iceberg in Venice...

iceberg in Venice

You know you're lost when your GPS navigation system exclaims "impossible!". After visiting the castle we tracked south through more impressive mountain ranges of green and blue-grey, down from Germany and straight through Austria to Italy. In the afternoon the rain set in and made for an interesting drive, but it cleared by the time we journeyed out of the valleys and into the open countryside. Clear skies and an orange afternoon glow, along a seemingly endless highway toward Mestre/Venice. And the trucks, hundreds of them.

The sun set and the combination of a new motorway and old map data sent us on a one-way trip to the middle of nowhere, reaching the coast and then meandering to Mestre, the gateway to Venice, where we spent the night. Rising the next morning it was straight to the sinking city by train, the station conveniently just outside the hotel and the trip taking only a few minutes.

The most fantastic view greets you when you exit the station building at Venice proper, down steps to a busy canal bridged by a postcard-perfect stone arch walkway.

The above photo is from the west side of the main city, looking down to a water-side art gallery.

on regolith...

on regolith

Neuschwanstein from the valley floor and captured from its least flattering angle. It's probably a good thing that they don't allow photos to be taken during tours of the interior as every room and corridor would require a shot and the tour would never end. The scale of the building is impossible to appreciate without walking inside and the view of the surrounding mountains is equally impressive.

The trip up and back takes a fair amount of time, by car, bus and then on foot over steep, well-tracked ground. It's worth it though.

Apologies, again, for not having posted as frequently as I would have liked. I'm looking forward to clearing the backlog as soon as I can, to get back to posting more current photos! Next up, Venice!