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.  

Prague and Internet

I still don't have a permanent Internet connection at school yet.  They have not turned on the network yet, so I have been going on from wherever I can.  Today, I am going to Prague to meet up with Dan Foster and Dan Murphy from Iowa State for a few days.  When I get back on Sunday, hopefully I will have Internet in my dorm room and I will post pictures and posts about my week in Italy and first impressions of the Czech Republic.  ISU/Iowa is on Saturday, so GO STATE!

I'm Alive

I made it to the Czech Republic after traveling from 6:15 am Sunday to 1:30 am Monday on bus or train (more details on that to come). I won't get internet access for a few days at the school. I am actually typing this in a wireless hotspot in a KFC sharing a computer with other foreign students. I will post pictures and write about my Italy travel when I actually get a chance. I'm glad to hear ISU beat Kent State--2 and 0!