Venice By Night

Venice By Night - By all accounts magnificent

As amazing as Venice is during the day (and it IS amazing!), it is even more amazing between the hours of 7pm and 7am.  Generally speaking, a lot of the Cruise Ship guests get back on their boats, either to head off or to have dinner in their restaurants.  This means the evening and the early morning is generally given to those staying on the Islands or locals.  

In the evening, the weather cools down and the lights go up, making an almost different, completely mystical city.

The waters grow stiller as the gondoliers retire for the day and the lights shimmer on the canals and the lagoon.  St Mark's Square really puts on a show for its guests, and the classical music playing has a different feel to it.

The locals take advantage of the empty streets with laughing and drinking and eating creating a vibrant atmosphere all its own.  Pizza and pasta are cooked and the smells are everywhere, tempting you to sit in the piazza of your choice and enjoy a spritz (an Italian style aperitif - click here for more), then enjoy dinner and a walk amongst the tight alleyways.  Truly magical.

If you are lucky (or unlucky dependant upon your point of view) to have to catch an early bus or train out of the city, at 7am the streets are deserted.  You can take your time and wander around and, while not much is open, the ghost-town atmosphere is eerily beautiful.


So, Venice is Amazing.  That much is a given.  Any tips I'd give for future travellers?

• While there is a lot to see and experience, there's not a lot of 'attractions' per se.  Just enjoy being in the city, getting lost and seeing all the side streets.  You can take a different route each time and discover something you hadn't seen the time before.
• Make sure you take some form of water transport while there.  We took the water bus along the grand canal and, while crowded, was a thoroughly enjoyable way to see the city from a different angle.  You can take a gondola if you so see fit, but there are more cost-effective ways of spending time on the water, plus the gondolas don't necessarily take you from A to B.
• Stay on the island if you possibly can.  Yes, it's more expensive but you also need to take into account the transport in and out of the island each day, plus you might miss out on Venice in the evening if you choose to stay on the mainland.
• What you see in the windows of stores may not necessarily be what you end up getting, especially for food.  Sandwich vendors tend to make up a small selection of very good looking rolls etc for the windows, but store the rest out the back for sale, the ol' McDonalds bait-and-switch.

So now time for Firenze.  Will put a post up tomorrow, but in the mean time, thank you Venice for an absolutely amazing few days.  We will be back.

A quick tirade before my next post

Before I commence this post, I am going to start with setting out a few etiquette rules about the use of electronic devices according to C. D. Joseph.

1. If you are on holiday, you SHOULD NOT be composing email on your blackberry to your assistant asking her to organise a video conference.  You are in VENICE, FFS!  Put the Blackberry down and concentrate on enjoying yourself!  The company won't fall down because you're away for a few days!
2. An I-Pad is not a camera.  You look like a douche.
3. Do you really need three different cameras?
4. Do you really need that €3000 camera when you probably only have the talent and skill to use a Canon €200 point and shoot?  I mean you're just going to be holding up traffic playing with all those settings!
5. If you DO insist on purchasing a very expensive camera, learn the basics BEFORE you go on holiday.  I don't mind if you ask me as a passer by to take a photo of you against a magnificent backdrop, but get it set up before you give it to me... I don't really want to take five photos where nobody can see any details because the flash setting is wrong.  It's a waste of all of our time.
6. I'm all for keeping a record of your journey for posterity, but do put down your recording device occasionally.  If you spend all of your time staring into the viewfinder of your camcorder, you are going to miss things!  Plus you sticking your arm over my shoulder for the ENTIRE JOURNEY DOWN THE GRAND CANAL is really annoying.
7. If you want to use an electronic device on public transport, headphones are a good idea.  I really don't want to hear Mickey Mouse laughing all the way from Venice to Florence because your child is bored.

Right. Tirade over, back to travel-ey goodness.

Venice, Part I

Venice is amazeballs.

I'm much more impressed than I look!

There is no other word for it, no other phrase to describe it.  Amazeballs.  That is the only word I can think of that can capture the sheer beauty, majesty, and mysticism of this city, the feeling of awe that comes with this place, the slight disbelief that you’re standing in the centre of the Venetian Empire.

This city is everything that you think it could be, and then some.  The canals, the buildings, the movement and life of the street, the mix of tourists, locals, and students all gives Venice a feeling unlike anywhere on earth.  The gondoliers really do wear those silly hats and stripy shirts, there really are striped poles to tie the gondolas onto.  There really is classical and baroque music coming from the streets, whether from the gondoliers themselves, or quartets on the markets, or accordion players on the streets.

This place is truly stunning; from the moment you arrive it sends a tingle down your spine and then treats you to an experience unlike anything you’ve been through before.  While one can complain about the tourists if one so chooses, Nick and I are tourists ourselves so it seems slightly redundant.  Plus they give the city a certain buzz, a life along busy streets.  They mix with the locals in the cafes, they walk along the streets admiring the stores and sights, they really do add to the atmosphere.  It probably does help to be here in the shoulder season, so the streets aren’t totally packed.  Plus most of them leave the city in the evenings anyway.

We arrived via bus from Milan (unfortunately our bus was 15 minutes late for our transfer so we were stuck at Bologna bus depot for an hour – not fun).  To get to the city, the bus drives over a large bridge and drops you off at the Cruise Ship Terminal, and from there you need to make your own way, there are no streets in the town (and thus no cars, bicycles, scooters... it’s an odd sensation!), only canals and footpaths.  While it makes the streets very claustrophobic in some parts, it all adds to the charm of the city.  Anyway, after promptly getting lost twice, we managed to get to our accommodation.  We are staying in a twelve-bedroom what can only be described as a guest house.  Which is fine – it’s in the heart of the funky student area of the city.

We spent the rest of the first day walking around enjoying the views; unlike other cities where the canals seem to be primarily for tourism these days, these are busy waterways unto themselves.  Buses, taxis, private crafts all use the waterways.  Apparently there are even water-ambulances (but I haven’t seen one yet).   We just soaked everything in, the tight streets, the busy, bustling squares.  Then after what had to be the largest single pizza I’ve ever seen (New York has something to learn, I tell ya!), we called it a night.

Today, we took a more structured approach to take in some of the major sights.

Piazza San Marco

This is the big boy, the centre of Venetian tourism today.  A huge complex made up of several different buildings and right in the heart of the overly-priced shopping district, it is truly a sight to behold.

We took a tour of the Palazzo Ducale, what used to be the home of the Doge (imagine an elected king essentially) and his parliament, this was truly an exercise in excess, but completely beautiful.

Then a quick tour of the Basilica di San Marco, and up to the Bell Tower for a view over the entire city.  Absolutely amazing.  After that we took in the Museo Civico Correr for a quick history lesson of the City.

From there we headed to The Rialto Bridge for lunch.  The bridge itself is beautiful and has amazing views on both sides.  Unfortunately it’s covered in graffiti these days, but still worth checking out. 

Then, after some more wandering and getting lost (which is so much more fun in Venice than anywhere else I’ve been!) we headed down to take in the Gallerie dell’Accademia and the Peggy Guggenheim Museum.  The Gallerie is made up of historical religious works, and the Guggenheim is more modern pieces, so served as a nice contrast to each other.

Finally, Ca Rezzonico for another look at how the other half live.  I’m loving all of these palaces!  Amazing!

Final tip of today, head to Campo Santo Margherita for a spritzer (a wine based aperitif) before heading to dinner, delicious!

Well, today has come to an end, time to rest my legs and read my book.

What more need be said?

Will write more soon.

Ciao!

End of Berlin & Start of Italy

Berlin now seems to be a distant memory.  We had a great time there, and hopefully we'll get the opportunity to go back at some stage.

Yes Corry, that's what a palace looks like!

For the last few days, we decided we should get out and have a look around the city, so took the opportunity to head down to Potsdam.  About an hour's train ride out of Berlin, this is a great day trip if you feel like getting out of the hustle and bustle of the main city.

Potsdam is sort of like the Palace Capital of the region.  The Sanssouci Palace and gardens are absolutely magnificent.  On top of this, the architect designed a reservoir for the palace in the style of ancient Roman Ruins, absolutely fascinating.  From the top of the ruins you can see all the way to Berlin.

Yesterday, we packed up our bags and said goodbye to our cute little apartment in West Berlin, and flew to Milan, arriving late at night.  Another day, another country!  Even better, no customs, no passport check, picked up bag and was in Italy!  These Europeans have their heads screwed on right, it's easier to fly between countries over here than it is to fly between Auckland and Wellington.

Our cute li'l Berlin apartment

Still, it feels completely different.  The language is much more flowing, people seem more relaxed (yet crazy - our taxi ride to the hotel bordered on terrifying), and there's generally a more full-on attitude.

Today we've spent hitting Milan's high lights - the Sforza Castle (feeling very The Borgias right now) had a Milan Fashion event right in the middle of it!  Still very impressive.  Then through the side streets, passing by the Pinacoteca di Brera, and the Scala Opera House.

Finally onto the Gallery Vittoria and the Duomo.  These are both absolutely stunning structures - the Gallery is full of beautiful shops and restaurants (well out of our price range!), and the frescoes and architecture are both astounding on their own merits.  The Duomo towers above its surroundings and is simply stunning.  Well worth the look around inside.

Large pointy building...

 Well, that's about it for the last few days.  We have one full day left in Milan, and then we're off to Venice.  Should be fun!

More Berlin-ey goodness

It was thiiis big... (actually it's bigger!)

It's been a lovely few days in Berlin.  It's definitely beginning to get colder over this side of the world, I've had to wear a light pullover.  However, I suppose one should not complain over highs of 16-17 degrees and no rain.

We've moved into a cute little apartment in West Berlin for a few days.  This is a great place for us to base ourselves as we explore the other side of the city.  Granted, it's not as funky or as alternative as the Eastern Side, but it has its positives.

Yesterday, we went and hung out in Berlin Zoo.  If you are in town, GO TO THE ZOO!  It's like being a kid again!  The Zoo has the largest collection of species in the world (according to their wiki page).  But anywho, the hippos were absolutely amazing.  And when one of them roared (or burped, who knows?), the ground shook.  Stunning.  Also worth checking out is the aquarium.  

Today we took in the Bauhaus Design School Archive.  It's quite interesting to compare the work done in the school in its history to retro and modern design elements of today.  Plus they also had several modern competition works on display showing up and coming designers.  Very interesting.

After that, we went to the Reichstag, home of the Bundestag.  Unsurprisingly, a building that's absolutely choca-block full of history. The tour doesn't go through the building itself, instead it takes you up to the newly renovated dome (a huge glass contraption that sits on top of the building), allowing great views out over the city and straight into Parliament itself (although the Budestag wasn't sitting at the time).  

From up there, you can get a real sense of how large Berlin is.  But because of the way it's developed and its split history, it's rather sprawling rather than central and building out.  It's also not as tall a city as, say, Manhattan - it's wide, and most of the buildings are relatively short.  This gives it a great skyline, but is an arse to navigate through!

Anywho, a few further days in Berlin, then off to Milano, Italy.  Might still do an update here, who knows?

Shameless Plug

Hi All,

Am currently in West Berlin enjoying the American-style capitalism-ey goodness.  More details to come tonight, however..

One of my good friends has put a technoblog together.  It's quite good, and I think you should ALL go over there and follow it.

The Upload (www.theupload.geek.nz).  Go. Follow.  


(On that note, it would be great if I could have a few further followers and comments... Give me a sense of purpose, why doncha?).

Signing off...

East Berlin

Brandenburg Gate-ey Goodness

If I had to make one recommendation for your travels to Berlin, it would be to stay in East Berlin.

After World War II, the city was essentially divided in half, with the Western Nations taking West Berlin, and the Soviets taking the East (thus that whole Berlin Wall kerfuffle).  Anywho, twenty years after the wall has come down and the country has been reunified, East Berlin has retained some of its cold war feel – the buildings have a certain Soviet Charm.  Berlin, like Rotterdam, was of course heavily bombed during the War, meaning that both sides developed very different feels when the city was split, and both to this day retain those differences.

This interesting mix of Soviet style architecture and design overlaid with the infiltrated Capitalist economy in the East has created a counter-culture all of its own.  The stores, the bars and restaurants are funky, eclectic and busy and have been discovered by a whole new generation both of Berliners and expats (one might argue the term hipster might apply).  It’s a haven for international travellers, as this is area retains a lot of history and the prices are a godsend to young backpackers – Nick and I haven’t paid more than €12 for a meal since we arrived, including drinks.

Yesterday we took a walking tour of the city – this is a great way to get an oversight of the city, including seeing some sights that you wouldn’t expect.  Although it really was just a taster, it was a great way to start to explore and acclimatise to the new city’s layout, plus a friendly guide to help explain the context and history behind some of the sights.  Worth mentioning are:

• The Brandenburg Gate and its relationship to France
• Where Hitler’s final bunker was discovered – now a rather sombre apartment complex
• The remaining Berlin Wall and Checkpoint Charlie
• Museum Island
• The Book Burning memorial
• The Jewish Holocaust Memorial

I’d highly recommend checking this tour out – New Berlin Tours, leaving from the Brandenburg Gate.   Google it, very well worth the investment.

After that we took in the New Museum – primarily ancient Greek and Egyptian artefacts, including Queen Nefertiti’s bust

Today, we viewed the Pergamon Museum, which has a reconstructed Greek Temple built inside it, plus a very impressive gate.  Then off to the German History Museum.  Once again, a very sombre experience especially those years between the two wars.

This is what’s interesting about Berlin, it has such a dark history – the Death Camps, persecution of Jews and other minorities.  In the past, it’s tried to gloss over this and just concentrate on the Soviet denazification, but now it accepts and examines this past in an open but respectful way.  In some ways, it’s an interesting example of how being selective of its history has been used by those in power to gain political advantage – perhaps not any more but illustrating the differences between the 1950’s to today can be quite interesting.

Portions of the Berlin Wall

Tomorrow, we’re off to stay in West Berlin for five days – will report from there when we get the chance.

Amsterdam and Berlin, First Day

When we last left our intrepid heroes...

We were in Delft, about to head off to Amsterdam.

A canal?  In the Netherlands?  Mate, you're dreaming!

Amsterdam is a pretty amazing place.  The best way I can think of explaining it is as a grown up version of Delft!  Criss-crossed with beautiful canals and paved streets, the city itself breathes history.  The buildings of the inner city are beautiful in their age, although it was slightly disconcerting how many of them leaned to one side!  I kept thinking to myself, if this place had a major earthquake it would be flatter than a pancake.

(Speaking of, I HIGHLY recommend having Dutch pancakes in Amsterdam – we visited a place called Pancakes!, a great little place which did nothing but, yes you guessed it.  Mine was an order with ham, raspberry and brie and Nick had spinach, goats’ cheese and pine nuts.  Yes, on pancakes.  Unbeatable.) 

Of course, we had a bit of a wander through the Red Light District and saw the prostitutes in their window.  I know I’m gay, but I just found it rather... disconcerting more than anything else, especially those who had their breasts redone to the size of melons.  Meh, I suppose I’m not their target market.  Having dinner with a friend in the city, he mentioned that it’s generally not the tourists who partake of their services anyway, it’s the locals.  The tourists generally just go to gawk.

Other than that, we packed as much as we possibly could into our 48 hours – visited two museums, the Royal Palace (well worth a tour), ate dinner in China Town, took in the Niewe Kirke and Dam Square, and generally just walked the city streets and took in the majesty that is this incredibly perplexing city.  I think we’re definitely going to have to go back at some point.

Amsterdam is a town that makes its tourists feel special.  Because of the way it’s set up (a set of small, interconnecting side streets rather than a large grid) every tourist gets the opportunity to turn around a corner and find a funky little store, bar or restaurant (or coffee shop that doesn’t sell coffee...) that they can have bragging rights to upon their return.  And there are A LOT of tourists, more than anywhere else I think I’ve been.  This city seems to cater specifically for them – the shopping, the night life, the locals, everything is geared up to happily part the tourists from their cash.

Then off to Berlin.  I’m still having a bit of difficulty getting my head around the fact that you can get on a train and get off in another country, speaking a different language, taking part in a different culture.

After a six and a half hour train ride, we arrived in Berlin.  We met up with Nick’s brother and then headed out for dinner.  Eating out in Berlin has so far proven to be very cost-effective, and there are so many options!  I’m looking forward to trying a lot of very good cafes for a very reasonable price!  Of course the hostel price includes breakfast which is once again very helpful in keeping costs down, it means you only need to purchase one more meal per day.

Today we headed out to a concentration camp about 45 minutes outside of Berlin by train.  It took about three hours to take in the whole experience.  This is a very sombre experience, but I’d highly recommend it to anyone, if nothing else, being there, standing next to the mass graves, the execution and cremation grounds – well, I’m not going to say it makes it more real because I don’t think it’s something that I’ll ever fully grasp, how man can do that to his fellow man or how the prisoners must have felt, must have experienced.  But it makes a huge difference to almost feel the ghosts of those around you, to stand next to where these atrocities actually happened.

Anyway, on a brighter note, as of tomorrow (Monday), we would have been on the road for six weeks!  Exciting stuff!  We should probably do something to celebrate that fact...

Mijn hovercraft zit vol palingen

Today was our last day in South Holland.  It's been a wonderful few days, and we've managed to explore the area pretty thoroughly.  The weather is beginning to cool, and the leaves are beginning to brown - Autumn is coming to Europe.

Very pretty!

Delft is beautiful, and we've used it as a basis of operations for the last five days.  Filled with amazing old churches and canals, it can be a li'l touristy but during the week it's been quite quiet and restful, a nice place to come back to.

It has this amazing old church whose steeple is on a substantial lean, quite amazing.  And it has some great restaurants on barges in the canals, highly recommended.  Our hotel itself is right on a canal, and you can sit and drink a glass of Grolsch overlooking these.  It's going to be rather sad to leave.

The Hague is... well, honestly it's probably worth a half-day trip if you must, but that's about it.  It's quite gray and dull all things taken into account.  We walked past all the major stuff - the Palaces, the International Criminal Court in the Peace Palace... Nice enough, but you can't get in and have a look around in any of them.  Meh.

Although if you are in town, a visit to the Escher Museum is well worth the time.  It's inside the old Queen's Winter Palace, and gives a great perspective of Escher's work.

Rotterdam is very different to both Delft and the Hague.  For a start, most of the city was destroyed during WWII, so it has been rebuilt since then.  As such, it provides a great perspective of architecture in the 20th Century.  It's a much more vibrant, alive part of the country then the Hague.

I'd recommend having lunch in the New York Hotel on the other side of the river - this is the old base of the New York / Holland Line, so was where all the migrants left to New York.  We caught up with Nick's family and they discussed their family history and its relationship to the building.  On top of this, it's a beautiful building and the food was rather lovely.  Quite busy though, so make a reservation if you can.

So tomorrow we're heading North up to Amsterdam, which means we're almost as far North as we're going (Berlin being slightly further north).  Looking forward to it!

Around and about in Belgium

Brussels makes an excellent base of operations for exploring the rest of Belgium - it's quite central and the trains run absolutely everywhere.  So we've been out of Brussels for the last few days exploring other places.

Cute Buildings and a canal... Where could we possibly be?

Bruges
Bruges is located about an hour's train ride out of Brussels, and is very sweet!  It's very well protected (a UNESCO heritage site), so has maintained it's ancient heritage.  The problem is that everyone now knows this, and a rather strong tourist culture has developed.

Nonetheless, just walking around the village is an amazing experience.  We were lucky enough that we've come at the end of the season so it wasn't too busy.

After walking into town from the railway station, we wandered to the Markt where the Belfry is located - a great location to walk up and view the entire city - over a sea of red brick houses and other structures.  From there we made our way to the Burg, the town square.  After a stop for coffee, we found some chocolate rubber duckys (yay!) and ate them at a very cool li'l fountain outside the visitor Centre.

Lunch was moules frites at a cute restaurant off the main square.  Then off to view the churches and the museums - there's a converted hospital that's been turned into a museum, very well worth a visit!

Another tip is to head to the eastern outer ring of the city, there's an amazing city gate, and operational old windmills, very beautiful.

Then back into town.

Gent
Brugges is lovely and probably one of the more touristy areas, but Gent is almost more beautiful.

Take the train to Gent from Brussels.  At first the train station doesn't really give you an indication of what lies beyond, and it's a bit of a walk into town.  Don't let that put you off, as you get into the old city, it's amazing!  (You can also take a trolley into town as well, which probably saves you a bit of time - we took the trolley back.)  Vast squares overlooked by beautiful buildings with much fewer tourists around.

I'd suggest going to the Castle (Yes, they have a castle!) and the visitor's centre is in the courtyard.  From there you can get a self-guided walking tour brochure, which takes you around all the major sites, and you can take your time and explore the sites you want at your own pace.  Definitely worth doing are:

• The Castle.  A REAL CASTLE!!!  Yes, I know we have Larnach back home, but doesn't really compare to this beautiful historic building.  It even has a torture museum and a blade from a real guillotine!
• The Canals are rather special as well, but aren't as frequent as Brugges
• The skyline is made of three or four different churches and a belfry, all worth visiting for their exquisite architecture in their own right
• There's also a rather lovely courtyard just off one of the main roads which is lovely for a quiet drink (the House of Alijn)

Ultimately, Ghent feels a little more lived in - Brugges was cut off for a number of years before it was discovered and turned into a giant tourist attraction, while Ghent has had the university to keep it going.  But both are well worth a visit.

So I'm sitting in the hotel room on our last night in Belgium chilling out.  Off to the Netherlands tomorrow, should be good!

A real life castle!!!

Belgium, Part II

Giants and castles!

It's been a wonderful few days in Belgium recently.  We used Saturday to chill out - relax, refresh ourselves.

On Sunday our hosts took us to a village called Belœil.  The reason for going was to check out the grand castle there, and admittedly it is a very grand castle (you can check out further details here).  We spent a good hour or so just wandering through its majestic halls and ooh-ing and ahh-ing.

However, while we were in the village, there was also a parade of sorts.  The village hosts a 'giants' parade where they make 10ft dancing giants, and then invite other dancing giants from nearby villages to attend, then they all make their way to the castle before dancing away.  From what I can figure, it's an excuse to eat frites, drink bier and have a generally good time while brass bands play music.  Anyway, such fun.

Monday was pretty much a complete write-off - train to Belgium, Nick not feeling well, so crashed at the Hotel.

The cobbled streets of Brussels

  However today (Tuesday) we did get a lot done.  Brussels is a truly wonderful town.  It has all the history and majesty of a larger city with less of the dirt and poverty.  Undoubtedly it's there, but just not so much of it.  So we got up and got ready, walked into town and stopped at a lovely little bar (Nick had a coffee, me a beer), then went around all the local tourist attractions.  Most of the inner town is lined with cobblestone and brickwork, and a lot of it is closed to traffic.

After visiting the Manneken Pis, we made our way to The Grand Place, which is rather lovely - like a town square surrounded by beautiful baroque buildings.  We then wandered around for a while, just darting in and out of side streets, before making our way to view the cathedral and then the Comic Strip Centre which includes pretty much a whole floor on Tintin (of course).  

Uptown to view the Musee Margritte, and to view the Palace of Justice with spectacular views over the city.

So all in all a very busy few days.  Tomorrow off to Bruges and then Gent on Thursday.  Keep it coming, Belgium!