9/4-9/6/2023: Venice and Sacile

Munich, Germany > Venice, Italy

We left Munich on 9/4 and took the train south to Venice. The train was immensely overbooked given it had three less train cars than scheduled that day. Crowds packed into the space between trains cars near the bathrooms, both sitting on the ground and leaning against the walls.

When we arrived we were pleased to find that we would be staying in a pleasant little area near the Mestre train station. We tried our luck at another hostel, this time with a private room with two twin beds. The hostel was huge and there at least three other large hostels within a couple block radius. It was nice to know that we weren’t the only ones trying to save money by staying just off of the island.

There was this amazing sandwich shop across the street named Antica Focacceria Fiorentina. They served any combination of cured meats, oil, tomato, and arugula between two massive pieces of focaccia. Their vegetarian options were just as good too. They charged $1 for espresso and $3.5 for an aperol spritz. The place was busy from when they opened in the morning until the DJ stopped playing outside at 11pm.

On 9/5 we took the 12 minute bus ride from our hostel to Venice and it was a beautiful ride too.  We couldn’t help but take picture after picture on the steps above the canals. Each street had its own charm. The larger canals had different sized boats driving past each other. Some were water taxis, others were private charters, and some were personal boats. My favorites were the wooden runabout boats, functional for the small canals and so stylish.

On the smaller canals, we would see the black gondolas being directed by the men in striped shirts. Some of the small canals were completely empty and therefore looked ever more charming against the rustic architecture.

We toured St. Mark’s square and almost fell into a trap of buying a $22 cocktail because there was live classical music playing with a bass clarinet, soprano saxophone, and a violin.

Just south of the square we hopped on a gondola for the ride of a lifetime. Love was in the air and we took so many pictures. Our gondola guy was the chattiest Kathy you’ve ever met. He said hi to every single person he passed. It was kind of cute and awkward too. It’s amazing how they can steer such a long boat with the one long oar. On so many occasions we would come within inches of a wall or corner on a narrow canal but we never made contact. Truly a skill and an art.

The next day we took the train an hour north up to the incredibly cute and small city of Sacile. The Fiume Livenza river runs through Sacile and is redirected twice through the town center resulting in plenty of bridges and canal-like views. Homes and restaurants are nestled up high against the river’s edge.

We met J’s buddy Cole and his baby son Jax for dinner. Cole recently moved to the air force base out in that area. The four of us shared some delicious food and good banter. Towards the end we needed to use the restroom and found that there was just a hole in the ground! A nicely thought out porcelain hole!

-J