Rome, Day 1

I arrived in Rome later that night and went to the hostel I had found online.  The hostel was near the train station and was very cheap.  However, once I got there, I realized why.  It was basically a 2 bedroom apartment that had been converted into a hostel.  It was run by people from India, who spoke Italian, in an area that could be described as Asia Town (more than Chinese were there).  The hostel could host about 30 people a night, but only had 2 bathrooms.  Each bathroom had a shower, sink, and toilet.  So, at any given time, only 2 people could be using the facilities.  The room I stayed in was slightly larger than my dorm room and had 12 people in it.  Fortunately, half the people in my room were Australians who stayed were staying for the same 3 nights I was.  I got to talking to them and we decided to tour Rome together.

My first full day in Rome, we went to the Trevi Fountain and threw in a coin, which promises a return visit to Rome (or throw in 2 coins to find true love).  We then walked to the Spanish Steps and went to McDonald's.  It is one of the world's largest and definitely the fanciest, as it was featured as the number one unique fast food place on the Travel Channel.  It was laid out in a Roman ruin style with mosaics and weather-worn statues.  However, we decided to bypass McD's and get pizza instead.  Italian pizza is not like ours.  They do not use tomato sauce normally.  So, my pizza tasted like a cheese breadstick, but without a dipping sauce.  Strike 2 for Italian pizza.  

Trevi Fountain

The Australians I met in my hostel...taking pictures the Japanese way, with the peace sign

The Spanish Steps

The entrance to the McDonald's near the Spanish Steps

We then went to the Pantheon and wandered around aimlessly the rest of the day, just enjoying the Roman atmosphere.  We found a small grocery store and rather than buying a small Fanta, I paid about 10 cents more and got a 1.5L bottle, so I looked like a fat American carrying it around the rest of the day.  I made this comment and the Australians told me that they overtook us as the fattest country this past week; it had been all over their news.  So, since we are no longer one, when you are finished reading, go eat something.  Fortunately, I had the bottle that I could just fill up all over Rome at natural spring fountains that had really cold drinking water--everyone just carried around a bottle and filled up whenever we saw a fountain.  That night, we returned to the hostel for a (free) supper of pasta.  

The Pantheon

The interior of the Pantheon

A view of the Colosseum and other ruins in the distance

"Expensive" and "precious" can have the same Italian translation

My room in the hostel--capacity of 12

Florence

Florence

The Duomo and Giotto's Tower

The Duomo and Giotto's Tower

Florence was my next stop.  Top tourist sights (can this be either "sites" or "sights"?) include the Duomo (built 1300-1435, 3rd longest nave in the world), the David, the Uffizi Gallery, the Ponte Vecchio, and the Santa Croce Church.  The most famous painting at the Uffizi Gallery is The Birth of Venus and the Accademia Gallery contains Michelangelo's David.  Both of these have very long lines, and tickets should be ordered in advance--a few days for the Accademia and months ahead for the Uffizi.  Instead, I went to the courtyard where the David stood until 1873, where a full size replica currently stands.  

The replica of David in its original location

I climbed up the narrow stairs to the top of the Duomo, all 463 of them.  The narrow passageways up were about 2.5 feet wide, and had 2-way traffic in some parts.  The views were great, though, and part of the trip goes through the top of interior of the dome, allowing for closer inspection of the dome's artwork and an aerial view of the church's interior.  The inside of the church is massive.  Like many of the churches in Italy, one must have shoulders and upper legs covered or be considered "indecent."  Many girls and women did not have covered shoulders and were given blue sheets with a hole for their heads to wear inside the church.  The interior of the dome is covered with the Last Judgement painting, which is the most frightening painting I have ever seen in my life.  It shows heaven, but also hell with the most grotesque versions of demons and people being ripped apart/eaten.  Most R movies don't come close to this level of gore. 

The front of the Duomo

Inside the Duomo (note the girls in blue sheets)

The Last Judgement on the dome's interior

Two-way stairway up the Duomo (note the curve along the dome)

Giotto's Tower from the top of the Duomo

Santa Croce Church is the final resting place of many famous Florentines, including Galileo (the scientist), Niccolò Machiavelli (the author of The Prince), and Michelangelo (of "Ninja Turtles" fame).  

Santa Croce Church

Galileo's Tomb

The altar in Santa Croce (note the restorer in the right scaffolding)

The Ponte Vecchio, or "Old Bridge," houses many shops on the bridge itself, enticing tourist to buy nicknacks as well as glass, silver, and gold.  I was only in Florence about 7 hours before boarding a train to Rome.

Ponte Vecchio

A modern-day Michelangelo?

Pisa

Piazza dei Miracoli

The altar of the Duomo

The Duomo and the Baptistry from the top of the Leaning Tower

Wow, that was heavy

The base of the Leaning Tower of Pisa (apparently in Saran Wrap)

From Venice, I took a train to Florence and then a commuter train to Pisa.  The main tourist sights in Pisa are on the Piazza dei Miracoli or "Plaza of Miracles" and can be seen in just a few hours.  A limited amount of people are allowed on the Leaning Tower of Pisa at a time, so I got a ticket for a specific tour.  In the meantime, I toured the Duomo (the cathedral) and joined the hordes of tourists doing the requisite mime picture holding up the tower.  The lean is noticeable going up the narrow stairs up to the top.  The slope is very obvious on the top, which offers good views of Tuscany.  I really wanted to test gravity and throw something off the side, just like Galileo, the famous Pisan, who threw stuff off the tower in the name of science (back before there were security people preventing it).  

That night, I had a piece of pizza in Pisa.  I prefer Pizza Hut; the pizza had a cracker-like crust, tomato sauce, some leafy vegetable (looked like dandelion leaves) and small, uncooked slices of parmesan cheese on top (yes, slices).  I hoped the pizza would be better in Rome...

View from the top of the Leaning Tower of Pisa

Venice

The Grand Canal in Venice

The Campanile of St. Mark's Square and the Doge's Palace

Gondolas going down one of Venice's "alleys"

The Rialto Bridge

The next morning, I went back to Frankfurt to catch a bus to the Frankfurt Hahn airport. I flew on Ryanair, a budget airline that usually flies out of small airports. Frankfurt Hahn is a misnomer--it's nowhere near Frankfurt. It's about an hour 45 minutes away in the middle of nowhere. It's as if an airport called the Des Moines airport were built in Traer. Anyway, it was a short flight to Venice, Italy. After another bus ride, I was in Venice about 1 pm. No cars are allowed in Venice and the main form of transportation are the vaporetto, or water buses, along the Grand Canal. I found my hostel, down an alley way near the fish market. The only sign of it was a small call button at the door. The woman who ran it spoke no English, but it worked out well and only had a couple of other guests.

I toured around Venice, leisurely going down the Grand Canal on the vaporetto taking pictures and later around random streets in Venice. I have heard the best way to really explore a place is to just get lost, either by accident or on purpose. Wind down deserted streets, away from the touristy areas and just explore. I walked around St. Mark's Square and went up into the campanile for a view of Venice. It felt like déjà vu because I had just been to the Venetian Casino in Las Vegas, modeled after the square. The rest of my time, I just went around and took pictures. Venice is a picturesque city, but there really isn't that much to see or do specifically. The gondola rides are "cheapest" during the day, and can cost 75€ ($112) for a 40 min. ride and are more expensive at night. This fee can be split with up to 6 people, but a cheaper way is to pay .50€ ($0.75) and take a traghetto. These retired gondolas ferry people across the canal. The ride is about 90 seconds, but gives the gondola experience at a much better cost. I left Venice on Tuesday morning and headed for Florence and Pisa on the Eurostar train.

A Trip Post (Finally): Marburg, Germany

The castle in Marburg, Germany

The Elizabeth Church

Inside the Elizabeth Church

The "Old Town" area of Marburg

I finally have an internet connection in my dorm room in the Czech Republic.  I will start my posts for my trip from the very beginning.  I left Waterloo at 11am on Friday, August 29.  I flew to Minneapolis and Detroit before a 7 hour, 45 minute flight to Frankfurt, Germany.  I went to Marburg, Germany, for the weekend and stayed with the Herrmann family, the family I had stayed with 4 years ago.  I toured the landmarks in Marburg that I hadn't had a chance to see before, including the castle and the Elizabeth Church, built in the 1200s over the grave of St. Elizabeth.  We rode the train to Frankfurt to see some of the museums there on Sunday with the Herrmann kids; Sammy, Noah, and Rebecca.