On Friday, April 3rd I boarded the train to Venice at about 8:30pm, and it was scheduled to arrive at about 8:30am. I’ve been on long train rides before, like my most recent lovely Amtrak ride from Connecticut College back to Minnesota. But I’d had a sleeper car on the longest stretch of that ride, which I did not for this one. I was sitting in a six person compartment, much like the trains in Harry Potter, and I was accompanied by five strangers. We all had to put aside our comfort zones for the duration of the trip, a fact which we came to learn and realize rather slowly and awkwardly, but surely. So, the train ride passed without much incident or sleep except for a blessed few hours when two of our number left, and the person next to me and I were able to stretch out on the folding chairs. We were soon interrupted by newcomers, however, and needed to sit back in our chairs and try the best we could to sleep upright. It was not particularly enjoyable, but at least I wasn’t sitting or standing in the hall, which I didn’t even know was possible. There’s always a bright side, and as the sun rose, I watched it do so over the Italian countryside as I sat there, bleary-eyed, and was grateful.
The train arrived into Venice, and I went to the tourist information booth to wait in a very long line to buy a map and learn about events going on during the weekend, which is how I got a tip about one of the best things I would do in Venice: a free organ concert on Saturday night. Blinking back sleepiness, I stepped outside and took in the slightly overcast skies and the canal that stretched out in front of me. I made my way to my hostel, only to be informed that the place I was staying was a few bridges down the road (that’s the closest thing to blocks they have in Venice, I’ve decided - it’s quite a maze of a city). The room was not ready, so I left my things there and ventured out to take care of a traveler’s business: buy a local SIM card and find food to eat. I was gross, tired, and hungry after that train ride, causing these simple tasks to actually be stressful to me. I quickly found a Vodafone store, and got a card with €5 on it, which amazingly lasted me my entire time in Italy. I then found a pizza place and ordered a calzone. “Are you sure? It comes in this size box.” the man had warned me. Oh yes, that’s great, said I, ravenous. An hour later I was still trying to finish it at a tiny park I found. Afterwards, to recover from the sleep and stress, I enjoyed a spritz, the ‘drink of Venice’ which Kate (who had studied there a little over a year ago) had suggested to me, from a canal-side bar. It was really amazing, and a good precursor for my love of having drinks in Italy.
Much more refreshed, I began to wander Venice and get thoroughly and completely lost. I actually really enjoyed doing so, because Venice is a beautiful city. It does have some downsides, like the number of tourists (and street vendors), and the lack of expansive parkland (almost necessary given its size though). But I can also see why it would be an inspiring place for musicians, and I saw the result of that first-hand when I attended the free organ concert that night.
After a dinner of bread and strawberries from the local market (saving money for Rome), I put on my nicest clothes and made my way to a rather impressive church on the north side of Venice. The concert was incredible, and I especially liked it for several different reasons. First, I was by myself, and it was the first organ concert in my life that I just sat and really appreciated, without any distractions. In front of the pews where everyone sat was an empty altar and massive paintings scaling the walls, while the organ sat neatly above the entrance to the church. This meant that I just gazed at the paintings and the incredible arches of the place as the music poured out from behind me, majestically resonating through every corner of the church. This was one of my first experiences with churches in Italy, and it was a good indicator of how seriously they take their religious spaces. The organist performed wonderfully, and I wrote at length about the concert in my journal, and I hope to write a poem about it soon.
I went to bed immediately after the concert, briefly meeting my five hostel mates as I did so, all quite kindly but I did not have many more interactions with them. The next morning I awoke early and went to explore more of Venice, this time going down to San Marco, the giant square with its impressive monuments and soaring cathedral. I just made it into the center of the square when I heard amplified singing coming towards me, and I turned to see a procession of people bearing palm fronds, intermittently broken by groups of guitarists, a few singing into microphones, all of them led by a group of important-looking priests. I had not realized that it was Palm Sunday. Before I knew it, the procession had surrounded me on both sides as they wound their way around the square and into the enormous church. The singing reverberated through the square for a short time after they entered, giving the place a very eerie and very religious atmosphere. A voice then came over the loudspeaker welcoming the English-speaking visitors and briefly explaining the procession before cutting out and leaving me bewildered and incredulous after witnessing such an affair so unexpectedly.
The rest of my day was passed in the main park in Venice, which wasn’t too expansive, but it was much more residential, peaceful, and quiet. Not only that, but I had to walk along the southern edge of Venice from San Marco square to get there, and it was a beautiful walk. By this time I had bought sunscreen (aren’t you proud mom?) and I was very grateful for it. I found the park, and found a bench to settle down in, updating my journal with all that I had seen and done since my last entry, and then taking out my letter pad and writing for a number of hours. It was incredibly relaxing and lovely, just sitting there in the weather that was at a perfect temperature to sit there all day long. Contentment washed over me as I wrote and watched people talking, walking, and playing in the park. It was really an excellent way to spend my afternoon. That night I got another long sleep and boarded the train the next morning to head down to Roma.
The train down was much better than my previous one, and I sat in a set of four chairs in a car without any compartments, and I was able to enjoy the incredible view the whole way, as well as enjoy conversation with fellow passengers. As it would turn out, two of the people I was sitting with were also studying at the University of Edinburgh for the semester! I talked to them for a good while about their travels, studies, and homes back in the states before the older Australian couple across the aisle joined in our conversation. I was quite glad that they did, for they were fascinating people. They were just wrapping up four months of straight travel, which they had spent with a small group of other couples, starting and spending most of their time throughout South America. They had then taken an enormous cruise ship from Brazil to Venice (how long it took I cannot remember, but many days). They had spent some time in Venice and were now heading to Rome to endure over 25 hours of travel to get back to Sydney. They gave some good life advice, and took a parental role as we neared Rome to warn us of the dangers of pickpockets. I took it very much to heart and wasn’t stolen from once. It was a very enjoyable and entertaining train ride.
That’s all for this one. I have uploaded all of my pictures from Vienna and Rome, which are viewable at my Google Public Gallery. I do not have my Venice pictures besides the few posted here, because I had to leave them on my friend’s computer due to camera memory space, so it may be a while before I can post those. Thanks for reading!
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