We spent almost a week in the Dolomites and then headed to Venice for a couple days. The bus took us from Cortina center to the Venice Marco Polo airport (25EU each), a ride of 2 hours in the rain. Once arrived, we headed to the Vaporetto station where a municipal boat ferry shuttled us to San Marco Square via every stop in the islands. Oh, the “milk run” of the Venitian Islands! For 32 EU roundtrip we got to see a lot of Venice surroundings. Finally, at San Marco, we disembarked and had a short walk to our hotel, Baglioni Hotel Luna, hauling luggage up and down one bridge and around a corner filled with designer retail shops. We dined on fish at the hotel: so good! San Marco and the basilica were a 2 min walk away so we meandered a bit after dinner in the brightly lit but empty square. The next day Greg and I took an early morning elevator ride up the Campanile, or bell tower, for a bird’s eye view of Venice. All the roofs were red tile on ancient brick buildings, standing side by side along the maze of canals. Then we met up with Andrea and Steve, our hiking buddies who were staying elsewhere, and just wandered the tangle of alleys and canals and shopped til lunch. We planned to meet up again for a walking tour but rain discouraged our plans. A nap in our beautiful room was an adequate substitute. More walking before dinner, where we met up with A+S at a restaurant on the canal with gondoliers calling across and tourists dressed provocatively while wearing elaborate masquerade masks. Ok, that was a little weird. The next morning we crossed the Grand Canal on the Accademia bridge, a beautiful wood and wrought iron conveyance, to the south Dorsodouro side and meandered the quiet alleys there. We visited the minor basilica Santa Maria Della Salute, under renovation with restorers working each crack in the floor with tiny trowels. We then met up with S+A for a visit to the Guggenheim museum, a contemporary art collection of Peggy Guggenheim. Not my fav but plenty of Picasso’s and Pollock’s worth seeing. A little more meandering on this less busy side of Venice and enjoyed a little baroque concert from a busker playing variously filled water glasses, then back to the hotel to checkout and depart. The municipal Vaporetto once again visited every stop on the way back to the airport but the day was, once again, beautifully sunny and clear. Once we finally arrived we picked up our car rental, a teal green Fiat, and hit the highway. We headed for Lake Garda, about 3 hours away through rolling farmland and more red tile roofed, red brick buildings.
Lake Garda is Italy’s largest lake, located in the North between Venice, Milan, and Austria (32 mi long, 10 mi at its widest). Our travel agent, Erica Harnett at Protravel, has been picking excellent accommodations that you might not find on 3rd party booking sites and this next hotel was no exception, or rather, was exceptional! LeFay Resorts was outstanding but required a treacherous drive up 7km of narrow switchbacks, at 1500 ft above the lake. The view was amazing and worth the effort (eyes closed where guardrails could neither hide nor prevent a steep drop). I enjoyed 2 spa treatments, well earned after hiking. Speaking of which, we took a day hike further up the steep hillside behind the hotel. Lake Garda has many cliffsides and steep mountains lining it’s shores to the north into the Alps, likely glacially dug whereas to the south it’s mostly morainic, flatter with glacial sediment remnants. Anyway, the hike took us through a tiny village above the hotel, then up a narrow, rocky path, another 800 feet up to an old chapel and Hermitage dedicated to St. Valentino. We actually were using cables to keep from falling as we navigated the steep inclines and cliff edges. The chapel was built in the 1600s in gratitude by the few survivors of the “pestilence of the day”. Abandoned later, a hermit or two in succession lived there. Now it is a hiking destination.
We also visited the lakeside village of Gargnano, cobblestoned and with lovely lakeside cafes. We had the usual Aperol Spritz and beer after exploring the many alleys and churches. Returning to the hotel on these hot sunny days was always a relief as a poolside afternoon was in order.
Our 2 full days of relaxation ended and we returned the rental car in Verona where we boarded a plane for Munich. A complete change of pace, and culture, was next. Munich turned out to be a nice surprise, a very friendly, international, tourist-filled city. And it wasn’t even Oktoberfest yet! An evening stroll from our hotel, The Bayerischer Hof, led us to some of the tourist destinations: Marianplatz, with it’s beautiful square surrounded by neo-Gothic and Baroque buildings. Ninety percent destroyed in WW2, many of the buildings in the Old Town were reconstructed to their former design, aided by Nazi photographs cataloguing the buildings prior to Allied bombing. The New Town Hall in the market square center showcased the Rathaus Glockenspiel, a clock with life size figures that move to tell a story to music.
We also visited the Frauenkirche, but it was during Mass so we quickly passed through. Then it was time for a beer and sausages at Hofbrauhaus. Oktoberfest would begin about 1 week later so beerhalls were only modestly crowded. We shared a table with a friendly German sock salesman (Falke brand?). Munich’s original Hofbrauhaus is very similar to the Buffalo Hofbrauhaus, down to the oompah band and picnic tables, servers in Lederhosen and Dirndls. Speaking of which, dirndls and Lederhosen are on display in most of the retail shops so I guess locals actually wear them? Certainly we’ve seen Tyrolean hats and jackets ala The Sound of Music but dirndls were rare. I think I can rock a dirndl…
The next day we walked everywhere, first touring the Munich Residence, or palace, of the Wittelsbach family. The Treasury held amazing jewels and porcelain treasures whereas the palace itself was huge but mostly reconstructed after WW2. We then headed over to the Alte Pinakothek, or art museum. I’ve never seen so many Rubens, but also many beautiful Titians, Durers, and a couple amazing Klimts and Van Goghs. We then headed back to Marianplatz to peoplewatch, beer and Aperol Spritz in hand. Munich is growing and improving (at least 20 cranes in the skyline!) and a very comfortable city to visit. Next: onto Poland!
My new reality 