Part 3: October 07 – 13
Verona, Italy.
“Getting there is half the fun!?”
Train fromTübingen to Munich
Train from Munich to Verona over the alps of the Tyrol region.
It’s a Monday morning after a long weekend and there are dozens of groups of students going on field trips to somewhere…Hopefully not to Verona.
Ignore the eyebrow hair. Seems like weird stuff happens when you turn 70…maybe earlier, I dunno, I wasn’t paying attention.
The ICE high speed train from Stuttgart to Munich arriving from Berlin.
Once on the train we left the craziness, confusion, and crowds behind, (or so we thought), as we zipped along at 240kph for much of the ride to Munich where we switched to a regional train (WAY slower!) to Verona.
This is where it got real crazy. In Munich, loads of people traveling with 4 LARGE roller suitcases, two each, and backpacks, AND hand bags, etc. trying to stuff them all onto the tiny overhead racks or under someone else’s seat. There doesn’t seem to be the same luggage limit as on airlines and people DEFINITELY take advantage of that!
Arrived in Verona at the train station after an “interesting” train ride over the Alps, through Austria’s Tyrol region into Italy and back down the other side to Verona.
I was really half expecting to see Heidi running through the fields as we rode past the incredible scenery of the Tyrol. I was here 12 years ago skiing but it looks so much more incredible without the snow, greener anyway.
And now we’re in Verona! After finding the door to our apartment for the next few days.
We spent this morning just wandering around until it started to rain, there is a severe wind warning for this afternoon as well as heavy periods of rain which started right on que, as predicted. It was seriously funny to see, along with the appearance of the rain, so too did dozens of guys hawking umbrellas and plastic ponchos on every street corner and wandering among the masses of tour groups.
They must have done VERY well because a few minutes later all the tourists were either wearing the plastic ponchos or holding umbrellas, or both!
Confession time: I bought an umbrella, dumb tourist!
It starts to rain and all of a sudden there are dozens of guys selling umbrellas and plastic ponchos like this guy.
High fashion on all the main streets although we never saw anyone actually in any of these stores so it’s hard to understand how they stay in business.
Still wandering the city streets window shopping in front of one of “those” stores along the main pedestrian street, the ones where there never seems to be anyone in there buying stuff, expensive stuff.
I wonder if the guy has a warranty policy?
NEXT DAY:
Day trip to Lake Garda
We take the local transit bus from downtown Verona through the county side and a number of small villages to Lasize for a 9 km walk along a flat, level, paved path on the east side of Lake Garda, from Lasize to Garda. It reminds me somewhat of the Cinque Terra with the small bustling towns along the way, only busier.
And then catch the same bus on the way back to Verona.