Serenissima

We arrived by train in Venice.  It's a strange idea to arrive on this island by train.  It seems to be better known to the rest of the world as being an island cut off from the mainland, but much like Hong Kong, the modern world had caught up and there was now a bridge linking the Venetian islands to the Italian mainland.  It was our first time visiting and I felt that sense of excitement that comes when you are walking into a completely new place.

We walked out of the train station and we were immediately confronted with a breathtaking view.  I don't use that term casually either.  The train station opened up on a large open area in front of the grand canal.  On the other side of the canal, the palazzos and churches lined the banks.  It looked like something from a movie.  We made our way down towards the vaporetto stop.  With no roads, the public transport used in Venice is a "water bus" or vaporetto.  We had ferries in Hong Kong, but there was an extra novelty to this given how much more it seemed intertwined into the day to day existence of this city.  The initial experience was less than ideal.  The crush of visitors made it near impossible to line up, let alone board the boats as they came.  Somehow we managed to make our way onto one of the boats, only to realise it was going the wrong way.  This turned out to be a fortunate mistake as we took the boat one stop and then easily boarded another boat going the correct direction.  As we passed the original stop, we could see that there had hardly been any movement in the line and that the boat conductors were strict in how many people they allowed on.

We were staying next to the famous Rialto Bridge.  We checked into our hotel and quickly went out to explore the city.  Every street was crowded with people.  Venice has a reputation for tourism like with many other parts of Italy, but this seemed to be the epicentre of it all.  It seemed like tourists from every corner of the world had congregated in Venice.  There weren't any particular type of tourists either.  There were the tour groups, the backpackers, families, hipster individuals, couples looking for a romantic retreat, older travellers exploring the world.  It was all quite nice in its own way.  The crowds did make it a bit congested at times, but it was a good feeling to be around so many different people from so many different places all at the same time.  The one group that seemed to be lacking was actual Venetians.  These are an endangered species within Venice and we would learn that they had stronger views towards the different types of tourists that visited their fine city.

The next few days would be spent exploring.  I was well aware of the intense levels of tourism in this city, but I've also long come to the view that there is more often than not a good reason for places being very popular with tourists, and that is that those places are usually amazing.

We walked through the crowded streets and straight to St Mark's Square.  From there, we kept walking further along until we stood at the water's edge, looking out towards the Grand Canal.  Standing in this location, one of the great and important locations in global history was a special moment.  I felt the rush that comes from being in a new place, but I also felt the excitement of being in this special location in the world.  This was the place where the Doges has walked, where crusaders had come and gone.  I had arranged for us a tour that included a shared gondola ride.  It meant that we would be able to go into St Mark's Basilica without lining up.  I fully intended on taking Veronica on a more private and romantic gondola trip, but and the free gondola ride was a happy bonus.

The gondola ride was everything you would expect.  It was kitschy and hyper touristic.  Filled up with others, I felt very much like I was on a big tour group being shuffled from one location to another.  From the huge numbers being herded to the embarkation point, to the sudden groupings to get people onto the different gondolas, it was all an exercise in organised chaos   Yet through the rush, once we were on the gondolas, I enjoyed the ride through the canals.  With a starting point being near the more densely packed areas around St Mark's Square, we were able to observe and enjoy not only the beautiful buildings around us, but also the wonderful liveliness that embraced the city.  There seemed to be a party at every house and hotel, with the constant pop of champagne corks and music. Being on the water, you could also see the real magic of Venice, with the buildings all skirted by the water of the canals.  Magic was the only word that seem apt to describe it all.  The buildings seemed to float out of the water.  It is something I had seen countless times on different media, but seeing it person was a uniquely wonderful experience.  After the gondola ride, came the main attraction and the true purpose of the booking, St Mark's Basilica.  Even from a distance, this church looked dramatically different to any of the other churches I had seen before.  I had been lucky enough to travel to many parts of Europe, and for all of the beautiful and lovely churches I had seen, there was definitely at times a "sameness" to them all.  Irrespective of how impressive or majestic they may be, at times they tended to start blending in my mind and memory.  Standing in front of St Mark's Basilica was different.  This looked like nothing I had ever seen before.  I didn't have the classic image that most churches have.  Instead it seemed to blend elements from both European and oriental architecture into its own unique form.  Even thinking back to my time traveling through the Middle East didn't seem to bring up any comparable memories.  This was something that was by itself special.

The inside of the basilica was no less impressive.  It felt old and ancient.  Like something from a long and distant past.  Compared to the churches in Rome and Florence, it felt foreign and distant.  On the walls, the guides pointed us towards the tide marks, showing just how high the Aqua Alta could reach and the damage that had been caused over the centuries.  Still, this basilica survived, its interiors glowing with the precious stones and gold that had been brought in by its traders. At the top of the basilica was a small museum.  Inside stood the Horses of St Mark's, treasures pillaged by the Venetians during their sack of Constantinople.  The outside horses were just replicas and the originals sat inside here away from the elements.  I had read about the history of the crusades since I was young.  One of the first books I can remember reading in the school library when I was growing up in Melbourne was a children's book on the crusades.  To be standing in front of these treasures from history gave me a thrill and joy.

Next on our tourist travels was a visit to the Doge's Palace.  This centre of power could rightly claim to have once been the seat of the most powerful country in Europe, if not the world.  I thought back to all the grand palazzos and churches I had been in other places as I walked into this building.  From the outside, it was a slightly pink and ornate building, but it didn't stand out with the same level of grandeur as say the buildings at the Vatican.  However, once I was inside I saw how deceiving it all was.  Even with its beautiful exterior, it was incomparable with the beauty on the inside.  There was a level of wealth and power that seemed to drip from the walls and the ceilings.  From the outside, this really was more of an office block, which it very much was back in its heyday.  The incredible paintings from the great masters Titian and Tintoretto seemed to sag from the ceilings.  The sculptures and gold, seemed to bring the walls to life.  Walking through the salons and halls reminded me of walking through the buildings inside the Vatican.  Whereas at the Vatican, the incredible Sistine Chapel is one of the last and most impressive things you see, in the Doge's Palace, one of the last places you visit is the equally magnificent Chamber of the Great Council.  This was an enormous chamber that I lingered in.  The sheer size of it was impressive without taking into account the rich detail on every available space.  

From here, we made our way "out" through the back rooms and halls.  This led us to what was arguable the most famous part of the entire building, the "Bridge of Sighs".  This famous old bridge from which prisoners would look out one last time and let out a sigh at the beauty of Venice before being led into the prisons below.  Now it was full of tourists and visitors.  Each stopping and looking out as the condemned once had as well, still full of sighs but for very different reasons.

This city was captivating in a way that I had not imagined.  Its beauty is famed and yet the pictures and reputation still doesn't do it enough justice.  We had more days to spend here, it seemed we had only uncovered the briefest part of this city.