Venice and Klagenfurt!

October 13-17 Klagenfurt/Venice

Ok, so last time we talked I was on my way to Klagenfurt, Austria. On my way to Klagenfurt I went through the Austrian alps, which would have been nice, but one of the reasons I was leaving Poland was I was getting tired of the cold and rain. So my heart sank a bit when it snowed on my train ride for about 2 hours of the trip and had show covering the mountains. My spirits lifted a bit when I got to Klagenfurt because there was no snow there just a bit over cast but the sun did come out at times. When I arrived I was pleased to meet Anna’s new addition to her team and also roommate from Canada, Kristina. She is a super nice girl and is always smiling and I also met up with Nichole one of Anna and Brody’s friend from Santa Clara and my new travel partner for the next few days. So when I got there the girls were just heading off to practice and because there is a lot of younger girls on the volleyball team that go to the University in Klagenfurt they practice really late to allow most of the Austrian girls to take the classes they need. So I spent most of the night hanging out which was nice after my 9 hour train ride from Frankfurt, Germany. Which the whole time I had had a biscuit with jelly and power bar and a water over that 9 hour span so I was very happy to finally get some food as well and stretch the legs out. The next day consisted of the girls going to the gym early for weights and so Nichole and I went to go check out some of the sights in Klagenfurt. After running around town all day we met back up with the volleyball girls before they left for their first home game of the year. So Nichole and I went to the game but it wasn’t much of one. The girls won in three straight sets with the starters not playing much of the end of the third. They also did this all without their starting setter, so the sets to the girls were a little all over the place. After the game we went back to the girls apartment and got ready and went out for the night to celebrate the win. Also joining us in the celebration was 6 of the boys from the men’s volleyball team that are all from Canada except one from Chicago. We went to this little dive bar that was having one euro drinks so that was the place for us. I had a great time in Klagenfurt once again and I am very grateful for Anna and Kristina’s hospitality again for letting me crash on the coach.
The following morning Nichole and I were catching our train from Klagenfurt to Venice at 10:23am so we had to hustle in the morning to get everything organized so we could get there on time. When we got there we were hustling but our train ended up being 30 min late anyway so it worked out for us. We arrived in Venice at about 2:45 and it was sunny but a cool out, probably high 50’s. I didn’t care though I was just happy to see the sun and a lot of it! So for the first day after we dropped off our bags we grabbed some pizza from one of the many pizzerias and set off around the city to do some exploring and hopefully get a little loss. We managed to do both really well, not surprisingly, more so the lost part than any. So we managed to do a few thinks like the Rialto Bridge which was beautiful but just took in everything that the city has to offer and the beauty of it all. Everything about Venice is one of a kind, which I really love about it. Nichole and I went to bed pretty early that night but for me I was starting to develop a bit of a cough that I think I had gotten from all the smoke in the bar the night before in Austria. The following day we got up early and ate breakfast at the hotel and took off toward Saint Marc’s Square. We had probably walked for about an hour when we came to a bridge that we had started at an hour earlier so we decided that we would just take the taxi boat through the Grand Canal and take the opportunity to see some of the sights from the boat. This was a great decision because the boat ride was beautiful and we had great views of the city. We spent a good amount of time walking around Saint Mark’s square and also going into the Saint Mark’s Basilica and also going into the Doge’s Palace. Both of which were amazing to be inside of, but just everywhere we went there were great views and new things to see. That night we went and ate at an authentic Italian restaurant which was great, we ended up spending almost 2 hours at the restaurant with the different courses and just hanging out. When we got back Nichole and I planned out next trip out, we are headed to an area called Cinque Terre. It consists of 5 small towns that run along the Northwest coastline of Italy. The towns are about 10 minutes apart from each other by train. But most people try and day hike the three cities to get the most out of the country. We are on the train there now, and this is one of the places that is at the top of my list to visit so I am very excited to start this adventure here today. As always, I hope all is well back home.