This page is intended as a trip log and photo album for our friends and family as we navigate our way through our "senior term abroad". We hope that you enjoy it! (click the photo to return to the home page). (This link will take you to a google doc of the log: Trip Log) Tuesday, 6 May 08:46. Departed East Lansing one minute late on the Blue Water Limited to Chicago. We had a brief scare when we saw the gauge for checking the size of the bags but no one cared that the bikes were over the stated size limit. This was our first experience loading the bikes. The large baggage rack was full of small bags but we found a large place for the bikes right in front of the front seats. The train has free Wi-Fi and I took advantage of it to take care of some last minute business such as paying a few bills and switching over the greetings on my office voicemail. I'm trying to get to learn how to use this Google Nexus 7 tablet. It takes quite a bit of getting used to but I think I am going to like it. Outside things are starting to turn green. There are some high clouds but it is generally sunny. We picked up some hummus, vegetables and fruit at Meijer on the way to the station and it made a nice breakfast around Kalamazoo. I'm enjoying watching southern Michigan roll by out the window as we fall into the "rhythm of the rails". 15:48. In our seats on the plane in Chicago. The connection time worked out perfectly. The Amtrak train had a few short delays waiting for other train traffic and the Blue line had a number of short delays for track repairs.TSA clearance had long lines but we got to the gate exactly an hour before flight time. We lost some sleep last night wondering if we would have any problems with oversize baggage, due to the odd shapes of the bikes and the panniers. There were no issues at all. We took off on time and saw the loop from the air through light haze. It won't be long before we nod off. It has been a busy day after a short night. Wednesday 7 May 2014 05:15 Arrived Dublin, just at dawn. Gray skies but the grass is a beautiful green, with small enclosed fields, even around the airport. Our hopes for a few solid hours of sleep never materialized. Because of the 6 hour time loss from Chicago to Dublin, it was before midnight EDT when they turned on the cabin lights and served breakfast. Found an ATM at the Dublin airport and bought coffee and a croissant to share. First travel lesson: when the machine offers to convert the currency for you instead of charging your account in dollars don't do it for the exchange rate is awful. We had a brief look at the ground after takeoff but it soon became cloudy, partially clearing over the UK. Arrived in Berlin on time, collected the bicycles and began to assemble them in the baggage area. After a while, an airport attendant chased us out. It was a pain to put the bikes together on the street outside the station and we were pretty stressed when we finished. We determined the appropriate train and rode the S-Bahn into the Friedrichshain area of Berlin. The skies had clouded over and it was misting occasionally. We found a market with lovely smelling fresh rolls and bought some of them and some fruit. We found the hostel, Schlafmiele, without incident and had a beer while the room was made ready. Even though it was early afternoon we were very tired but Sue had heard that it is best to stay up and go to bed by local time. We took a long 4 km walk through Frederickshain to the Ostbahnhof (East Train Station). Friederichschain is a middle class neighborhood in the former east Berlin. It is very urban, houses are right against the sidewalk. There are small cafes, bakeries and stores sprinkled in. The buildings are older but generally well maintained but there is a lot of graffiti. There are many small parks. We had supper at a small cafe across the street from the hostel. White asparagus is in season and we had a thin pizza-like dish with asparagus and arugula on it that was very good. Thursday, 8 May It rained overnight and we were a bit slow getting up and around. We picked up some rolls and fruit at the store for breakfast and started to explore Berlin by bike. There are bike paths almost everywere. First stop was the Alexanderplatz, a big plaza with a communist era TV tower that looks like a huge needle that has pierced a sputnik like an olive on a toothpick. It is a landmark visible from almost anywhere in the city. Next to the Spree River. The cathedral and several big museums are on an island. We looked at the buildings but didn't go inside. Headed toward the Brandenburg gate. It began to rain so we waited out the shower under an overhanging building. Near the Brandenburg gate is a "ghost" subway station that was sealed off during the communist days to prevent people from escaping to the west. It is open again now and still looks like it did in the 60s. Visited the Brandenburg Gate and viewed the nearby US and Russian embassies. There were many security people visible at the US but not at the Russian. There were many Berlin Politzei throughout the area. Hint to other travelers. The restrooms in the art institute are free, an unusual thing here. Rode around the Tiergarten, filled with statuary and crowned with the victory monument built to commemorate the founding of the German nation. It was moved and heightened by Hitler. It was very beautiful but pockmarked by bullet holes, possibly from Allied troops. On past the Hauptbahnhof (main train station) with its neighbor, the Reichstag to the Berlin wall memorial. Very sobering. Memorial to people killed trying to escape. On to Checkpoint Charlie. Grabbed a Doner Kebab (gyro) at a stand near a shabby S-Bahn (subway) and high-tailed it back to the Hostel. The Schlafmiele Hostel is very basic and very clean. Anya gave us a room with two bunk beds and a single, but we had it to ourselves. There is a bar/restaurant and a separate kitchen for hostel guests. The bikes were secure in a fenced courtyard. Would go back. Friday 9 May Raining again slow start. Ate breakfast at the hostel then rode the S-Bahn to Hauptbahnhof and put baggage in a locker. Across the bridge to view the Reichstag and revisit the Brandenburg Gate. Sheltered from rain showers under the trees in the Tiergarten. Caught the Berlin Gdynia express at 15:33 and survived our first bike loading on a European train. Enjoyed the 6 hour ride in a 6 person compartment. Had a nice chat with a young Polish woman going home to visit her parents. Good girl. Arrived after dark at Gdansk but had no trouble riding to Midtown Hostel . Hostel was impeccably clean and tastefully decorated. Guests have to remove shoes at the door and were issued flip flops. Tiny room but comfy bed. Definite repeat. It was late and we were hungry so another kebab in a nearby part of town frequented by young party goers. Many places to drink and streets were full of people at midnight. Bedtime for these old farts. Saturday 10 May Sudden change of plans due to work on our planned rail route to Pomysk Wielkie, the place where Sue's grandfather was baptised. We had to reroute through Tczew (pronounced chef with a slight t sound in front). We barely made the first connection and missed the next connection. No problem. There was a lovely cafe in Tszew with good beer and pierogies. Also another train after lunch. Made a connection Cjonice and switched to a very old train to Lipusz. I could swear that the ride to Lipusz took us through northern Michigan, sandy soil, hills and hardwoods. Just like home. Dodging raindrops, we rode 21 k of mostly sandy roads, including 2 tracks, to Lobelia, our hostel. The place didn't look great from outside but there were 3 heads sticking out of roof windows two stories up who assured us this was Lobelia. Inside, we were given a private suite and exclusive use of a large kitchen, eating area and lounge. Our hostess, Malgorzata and her husband Marek took excellent care of us feeding us supper. Sunday 11 May Raining again. We took advantage of the available washing machine and hung out the clothes, hoping that they would dry. We rode into Pomysk Wiekie and arrived while mass was still in session at Sue's grandfather Schmude's childhood church, still in use but now Roman Catholic. We waited out a shower in a bus shelter in the village and returned as mass was letting out. Good thing. We got a look inside the church but were not encouraged to tarry. They obviously wanted to lock up and go home for dinner. We rode the 8 km into Bytow and toured the 14th century castle built by the Teutonic Knights. It is fully intact and houses a library, museum and restaurant. We could walk unassisted through arched cellars, big rooms, narrow brick spiral staircases and across defensive catwalks with archer's slits in the walls just like in Lord of the Rings. The girls would have loved it. We expected to see Legolas and the fellowship at any time but were disappointed. Tried to find a cafe for a beer but these people still dress up in their Sunday best and go out for Sunday dinner. We felt out of place in our soggy cycle togs so we bought a selection of beers and headed back out of town to the hostel. Malgorzata served us a nice supper of stuffed pork rolls, potatoes salad and soup and we caught up with our communications and journals. On to Krakow tomorrow. Monday 12 May Rained again last night. We packed up and enjoyed the nice breakfast Malgorzata served for us. Hit the road and had a very nice 21 km ride to Lipusz. Found a nice cafe and spent a couple of hours eating lunch and a few beers while we waited for the train. Caught the train to Cjonice. The conductor looked out for us. Changed trains for Tszew. Enjoyed dinner in the same cafe in Tszew that we had eaten at on Saturday. The staff recognized us and treated us well. We had 2.5 hours before train time so we hung out at the station and used the free internet to catch up on our journals. Tuesday 13 May 00:34 Time to enter the train. As usual, we are not sure which car is the bicycle car. Sue takes the luggage and I take the bicycles. I head toward the front of the train but fail to see the bicycle symbol on any car so I jump onto the car beside me. As I had forward inside the very narrow passage with two bicycles I run into the conductor coming the other way. He indicates that the bicycle car is further forward. I end up in a coach car in the front of the train and Sue winds up 5 cars back. I lock the bikes up in the bike rack and head back to meet Sue only to find a locked door between me and our car. It looks like I may have to spend the night with the bicycles. After pondering this for several minutes, the conductor comes forward and opens the lock letting me to our car. In our car I find Sue in the top of three bunks on one side and I am in the top bunk on the other side. There is a Polish family occupying the other bunks. I climb up to my bunk and stow my gear. It is now after 01:00. The bunk proved fairly comfortable although the night was short. The sun rises before 05:00 here. Eventually, we converted the bunks into seats and settled in for the rest of the ride. Our compartment mates were very nice and even offered us some of their food but none of them spoke a word of English. The toilets started out clean but became pretty messy as time wore on. The view out of the window was interesting. Pretty flat terrain. Small farms. Some small cities with some industry. Approached Krakow with some anxiety. It is common here for trains to different destinations to be joined together and split off during the journey. I had heard something being decoupled in the night and hoped that the bike car didn't leave for some other place. Turned out to be a false alarm. The door was unlocked and the bikes were as I left them. Arrived Krakow around 10:20 . We spent a few tense moments trying to locate a place to stay for the evening while we had internet at the station. We were ultimately successful finding a nice apartment in the old town section. We bicycled the few hundred meters to the office and checked in. The apartment was just around the corner. We settled in and walked over to the main market square. It was very impressive, quite large with a medieval cloth market in the middle. St Mary's Church was located in the north west corner. As is the case everywhere here, the paving is done by cobblestones. We located an outdoor cafe and enjoyed a peasant supper including three kinds of sausage (one of which turned out to be blood pudding) and several kinds of cabbage. It was very tasty although Sue's order for what she thought was chocolate turned out to be a tiramisu. We picked up a couple of bottles of beer and went back to the the apartment. After a welcome shower, some trip planning and journal writing we settled in for a good night's sleep. Wednesday 14 May Woke up to heavy rain and cold conditions. Decided that the beat use for the day was to visit the salt mine. We thought it would require riding but Sue found a train. On the way by 10:00. Met a British couple, Alan and Margaret, on the train and had a nice chat. The salt mine turned out to be very interesting, not so much for the salt statuary but for the wood shoring and many uses of the underground space for chapels, ballrooms, etc. Two hour tour was well worth it. Had to wait a while for the return train and arrived at the main station at 3:30. We found the location of the Krakow bar mleczny (milk bar), a subsidized working man's restaurant that is a holdover from communist times. It is a small cafeteria with a small menu and very low prices. The food was decent, about like good dormitory food. The decor was simple bit there was woodwork and fresh flowers. Definitely seemed to fit the bill for a night out in a worker's republic. After dinner we made a brief stop at the apartment and took off to meet a free tour guide at 18:00. He led us in a 2 hour tour beginning in the main market square. We walked through the university, beside, but not into, Wawel Castle, and down to the Jewish quarter. Our guide was a university student. He loved to talk. He was interesting and informative. His spiel was more of a cultural history than anything. He was frequently making comparisons between Krakow and the rest of Poland. One of his most interesting observations was that there are tests that measure the things that various cultures value most. He said Poland scored very high on valuing survival and tradition. He attributed this to the fact that they have been invaded so many times by so many different groups. His theory is that under such conditions, maintaining family relationship becomes an important survival value. He believes that to maintain family, individual creativity takes a back seat. This, he believed, is a cause for the strength of the Roman Catholic church and for the inability to think "out of the box". We have noticed both. Thursday 15 May We are finally getting efficient at packing up. Our train leaves at 10:30 and we want to visit Wawel Castle and the cathedral before we leave Krakow. We were out the door on the bikes by 7:00. There is a perimeter trail around the old Town where the city walls used to be so we used it for a quick way to the castle. We had the place almost to our selves. It was extraordinary, a large walled castle fortress on the top of a hill overlooking the Vistula River. The cathedral is inside the walls. This is the heart of Polish national pride even though Warsawa is the capital. Most of the kings lived here and they are interred in the cathedral. My writing skills can't do the place Justice so I will have to rely on the photos. There is an amusing side note. It may be an urban legend, but it is said that an Indian Chakra stone is to be found in a corner of the inner courtyard. In Indian religion, these places are said to mark points on the earth where spiritual energy is very strong. The legend is popular enough that there are apparently pilgrims to this site which seriously annoy the authorities by trying to hold their bodies against the wall that contains the stone. We did not see any Indians pressing against the wall but there was a discolored area of the wall that could have been the place. We did a thorough walk through the open areas of the castle and, at 9, when it opened, through the cathedral. Time very well spent. It was raining fairly steadily when we left the cathedral. We rode back to the apartment,checked out, and started to the train station via the post office and a kebab stand for breakfast. We were cutting it too close by the time we got to the station and we came upon an out-of order elevator between us and the platform. It was a tense dash through the station balancing fully loaded (very top heavy) bikes and a hand full of kebab, but we made it to the train, except for Sue's kebab. We are now on a nice, modern train to Katowice as I catch up on this journal. There was a bit of commotion in the car when a couple from New Zealand discovered that they have thrown away the wrong with half of their round trip ticket. The conductor did not accept her explanation and required them to get off at Katowice to buy a correct ticket. We made the transfer to the second leg of our three legged journey and headed to Ostrava, Czech Republic. Another transfer at Ostrava did not go quite so well. Shortly after boarding the third train we realized that we had left the helmets in the overhead rack. Oh well. That is what contingency funds are for. The third train had Wi-Fi. I caught up on the journal and we made some last minute reservations through AirBnB. Sue found "large room close to city center" at a good rate with generally good reviews. Veronika swiftly accepted our request and we tried to sign up but had trouble (our fault) getting the reservation finalized through AirBnB. Veronika said we could pay cash but eventually we got the AirBnB reservation through. We are seeing some small mountains in the near distance from the train. Reminds me of the area around Nashville. At Praha hl.n. we took the wrong exit from the platform and found ourselves on a very busy highway. We navigated to a quieter street and headed steeply uphill to Veronika's. When we arrived, Veronika met us at the door. Surprise! The floors were chipboard and the furnishings were few and quite old. Veronika said that we had arrived earlier than expected and that she needed to finish cleaning, but we could leave our stuff and go looking for dinner. She recommended a cafe down the street. We found the cafe and enjoyed a couple of beers and a very nice cheese plate. Since this was more of a dessert cafe, we set off to find dinner. We found a downstairs bar run by a guy that spoke a little German and with the help of his son, ordered and enjoyed the Czech version of chicken kiev. Back to the apartment. Veronika had it cleaned but it was with some trepidation that we stayed . The mattress was on the floor and the people in the next room were twenty something's from Australia on a 14 month ramble around the world. The place was clearly intended for a younger crowd. Veronika is 34 year old art student at Charles University, the big, old university in Prague. She had some of her figures on display, little, skinny puppet like dolls and some rather adolescent looking sketches of people in romantic poses. Friday, 16 May I got up early and bought yogurt strawberries and instant coffee. Sue had a headache and we sat in the kitchen chatting with Veronika and the Aussie girl until about 11:00. We took off with a free Rick Steeves audio tour mp3 on Sue's phone. It took us to Wenceslaus Square (site of velvet revolution with Wenceslaus on a big horse, through a shopping arcade with Wenceslaus riding an upside- down horse, through the Franciscan Garden, to Municipal Hall (extraordinary art nouveau building) through old town to the Charles Bridge, stopping to see the astronomical clock strike the hour. We finished the audio tour at the Charles Bridge (lovely medieval bridge with towers at each end) and many statues between. I needed a cable to connect the camera and GPS to the tablet and I thought I had found a place to get one. We took a tram for a few km and found the place, which turned out to be the offices of an internet price comparison service. We found a cafeteria for supper and headed back to Municipal Hall for the concert. The concert was very nice and the hall extraordinary (baroque). Walked back to Veronika's place and called it a night. Saturday, 18 May Today we visit the castle. During breakfast, Veronika said she had to go downtown to buy presents for her nieces and offered to go along with us as far as downtown. We had a nice chat with Veronika. I set my coffee cup down and she immediately placed a coaster under it, stating that this was her grandmother's table. It turns out that her grandmother had owned the entire building. The building was confiscated by the Communists and the family forced to live in other quarters. After the revolution the property was given back, but it took years for people to get possession of reclaimed properties. This explains the dilapidated condition of what was obviously a formerly grand building. During our chat, Veronika pointed out a newer neighboring building built to replace a building bombed in WWII. She passed on the description she had heard about how it felt during the bombing. Her grandmother gave the property to her three daughters. Two sold their shares but Veronika's mom kept hers and gave apartments to her kids. Her siblings and grandmother all live in the building. After our chat, we set off to see castle hill. We rented an audio tour and started about 10:30. There is so much to see. The cathedral, the castle, the tiny cottages that the castle guards and servants built under the ramparts. It was very interesting and the view of Prague was stunning. It started to rain steadily in the afternoon. By 15:30 we were soaked with rain and saturated with sightseeing. We turned in the tape machine and resumed our hunt for the cable, with some help from Veronika's directions. We found the cable and enjoyed a nice dinner at Cafe Louvre, an art nouveau cafe that Veronika had recommended. Tired and soggy we went back to the apartment. Sunday, 18 March The train to Budapest leaves at 11:39. We think we can squeeze in a trip to the laundromat if we get there at 08:00 when it opens. We were right, we did the laundry and made it to the station in good time. We had very cheap tickets for this leg of the journey. We took seats in a compartment and were soon joined by two very locquatious locals who do not speak English. Later on a very nice man with his his 4.5 year old daughter, Miriam, joined us in our compartment. Miriam was learning Czech, Hungarian, Algerian and English. She was a very cute monkey and did a lot of climbing. Her father took very good care of her. He is Czech, working in Budapest. His wife is Algerian. He was a bit chauvinistic in warning us against Hungarian beer as not very good compared to Czech. Got into Budapest in late afternoon. The sun has come out and we welcome the change. We found the Trendy Budapest Hostel. The entry, courtyard and stairway looked like a repeat of Veronika's but inside it was spacious, clean and well decorated. We had the honeymoon suite with our own bath. There was a kitchen with eggs, cheese, and many other breakfast fixings provided. We went to a Turkish lunch counter with tables on the street and had a very nice meal. We dropped into the restaurant next door for some wine. The atmosphere was lovely with a Gypsy violinist, a Timberum player and clarinetist. The violinist came over to the table and played for us. It was very nice right up until we got the bill. Two glasses of wine were $35. Second tourist lesson learned: Choose your wine bar carefully. Back across the street to the hostel for a good night's sleep. Monday, 19 May Sunny and warm. Slept in a little and made a nice, full breakfast in the kitchen. Our plan was to take another free walking tour today. The tour departed at 10:30. It was well attended but they split the group into 4. Our guide was Andrew the first. He was very knowledgeable and well spoken. He led us to St Stevens basilica, across the chain bridge, up the castle hill. We saw the changing of the guard, and viewed the cathedral from outside. Andrew showed us to a very out of the way cafeteria with good authentic Hungarian food and very good prices. We enjoyed nice chats with the other tour group members. After we parted, we wandered around the castle hill and eventually found our way down to Deli station where we bought our tickets to Ljubljana. Walked back across the chain bridge and checked into night cruise prices which turned out to be very reasonable. Had a beer at a cafe and stopped briefly at the hostel. The cruise was at 20:30 so we walked down to the dock and had a couple of beers at a cafe while we waited. The cruise was very nice and a good cap to the day. Back to the Turkish lunch counter for a light supper and back to the hostel. Tuesday, 20 May Didn't rush the morning. After cooking a nice breakfast, we hopped on the bikes and rode to the Szechin baths. We spent several nice hours in the various baths, saunas and steam rooms. All very nice. We learned that the camera is not waterproof when one of the latches comes undone and the sizzling/buzzing noise the camera made before it died were disturbing. We rode back toward the river and found a bike shop to replace the helmets and Sue's biking gloves that we had left in the overhead racks during a train change from Prague. Back to hostel, then had goulash at a cafe very near the hostel. We were still hungry so we walked to find more supper. Ate an ice cream cone at one cafe. Watched the Giro d'Italia on a TV at another cafe while we waited for our OK goulash and appetizer. Back to the hostel. I tried to dry out the camera with the hair dryer. Limited success. The menus worked but pictures were a pink screen. Wednesday 21 May Continued sunny and warm. Travel day today. We did not hurry, arriving at the Budapest-Deli station a couple of hours before train time. We disassembled and packed the bikes, bought some lunch to take and left around 13:30. Train to Hodos was decent. It stopped at the border and we walked 100 meters to another much older train on the Slovenian side. It took us to Maribor where we changed to a slightly newer train to Ljubljana. There was a creepy, very drunk or high guy that was on the train. A 27 year old Canadian girl named Charley was traveling alone on an extend wander withdraw before beginning a work visa in Copenhagen. She attached herself to us and we enjoyed her company very much. It was dark when we got to Ljubljana. Charley walked with us to our apartment and we then walked her to her hostel. After she checked in, we bought her a few beers at a cafe that played American music from the '60s. Thursday 22 May Hesham, our host was very gracious. We chatted over coffee for a while with he and Sara, his current girlfriend. Eventually we got packed up and headed for the train station. We had a nice lunch in the 24 hour restaurant near the apartment. We we got a later start than we had anticipated for a bicycle trip to Lake Bled, but it turned out to be a blessing. By the time we got there the late afternoon sun illuminated the scene from the west making for some good pictures. We walked a little bit in the park near the town and then rode around the lake. The far end of the lake is far more picturesque them the town side which is built up and touristy. We caught the train back to Ljubljana, arriving about dusk. Hesham and Sara walked us over to an Italian place for dinner but did not join us. It turned out to be overpriced but ok otherwise. After dinner, we walked over to the market square and across the bridges. There was a violinist playing on the church steps in the square that Sue liked. It was close to midnight when we got back to the apartment. Friday 23 May Cloudy and cooler. We had some good fortune on the rail trip to Koper. We thought that we would have to ride from Divaca to the coast, but we caught the only train that went all the way to Koper. There was a very friendly conductor chatted with us for quite a while about bicycling. He was a cyclist himself and gave us many helpful suggestions. We had a little trouble finding the right cycle path from Koper but the seaside half from Koper to Izola was lovely. Izola is a quaint former fishing village. There is a large marina and a small town. We stopped at the hotel by the marina. The desk clerk was extremely helpful and friendly. His price for a room exceeded our budget but he helpfully directed us to the hostel nearby. The hostel was very nice and the hostess very friendly. As we were checking in we met a couple who had cycled in from Ljubljana, Venus and Borat. We enjoyed each other's company so we decided to have dinner together. They knew a very nice restaurant right around the corner and they made arrangements for the four of us. It was a very pleasant dinner. They knew the owner who brought out the fish to show us before he prepared it. After dinner, we went to another place for wine. Venus and Borat have traveled extensively including Africa and southeast Asia. They have a son who will be doing an internship in Jasper, Alberta. Back to the hostel after too much wine. Saturday 24 May Sunny again. We got packed up and on the road. We followed the same path to Koper along the seaside. Our route through Koper took us past the container port. After Koper we gained some altitude and rode higher up on the slopes overlooking the sea. To avoid a peninsula we took a "shortcut" straight up to the top of the ridge that divide slovenia from italy. It was an exhausting climb. We frequently had to walk the bikes uphill. We began to become pretty concerned about our future ride in Tuscany. The view was worth the effort, however. We overlooked olive groves land small farms to see the ocean. The ride down hill to Muggia took no time at all. At Muggia, we took a ferry across the bay to Trieste, which is a busy industrial city. We caught the train in good time. We were reminded by the conductor, at a cost of an 8 euro penalty that one must validate the tickets before boarding the train. Arrived Venezia around 18:30. Totally bike unfriendly. There are bridges everywhere with many steps. It was difficult to get the bikes from the station to the B&B even though they were right across the Grand Canal from each other. Da Nina B&B is very nice. Significantly more expensive than we have been paying but reasonable by Venice standards. It is hard to find, on a narrow passage off the Grand Canal. Our room was spotless, moderate in size, and in suite bathroom. A door from the room opened onto a small courtyard shared with one other room where we stored the bikes. Breakfast was packaged rolls and nibbles and an espresso machine was provided. We appreciated the privacy and relative luxury. We walked around a bit and found a nice, small sidewalk cafe near our place. Enjoyed glass of Merlot, lasagne Bolognese and prosciutto and mozzarella. Went to bed tired. Sunday 25 May Venezia Beautiful, sunny warm day. We awoke early and headed over to San Marco square. Enjoyed having the streets mostly to ourselves. We toured the Doge's palace first. Very interesting. The Doge (Duke, elected by the other nobles) lived in a lavish apartment in the same building as the various chambers of the many councils of nobles that constituted the government. They had a council for everything and every council had its own chamber. The whole architecture and decoration was intended to say to visiting dignitaries that we are extremely rich and powerful. Don't mess with us. It achieves its purpose. There were paintings and statuary everywhere, including on every ceiling. Well worthwhile. We finished a little before noon and the crowds had gathered. We toured the Grand Canal by vaporetto getting off at our B&B. Nice, comfortable relatively inexpensive way to see a major part of Venice. At the B&B, I washed my clothes and hung them out in the courtyard to dry. We headed towards the Friary to find lunch but the place that we found was closed for the afternoon break. We grabbed a couple of pizza slices and a calzone and hustled off to try to make San Marco basilica before closing. We just made it and were awed by the mosaics everywhere. Back to the place at the Friary for a salad and a beer but we were now informed that they were closing the bar and opening the restaurant, converting from a local cafe to an expensive tourist trap. We wandered the alleys for a good while, hungry and getting grouchy until we decided to go back to the cafe we enjoyed last night. Good choice, after a bottle of local Merlot and dinner of salad, pasta carbonara and eggplant Parmigianino things felt better. We decided to do a vaporetto tour of the island so we boarded at Ferrovia by the train station and rode to Lido. It was dark and the views were great. Changed boats at Lido and rode back up the Grand Canal to the B&B. A woman passenger on the boat pointed out many of the buildings and detailed the paintings in each, showing great knowledge. She spends two months every year in Venice. Probably a professor. Monday, 26 May Awoke to wet pavement and cloudy skies. Occasional mist. our plan was to check the baggage and bikes at the train station and visit the Friary church, leaving around noon. We were disappointed to learn that there are no lockers or suitable bike storage at San Lucia station. There is a left luggage counter but they are prohibitively expensive and don't take bikes. We considered our options and decided to get an earlier start to Firenze. Overall impression of Venice: Glad we came and would not miss it but I liked Krakow and Slovenia better. Venice is uniquely interesting, very touristy and very expensive. Departed Venezia at 10:42. The train was nice and had convenient bike racks. The terrain was flat with many newer houses after Venice. We started to see some steep hills in the distance as we approached Bologna. Arrived Bologna about 12:50. We had plenty of time to change platforms but due to poor signage we wound up running to make the train. Platform 1 Est was considerably east of Platform 1. Left Bologna at 13:10. The country quickly became mountainous with several long tunnels. Arrived in Firenze early, before 16:00 and found the room. We waited a short while for Lorenzo, our host, and got settled in. We started off on bikes to try to get away from the tourist traps to find dinner but Sue felt very uncomfortable dealing with the traffic. Back to the room to regroup and formulate plan B. We wandered around aimlessly getting hungry and frustrated. Eventually, we found a park side outdoor bar that had all-you-can-eat appetizers with their drinks. We ordered wine and filled up on appetizers, returning late to the room. Tuesday, 27 May Colder and threatening rain. We learned yesterday from Leonardo, our host, that the art museums do not take internet reservations for the next day. The option is to pay for a telephone reservation or be in line 1/2 hour before it opens. We were at the Galleria Accademia at 7:45. Things worked out perfectly. We toured the gallery before the crowds and had time to visit the Duomo, and climb the bell tower in the morning. It was raining from time to time but we managed to be inside something through all of the major downpours. The Galleria Academia has the original of Michaelangelo's David, which was awesome. There are also a number of unfinished Michaelangelo sculptures which illustrate his belief that he was not creating the image, he was just freeing it from the stone. The interior of the Duomo was OK. There were interesting frescoes on the ceiling. The outside is covered in multicolored marble, which leads to the Florentine joke that it is a cathedral in pajamas. View from the bell tower was impressive but earned by many steps through narrow passages. By this time I was ready for a nap so we returned to the room for a while. After a brief rest, we went to the Mercado Centrale for pasta and wine. We learned about the great eating places there from an Australian couple we met in the line for the Academia Gallery. We bought a couple of purses for Hannah and Sarah and found a post office to mail them. We took the Rick Steeves walking tour along the main drag and down to the river. Back to the Duomo to climb the dome. Better view than the bell tower. Back to the Mercado Centrale for supper and the back to the room for the night. Wednesday, 28 May Partly cloudy. 07:46 Sitting on a stone bench outside the ticket office of the Uffizi gallery. Because we do not have advance reservations, we have to be in the front of the queue when the museum opens. This strategy worked perfectly yesterday. We get to see the first museum before the crowds arrive and get a great start to our day. Strategy worked again. We spent a very nice couple of hours touring the Uffizi. This was the office of the Medici family and now houses the art that they collected. Classical statuary through the renaissance. When our heads were full of art, we walked over to the Mercado Centrals for brunch, then picked up our bags at the room and caught the 13:10 to Siena. Florence summary: Extremely culture rich environment. Fascinating show of Medici wealth. Must see place but the brain gets overloaded with all there is to see. 15:29 Arrived in Siena and headed to the apartment. It was pretty simple until we got to the walls of the old city and then the path lead almost straight up the hill to the apartment. We had to walk the bikes most of the way. When we arrived, Federica met us. She comes across as fairly timid, probably due to her lack of confidence in her english speaking ability, but she is very nice. She explained the rules of the house and then departed. We headed out to see Siena. Walked over to the piazza. We were pretty tired of sightseeing so we picked up some great carry out Italian food and headed back to the room to cocoon for the night. Thursday, 29 May Up early and took a walk through Siena. Ran across an ancient water building where people would get drinking water from a covered pool fed by an aqueduct. The water then flowed into another pool for watering animals. A third pool was for washing clothes and the water then went for dying and other industrial uses. We found an escalator to the top of the hill and back to the room to pack. Caught the short train to Poggibonsi and started our ride to San Gimignano. The ride started out easier than expected. We got to within 5 km of our expected destination in good time and stopped for a glass of wine at a vineyard. Back on the road the hills became increasingly steeper. The views were outstanding and the ride very pleasant but strenuous. We arrived at the coordinates that we had for the agritourismo and found out that they were for the piazza in San Gimignano. We arrived there happy, but with no idea how to get to our place for the night, no directions and no internet. A phone call to our host yielded instructions take the Volterra-Castelle road for 7 km and look for the sign. We found what we thought was the right road and sped downhill for 6 km. When we didn't find the sign, we called Marco, only to find that we had gone in the completely wrong direction. He offered to arrange to pick us up from San Gimignano, 6 km back up a very steep hill. Without any real choice, we struggled back up the hill and met Marco, who drove us to the agritourismo. 26km for the day. We were tired. Showers felt great. Friday 30 May 07:00 Up and about. Sue and I took a walk around the farm before the 8:30 breakfast, which consisted of a couple of packaged croissants and a cup of cappuccino. We packed the gear, settled the bill and headed out around 11:10 to Volterra, the first seven kilometers were basically a steady climb. As we reach the top, we stopped at a bar for a pruscuitto and formaggio (cheese) sandwich and a beer. It was up and down for the remaining 13 kilometers. When we were close to our destination, we stopped at another bar where a nice Milano couple bought us a beer. After we finished we completed the up hill climb to Podere San Lorenzo, arriving at 15:10. We settled into our room and rinsed the road grime off in the shower before accepting a car ride up the hill to Volterra. Volterra is an Etruscan hilltop town similar to Siena and San Gimignano but much less crowded. It has a nice piazza and a duomo but adds an ancient roman theater and a very complete local museum on Etruscan culture. We walked around the town, admired the theater and took a good look at the museum. When our heads were full, we walked the 2 km down the hill to the agritourismo for supper. Podere San Lorenzo is an agritourismo and cooking school in an old monastery surrounded by beautiful gardens and olive groves. They have a swimming pond which they claim is organic. The small dining room is the old chapel. The rooms are located on various levels, one or two rooms to a level, connected by twisting staircases. Our suite was on the top level and itself had several levels, culminating in a bed just under the log and tile roof. Amazing. Dinner was as good as expected. Wine from a nearby vineyard, spinach torte, handmade pasta with tomato, rosemary potatoes, chicken Marsala, and biscotti with "old lady tea" liqueur. Saturday, 31 May Breakfast was at 8:00 and was a full breakfast with homemade preserves, eggs, prosciutto, formaggio, yogurt and many other choices. We ate and got packed before the 10:00 checkout time. It was spitting rain at 10:00 so we sat at an umbrella table for a while before starting the 2 km steep uphill ride back to Volterra. It was a rude start to the morning but once we reached Volterra, it was 9 km downhill to the train station. We were there shortly after noon. Still spitting rain in Saline de Volterra so we found a bar to sit in for a while then went back to the covered waiting room at the station and waited for the 13:58 train. 90 minute train change in Cecina so another cafe and another beer. There was a group of young Italian scouts gathered at the station obviously leaving on an overnight. When we boarded our train to Rome, there were many bikes already on board. There was a group of older scouts going on a mountain bike trip. Had a good time chatting with them.