In which I go to Munich, and then to Venice for one day

In my last post I forgot to mention that I traveled over the Easter holiday. I ended up getting 2 and a half weeks off for Easter, which was unexpected (more on that later). Originally, I planned on having roughly a week and a half off: the Friday one full week before Easter to the Tuesday after Easter.

During the week before Easter I went to visit an acquaintence in Munich. I had never been there, so it was really exciting to see the city. It was pretty, but rather snobbish, I felt. It was very different from Vienna. Especially different was the open air market, which is comparable to the Farmers' Market in Madison--a yuppy affair. Don't get me wrong--I love the Madison Farmers' Market--but let's be honest. The tired and the poor don't go there to go shopping, and you are paying for quality. The market in Vienna is different. It is crowded and loud with stands packed together like cigarettes in a box. There are people hawking everything from vegetables to exotic fruits, meat, cheeses, clothing, and souvenirs. On Saturdays there is even a lovely flea market. The Vienna market is much more... vibrant.

I also got a chance to visit the famous Hofbrauhaus in Munich. It is one of the famous Bavarian beer companies, and if you are interested in trying it out, it is available in Madison as well. You can find it in the Essen Haus, and in some stores (bottles labeled HB). The beer in Bavaria is really some of the world's best. And I won't fib--I drank my share of it while there. It goes particularly well with a BBQ we found. Luckily the weather was conducive.

Back in Austria I visited a teacher and her family for Easter. Easter isn't all that different in Austria. The Easter Bunny hides Easter baskets, and the family sits down for a nice big dinner together. I left feeling like somebody should roll me home! It was really nice to have the chance to enjoy Easter as a family get-together, and I am very thankful that I was invited.

On Easter Monday I accompanied the 5th class (15-year-olds) on their trip to Italy. We went to Triest first--a very Austrian city in Northern Italy. In fact, it was modeled after Vienna. There we saw Castle Miramar, which was built by Maximillian von Habsburg (of executed Emperor of Mexico fame). After Triest, we traveled to Treviso to spend the night. Treviso is a small, cozy city about 40 minutes away from Venice by train.

We spent the next day in Venice--it is as beautiful as people say. It is also as full as tourists as I feared. After about an hour dodging through crowds and keeping my hand on my wallet at all times (pickpocketing does occur) I felt ready to thoroughly throttle the next person who bumped into me. Stressful tourists aside, Venice is completely worthwhile, and you could easily spend a few days taking in all that the city has to offer.

We spent the last day in Vicenza, which is about a 90 minute bus ride from Treviso. It is another quiet city and has a lot of buildings designed by the famous architecht Andreas Palladio, including the oldest modern theater in Europe.

Not including the 18 hours of bus travel in 3 days, it was a very nice trip. Northern Italy is worth seeing...

Anyhow, when I got back from Italy on Wednesday, I found out that my teachers didn't need me in class on Thursday. Instant weekend. Nice surprise.