Munich, a restless night and ITALIA!

After locating our hotel in Munich, which was only a 10 minute walk from the main station and yet somehow located on a completely peaceful street, we decided to run some "errands" --- and doing so in a foreign country can be interesting. :) We had some laundry we needed to do, and as we had passed a launderette on our way to the hotel, we went back there. Unfortunately, and obviously, everything was in German. We must have looked befuddled because the lady on duty came and helped us in near perfect English.

After we put our load in we went in search of dinner, and since we had to be back in 25 minutes, we just walked a few doors down to a place called Al Bagdadi. We were both skeptical but our growling stomachs ruled the day. I ordered something called a Schwarma, and Jason wanted a hot dog, but he got another of what I ordered --- which was fine because they were delicious. As the soccer game between Jordan and Lebanon played out on the TV, men smoked out of hookahs behind us. All in all it was a good meal and an interesting experience.

We picked up our laundry and headed back to the hotel where we were finally able to call our families. I must say I had begun to feel down from not speaking to them in so many days. Corny, perhaps. But true.

On Friday we had our "castle day". We took a two hour train ride from Munich to Fussen (where we stored our luggage in lockers) and toured both the castle that King Ludwig grew up in, and also the famous Neuschwanstein (from which Disney modeled his fairytale castle). It was rainy all day, which dampened our spirits a bit (pun intended!) but even with the crummy weather, it was still beautiful. I figured out that Ludwig would have been king when the Seubert family decided to leave Bavaria for America. That made the tours all the more interesting.

We tried to see all of Munich's Marienplatz when we returned that evening (foolish of us!) but mostly we were able to take pictures of the major landmarks (three churches) and we were thankfully able to enter one of them --- which one escapes me as of now. We had hoped to eat at the world's most famous beer hall, the Hofbrahaus, but after getting lost several times we gave up and ate at a lesser and I am sure calmer beer hall.

From dinner we headed back to the central station in Munich and hung out in a Deutsche Bahn lounge until our train left for Venice at 11:40 PM. What a long day! When we got to our compartment we met a girl from Vancouver, BC and later a man from Germany. Since all the couchettes were full, the four of us had to attempt to find a comfortable position to sleep in. Needless to say, we didn't. :) But both of us managed more sleep than when we crossed the Atlantic, and we arrived in Venice mostly alert at 7:36 in the morning.

Well, Venice and the Grand Canal were everything we expected and some of what we didn't. The main mode of transportation are vaporetto, or water buses. Rick suggested taking #1, the slow bus, to follow the reading tour in his book. It would have worked much better if the boat hadn't been packed tighter than a sardine can. We still saw all the sights, it just required more neck craning. We got off the bus at San Marco, and witnessed one of the most famous squares in the world. The basilica and Doge's Palace were breathtaking in the morning light, but we headed straight for our albergo (sort-of a cross between a B&B and a hotel). We found it quite easily, and were pleased to discover it was only a TWO minute walk from San Marco. Perfect.

Once we were free of our bags, we decided to tour the Correr Museum at the far end of the square, where we saw much Venetian art and learned a little of its great history as a trade center. After the museum, we toured the Doge's Palace. (I believe the English word for doge is "duke".) It was amazing and dumbfounding to think of the wealth that built it. Within the walls we saw the world's largest painting on canvas, and many more extravagances.

From the palace we walked the 2 minutes to our hotel to escape the crowds and the heat, slept for a few hours, and headed out to find one of Rick's recommended restaurants. Venice is difficult to navigate even for the locals, so we didn't feel too bad when we didn't find it. We had a mediocre meal in a busy Campo (square) and then fought our way back through the crowds to our hotel, stopping of course for some gelato. :)

The next morning we got up, ate breakfast and headed for the church of San Zulian. We thought it offered an English mass at 9:30 but alas, the service was in Italian. Besides figuring out that St. John the Baptist was being honored, we understood nothing of what was said, and yet everything that was done. Such is the life of being Catholic.

After mass we toured the museum above St. Mark's Basilica because the basilica was not open until 14:00 (or 2:00 PM). When you tour this museum, you are technically in the church and can thus see the jaw-dropping mosaics that cover every inch of the ceiling, but cannot see down into the nave. Mass was going on below us, and we were both irritated that we could not attend that service (never found out how to set that up). The singing was beautiful, and they had the mosaics lit from below. Everything sparkled in gold, Christian glory. I cannot even explain it.

From the basilica we had a quick lunch and did some window shopping. Jason let me have a little splurge and bought me a murano glass bracelet (which I LOVE and am currently wearing) for 35 euro, and later that day I popped into a little glass store and purchased matching earrings for another 8 euro. Besides that, we have avoided the souvenir traps.

Initially we had planned on not taking a gondola ride for 80 euro, but later we decided to take a walking/gondola tour offered by the city Tourist Information office. We met with other English speakers at 3:00 PM at the far end of the piazza and a lovely Italian lady led us through some quiet streets of Venice, telling us the city's story. We then boarded a gondola (with 4 others) and had a 40 minute intimate tour of the canals. It wasn't as romantic as in the movies, but it was peaceful and relaxing. We finished our tour with a trip to the Church of the Frari. It was amazing, and beautiful --- as all the churches have been. But here we were able to witness the art of Donatello, Bellini and Titian in situ (which means in the place it was created for). It was a lovely end to our tour.

Jason and I headed back to more familiar ground by walking to the famous Rialto Bridge and then back to St. Mark's square. We decided to try another of Rick's restaurants and again got lost, only to realize we were "lost" back on the canal of our hotel. We popped in, got a map, and 5 minutes later were seated along a quite canal eating delicious ravioli at Trattoria da Giorgio ai Greci. From dinner we went back to our room, cooled down, listened to the gondoliers sing below us, and then headed back to the piazza around 8:00 PM. Surrounding the piazza are many famous cafes that the wealthy used to attend (and I imagine still do). In the summer, dueling orchestras play outside at each of these cafes. Even though you must pay extra to sit outside, we got a table and ordered drinks (more on that in a minute) as the music filled the air, the stars came out, and everything was lit in lantern light. It was a highlight of the trip so far.

We wanted to order wine and believed we had. I ordered a spritz and Jason ordered a glass of Moscato. When our order arrived, from a man in a white tuxedo jacket and black bowtie, we were both excited to relax and enjoy the evening. Except Jason's "wine" was a glass of hard liquor that he had a hard time even sipping, and my spritz was some sort of orange liquor mixed with soda water. We both attempted to sip on these as people cheered for music and danced under the moonlight. As we were leaving, the band was playing a wonderful rendition of New York, New York. It felt good to hear a piece of home.

If Jason's family has access to this, we want to wish Kevin a very happy birthday! We wish we were there to celebrate 50 years with you! :)

More to come of the crazy morning we had today, as we leave you from this little Internet cafe in Florence. Ciao ciao.