Summer Trip 2011
In three and a half years of my stay in Berlin, it was only twice that all four of us, that is us and our two boys, had been together. The first time together in the summer of 2009, we had made an amazing road trip to Switzerland. This time around in the Summer of 2011, we wanted to make another memorable trip. Italy as the destination emerged as a common choice. In view of the long distance, roughly around 4000 Kms, we had to throw in a couple of other places on the way to and fro in order to keep the drive on any given day the least strenuous. Distance, of course, was never daunting as both the boys were very enthusiastc drivers on the European roads. Nevertheless, we chose Innsbruck in Austria on the way to and the Principality of Liechtenstein on the way back. A couple of places in Italy and Switzerland got added to the itinerary during the journey itself.
Innsbruck, the capital of Tirol province of Austria nestled in a broad valley between high mountains of the Alps, is a place where you can just be without doing anything even though there are plenty to do all around. It was my second visit to Innsbruck and hardly anything had changed in the past three years. I loved just walking in the older pedestrian district of Innsbruck (Altstadt), particularly on the Herzog Fredrich Strasse.
Drive to Venice, Byron’s ‘fairy city of the heart, rising like water columns from the sea,’ from Innsbruck through the Brennan Pass, Brunico, Cortina, San Vito etc, though more time taking, was one of the most scenic and picturesque drives of the trip.
Driving by Padua and Bologna on the Autostrade, we reached Florence, the cradle of Renaissance and home of Dante, Machiavelli and Michelangelo. Once in Florence, the history, art and culture of the place with several of its still standing witnesses leave you emotionally overwhelmed but physically drained.
”Oh, do not ask,“What is it?”
Let us go and make our visit.
In the room the women come and go
Talking of Michelangelo.”
A friend of mine had suggested not to miss Siena if I was ever in Italy. We took him for his words and were grateful at the end. The sheer majesty of Piazza del Campo with its expansive but concave courtyard in front of a nobly proportioned Gothic town hall (Palazzo Pubblico) was awesome. Duomo in Siena, another Gothic masterpiece, happens to be one of the most enchanting cathedrals of Italy. Truly, Siena is Italy’s one of the most well preserved medieval towns. Certain medieval traditions like Palio di Siena, the horse race around Piazza del Campo twice every year (July 2 and August 16) are still maintained. The landscape of the town with its undulating streets dotted with medieval buildings is, indeed, a delightful sight.
The city of one of the greatest ancient empires and the seat of the Holy See, Rome (Roma) has history scattered around in its every fallen stone and still standing monument. True, Rome was not built in a day. The myth says that Rome was established on the Palatino, one of the seven hills, by Romulus after he killed his twin brother Remus. The legendary twins, Romulus and Remus, were raised by a she-wolf. From the Palatino grew an empire which literally covered the whole of the ancient world known at that time. It is rightly said that it would take years to explore every aspect of Rome’s compacted history but very few of us have the time or the inclination to do so. We had only four days in Rome and we found them quite adequate to cover the seat of ancient Rome between the Colosseum and the Vatican as well as some outlying areas.
The Colosseum, indeed, is the most famous monument of Rome. The sheer scale of the dilapidated amphitheater which had a capacity for 80,000 spectators is awesome. Not many stadia even in modern times have that large a capacity. Circus Maximus, a chariot racetrack, though in ruins, had a capacity of 300,000 spectators. I wonder if Formula One racetrack has that luxury. The ruins of Roman Forum, lying between the Capitoline and Palatine hills, the political, commercial and religious centre of ancient Rome, are worth exploring in detail if you have a sense of history and archaeology.
Piazza del Campidoglio, designed by Michelangelo in the 16th century on the Capitoline hill, earlier the seat of ancient Roman Government, is aesthetically enchanting. The unique stairway leading to the Piazza, the facades of the three palaces bordering its open space, the bronze statue of Marcus Aurelius on the horseback at the centre and various other statues and sculptures transport you straight into the sensuous world of the legendary artist. Walk to the other side and you get a panoramic view of the Forum.
Piazza Venezia with it’s overwhelming neoclassical monument dedicated to Vittorio Emanuele II, built to commemorate Italy’s unification, also has Palazzo Venezia which was Mussolini’s home. Mussolini had made several important speeches from it’s balcony. In fact, Piazza Venezia is now like a hub from where all the important monuments are easily reachable. The Pantheon, no doubt, is a majestic structure and one of the best preserved monuments of ancient Rome. The Trevi Fountains which is also close by attracts the tourists in droves. It is said that if you throw a coin into the Fountains with your back towards it, you visit Rome again and if you throw two, you can make a wish which will be fulfilled. I threw one coin only so that I could make a wish fulfilling throw next time I visited Rome. I made it a point to visit the Spanish Steps and see the house, presently a Shelley-Keats Museum, where John Keats lived the last few months of his consumptive life. The poet’s immortal words, “a thing of beauty is a joy for ever“, ring so true when you stand in front of the fountain facing the Steps to the right of which in the corner building these two great Romantics had once lived. Lastly, the grandeur of St. Peter’s Basilica and the Vatican Museum which also houses the Sistine Chapel were a sumptuous treat for the aging sensibilities of this humble being.
We drove to Pisa from Rome via Grosetto along the coast of the Ligurian Sea though, contrary to expectations, we saw very little of the sea from the highway. Piazza del Duomo, now more popularly called Piazza dei Miracoli, in Pisa is the place where one of the wonders , the Leaning Tower, still stands. The sight of the Leaning Tower, which was originally planned as a bell tower for the adjoining cathedral, was like a wish fulfilment as one had heard so much about it in the younger years. The Piazza dei Miracoli offers several other architectural masterpieces of the period such as the Duomo which has enchanting Gothic features and the Baptistery whose shape evokes that of the Holy Sepulcher. A university town where Galileo Galilei had once studied, Pisa’s lanes and streets flanked by
several medieval buildings are a pleasurable experience to walk along. Starting from Piazza dei Miracoli to Piazza del Cavalieri, the centre of governance during the reign of the Medici, we went further down through Borgo Stratto, Piazza Garibaldi across river Arno to the shopping area on Corso Italia. The city has an inexplicable charm and is well worth an overnight stay.
Drive from Pisa to Genoa was through a series of tunnels cut into the mountains reminiscent of the road journey in Switzerland. Genoa, a port city, sloping down from the Appenine Mountains to the Ligurian Sea and stretching along the Coast for a considerably long distance looks very pretty from the highway as you approach the city. We had just enough time to visit the historic City Centre around the impressive Piazza de Ferrari boasting of a huge, round fountain in the centre as well as the Opera and the Palace of the Doges on its sides. Porta Soprano, the medieval gate to the walled city still in a very good condition stands close
by. However, the highlight of our visit was to see the medieval house of Christopher
Columbus who not only discovered America instead of India but also called the natives Red Indians.
The commercial and fashion capital of Italy, Milan’s historical centre is practically confined between the Castello Sfrozesco and the elegant Duomo. Via Dante, the street which connects the two, offers a delightful walk along a great number of Cafes, eateries and designer shops with live music played by street artists at every corner. Right next to the Duomo, an architectural marvel in the French-Gothic
style, is Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II on the other side of which is Piazza della Scala which has the statue of Leonard de Vinci in the centre and Opera House on the side. Unfortunately, it was not possible for us to see Vinci’s famous fresco the Last Supper as it required prior arrangement by appointment. The thought of the Supper, however, reminded us of our own gurgling stomachs. Since we had had enough of Pizzas and Pastas by then, we took some pains to locate an Indian restaurant, Angan, at Viale Monzo and had reasonably well cooked Chicken Curry, Lamb Roganjosh with Naan and Rice to our fill.
On the way from Milan to Liechtenstein, we took a turn on the spur of the moment towards Davos in Switzerland and we did not regret the decision. The drive itself through the pristine rise and fall of the Alps was well worth every penny. The pain of having had to pay Euro 40 just for transiting through the country got greatly offset by the sheer pleasure of the journey. Davos, having become famous for the annual event of the World Economic Forum, is a cute and serene hill station.
The crisp and dry air of Davos has also been a destination for those ailing with lung problems. Besides, it is a centre for major winter sports in Switzerland. After going around the city, we just sat by Davos Lake, a small lake by the Swiss standard, and had a great time watching people playing water sports, rowing, yachting or simply walking along its bank.
Liechtenstein was on the last leg of our journey. The sixth smallest country of the world, Liechtenstein is known quite unfairly more as a tax haven, particularly for parking the ill-gotten money, than the beautiful place it is nestled between the Rhine and the Alps, rising languorously from the riverside to the peak. Vaduz, the Capital of the Principality of Liechtenstein, is a pretty little place. Staedle, the centre and promenade in Vaduz, has modern and attractive pedestrian zones decorated with metallic sculptures and philatelic graphics at regular intervals besides shops, restaurants, hotels and museums. The castle of the Ruling Prince overlooks the Capital. Our stay in Liechtenstein was memorable also because of the pretty Guesthof Oberland in Triesenberg overlooking the expansive Rhine Valley where we had stayed and the crazy drive in the evening we took to Zürich just to meet some near and dear ones.
After hectic but exciting ten days spent on the road and in hotels, all of us looked forward to getting back home. Before I conclude, however, I’d like to suggest to those who plan a similar journey to always carry a duplicate car key and a pair of well adjusted shoes. Dislocation of the key for any reason, and often there is no reason, can really upset your plan and punish you monetarily. This has already happened to us twice during two separate trips. Once we had to pay heavily in Luxembourg to get the car opened but the second time in Pisa we were lucky as we could recover the key from the restaurant where we had dinner the previous evening. Though I am myself slow in imbibing good habits and learning from past stupidity, yet I’d like to advise strongly against ever venturing out with a pair of new, unbroken shoes. Believe me, it can make your life miserable and take all the fun out of sight seeing. Hey, I am talking out of personal experience, again suffered twice.
Anyway, bye for now and good luck!!!
“Summer Trip 2011”