Train from Venice, Italy to Füssen, Germany and Neuschwanstein Castle, Germany

After a fairly long train day we arrived in Füssen. The train journey was really scenic, the real Bavaria. On the next morning we walked the 5.8 km to the castles. We climbed up to Hohenschwangau Castle where Ludwig II was born. He had the Neuschwanstein Castle built in 1880s and the castle reflects his obsession with Wagner operas and swans. It was unfortunately never finished as the King died in suspicious circumstances. He only lived in the castle for less than a year. We had a guided tour of the castle which allowed us to see the extend of King Ludwig II's passion. The scenery was very beautiful in and around Füssen. We enjoyed the small stress free village.

 

 

Venice, Italy

We got up to take the train to Venice. The train ride getting from Verona to Venice was very scenic, especially when entering Venice via the bridge. When we got out of the station, we found the Hotel Guerrini very easily. We checked in and went for a walk in the little streets of Venice. There are many bridges that go across the canals. There is also a lot of boat traffic and tourists. It is very nice and relaxing to be in a car-free city. It was very funny to see water taxis, water buses, water ambulances, water polices etc.


The next day, we visited beautiful Venice all day, getting lost in the small streets. We had a look at the big Piazza S Marco, and walked along the Canal Grande for a little while. We came back to the hotel for a late lunch, early supper, before going out again to get some gelato. Venice is a popular tourist destination and there is a good reason for this; it is simply magnifico! It has so much character. It is worth visiting.

 

Cinque Terre, Italy

We took the train to Riomaggiore, the first village, where we discovered that the path was still not open to the public. We had trouble getting information, and the Italian ladies we asked didn't wanted to work and made it very obvious. While in line to get a map, Seb got adopted by a 4 year old little girl. She thought she was getting close to her dad but was holding onto Seb's shirt instead. We took the train to the third village, Corniglia where we followed the path to Vernazza. The path was really scenic and the colorful villages look like they are barely hanging on the cliffs. It was very beautiful and very crowded.

 

Pisa, Italy

We took the train from Rome and did a short stop in Pisa. Pisa is a nice city and the tower is definitely leaning! Apparently there are a few leaning towers in Italy... So during that period they probably didn't know to take in consideration the soil the towers where standing on. We had pizzas and wine for lunch in a local restaurant. The pizzas were again really good. Italians do know how to cook pizzas. After a few hours of walking in the city with our backpacks, we took another train to get to Genova.

 

Pompei, Italy

We got up early to take the fast train from Rome to Napoli and a regionnal train from Napoli to Pompei. Pompei is a town that was covered in volcano ashes and mud during the Vesuvio eruption in AD79. There was 20 000 people living in the city during that period, but because there was an earthquake before, most of them had already moved. Still 2000 people died in a matter of seconds when the blast from the volcano happened. Archaeologists did an awesome job removing the 3-5 meters of residue to uncover most of the town. It was very well developed with streets and houses. The inside of the houses were also decorated with paintings and marble. Truly impressive to see how people lived 2000 years ago.