Julia and I decided, very spur-of-the-moment, to visit Venice for a couple days at the end of her Easter school vacation, April 4-6th.
 |
| A classic view across the San Marco basin. (We saw the sun, however, only for our last few hours there.) |
The boys decided to stay home, and we girls found a good deal on both train fare and a small-but-central hotel for two nights. The easiest train, direct from Munich to Venice, left at mid-day (Thursday), and seven hours later we were there.
 |
| Taking the Vaporetto (see more in the background) down the Grand Canal |
What a simply
fantastic city. As much as I already "knew" Venice to be a city of canals it was astounding to step out of the train station and see a canal and boats where a road would be! (The train comes across a long bridge from the mainland, through the lagoon, and ends up on one of the main islands, right on the Grand Canal). From the train station, it was quite easy to get a ticket for the
Vaporetto (bus-boat) down the Grand Canal to the San Marco basin.
 |
| Our first views of Venice, on the Grand Canal |
The grey skies were unfortunate, but it was very exciting to take a boat ride down the canal and see the boats and bridges, and all the buildings standing right in the water!
By the time we checked into our hotel, it was getting dark, so we did a quick pass through the San Marco Piazza (St. Mark square, the famous central area) and enjoyed the view over the San Marco basin, before the rain started...
We couldn't get enough of the view across the the basin towards the San Giorgio Maggiore island.
And then we got our first glimpse of the world-famous San Marco Basilica on the main piazza.
(Part of the cathedral was under construction, so our pictures only show the northwest side... but it's still stunning. More below.)
Just to the left in this picture is the 15th century
Torre dell'Orologio (clock tower) with bronze figures ("the moors") on top which strike the hours on the bell.
 |
| Right, that's my wine. |
We found a place to eat dinner right beside a canal, outside under an awning. A little touristy but still tasty.
After our (fashionably late) dinner, we did a little window shopping before heading back to the hotel.
We woke up the next morning, unfortunately, to the sound and promise of a steady all-day rain. Too bad, for our one whole day in Venice, but at least it kept the crowds down.
 |
| The Piazzo San Marco, flooded... |
Flooding is so common, there are temporary, wooden, raised sidewalks -- apparently ready to go at short notice. The stores and houses nearby all seem used to this...
 |
| Pumping out... |
It was a good day for visiting the Dodge's Palace, St. Paul's Basilica, museums:
 |
| The Dodge's palace |
The Dodge's palace was the seat of authority for the Republic of Venice for most of its 1100 year history (697 - 1797). It's now a museum showing the residence apartments of the Dodge (Duke) and the many ornately decorated chambers of government (the Chamber of the Great Council, Chamber of the Council of Ten... seems like Venetian government history is something I should have learned at some point...)
 |
| View from inside the Bridge of Sighs |
The Bridge of Sighs connects the Dodge's palace (which housed the courts, as well as chambers of government) to the old jail. The famous bridge is so named because the view through the stone bars in its windows was the last sight of Venice that prisoners would see before their imprisonment.
 |
| Inside the courtyard of the Dodge's Palace |
Adjacent to the Dodge's palace on the north side is the splendor of St. Mark's Basilica. The very ornate Byzantine-style cathedral was intended to show the power and wealth of the Venetian Republic, but also to be a fitting resting place for the remains of St. Mark (the gospel writer).
Apparently (according to my guide book), the first St. Mark's church was built in 828 AD when two Venetian merchants stole the body of St. Mark from a monastery in Alexandria -- and received a triumphant welcome upon bringing it to Venice. The current building dates from the 11th century and a sarcophagus in the cathedral crypt is still believed to house the saint's relics.
(See more info here, it's kind of fascinating. And there's a National Geographic article about the relics here too.)
 |
| Gilded mosaic ceiling dome in the narthex of San Marco |
No photography was allowed inside the church itself, but even the narthex was highly decorated, and I took a few pictures out there, but they can't quite capture the grandeur of the place.
 |
| Detail of the narthex floor |
The floors everywhere in the cathedral drew our attention especially: They are mosaic masterpieces, with designs and pictures made of multi-colored stone, and purposely laid unevenly, apparently to evoke the sea.
We filled the rest of the rainy day quite well: wandering around (without crowds, as we came to appreciate the next day), eating good pizza, shopping for Venetian glass earrings, checking out the Museo Correr (the imperial apartments in there reminded me of our Munich Rezidenz), and of course, sampling gelato.
For dinner, we trusted the guide book for a(n inexpensive) restaurant suggestion, and it was superb.
Al Bacareto did not seem too touristy, and we had some awesome Venetian specialties.
 |
| My dinner, with local seafood. |
Our tiny, but fine (clean, convenient) hotel lay on a meter wide "street" that I would normally have ignored as an alleyway between buildings.
 |
| The "view" from our hotel window... |
Walking the footpaths of Venice is odd since the streets are generally quite narrow and so when following a map and expecting to find a major thoroughfare, it's funny to see a tiny alley labeled with the name of the "street" you were looking for. Transportation is only by boat or by foot (we saw some supplies being delivered off the boats and through the alleys on wheelbarrows-type carts). You don't want to bring a lot of luggage to Venice... all the little islands are connected by bridges with stairs. No handicap accessibility here!
When we woke up the second morning, it was merely cloudy, and by 10 o'clock we had blue sky and sun! In the sunlight, this city is even more astonishingly beautiful, so for the couple sunny hours we had before catching the bus boat back to the train station, we simply savored our time walking around (and taking way too many pictures).
 |
| Early morning, bailing out... |
 |
| Low bridge! |
 |
The canals started started getting
fuller as the sun came out. |
 |
| Sun breaking out over the St. Mark Basilica |
 |
| With the sun, also came the crowds. |
No comments:
Post a Comment