Überall und nirgendwo

March 17/Thursday was my day of travel. I left in the morning for my visit with Elena and Stefan in Italy. I took my train to the Hauptbahnhof, then caught an ICE train to Munich. In Munich, I transferred trains and caught a regional train down to Venice. This train separated at some point and the other half went to Budapest. I was paranoid that I would end up on the wrong half, though I can't say I would have minded a detour in Budapest. I got an entire cabin to myself for most of the six and a half hour trip. For about two hours I shared the cabin with a young man from Austria. Austrians also speak German, but with an incredibly different accent. He made a few phone calls, during which I took the liberty to try and understand what he was saying. I think I only understood about 50% of what he said, mostly due to his accent. Anyways, Elena and Stefan live in San Quirino, which is about an hour north of Venice. In Venice I transferred trains again and got on a local train, which I rode an hour to Sacile, the train stop closest to Elena and Stefan. I arrived there just after 7pm, approximately 10 hours after my train left Nürnberg. My trip was overall quite uneventful. None of my trains were delayed and I even took a nap. The ride was also incredibly beautiful. The train went through the mountains in Austria and Italy. We went through the very mountains where we went skiing in January, to be exact. I was blown away by the views and kept my eyes glued to the window for much of the trip. Elena and Stefan met me at the train station in Sacile. We went straight to dinner. After dinner, we met up with a few of their friends at a bar. The six of us celebrated St. Patrick's Day with a few drinks. We made it back to their apartment just before midnight. 

Friday was eventful. We woke up late, ate breakfast and showered, and then headed to the base to get me a weekend pass. Stefan is in the Air Force and works on base. Stefan had to work that day, so he didn't join us for the day. Elena and I then went to the train station, where we caught a train into Venice. The first order of business there was lunch, as it was 3pm and we hadn't eaten lunch yet. We wandered around until we found a cute, little, reasonably-priced restaurant. After lunch we walked to San Marco Square to see St Mark's Basilica. The basilica was absolutely incredible. The ceiling was an amazingly detailed mosaic. We then walked down along the coastline. We kind of meandered around until it was time to go back. I, of course, had to go pee. We probably spent 30 minutes trying to find the public restrooms. As we were searching, we walked past a couple of men on their gondolas, looking for clients. One of them saw Elena and I and shouted, "Hey, free! Free!" His coworker tried to stop him, but he insisted. Elena and I laughed, but kept walking. The public restroom cost 1,50€. The machine gave no change, which I did not discover until after I put in a 2€ coin. Highway robbery, if you ask me. Venice wasn't quite what I was expecting. It was beautiful and charming, yes, but somehow less glamorous than I expected. The charm of the city was less romantic and more rustic. Don't get my wrong, I thoroughly enjoyed the day there, it just wasn't quite what I had pictured. I don't mean that in a bad way, it's merely an observation. We caught the train home, which was packed with teenagers. Upon hearing our English, an Italian girl sitting across from us asked us where we were from. We stopped at base on the ride home to pick up some groceries and to bring Stefan some food at work. We arrived home around 8:30pm. 

Saturday was perhaps my favorite day of the trip. We drove east into Slovenia to Park Škocjanske jame, where the Škocjan Caves Park is located. We took a guided tour of the caves, lasting two hours. The caves themselves were astonishing. This was the second cave system I've been in, and it was even more incredible than I thought it would be. The tour was only two miles of walking, yet that included about 500 steps. We finished the tour and drove further east to Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia. Slovenia is a small country of only two million people. The capital definitely reflected this. The feel of the city was much more relaxed than any other capital city I've been to. We walked around a little before we went to Pop's, a gourmet burger place Stefan and Elena had been wanting to try. The food was exceptional. We walked around even more after dinner, popping in and out of some shops. We stumbled upon a march for refugees. They were chanting, "Say it loud and say it clear, refugees are welcome here!" We headed home around 6:30pm and got home just before 9pm. 

Sunday was much more relaxed than the previous two days. We all slept in. We eventually drove out to Barcis, a beautiful town/lake about 30 minutes away from San Quirino. It was almost shocking how bright blue the color of the lake was. We walked around the perimeter of the lake for a little while, and then walked back to the car through the town. On the way home we stopped at the grocery store. We hung out at home for a few hours before we went out for dinner at one of their favorite restaurants. We went home after dinner and hung out until bedtime. 

Monday was the day I headed back to Germany. I got up, showered, ate, and finished packing up. Elena dropped me off at the train station in Sacile. I took the train to Venice, where I changed trains. I got on a regional train from Venice to Munich. I again sat in a cabin instead of with the general public. This time I had several cabin mates throughout my journey, though I didn't make friends with any of them. I changed trains again in Munich, and then once more in Ingolstadt. I made it back to the Nürnberg Hauptbahnhof at 11:30pm and had to wait for my local train back home. I finally walked through the door at 12:15am. I was happy to be home. 

Pictures to come!