Venice, Italy

After a couple days in Verona, I took the short train ride to Venice (Venezia in Italy). I arrived before sunset, so got to see the water that we crossed over to reach the island, and saw mergansers ducking under the water in pursuit of fish. I was excited to see this famed city. Once out of the train station, I only had a quick walk to the hostel I was staying in (L'Imbarcadero), so headed straight there to ditch my heavy backpack. I was in awe of the lack of vehicles first, and second by the number of people that were here even in November. On the ride to Verona I talked with a couple ladies from Germany headed to Venice, they said this was the best time because there are far fewer tourists in November and the weather is still pleasant enough. I am sure glad I didn't go during peak season...the small alleys that pass for sidewalks can sometimes not fit two people side by side.

After I dropped my stuff off, I headed out to explore the city. I had purchased a map, but it did me little good. The alleys are twisty and you often run into a dead end (if you're willing to swim it wouldn't be so dead). But it was really fun. I stopped for dinner in a piazza and watched tourists walking by checking out the menu. I was happy that there were lots of dogs also, even though I wondered how much fun dogs have in a city like this one. As I tried to make my way back to the hostel, I got completely lost, which was fine. I asked a nice man at a food cart to point out where I was on the map, and then he told me how to get home. I made it in one piece! Once I got back, the people in the hostel were making their dinners and I sat and chatted with them for a few hours. It was a great start to my time in Venice!

Everything important is done by boat in Venice. These packages weren't even
tied down or protected from rainy weather!

Most of my time in Venice I spent exploring the city and some of the islands. After being terrified of boats when I was little, I'm amazed how much I enjoy spending time on boats now. I bought the Venezia Card that got me passage on the vaporetto system for the whole time I was in Venice, and I made very good use of it. After breakfast at the hostel, I headed to Murano, the island known for glass making. I couldn't find the museum, and was not so impressed with the island, so I hopped on a vaporetto and headed to the cemetery island, where I spent a good amount of time sitting on a bench enjoying the quiet and the birds singing around me.

A gull watches of the dock at the cemetery island.

I really liked these thick ropes that were used to secure the vaporetto (boat buses)
to the vaporetto stops for people to get on an off.

The Grand Canal.

I was not willing to swim across the dead ends, and it's
probably frowned upon anyway.

My last day in Venice I spent a lot of time in San Marco. I was hoping to see it flooded, as it had done apparently the morning before I arrived. The city puts up raised sidewalks for people to walk on, and the locals pull on hip waders. I think I hit San Marco three times just hoping it would be flooded, but it never was. I spent some time exploring the Doge's Palace, where the rulers of the Venice empire laid down the law. It's one of very few palaces (maybe the only?) in Europe that does not have a barrier, they said it's because they ruled in a just manner and did not fear their constituents like other cities did. Interesting how we need armed guards and metal detectors to get into US government buildings...

The Bridge of Sighs with part of the Doge's Palace in front.

Pigeon feeding is a fun pastime in Saint Mark's Square.

Gulls were a common sight!

View of Venice from one of the towers. Was it worth 8 Euros? I think so.

Another view from the tower.

Venice's Grand Canal lit up at night.

I didn't get many night shots that I liked, but I do like this old lamp in St.
Mark's Square.

A street of Venice.

There are signs in most places pointing to either San Marco or Rialto, this one is
particularly helpful. It's an island, so you can't really get yourself lost!

A "spritz", a common Italian mixed drink. I did not like it very
much, but I realized later on the trip that everyone stirred it
before drinking...maybe that was part of my problem?

A couple of old ladies walking down the sidewalk along the Grand Canal.

The water level is easily seen here, along with some of the damage that comes
from building in salt water in a lagoon.

In Italy, there are lots of taps that are left running, apparently it is drinking water.
I thought it a bit wasteful, but the pigeons enjoyed it!

Fish at the famous fish market in Venice. As fresh as you can get.

One of hundreds of canals in beautiful Venice.

I attempted to get to Burano Island, which is known for lace making and very colorful houses, but I ran out of time. Instead I sat on a bench in a quiet part of Venice with trees and a view of the water. I was only disturbed once when a speedboat went crashing by and was airborne on every other wave...the gentleman the next bench over was shaking his head. After deciding that the movie "Labyrinth" must be made in honor of Venice's hidden passageways (think of the little worm pointing out the secret path), I finally decided to catch a boat and make my way back to the hostel. It was time to grab my pack and head to the train station for my next city, Florence.

Verona, my first Italian experience

My first foray into Italy was to the small city of Verona, the home of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. Fortunately there is a lot more to see than Juliet's fake balcony and tourists rubbing her statue's right breast for luck in love. I arrived in Verona after a few hours on the train, it was raining and starting to get dark out. I found my AirBNB apartment without too much trouble, but wanted to make sure I was on the right street. I asked a lady who was walking near me to check and see, but she didn't speak any English. So I pointed at my map and at the street sign, and she seemed to confirm that I was in the right spot. She kept asking me questions in Italian but I could not answer her! It's odd (and awesome) how people will keep trying to help using their language, even though it's clear that I don't understand. I was still confused and annoyed though because my host was not answering the door bell. I thought perhaps there was some mix up. So I went down the street a little ways and found a betting shop that had people in it. Fortunately one person in there spoke English and helped me out. He even let me use his phone to call her. My host was stuck in traffic (Italians stop walking when it rains) and was an hour late. But once she got there everything was fine.

After I settled in a bit, I walked downtown to have my first look at the city and grab some dinner. It was a quick walk, and I had my first view of a Roman arena. I had dinner on the main square, which was surprisingly empty. My waitress was a 19 year old girl, and was curious as to why I was alone. She asked me if it was fun traveling alone, and didn't I get lonely. She wanted to travel, as well, but hadn't yet left Verona. I was surprised at that because I assumed everyone in Europe traveled as much as possible. I told her it was fun traveling, but that of course it gets lonely. I ordered a hamburger and fries simply because I was feeling homesick, and at one point she came up to me with a worried look on her face and asked told me I looked sad. I wasn't sad, but apparently my "trying to remember something that happened 3 days ago" face is a sad face. Oh well.

The next day I grabbed a Verona card (after trying for almost an hour to find the darn tourist office), and visited some sites. I saw the famous Arena, the third largest in Italy, the castle, the Roman Theater, and more. Along the way I had a delicious lasagna for lunch, and ran into some American students studying abroad. Verona was a beautiful city, and a good way to ease into a new country and a new language. It is also where I spent too much money on a new handbag (Italian made!).

The Arena in Verona, Italy. My first, it was awesome.

Inside the halls of the arena.

Ponte Pietra, leading from the castle across the river to a nice park.

There is also a modern art exhibit at the castle, which I was
not allowed to photograph, but these glass stones outside give
an idea to to beautiful glass art I saw inside.

An old window with broken shutter in Verona's old town.

Part of the Roman theater along the banks of the river.

A nice park I found near sunset.

A view of Verona from across the river and up on the hill. There were Veronese watching the sunset.

An olive tree.

Another view of the Arena.

Old marble walkway in the Roman theater. It's amazing that
stuff like this still exists.

Last week in Vienna and hitting the road

My last week in Vienna went by far too quickly. On Monday after returning from Paris pretty late,we had our final meeting with Piotr and Jan to debrief and work on our next steps. We spent a good amount of time playing the game one last time, in order to develop a sort of benchmark for comparison purposes. We assumed that our knowledge of the game, including mechanics and goals, would allow us to maximize outcomes for all players. Indeed, this time around we were all winners.
After a lengthy discussion of what our next steps might be, and not getting to far, we headed off for one last beer with the group at a local micro-brewery. Piotr brought chocolate truffels, which apparently I have never had before. They were amazing. After eating too many truffels I headed back towards the Happy Hostel with Marie and Shelli. We stumbled upon an "upcycle" boutique, where everything is made from re-used goods. I bought some earrings made out of pop can tabs, and I may go back for other goodies on the 16th.

I spent most of the rest of my week planning my trip to Italy, which was less stressful than I thought. It was annoying, however, to be kicked out of our rooms when Hostel management decided the windows needed to be replaced. Hannah and I spent an entire day at a cafe working (and spending too much money on food). But I planned my trip (at the very least booked tickets and accommodation, I don't actually know what to do in each place yet!).

On Saturday I walked around Vienna for a few hours, and finally bought shoe inserts that will hopefully help my feet in Italy. I went to really nice places in Vienna that I hadn't even seen yet, and it made me realize I really was just a tourist in this city. That's probably why I was not a huge fan of the place, the whole time I acted like and was treated like a tourist. But this last day felt somehow different, perhaps it was because I was alone, or maybe it was something in the Fall air. Who knows. Even though my feet were sore I felt a little more in place.

Finally got to the Naschmarkt with Hannah and Ilonka.

We went with some paintings on our faces for Halloween and got
way too much attention from the people running the stands. Apparently
Halloween is not celebrated by adults in Austria...

Fall in Austria. Beautiful! And the kids play in leaves here, too.

One of my last views of Imperial Vienna.

Now I'm sitting in my (awesome) AirBNB apartment writing this blog. I packed up my stuff and put it in storage this morning before heading to the train station. I spent about 5 hours on the train, but it went by surprisingly fast. Once in town (Innsbruck, Austria) I headed for the apartment, all the while being in awe of the Alps surrounding this town. My plan for the day was to take cable cars up to the peak of Hafelekar Mountain, and I was reslly excited because the weather was holding up great. Unfortunately, I didn't make it.

Here are the reasons I didn't get to the top of the mountain: 1) train was about 15min late, 2) got a little confused walking to the apartment, 3) host was too nice and offered me tea, 4) dilly dallied, 5) missed the last cable car up the mountain by merr minutes. BUT, I was a little lucky because I at least got to ride the new Nordkeller (not the name, but close enough), which is in fact closing, along with all the cable cars, for 3 weeks starting tomorrow. I did have a nice view of the city and mountains at sunset, since the fog miraculously cleared just before dark. So, it was still fun and now I have an excuse to come back.

This is the view I was rewarded with once the fog cleared.

Innsbruck was really pretty and felt very much like Austria should feel.

A street lining the river with the Alps in the background.

After my trip part way up on the "Nordkeller" I went to find something to eat. I found a great, not super packed, restaurant where I managed to consume my first meal alone without too much anxiety (just a little anxiety). Unfortunatey I will probably be doing that a lot on this trip and will have to get used to it! At least the soup was delicious and the wine took the edge off.

Now I am going to hit the hay so I can be ready to hit the town tomorrow, then head to Verona, Italy!

Montpellier and Paris, France

After a few days to recuperate from the trip to Poland, the group headed to France for another opportunity to learn about adaptive management, resilience, and role-playing games. We boarded our flight in the afternoon and arrived in Montpellier at about 11pm. From there we almost took taxis, but they wanted to charge us too much, so we swiftly boarded the waiting airport shuttle, drove into town, boarded a tram (after much deliberation about where we were supposed to be), and then had to walk for about 30 minutes from the tram stop to our hotel. It was a miserable time, we were all exhausted, and we didn't know how far the hotel was from the tram stop (no buses were running to take us directly to the hotel). Then, we had to be ready to go by 7:30am, meaning we were all exhausted for our first day of meetings.

Wednesday we spent the day with Olivier and Francois, learning about Companion Modeling and participatory research, which are interdisciplinary forms of research that tend to be helpful to the participants involved (e.g., communities, organizations, etc.). In some types of research, scientists go to a place, collect their data, and leave, the community having nothing to show for the experience. With participatory research, communities are heavily involved and have positive outcomes from the research.

Listening to a lecture given by Olivier

Playing the Wat-A-Game

Our lunch this day was in the faculty canteen, where I had the most delicious focaccia with various toppings, and crème fraîche with chestnut paste. It was really yummy (a word that our French hosts did not understand). Monday afternoon we played another role-playing game, called "Wat-A-Game", which was more simplified that "Lords of the Valley", but just as useful. After the workday, we stopped in Montpellier for dinner of seafood crepes (mine weren't that awesome, I found out only later that Montpellier is not known for crepes, but Paris is!).

Thursday we had a chance to meet with French PhD students for lunch. Most PhDs in Europe are only 3 years long, whereas mine will probably take 5 years minimum! We ate pizza with goat cheese and really delicious fresh grapes. It seems like the food is ten times better in Europe than in the US. Friday we had a short field trip to see the river system around Montpellier, where the role-playing game has been used to develop alternative scenarios for water management.

The Mediterranean Sea near Bezier, France

Me and the sea...it was a bit chilly.

The whole group!

After our work was done in Montpellier, most of the group went to Paris for the weekend (Saturday and most of Sunday) before heading back to Vienna. I won't write too much about Paris since this blog has taken me way too long to write. I will say that it was AWESOME and I couldn't understand why Paris gets such a bad rap.

The Eiffel Tower is realllllly big.

Subway trains are fun!

The Louvre at night...never went in but had to see the Pyramid!

The Arc de Triomphe, also HUGE. Noelle and I went to the top and the view was awesome...you can almost make out
the people standing at the top of this, that's how big it is.

On the top of the Arc der Triomphe with the Eiffel Tower behind us!

Me with nutella all over my face...now this was a crepe!

It's really beautiful when lit up at night, but not too
pretty during the day.

Sorry for the shadowy photo...this was such a delicious dinner. Guinea Fowl
wrapped in pistachio phyllo dough over a parsnip puree. It was so amazing.

And a light almond cake with citrus sorbet for dessert.

I saw Notre Dame!

Yet another love-lock bridge.

This old man was playing awesome music on his little piano-type instrument.
He even played some rags!

Apparently the bathrooms in Paris used to be disgusting.
Now they have these weird pods on the streets that are cleaned
and disinfected after each use! And they're free!

A beautiful pond in the Luxemborg Gardens, where Parisians
go to relax.

I finally ate some wine and cheese, and it was delicious.
Paris is a good place if you love food. :)