My beautiful daughter and I went
for a holiday to Europe. We started with an overnight Air-France flight landing
in Paris, departing from Johannesburg at 19:15. After landing in Paris at 5 am,
we took a short flight to Munich at 7 am.
From the air, as well as from the
ground, Germany was very lush and green. The land appeared like a soft green
carpet decorated by yellow and red tulips. Graffiti is everywhere in Germany,
especially in abandoned houses and wells. We had the pleasure of staying at
Hotel Seibel – the staff were friendly and they served nice breakfast as well. Not
knowing German was not much of a problem, thanks to the friendly locals.
In Munich, we bought a 1-day
transport pass which allowed us to use as many trams, trains and busses as we
liked. On the rainy day which we bought the pass, we rode many trams and busses
to experience the city. It was an enjoyable sight-seeing experience. However, I
did inhale a lot of second-hand cigarette smoke.
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| The beautiful German countryside |
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We then went to visit St Peter’s
church. Originally built in 1100, it was destroyed during the Second World War.
The old church was razed completely before it was reconstructed again. We
braved the rain to enter the church and were treated to the soothing sounds of
the organ and piano. Munich is filled with many other churches besides St Peter’s,
as well as castles.
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| St Peter's Church |
The heavy rains continued
throughout our stay in Munich. Our hotel was only a five-minute walk from the
train-station, but the rain was so hard that we had to take a taxi. We then
took a train from Munich to Venice. I liked the seating arrangement of the
train. Midway through the journey, many announcements were being made.
Unfortunately for us, they were all in German. A friendly passenger asked, “Do
you understand what is going on.” After shaking my head, she explained that due
to a flood, a section of the railway had washed away. The train was going to
stop at the German border. However, the train operator promised to make an
alternative arrangement for us from the border to Venice.
We ended up disembarking the
train at the small border-town of Keirserfelden. From there, we took a bus
through Austria’s countryside to another train station in Italy. We arrived in
Venice by train, only one and a half hours late – despite part of the railway
being washed away by floods!
The original German train had a
dining car, however, it was powered via solar energy. During our gloomy, rainy
day, there was no sun. And no sun = no hot meal. Despite this snag, I will
remember this nine-hour train journey for ever. The scenery of the Alps is
breathtaking. I am very grateful to my smart daughter for choosing this route.
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| Munich train station |
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| The Alps |
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| A castle we saw on the way |
St Lucia rail station in Venice
was love at first site. I can’t remember from when I have been dreaming about
Venice. We took a water taxi to Ledo Island. We stayed at the Hotel Villa
Parreo which was ok. In Venice, two things are very common – bicycles and
pot-plants.
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| Venice at sunset |
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| Notice all the pot plants |
For tourists, a transport pass is
essential. It allows you to use any bus and water taxi. We used this pass to
visit St Marks Square, Place Dueola church (where the entrance tickets cost 16
euros) and the 100m high Bell Tower. Although there is a lift, you need to book
in advance if you intend on going all the way up. As customary for every
tourist to Venice, we went on a Gondola ride. However, the canals stink and we
did not end up enjoying the ride. We also visited some of Venice’s many museums
and churches – St Mark’s Basilica being the most prominent.
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| St Mark's Square |
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| Customary gondola ride for tourists |
This is a tip that you will not
hear in advance, but is crucial to tourists (in my opinion) – going to the loo
in Venice is very expensive! It costs 1.5 euros each time!
We also visited Murano Island,
home to the famous glass factory. I was left truly speechless by the beautiful
glass jewellery on sale. Naturally, we bought a few small souvenirs.
We arrived at Venice by train,
and then departed via train as well. This time, off to Rome…
The train journey this time occurred
without incident. The duration of three hours was also relatively short. This
was mainly due to the fact that the train was going as fast as 245 km/h at
times. During the journey, we went through a very long tunnel. Whilst speeding
through the darkness, I could not help imagining myself as Sherlock Holmes or
Agatha Christie, solving a murder mystery in the eerie darkness.
We were welcomed into Rome by red
poppies from the countryside dancing in the wind. Unfortunately, even the
domestic trains were covered in graffiti. Our hotel in the Rome was very close
to the Vatican. We visted St Peter’s Basillica in the Vatican – I don’t know
how I managed it, but I climbed the 320 stairs to reach the top of the Cupola
(dome-like structure on top of a building). These stairs were after taking the
lift up as far is it could go.
After that, we went to Castel Sant’
Angelo – a mausoleum for the Roman Emperor Hadrian and his family. Sorry to
disappoint you, but I was not all that interested in the history of this
building. Thereafter, we visited the Roman Forum and the Colosseum.
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| The Colosseum |
There are two things which the
Romans excelled at – roads and aqueducts. Both of these are still used today,
thousands of years after they were built. The natural spring water is still
available throughout the city thanks to the aqueducts. Furthermore, it is a
cheaper alternative to bottled water.
If you have more time, you can
visit many more churches, museums and landmarks. However, we went to the most
well-known ones – the Pantheon and the Fontana Di Trevi (Trevi Fountain).
Before chirst, the Pantheon was a temple for many Gods and Goddesses. All the
citizens of Rome would pray here. The Pantheon is still in good condition today
and is now a church. It also contains many paintings and sculptures.
Whether you like ice cream or
not, I suggest that you try Gelato (Italian ice-cream). We tried it and loved
it. The Fontana Di Trevi was beautiful and a nice place to rest our tired feet.
Locals say you should make a wish and throw a coin into the water. Despite this
insight from the locals, we did not do this.
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| Trevi fountain |
After dinner, we took the Number
19 tram on an hour-and-a-half journey to the other side of the city – The Vatican.
The Roman Pass that we had bought at our hotel was not useful here, so we had
to line up in a long queue. While waiting, we were pestered by numerous “tour
guides” who promised that they would find us a way out of the long line and
show us around the city. We did not bother. Cameras were not allowed in the Vatican
– so you have to keep all your memories in your mind. You just have to open
your mind and think – then you can revisit these places again and again.
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| Guards at the Vatican |
Afterwards, we went for some
night-time window shopping. We were just really walking around without any
fixed destination. It was the best night of my holiday.
My ten-day adventure ended in
Rome. I returned home with the Old and New Rome leaving me with some
unforgettable memories. The ancient Rome, and the modern city have got different
personalities. Regardless, I enjoyed it thoroughly.
