" "All cities are the same, except Venice, it's a bit different" had written Friedrich Torberg in his book "Die Tante Jolesch". He was right! Venice is different. And that's why I love this city more than any other! Venice is unique. Romantic. Wonderful. A dream! A city that you have to see!! Discovered in December 2011 with the family"
(Me in my travel diary, 2011)
Everyone asked me if it was a good idea to do this in December, and all I can say is: YES! It is!! There are much less tourists (still too much though), it is less smelly (at least that's what I've been told) and the atmosphere is very special - can you believe that I was more in christmas mood that at home, even if all the christmas markets and the snow were missing? I guess that's the charm of La Serenissima, Venice.
I had planned to fly to Venice from Basel. Quite a short hop (50 minutes only) and an ecological disaster, I know. And I guess it was karma that some hours before the flight I got the message that it was cancelled. Strikes of the airport staff all over Italy. Great! But as I'm already used to the fact that my last flights all didn't work that easy (New York, Helsinki,...) I wasn't too stressed about this and booked a train ticket. So I started my trip early friday morning. The trip - with a pit stop in Milano - was quite nice and I arrived in Venice Santa Lucia at lunchtime (the train ride didn't took longer that it would have taken by plane all in all).
I admit I felt a bit like Angelina Jolie in "The tourist" when I walked out of the train station - only that (unfortunately!) Johnny Depp was missing and that I wasn't dressed as elegantly as she was in the movie (me: gloves, beanie and warm, purple jacket - "the tourist" in person!).
I took a vaporetto (a ship that brings you from A to B) to the well known Rialto bridge. The 10 minutes - cruise was beautiful, I admired the old palaces, the gondolas with the singing gondolieri (so cliché, but so cool! :-) ) and the hustle & bustle on the Canale Grande. Venice didn't seem to have changed over the years!
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| I'm sure there's one song coming to your mind when you watch this photo - "O sole mio", am I right? |
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| First glimpse: The Rialto bridge... |
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| Buongiorno! |
After the vaporetto ride, I made my way through the tourist masses on Rialto bridge (not as easy as it sounds, the masses are dense!) and looked for my hotel, which was described as "only 150 m away from the Rialto bridge". Well... That's the truth, but just in case you haven't known: Venice is a labyrinth of small alleys and canals. So I passed the same square about 5 times before I found the alley that I was looking for. I was welcomed very warmly and brought up to my room. Room 204 was very cozy and nice, but I was eager to explore the city before it got dark again (the negative part of travelling in winter...).
So I followed my intuition (more than my navigation-app that seemed also confused by this labyrinth of little streets...) and surprisingly found easily what I had been looking for: The Piazza San Marco with the Campanile-tower and the wonderful Doge's palace. Once again I was in awe. What a wonderful place to be!
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| Basilica Salute and the gondolas that can't be missing on a Venice-photo! |
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| The Doge's palace |
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| What you see: The bridge of sighs. What you don't see: The sighing other tourists behind me, waiting for their opportunity to take endless selfies... |
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| Piazza San Marco Christmas edition |
The christmas decoration in Venice was - compared to other countries - minimal. I guess that's the reason why it was so charming. I was in good christmas mood!
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| The good thing about getting lost: You probably cross places where you have been before - but see them in a different light! |
I went back to the hotel and enjoyed my very cozy hotel bed. Venice made me happy. And I slept very good.
The next day, I wanted to do what I had started in several other cities before and what had turned out to be very efficient: I wanted to be in town before all the other people were there too. So I set my alarm clock early (another good reason to visit Venice in winter: You don't have to get up too early for sunrise...) and left the hotel before breakfast. Despite some ambitious joggers, I was alone in the streets. Venice was still sleeping. Only on the canals some ships where already busy, preparing the town for the new day. I enjoyed the silence and the smell in the streets. It had rained during the night and the smell of wet cobblestone was wonderful.
I reached Piazza San Marco just when the sun came out. The square was filled with water, so all the surrounding buildings where reflected. It was an amazing view! Little "bridges" had been put on the square in order to protect people from wet feet, but it wasn't very necessary. With my waterproof shoes I just stepped through the puddles as if it was the most normal thing on earth - while some other people (in ballerinas and other non-appropriate shoes) looked at me a bit confused. Quite funny! I would call this "Acqua alta for beginners".
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| One of those "bridges" that prevent people to get wet feet - call it the "catwalk of San Marco" |
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| The Café Florian - probably the most known - and most expensive - café in Venice. You don't want to know what a cappuccino costs here!! |
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| The catwalk got busier and busier... |
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| ... busier and busier... |
But there was one thing I wanted to do again: A visit in the Teatro La Fenice. One of the most beautiful theatres I've ever seen. There weren't any rehersals this morning, so it was allowed to sit on the king's balcony and enjoy this amazing theatre while learning about the interesting history of the building.
My next stop was at the Mercato Rialto - a big market with everything you need. I always love to walk along the different stands, checking the variety of products and enjoying the colors and smells. Inspiring!
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| Artichoke factory |
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| Is this "maintaining" Italian style? Interesting facilty management!! :-) |
In the evening I had dinner in another very good restaurant. The next day I already had to leave again (that's the crux with weekend-trips! If you feel really happy and start to relax deeply, you have to go back!). This time everything was fine with the flight (I secretly was a bit unhappy with this fact, I wouldn't have minded to stay a bit longer!), so at around lunchtime on Sunday, I made my way back to snowy Switzerland.
Venice is an amazing city. Even if it's probably less romantic than expected (too many people!!), it has his very special charm. It's magical. It's special. It's unique. And that's why it surely wasn't the last time I was there!
(Me, future travel diary - note, December 2017)
My tips for Venice:
- I can really recommend the hotel where I had stayed this time: The HOTEL BARTOLOMEO, next to Rialto bridge. Very friendly staff, cozy rooms, good breakfast. Do you need more?
- Piazza San Marco: You won't miss this place, it's the most known one in town. Very crowded during the day, so think about getting up early and enjoy it at sunrise. It's amazing! And think twice before you order a coffee there, it's very expensive and the waiters not the most friendly ones.
- Teatro La Fenice: One of the most beautiful theatres I know. Big, famous, inspiring, impressive! A must-do in Venice! If you're lucky you can sit on the king's balcony and listen to a rehearsal!
- Mercato di Rialto: A wonderful market with a big variety of fruits, vegetables and fish. Soo nice to see!
- Trip to Burano: This little village outside of Venice is also worth a visit! You reach it by ferry (the ferry departs from San Marco square). I'm sure you'll fall in love with the colorful houses !
- Enjoy the view from Campanile tower: just amazing! From up there, you can see whole Venice and the lagoon that surrounds it! Make sure you're camera is on full battery!