called Air Bnb. The website has listings for places all over the world in people's homes or space for rent, and it usually has some pretty cheap options. We were thankful to find a room in Florence that didn't break our budget, since it is a very expensive city.

When we got to Beatrice's apartment, who we had communicated with over email through the help of google translate, we had an interesting time trying to sort out the details with her. But, she was very sweet and made small jokes as she tried to explain how to use the ancient appliances in her house for cooking and laundry and orient us to our surroundings (She herself didn't live in the house, it was a rental only and we shared it with a group of Asian tourists).

We mostly spent our time in Florence walking around the old centre and admiring the beautiful detail on the outside of the churches and royal buildings. We also visited the museum of science that featured inventions from Galeleo. It was amazing to see how far technology has come in a relatively short time, and it was also very cute to see Steve get excited about certain mathematic theories and grand inventions.

After spending around 10 hours each day walking, the highlight of our second day was going to the grocery store and buying some food to cook. It was the first time that we had a full kitchen to make use of, and we were happy to eat something other than McDonald's and fast food-- something that is unavoidable when you need to keep meals on the cheap.

We bought our dinner and headed to the apartment and climbed into the elevator. By this time my feet were aching and I was hot. The groceries felt really heavy in my hands and I had to pee. I was dancing around the elevator uncomfortably when Steve's curiosity piqued up. The land lady had told us not to touch the inward swinging door in the elevator while it was in use, so naturally Steve decided to open it while we were going up to see what would happen. Before I could stop him the alarm rang and the elevator slammed to a halt.

He looked at me. We didn't exchange words. My look of death was so sullen and fierce that he shrank back and put up his hands. When he finally caught his breath he said "I'm sorry! I just had to push it!"

I didn't reply. Only stared.

"Ummmm....what should we do?"

I shrugged.

"Maybe someone will find us?"

I shrugged again.

We stood there. In awkward silence. The grocery bags were pulling on our arms, reminding me of the delicious food we were so close to preparing. It made me even more aggravated.

Just as Steve was about to start climbing into the elevator shaft, the magic of the universe kicked in and saved his butt. The lift started moving up. With a sigh of relief, Steve said, "I knew it would start again."

I just sighed. After using the bathroom and eating dinner, I found my words again.

The rest of our adventures in Florence are not much to read about, but were very relaxing and romantic for us.We walked hand in hand, and enjoyed eachothers company as we took in beautiful sights. One of the highlights of Florence is the famous bridge that still has a few medieval houses built into it-- they were built buy people who wanted to avoid paying land taxes. It was a very picturesque bridge filled with buskers, vendors, and tourists.

By the time we left Tuscany I was still feeling full from fresh pasta and Lemoncellos, and thought of my sister and the times we enjoyed living vicariously through Diane Lane. It made me realize how much we love living life with others at home. Although it was amazing to see the rolling hillside, I wouldn't trade 20 Tuscany's for a night on the couch in Pajamas with my sister watching movies.



Beautiful house bridge:

Scooters everywhere!

Cool cathedral:

Galileo museum

One of the first electric motors ever:

Galileos finger! A little morbid we thought:

Italy: Naples

"Now that we're here, what is there to do?" Asked Steve, surveying our surroundings.

Our hotel in Naples was in a rough area. Many homeless and people living with addictions made their homes nearby, an it wasn't a place we wanted to linger.

"Eat pizza, of course" I said. And so that's what what we did.

To get the full experience we went to the place it was born. In a small sidewalk cafe tucked away, was the birthplace of the Margarita pizza. To understand pizza culture in Naples, you must understand the regulations. To be an authentic Napolean pizza, the dough spinners must apprentice for seven years before flying solo. The crust must be made with a special brown yeast, and spun to a specific thickness and diameter. It must be cooked in a special wood stove on bricks, and the crust must puff out. The middle of the pizza should be soupy and soft.

Brandi, the cafe we went to did not disappoint. We got the full pizza experience. In 1889, the patriarch of the restaurant was asked to make pizza for the king's daughters. He made three different ones. He asked one of the daughters, princess Margarita, what her favorite was. She liked the one that had the colors of Itiali, white mozzarella cheese (made from buffalo), red tomato sauce, and basil leaves. The owner named the pizza after her and that's now the famous Margarita pizza came to be. So we ordered that, and a pizza marina, a pizza with garlic and spices but without cheese. They were both very delicious and we ate until we could hardly move. By bedtime we were still both full from our pizza lunch!

Aside from the amazing pizza adventure, Naples is a hectic historic town on the coast of the Tihrranean sea. The most famous tourist destination in Naples is the ancient preserved city of Pompeii, a roman settlement that was devistated in 69AD when mount Vesuvius erupted, killing about 2,000 people out of the towns 20,000 inhabitants that were unable to get out. The city has been an amazing archeological discovery because it has allowed scientists to see how homes were set up, and learn alot about ancient life. We thought a visit here would be the perfect way to cap off all the ancient ruines we have seen as we head further north.

The city itself is huge. To see everything would take a few days. Walking into the front entrance we were struck by the city's expanse. There were long streets carved out between stone buildings. And it felt very much like a stroll through a town. However, It was not quite how we imagined it, as most artifacts have been removed and so much of what is left are walls. It was still very interesting. The most fascinating part was the ancient coliseum, which is in better shape than the one in Rome, although smaller. It was almost empty when we were there, and was really haunting.

Afterward we headed to the storage area to finish of the day and saw the famous plaster casts, which was the most sobering part. When the eruption happened, people were buried by hot ash that hardened around them. As the site was excavated, the explorers found empty cavities in the rock with bones at the bottom. One of the directors had the idea to pour plaster casting into the pockets, and when they were hardened and removed the result was shocking. A perfect mould of the person came out, revealing their face, clothing folds, and position at the time of death. One man sat upright covering his face. One woman was lying down covering her head. It made the whole thing very real.

After a day of light-hearted sight-seeing, the casts were a good way to remember the sacrifice for our knowledge and enjoyment. However, the monument at Pompeii put it best. It said Pompeii will not be remembered as a city that died, but one that continues to live as the lives of the people who lived there continue to bring joy to scientific discovery, and will live on in our hearts and imaginations. Very fitting I think.

On our last day we walked through Naples, visiting some churches and walking the old city quarter, which was beautiful. Steve said Naples has been his favorite so far, because it is so historic, and was very authentic feeling.

We really enjoyed our stay in Naples, and were excited to continue seeing the sights of Europe!

Next stop: Florence!


Pompei:

Margherita pizza!

Naples:

Italy: Rome

Rome. The eternal city, named for it's sacred dwellings and intriguing mysteries. It is one of the oldest cities on earth.

When the plane landed I looked out the window at fields and plains. Dark green grass lined the edges of golden plots if field, which made me tear up thinking of home.

When people write about traveling, often it's about fun adventures or wondrous and exotic sights. It seems so romantic, and much of it is, however, normal life happens while traveling too. There is downtime, monotony, and stress. For us, we are at the point where we are realizing that summer at home has begun; people are starting to mobilize again and do fun things. As much as we are grateful to be having this experience we are learning more and more that relationship and community with others is the heart of life. We crave those interactions and are thankful for the people we share life with. It makes us a little homesick.

We took a bus into the centre from the airport, and when we got to our hotel, we stood at the entrance and stared. It was in an old building...without elevators. Our room was 6 stories up, and with our loaded bags it felt like Everest. I willed my legs to climb as they burned, my sandals grabbing on to each step making me stumble forward. When we finally made it up we collapsed on our bed and closed our eyes. We made it to Rome!

Our tiny postage stamp of a room was an authentic first introduction to the rest of Rome. City space is precious, and people are very industrious. Buildings and rooms are small and contained. Our hotel was actually one floor, with several other hotels in the same building renting out the other floors. On street level, most restaurants are sidewalk cafes that are served from a small kitchen, the only indoor portion. It's very different from spacious Canada.

As we lay on our bed recovering, music wafted up from the street. Through the thick black shutters on our screen less window, beautiful soprano notes snipped through the air and hovered over brass instruments. Hypnotized, we followed the sound to the street and went out to investigate.

On the frontside of the building was a long procession of people walking behind a bishop, some priests, and a group of people holding up a decorated statue of Christ, siting on a wooden throne. The woman and band were projected by wireless mics that went through portable speakers. The music cycled, giving way to unison prayer in Italian by the followers. My skin broke out in gooseflesh and I pulled my sweater snug as chills rose up my spine. The whole scene felt so foreign, but hauntingly beautiful. People observing were crying, moved by the sight, and the crowd grew as more people filed in to the street.

It was a beautiful experience; one that made me reflect on my upbringing in the Catholic Church. I heard once that all Catholics were the same- you could go across the world and rituals would be familiar. But I didn't feel that way in Rome. I often felt clumsy in the churches, and like a tourist when seeing nuns and priests in traditional garb. There was however, a small familiarity. The statues of the saints were an oddly comforting sight, as I saw familiar icons that used to hang in the house of my grandparents. As we followed the mob and listened I guessed maybe they were praying the rosary, but it was hard to tell. Nevertheless, it was breathtaking.

The next day we walked around the city and saw all of the main monuments: The Spanish Steps, Trevi fountain, Coliseum, and the Vatican.

For Steve, the most striking monument was the coliseum. It is estimated over 800,000 people died there for sport. Criminals and slaves would be purchased by the rich and sent to a training program to learn to fight and perform for crowds. They would later participate as gladiators who would battle animals or other slaves. It was quite intriguing to see, which is a small indicator of the human penchant for darkness. However, it was just mostly sad, and an eerie reminder of a bloody past.

On our last day in Rome we visited the Vatican, a place I have imagined many times. What I had not imagined, however, was the crazy line for the museum. We have been very lucky with our timing on this trip, always just on the cusp of high season. So when we arrived we were shocked. The line was a 3 hour wait. We quickly opted for a private tour, so we got to miss the line. At first we were a little weary of the expense, but in the end it was worth it. We quickly realized if we were to go on our own we would hardly know what we were looking at. Our guide told us that if one were to look at every piece for 20 seconds it would take 12 years, without sleep. Having an expert point out the highlights was great.

The tour was fantastic. Our guide was an American who has been living in Rome for 12 years. She was very knowledgeable and friendly. She focused mainly on the artwork of the Sistine Chapel, painted by Michelangelo.

She had some very interesting stories. Our favorite was how she described the painting of the chapel. Some interesting things we learned:

Michelangelo was commissioned by the pope to paint his private chapel. It is said the artist was less than thrilled with the job. He was a sculptor, not a painter, and had never attempted anything of that magnitude before. Given very specific instructions by the pope, he spent the first six months on two figures. When he completed them, he climbed off his scaffold and looked up. They were distorted because he had not calculated for the angle they would be seen from: the floor. In a fit of anger he soaked them in paint and stormed out. He basically told the Pope to stuff it, which resulted in the Pope hunting him down and dragging him back. Michelangelo agreed to paint the chapel on two conditions: when he finished he would never have to paint ever again, and he could paint whatever he wanted with artistic freedom.

It took him 5 years to finish, even though he ate and slept on the scaffolds. When he finished he had painted scenes from Genesis, with the most famous painting of God breathing life into Adam in the centre.

After the completion Michelangelo lived happily until the pope died, and the new pope commissioned him to paint a scene behind the alter. Michelangelo was not happy, but agreed. He pained a scene from the resurrection. It took him 3 years to complete. When finished there was alot of controversy over the naked figures in the painting. One of the cardinals said Michelangelo should redo it. So the artist snuck into the chapel and got his revenge. He painted the face of cardinal on the devil and gave him donkey ears. It is still there today. Later on after Michelangelo died, a new pope commissioned artists to paint clothes on the naked figures. In the restoration some have removed, but some left as a tribute to the life of the painting.

Beyond the chapel, the amount of art in the Vatican that was aquired over the years is amazing. It is no wonder the Vatican is the richest museum in the world.

The next day we headed to the train station to continue on to Naples. We really enjoyed Rome, but our feet were definitely getting a workout. We spent about 10 hours a day walking. Although there were a few things to get used to about Italy-- lack of wifi, expensive food, and a bit of a reminder of home, Rome was and amazing place to reflect on life and faith and all of those great mysteries. Even though I felt the most homesick here, it was incredible to see so many icons in person.


The street procession.

The coliseum:

Pantheon:

Trevi fountain:

Spanish steps:

The Vatican:

Greece: Santorini

After Rhodes we sailed to the most picturesque island in Greece: Santorini.

We arrived after midnight and everything was quiet. Hundreds of feet above us we saw the famous city of Fira (Santorini is actually the name of the region, not the city. There are 3 main cities on the main island).

Our driver was waiting at the ferry port and we were grateful for pick-up service. We were tired from a packed day and a long 7 hour ferry ride. The one saving grace though, was the ferry. It blew us away. The ship was giant, and very luxurious. It was welcomed compared to the small ferries we had taken before, with no room to walk around or sprawl out.

When we got to our room we hit the hay. The city lay sleeping, blinking lights around us, and the ocean looked black and mysterious. In the morning everything came to life, and we awoke to a spectacular view of the ocean and hundreds of white washed buildings with blue accents. We were excited to explore! But first, we had to find a supermarket.

The thing about switching continents, is people do things very differently. In Europe there are no seven elevens, no mini marts. Goods are sold in small supermarkets and street vendors. It can take several trips to find toiletries and supplies. In Santorini there was a decent sized supermarket so we took full advantage. We bought some Tupperware containers and filled them with fresh veggies to bring with us for snacks. It's a great way to eat healthy and save money. The money is the clincher. Europe is not cheap, and it can be tough to stretch those dollars out. Luckily I'm married to a very organized Dutchman, who is great at keeping track of a budget and making sure we are on track. I think traveling has really helped us to grow in this area-- it was always an area we needed to improve on, since we always seem to find ourselves nickel and diming our way through regular life at home.

After we got settled and filled our bellies, we explored. We walked to the famous donkey trail that leads down to the ancient harbor. It was very beautiful, but also very stinky. What you don't see in all those romantic movies are the flies hovering around from all the donkey poop ground into the cobble stone. It's impossible to avoid on it, and it wafts right up to the top where all the lovely cliff side restaurants boast lovely sunset meals. It's really interesting, to say the least. Oh the sights and smells!

We viewed the great switchback from the top, and ate some Greek food while we were at it. Steve had the Moussaka, a Greek lasagna made with potatoes, cheese and eggplant, and I had chicken souvlaki and roasted potatoes with tzaziki sauce. I could live off of nothing but Greek food forever. I really enjoyed trying different types of olives, salads, yogurts and sauces. So much that I'm pretty sure I gained a few pounds in Santorini! Oops...So much for all my exercise in climbing tones of hills!

On the second day in Santorini we rented a quad. There are so many giant hills that they recommend it over scooters. We packed a bunch of snacks and headed out. The island is quite small and so we wanted to try and make it around the whole thing. The first stop: ancient Thira.

Thira is the ruines of the first established greek city in Santorini. It is named after the hero Theras who defeated the tribes and conquered the land. It is where the modern city of Fiyra gets its name. When we drove up to the road we were shocked. The city is placed on top of a huge mountain, and the only way up was to drive up a huge cobblestone switchback. We decided to be brave and go up, and were thankful we had an ATV that could handle all the bumps. We were amazed when we saw cars try to squeak past eachother-- the drivers all looked stressed. At the top we parked and climbed a steep path even higher up. The view from the top was incredible. From there we had a panoramic view of the amazing black sand volcanic beaches, the cities, and the low lying plains. From up there it was obvious why the ancient Greeks chose that to be their city. Plus I imagine it helped with city security in case of attack-- you would definitely see it coming.

We sat on some ancient stones for a picnic, and then climbed back down and drove to a nearby red sand beach, which was created from the water carving a beach into the eroded side of a cliff with red mineral deposits. The view was spectacular as well, but we didn't go down to the beach because a Bollywood film was being shot and the beach was crowded.

The last major place we drove to was Oia, a newer cliff-side city on the backside of the island. Oia is the city on all the postcards. It was created as a tourist haven, so the structure of the city is more organized and coordinated. It also smells better-- no donkeys allowed in this town. We snapped some great pictures, although we still preferred Fira because it seemed much more authentic.

After a long day driving we headed back to catch the sunset. I sat with my love in front of an old church as a street busker played some romantic jazz guitar. The sunsets here are supposedly the most beautiful in the world, although seeing it made me miss the sunsets back home over the giant skies and fields. There is no place like home.

We left Santorini feeling like we had seen alot! Next stop, a night in Athens and then an afternoon flight to Rome.


Sunset

Fira

Eating on the cliff side.

Smelly donkeys.

More of the view.

Crusing the island.

Ancient Thira

The great switchback road up to Thira.

Alien

Red Sand Beach

Oia

Me, the packhorse, as we waved to the Acropolis in Athens on the way to the airport.