Venice
By Jaimy de Vries
The city of water
After a day full of relaxation (Spa day in the Aquadome – see post ‘road trip in Austria’) we drove to Italy to our next destination: Venice. It was a short 4-hour drive. The quiet roads in Austria with its high mountains and its beautiful fall-colors made way for the Italian roads: tunnels, tunnels and tunnels. In the short passage to the next tunnel we saw some beautiful Mediterranean landscapes. After a while, the 2-lane roads expanded to a busy 6-lane road near Venice. We knew we were close.
In the afternoon we arrived in Mestre, a city on the mainland near Venice. I can highly recommend booking your overnight stays here instead of in Venice itself; You can easily get to Mestre by car. You can’t in Venice, because Venice is car-free. In Venice you can’t even dream about this, you’ll probably need to take a long walk with your trolley to reach your hotel. In Mestre we took the bus near our hotel and within 20 minutes we were in Venice at Piazzale Roma.
Venice .. the city of the water. A unique and beautiful city due to its location, the architecture and how all the infrastructure is managed. Venice is located on 118 islands with 177 canals and it has around 400 bridges. The wide Grand Canal winds through the city. In Venice you see many old buildings in their own unique style which made an impression on me; the paint that’s peeled off from the erosion of the salt water, the ornate steel entrance-gates for the boats that – back when Venice was the trading city – makes it a lot easier to load and unload your belongings/supplies. Even in modern times they transported a lot by boat: there are no garbage trucks, but garbage boats – no mail delivery vans, but DHL boats – no firetrucks, but fire boats. Unfortunately, we’ve also experienced in real life that instead of ambulance busses, there are ambulance boats.
That moment we needed to call 9-1-1....
On our last day in Venice we were peacefully eating an apple along the waterside. We’ve already seen so much in Venice and we wanted a little quiet moment. We were feeling very relaxed then, we didn’t have anything to do that day. Just enjoying the moment. With the warm sun in our face we were watching a seagull eating our apple-core. Until suddenly a woman fell straight on her back to the ground next to us. Her eyes began to turn and her whole body was stiff. I immediately called 9-1-1, the Italians couldn’t understand English so I asked somebody that spoke Italian to speak to the operator. I’m a nurse and just received my First Aid diploma. I asked if the people that surrounded the lady checked her breathing, they couldn’t see and hear her breathing, I couldn’t detect her pulse (but this is not reliable folks!) and then we heard her gasping! If you hear somebody gasping- that’s not a good sign, it means that she’s not breathing and she needs immediate CPR. So I asked who can do CPR and to set action. I guided the CPR and managed the situation: ‘is there an ambulance already on its way? Tell them we started CPR!’ I asked her husband to give her 2 rescue breaths, because of the COVID pandemic we can’t risk our own health. The man that performed CPR didn’t have the right technique, I wanted to take over (but then I couldn’t manage the situation well), but a man thought the same and took over. He did a good job. The woman was breathing again! After that we put her on a recovery position and we kept track of her shock condition. She turned a little blue in her face. Poor lady! Finally the ambulance arrived; it took them more than 7 minutes to come! They took her away after checking her parameters. She was not conscious, but when they took her away there was a moment she was present and she looked to her husband; we saw hope and love in both their eyes. The man was upset and was not allowed to go with the ambulance. ‘Just go to the hospital’ they said. That can be quite difficult in Venice and he didn’t know the way either. He and his wife were just here for a daytrip. We took him to the hospital and tried to support and distract him a little bit. We waved him goodbye at the hospital until he walked around the corner and we couldn’t see him anymore.
Afterwards we kept thinking about the woman and her husband. We asked each other if this ruined our day; not really, it felt we needed to be there to help them. We’re not religious, but there was something about Venice and this situation that we had this feeling we wanted to burn a candle and pray for them. So we did. It gives a powerful feeling helping others. We could’ve done nothing and just proceeded our holiday plans, but we didn’t! I think it’s a good life lesson to give meaning to life in helping others. I think we can use and share a lot of love in this world. Especially in these times. So please make the most out of your life and help others! Enjoy your day, the world – the people and nature around you. Take care of each other! Enjoy every moment! And remember that within a second things can suddenly be different.
Overtourism
Venice is known for overtourism, which means that more tourism comes to a place than the destination in question can actually handle. Tourists have to contend with long queues at sights, under capacity on public transport and busy streets and squares and streets where you can no longer walk normally at the busiest times. The quality of life is endangered for residents. In Venice, residents also complain about the almost continuous sound of the so-called trolleys – I can tell you: I have also seen hundreds of trolleys and that was during a pandemic!
We ourselves went to Venice at a unique moment: between the 1st and 2nd wave of the corona pandemic. Infections in Europe were low at that time and travel was allowed again. We did have to take precautions; wear a face mask both inside and outside, our temperature was measured upon arrival at each shop/restaurant and we had to disinfect, disinfect – and disinfect! We were rewarded with empty streets, bridges and only a maximum waiting time of 5 minutes at the boats and cathedrals.
My top recommendations for a city trip in Venice
# 1 Book your hotel in Mestre
A tourist we met in Austria recommended that we book our hotel in Mestre instead of Venice itself. Mestre is a city on the mainland near Venice. You can easily get to Mestre by car. You can’t in Venice, because Venice is car-free. And from Mestre you can easily take the bus to Venice and within 20 minutes you’re standing on Piazzale Roma in Venice where the main boat-lines depart.
# 2 buy a boat ticket
Arriving at Piazzale Roma we bought a 3-day ticket for the boat-lines (public transport), also known in Venice as the people mover. We started our city trip with taking one of the mainlines on the people mover. This was a good way to get a quick view of Venice and its top sights – and to relax after our arrival. We were enjoying our view and got amazed by the city of water – its architecture and the people adjusting to this infrastructure. A tip! Invest in buying a day ticket (20 euro) instead of a single ticket (7,50 euro). We tried traveling with a single ticket and walked our asses off, but still we needed to take the boat more than three times a day. So eventually it was more expensive traveling with single tickets.
# 3 Stroll
The nicest and best way to discover the authentic Venice is simply by walking. We walked a lot when we came to Venice. We took walks between 15,000-20,000 steps a day. It’s very doable, especially in combination with a day-ticket for the boat. By walking down the narrow alleys – and especially the slumps – you can get a taste of the real and old Venice. You can walk through narrow alleys over the small bridges and see beautiful old buildings. There are also cheap café’s in the slumps, for example in Cannaregio you can buy typical Venetian street food. If you’re lucky you can discover a very authentic shop in one of the districts (like the one where I bought an unique hand weighed painting).
# 4 Take a gondola trip and ask if they can teach you how to peddle
A gondola trip, well you don’t need to search for one…you get stalked on your way by the many men that offer you a trip. It’s expensive but fun to do and very “ unique”.
If you go on a trip don’t be shy and ask them if they can teach you how to peddle a gondola. If you’re lucky they’ll teach you. Besides you pay quite some bucks to take that trip, so what’s the effort in them giving you a little class in peddling a gondola? It’s a fun experience! For me it felt like stirring a pan of soup.
# 5 On a bad weather day: visit buildings / museums
Is there a day with bad weather? Then take a visit to one of the many cathedrals and museums. On the San Marco square you have the San Marco Basilica, the doge’s palace “Palazzo Ducale” and bell tower that are worth a visit. Other buildings that are interesting to visit are: San Giorgio Maggiore, Basilica of Santa Maria della Salute and Scala Contarini del Bovolo. Nice museums to visit are the natural museum, the glass museum and museo corer.
# 6 visit the other islands
You can also visit the many other islands by boat: a must is Burano: a colorful fishing village. We had a great time here just strolling down the island on a sunny day and enjoyed a refreshing Italian drink: Spritz Veneziano (a wine based cocktail). If you prefer a taste of culture and history, then visit the glass museum in Murano. If you prefer a quiet walk and avoiding tourist spots, then go to Torcella for a quiet stroll through its nature reserve. Tip: plan a full-day for a trip to one of the others islands. It takes 1-2 hours to get there, depending on how busy traffic is and the connection to the boat-lines.
# 7 Lanterna Punta della Dogana
A place that is not yet known to many tourists, but well-known among the Venetians. This is a wonderful spot to sit along the water and enjoy the view over the water and all the out- and ingoing water traffic from the grand canal. Often there’s a musician playing in the background and there are painters who want to capture the view. We came to rest here after we resuscitated a woman. This had quite an impact on us. With a man playing cello on the background we sat down on this place to reflect on what happened and about life itself. You can find this spot behind the Basilica di Santa Maria della Salute – where the island ends in a pointy shape.
# 8 rooftop terrace
For a beautiful panoramic view over the grand Canal you need to visit the roof terrace. And it’s a free entrance! The terrace can be found on the top floor of the DFS Shopping mall. The shopping mall is located next to the Rialto bridge – on the edge of the San Marco district. We had limited time on the roof terrace because other tourists wanted to visit the roof terrace as well – the inflow was controlled. Whether this is always the case, or due to the corona pandemic, I don’t know.
# 9 Scala Contarini del Bovolo
The palace is named by the family who lived there (Contarini) and “del Bovolo” translated to “of the snail” is revered to the spiral shape of the scale (staircase). The architecture style of the palace is a combination of Gothic, Renaissance, and Byzantine styles. The staircase leads to an arcade, providing an impressive view of the city’s red roof-tops. For an amount of 7 euros you get access to the palace and a tour. They also hold exhibitions of famous artists. We were there at the right time. The palace has been closed for a long time due to a restoration between 2007-2015.
# 10 Libreria Acqua Alta
Another hidden gem: the ‘Libreria Acqua Alta’. Truly an authentic, old-fashioned bookshop. It takes some time searching and it’s quite a walk, but you’ll be rewarded with authentic Venetian small alleys, bridges and: no tourist crowds! Be sure to turn on your google navigation, otherwise it is really difficult to find! In the bookstore they sell new and old books. But not only books, they sell posters, cards, office supplies and funny bookmarks as well. In the bookstore you can gaze your eyes out: Everything is stacked on top of each other and all mixed up. Every corner has been used, even the broom closet! PS: they love cats. You see all kinds of accessories with a cat print.
How long to stay in Venice?
Do you only want to discover the island of Venice and its district? Then 3 days is enough. But if you want to explore the surrounding islands as well, I would add 1 day per island to your city trip. Nice islands to visit are: Murano with its glassworks, Burano with the colored houses or Torcello for a quiet stroll through its nature reserve
Fun facts
The Tower of Pisa is not the only leaning tower. There are many leaning towers that we have spotted in Venice alone.
Venice has been fighting against the water for years. It regularly has to contend with flooding from the Adriatic Sea. These floodings are increasing in frequency due to the rising sea level and because the city is sinking by 2 mm every year.
It’s said that the black color of the gondolas was created out of reverence when the plague broke out in 1562. The deceased were transported to their final resting place in these black gondolas. The color has remained that way ever since.
Underneath a short video of our road trip in Italy