Tuesday, August 13, 2024

ITALY, AUSTRIA AND GERMANY

Anna and I decided to visit her relatives in Germany. We had visited last time six years ago. So we figured, since we were flying to Europe, we might as well "do" Italy.  

Our plan was to spend five days (four nights) in each city: Rome, Florence and Venice. We made arrangements for Airbnb's in each city as well as a Eurail pass for train travel between cities. We each brought two carry-on bags (one backpack for our rock climbing gear and one bag for our clothes) to avoid checking luggage.

 


As soon as we landed in Rome we took the train from the airport to the main station in Rome and walked to our Airbnb, dropped our bags and started sightseeing.

The painted ceiling of Chiesa di Sant' Ignazio di Loyola appears three-dimensional:


The Pantheon, a marvel of Roman engineering, built by Agrippa in 27 BC and reconstructed by Hadrian in 125 AD, has the largest unsupported dome in the world and has a hole (oculus) in its center.


And, of course, everyone has to see the Fountain of Trevi.
 


 

We ate al fresco for our first dinner in Rome: wine and bruschetta to start.


We had bought tickets online for our adventures on our second day in Rome: the Sistine Chapel and St. Peter's Basilica.


Laocoon:






Sant'Angelo Bridge over the Tiber:

Dinner was the famous Roman dish, Rigatoni Alfredo:

 

The next day our plan was to visit the Galleria Borghese (works by Bernini and Caravaggio among others). We had purchased tickets online months in advance. The Galleria allows 160 visitors to enter every half hour. Our tickets were timed for the opening of the gallery. 

Unfortunately the gallery had an electrical blackout that morning and after we waited for more than an hour, the power company admitted that the electricity would not be turned on soon. We "called an audible" and went straight to the National Galleries Barberini Corsini.


 

And on to the Colosseum:



Dinner antipasti:

 

For our last full day in Rome we started our morning at Regoli and sampled their incomparable maritozzi (Rome's most iconic pastry, brioche buns scented with orange zest, vanilla and honey, then filled with whip cream).



We then walked to the Spanish Steps:


And to the Basilica de Sant'Andrea delle Fratte (statues by Bernini):




The hotel Relais Fontana di Trevi has a rooftop bar overlooking, wait for it, the Fountain of Trevi:


Our evening's dinner at Bo.No. started with pâté de foie gras:

Anna had eggplant parm and I had gnocchi.


Next day we took the high speed train (186 mph) to Florence. Our Airbnb was overwhelming.





https://drive.google.com/file/d/1fnQZISbtJ1bbPBozTuUW32yc9Onkqgyv/view?usp=sharing

First stop was the "Duomo" (Santa Maria del Fiore):




The inside of Brunelleschi's dome:

And the "Gates of Paradise":



Then the Loggia dei Lanzi:

Perseus with the head of Medusa (Benvenuto Cellini)


Rape of the Sabine Women (Giambologna)


Then gelato:




Before a light dinner we caught a photo of Anna with the Ponte Vecchio behind her:





Dessert was chocolate mousse for Anna and Vin Santo and biscotti for me.


The second day in Florence we did the Ponte Vecchio. This is how it looks in the early morning.







Later in the day many tourists are heading there:


Lots of  fine jewelry and leather shops. Anna couldn't resist the earrings made with three colors of gold.


There are always some people on the Arno just going under the bridge:


A quick look at Palazzo Vecchio:

 
Walking, we found a random carousel:


And then a long hike up to the Piazzale Michelangelo for a spectacular view of the city.



Then it was time for an affogato:


Affogato (vanilla ice cream with espresso poured over it). The hot espresso "drowns" the cold ice cream (in Italian affogato means drowned).                                                    

Dinner featured fettucine al ragu di cinghale (wild boar) and the wine was Brunello di Montalcino.


Before closing out our day, Anna just had to sit on a slick motorcycle:


The next day was museums: the Galleria dell' Academia and the Uffizi. So much to see!

Galleria dell' Academia






Uffizi:








Then gelato again (this time at Venchi).



A random woman singing opera in the street:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1dD9p47DbXzZOigdP1aLNsOiRKgmjHU9h/view?usp=drivesdk

And a very pretty hole in the wall (order your food):

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Dinner was shared beef tartare, talgiolini and tartufi (truffles), Florentine beef filet, peppercorns, and spinach.



For our last full day in Florence we had pre-booked a wine tour and lunch in the walled city of San Gimignano in Tuscany.


https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ToiccVJFOgbtpp3UD9w51gngT8xTZNcO/view?usp=sharing








 

Of course we ordered some Chianti DOCG to be shipped home.





And then the special gelato.


 
The next day we took the train to Venice and then a water taxi to our airbnb.


We left our luggage and walked over the canals to St. Mark's Square.



 
Strike the hour:


And totally by random chance we met Carol and Tom at St. Mark's Basilica. They are friends of our daughter-in-law's parents in Park City Utah. We had only met them once, at the wedding of our son and daughter-in-law many years ago.


As we did our first day walking tour of Venice, Anna was Jonesin' for a cannolo. We bought a chocolate one in a bakery alongside a canal. As we left the bakery Anna started to eat the cannolo when a seagull swooped down and grabbed half of it!




The next day we took a water taxi to the island of Murano, famous for unique glassmaking.




We watched a glass blowing demonstration.


Anna made matching glass pendants of millefiori for herself and granddaughter Evie:





We noted that the canals in Murano are used to transport everything, including coffins.


Lunch was pizza and wine (at a restaurant in Italy, each person usually gets his/her own pizza; we opted to share one).


When we returned to Venice we visited the Rialto Market and bought cherries and had iced coffee.


Next on to the bar on the terrace of the Hotel Danielli. The view there of the Grand Canal is the best in Venice. 


The margaritas were expensive enough for the hotel to be able to afford a hawk to keep the seagulls  away!



Yes, we took the obligatory gondola ride:





Followed by a nice dinner. Catch my chocolate dessert.


The next day we visited the Doges Palace.


Prisoners were judged in a room of the Doges Palace.

"The Bridge of Sighs, or Ponte dei Sospiri in Italian, is a covered bridge in Venice that connects the Doge's Palace to the New Prisons. The bridge's name comes from a popular legend that prisoners would sigh as they crossed the bridge for the last time, taking in a final view of Venice through its small windows." 






After lunch we took a nap!


On the way to dinner we saw a wonderful mask store.



For dinner we shared a first course of seafood pasta. I had stuffed sea bass and an obscene chocolate sphere dessert.







On the way home we bought some food items for our kitchen at the Co-op supermarket.

For our last day in Venice we were determined to find a park with green trees. We walked miles from the tourist center to reach Parco Savergnan.

On our way we saw a mens' chorus singing in the street:


And an infinite variety of pizza slices:


And baked goods!


Parco Savergnan:



We walked back to our Airbnb for lunch. Thank you Co-op.


We walked to the Grand Canal through a calle (in Spanish it means street but in Venice it is a narrow passage between buildings).


We had a glass of wine and looked at the largest luxury yacht visiting Venice (6 bedrooms and a crew of 11, rented for € 250,000 a week). Anna, very small, is in the foreground.



Next day we took the train to Innsbruck, Austria.


Trucks backed up on the bridge at the Brenner Pass: one of the lowest (4,511 feet) and most important through the main chain of the Alps on the Austrian-Italian border. It was one of the most popular Alpine crossings to arrive from north to south and back for centuries. German kings crossed the pass on their way to the imperial coronation in Rome.


Our Airbnb in Innsbruck had a beautiful terrace view.

We had good wurst (and beer) for dinner at Kaiserstube.


The next day we walked all through the Altstadt. 

We saw the Goldenes Dachl (Golden Roof). It is Innsbruck's most famous symbol, completed in 1500. The roof is decorated with 2,657 fire-gilded copper tiles for Emperor Maximilian I to mark his wedding to Bianca Maria Sforza. The Emperor and his wife used the balcony to observe festivals, tournaments, and other events that took place in the square below.


We walked the main shopping street, Maria-Theresien-Strasse, with its beautiful buildings, 'till the end at the Triumphal Arch.





We passed a beautiful city park and noted how exacting the Austrians are. These were the park rules (that go on forever).


We looked for dirndls for our two young granddaughters in Utah. These formal dress clothes were a bit too expensive!


Of course we tried some coffee at a konditorei (pastry shop). Anna had strudel and I had Sacher-Torte.


A visit to the Cathedral of St. Jacob proved to be well worth it:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/19o10DhQUaDaU95Oj2LgR8GiBVP1skEdz/view?usp=sharing

And we walked to the Inn river that gives Innsbruck its name.


https://drive.google.com/file/d/1zXBkFrjUlrL16ir2O25YSJPYNunXwCP0/view?usp=sharing

The Alps surrounding Innsbruck are awe-inspiring:



We stopped for a quick lunch (shared sandwich):


We weren't hungry at dinner so we ate eggs at our Airbnb. Oh, and also wine (Brunello di Montalcino DOCG).


The following day had been planned for rock climbing in the Alps. We had brought some warm clothes in anticipation of chilly temps. We had arranged a guide from a local climbing school. Unfortunately it was raining. So Anna and I decided to climb indoors. Little did we realize that Innsbruck had a fantastic world class indoor climbing gym. It was awesome!




Lunch was beer, spätzle + cheese and onions.


We then walked across town to visit a bell foundry. Although the internet stated that it was open until 5:00pm, when we arrived at 3:55pm it was closing in five minutes! We would have to come back tomorrow.

 And the next day we did.

The Grassmayr bell foundry (www.grassmayr.at) has been casting bells since 1599. The secret of their bell calculations is a carefully guarded secret passed down the generations.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/15g48sGP75WPjHvrg4msk_fOu6b2Gzi6t/view?usp=sharing


Ringing the bell:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1QGBesCpVLDW_2PIJcKxLuXE5XcmXqN_B/view?usp=sharing

It was a long walk back to our Airbnb for lunch of wurst, potato chips and beer.

After lunch we walked over the bridge to the other side of the Inn River: and found another konditorei. Anna tried the Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte (Black Forest cake).


Later we ate a simple dinner of rösti (pan fried grated potato) and packed for our train trip to Germany.

  

Our plan in Germany was for us to stay at Anna's cousin's (Hans Ludwig) house in Bamberg (Bavaria), to visit her German family and to spend two days rock climbing in Fränkische Schweiz (so-called, "Franconian Switzerland", because its geological features are reminiscent of Switzerland).

Hans Ludwig and Heike and two of their three children, Hannes and Ella:




Hans Ludwig gave Anna and me a tour of his glider manufacturing and repair factory.



Cousins Hans Peter (Hans Ludwig's brother) and Claudia spent a day with us.

 

They took us to the cemetery so that Anna could carry out her mom's wish to have some of her ashes buried in her German family's plot.


Then they took Anna and me to Schloss Weißenstein, a palatial residence in Pommersfelden, Bavaria.



We also went to visit Great Aunt Johanna, the lone living sister of Anna's mom and the mother of Hans Peter and Hans Ludwig.



Anna and I often walked in the park near Hans Ludwig's house. We loved some of the tree carvings.




Bamberg is a World Heritage Site. It was the seat of independent prince-bishops of the Holy Roman Empire (1007–1802). We visited Bamberg's Altstadt (old town).


We managed to find time to visit the Schlenkerla brewery (the specialty there is Rauchbier - smoked beer).


Oh, did I mention that we also found a good konditorei?

 

We spent two days rock climbing in Fränkischen Schweiz. We slept in a modernized gasthaus and took our meals there.








Some climbing images (Anna):




Myron:



On Anna's last climb, note the plaque at the bottom of the rock:


It says, "Climbing is everything."


The night before we left Germany we had a family dinner at a restaurant. Anna's two cousins from the north of Germany came south with their spouses for the momentous event.
Hans Peter, Hans Ludwig, Joachim, and Hermann told Anna and me that the four cousins had never all sat at the same table together! They did this on the occasion of our visit. Thank you all.


Joachim and Ulrike


Hermann and Claudia


The next day Anna and I took trains to Frankfort where we overnighted at the Hilton in the airport so we could be sure to get our flight home the next morning.

We had dinner at the Hilton:


 


The food on the plane home was good too.



After four weeks in Europe we were travel weary. We were happy to see the airport in Durham.


We stayed that night at an Airbnb in Durham because we had a flight booked the next day! We were heading to Salt Lake City, Utah for two weeks to see our family. And most especially our two granddaughters, Evie and Nora. 



 






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