Sketch times in the Land of Canals

No photos for this one...my memory card dumped them :(

Kim, my bestie at home who always tells me I need to chill, go with the flow, and not freak out over unfamiliar situations, would be very proud of my behavior on my trip to Venice.

Situation 1: Catching the initial train.
Our train left Philadelphiasbruke (Ubahn stop about 5 stops away) at 6:30 a.m.  My thought was that we should have been there at 6:30.  So I became distracted, and wasn't ready to leave Haus Erasmus until 6:15.  It's not like we could just catch the next train: Train 1 led us to some random town on the border of Austria and Italy, where we would catch a bus to Venice.  If we missed Train 1 and took Train 2, we would have a 10 minute timeframe to catch the bus.

Solution: Travis and I kicked our butts into gear and headed to the Meidling train station, and made it with 3 minutes to spare.  I, of course, was trying not to panic.

Situation 2: Figuring out where to stay.
The cheapest hostel/hotel we could find in Venice was called Airmotel.  When we got off of our bus in Venice at 4:30 (thank you, Daylight Savings Time, for making 4:30 the new time it gets dark outside), we headed to the information desk, address in hand, to ask for directions.  The website of the hotel didn't give directions from our bus/train station, just the other one across the pond.  (In case you didn't know, Venice is an island).  Every information desk we went to told us the same thing: We have no idea where this is, this address is not in Venice.  Great....

Solution: We went to the main train station and pulled up the phone number to our accommodations for the night.  Travis canceled our reservations on the grounds of false advertising a location of "Venezia," and we made our way to Tourist Information to ask about hostels and hotels.  We were directed to Hotel Reservations next door, where we found a 2-night hotel across the pond (the area we had no idea how to get to in the first place) right next to a train station for a total of 114 Euro (so like 28.50/person/night).  By this time, it's about 6:00 p.m. and we found out our reservation is only good for 2 hours.  Travis and I had to learn quickly how to navigate the regional trains system.

Situation 3: Finding the hotel
I will just say, after being in Europe for 2 1/2 months, I have become very comfortable asking for help and directions.  So really, this wasn't a big deal.

Solution: We asked, and also had a sweet map that proved to be very handy.  A sweet rainbow fountain on the other side of the train station led the way to our hotel!

Situation 4: Eating some freaking DINNER!
We're not really in a very touristy part of town, so it's a good thing that we have internet access in our hotel.

Solution: Google.  We found a pizza place a few blocks away, where Travis and I enjoyed pizzas from a selection of 80 or so, and a few beers.  Good night!

Situation 5: Exploring Venice, Baby!
Travis and I headed out around 9:30 a.m. to explore the city of Venice.  I was told by my friend Nick that the best way to see Venice is to walk around random side streets for awhile, and when you've had enough, pull out a map and figure out where you actually are.  So that's what we did for a few hours - The side streets were great!  Our map came in handy, because there really is no grid to Venice - there are random-ass canals, random-ass streets, and alleys that are TINY, but are also considered streets, too.  For the most part, there are no cars in Venice, just foot traffic, gondolas, and boats.  It was so much fun to turn a random corner and find a small square to explore.

Travis and I got lunch right on the canal front, and checked out a few shops before heading back to the main station area, where we sat down for a few cups of coffee.  I tried my first  espresso shot, but made it slightly more interesting by getting a shot of espresso and a shot of brandy.  The aftertaste was fantastic, but the sipping of the shot itself was not one of my favorite experiences.  A cafe latte was greatly appreciated.  (I have become a HUGE cafe latte fan over here in Europe.  I look forward to them whenever I go out for coffee with someone).

Solution: Sometimes getting lost is the best way to see the city!  Situation 5 turned out to be a huge success.

Situation 6: Getting back to our hotel
This is where the fun starts.  When we took the regional train back to our Hotel from Venezia last night, the Mestre (where our hotel is) was the first stop.  Naturally, I got off at the first stop again today.  Wrong-o.  We got off, went downstairs to get to the 'road,' and quickly realized that we were in some sketch-ass industrial area.

Solution: I pulled out our trusty map, and we figured out that we were about 1.5 milesish away from our hotel, and about 1 mile into a huge industrial place.  This place was SKETCH.  The entire time, we were talking about how we would react if we were to get approached by a mugger (honestly, not realistic, because nobody except for us and our "TOURIST" arrows above our heads was walking, and those people driving past I'm sure were just going home from work).  After we reached a certain point, we were walking next to these 7-foot walls with signs every 100 feet saying "No Photos."  Best part about these walls: There were huge glass shards in the concrete on top of the walls to prevent anyone getting in.  Travis had seen this before elsewhere, so he wasn't nearly as sketched out as I was.  We finally found the main road we were looking for, which really was a main road, i.e. no cross walks.  Travis and I hopped 2 lanes of traffic to the median, 3 more lanes of traffic, and then guess what we saw?  The rainbow fountain leading us home! 

Kim.  Normally, in this instance especially, you know I would freak the hell out.  But you will be happy to know, that instead of freaking out, I accepted it, said "Meh, we're lost, let's pull out the trusty map," and went on to a Navigational Victory (even though I was the one who got off the train at the wrong stop in the first place).  The navigational blood runs through my veins - Thanks, mom and dad!

Highlights:
Biggest highlight is that I'm pretty sure everyone thinks Travis and I are married.  I guess that's what happens when a guy and a girl travel together.  The reservation for our hotel was definitely listed under MRS. Kelly Fitzpatrick, and we were given a room with a double bed.  Meh, whatever.

Masks.  EVERYWHERE.  Google "Venice Carnivale" and you'll see what I'm talking about.  These were definitely the highlights of the tourist shops.

Pigeons.  EVERYWHERE.  I'd tell you to Google "Pigeons" but if you have to do that, there are larger problems in the world than the swarms that I was worried would poop on my head.  

Conclusion of Venice: SWEETNESS!
I would say from what we saw today, Venice is one of those you-can-see-it-in-a-day cities.  Overall, it was awesome, and not only provided me with my first Italy experience, but also some awesome situational lessons learned.

Please note, my Country Count has now reached 6: Austria, the Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Poland and, now, Italy!