The charm of Venice

Venice was by far the laziest segment of our trip thus far, and looking back it was still one of my favorite cities to visit.  The place has a certain charm to it, a charm that is not lost even in the midst of the swarm of tourists that crowd its streets every day.  Everywhere you turn there is a postcard-worthy scene, which is greatly due to the absolutely gorgeous buildings, many with cracked paint, but this takes nothing away from their blushing brilliance.  Venice was not nearly as hot as the previous cities we had visited, either; in fact at night time it was quite chilly.

Four days we spent there, four days and zero tourist attractions, four days of lazily wandering the small backstreets that curve and wind with the multiple tiny rivers and bridges throughout the town, weaving into the world’s most beautiful maze.  We were lucky enough to meet a group of Venetian students, and for a couple of nights we got to see the city from a local’s perspective.  It was a great experience, to say the least.

From Venice, Ben and I headed north to Dorf Tirol, which skirts the Italian-Austrian border.  A friend of ours is studying there for a semester in a legitimate castle, and we decided to drop by for a visit.  The castle, which is owned by the family of legendary poet Ezra Pound, lies partway up a mountain at the foot of the Alps and overlooks the small city of Merano.  At night, the lights of the city stretch marvelously down in the valley like a golden river, which makes for quite the view.

We spent only two nights in Dorf Tirol, getting to know the students studying with our friend and lazing around the castle.  However, after a couple of nights the group had planned a trip to nearby Verona for the weekend; unfortunately Ben and I did not have room in our schedule to accompany them.  We only had about a week to spend in the Alps and in Munich—not to mention all the travel time in between!

So, unfortunately, we said our goodbyes to Dorf Tirol, the castle, and our friend a little bit early…  However, with the towering Alps looming right around the corner, it was difficult not to be excited about what marvels our near future would hold.