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Florence Baby, Florence
At 6:45 AM on October 31st, 2004 Spencer Olsen, hailing from Atlanta GA touched down at Frankfurt Airport in Germany. We drove back to my place in Buccheim, had a couple breakfast beers (Hefeweissen), and sketched out our next few days. Feeling refreshed after his German breakfast Spencer was ready to jump back into the 545express. We punched the destination, Innsbruck Austria, into Juliet (we named the navigation unit on the trip) and into the Alps we went. Innsbruck was not quite as big a city as I thought it was going to be but it was just as wonderful a city as I could have imagined. It is tucked into the Alps and very scenic. After walking around the city a bit we decided we should check into hotels for the night. We passed one, the Weisses Kruez and thought it was much too expensive for us since they claimed Mozart stayed there. We happened upon the city information center and they handed us a hotel guide. Low and behold it was right in our range. We went back to the hotel/inn and it was great. This hotel dates back to 1462. The woman at the front desk was lovely and gave us a room with a great view. After settling into the hotel we went back into town. We saw the famous Goldene Dachl (Little Golden Roof). We also climbed up the City Tower and got a breath taking view of the entire city. Because it was a Sunday many stores were closed but we did manage to find a great restaurant called The Raflik. Spencer had me do the beer ordering since I was the resident expert (actually, I just knew what the names meant) and our waitress interpreted what was on the menu. After downing a few liters of beer and some good food our waitress gave us some advice on where the limited nightlife would be that night. We walked around the city for about an hour before deciding nothing was worth staying out late for since we’d have a big day tomorrow.
After gobbling up a European breakfast and a few pots of coffee, we headed for the Italian border, Verona, and ultimate stop – Florence. As we hit the Italian border we checked into a gas station to get our Italian driving pass (You need special stickers for most European countries.) but instead I came out with a $75 toll card. Come to find out almost every major road in Italy is a toll road. Upon leaving Italy 4 days later, only $7 remained on the card! About an hour later we pulled into Verona. Even though I was warned about Italian drivers and their inability to stay in a lane I was not prepared for the NASCAR style driving I would have to do. It was fun though. We parked the car and made our way towards the Verona Coliseum. This Coliseum was the 3rd largest in the Roman Empire and today it is considered the best kept. I was a bit disappointed by the size, I guess I thought it would tower above the city (thanks Hollywood) but it was impressive nonetheless. With the rain dripping into the dark corridors, one could feel the intensity of being there during its heyday. After we got our fill, we took off to find the balcony made famous by Shakespeare. After walking for two hours and only finding spectacular views, high priced Euro boutiques, Shakespeare St, and Juliet’s tomb, the big fella needed to eat. Spencer agreed and we ducked out of the rain into a nice little pizzeria. At this point we made a pact to only drink wine while in Italy. After a bottle of wine and some pizza and calzone we decided to give the balcony one more shot. As soon as we walked out of the pizzeria here was a sign “Juliet’s Balcony -> “. Three minutes we were there. I had read it was a tacky tourist trap but I was not prepared for what I saw. In addition to the souvenir shop built into the courtyard there was graffiti, gum, and paper messages everywhere. It was a shame to see such a neat place touristified. We grabbed a few shots of the balcony and I was obliged to indulge in some folklore. People say that by placing you hand on Juliet’s right breast you will receive good luck-in-love. Since I need all the help I can get I copped a feel. We headed back to the car and decided we’d try and grab some dinner and a room in the city known for the best food in Italy – Bologna.
Noting the tank of the 545express was nearing ‘E’, we stopped at a gas station to refuel. If you think paying $2 for gas is expensive, Spencer and I paid $100 for our tank of gas. That equals almost $5 a gallon! On top of that, Bologna was a complete disappointment. We could not find anything in the city. After 45 minutes of driving around we decided to just make our move to Florence. On the way down we saw a hotel on the side of the autobahn. I have never seen any in Germany and this was the first we saw in Italy. We pulled off the autobahn and Spencer tried to grab us a room. After declaring that “this place had some Norman Bates shit going on” Spencer advised we leave.
60 miles down the road we pulled into Florence and hundreds of hotels opened up. We checked into a nice little 3 star, tossed our bags on the beds and hit the town. Since we checked in fairly late we had a bite to eat, some wine, and just walked around town. After walking through many city squares we found the token Irish Pub and had a few pints of the black stuff. While our walk home brought us by many of the sites we would be seeing the next day it took us over an hour to walk home. We were very lost! The four big things on our list of things to do were: The Uffizi, The Museo di Accademia, The Duomo, and the The Museo di Scientifica. The Museo di Accademia is home to the original ‘David’. He is quite a large guy. What was interesting was that Michelangelo actually was in the process of doing 12 other sculptures but they were all put to a halt. Only the ‘David’ survived. On a tip from one of Spencer’s collegues we decided to climb the dome of the Duomo. It was well worth it. After spiraling through small corridors and a gazillion steps, we popped out almost inside the dome. It brought us face-to-face with the magnificent mural painted inside the dome. We then ducked back into some more corridors and popped out on top of and outside the dome. From here we could see every inch of Florence. It was magnificent. Here we were over looking and enjoying one of the most beautiful cities in the world with Japanese, Italians, Brits, Americans, Germans, Spanish, etc…
All our meals we eaten outdoors on sidewalks and city squares. Meals were leisurely and calm and the food was outstanding. If we had not asked for our checks every time, we could have spent hours just sitting there watching the Italian world go bye. And of course, drinking wine!
The next day we concentrated on the Uffizi. On our way to the museum we ran into an old friend on a street corner – Gary Coleman. After waiting 2 hours, yes 2 hours, in line we were let into the museum. This museum, which was converted from the office buildings of the Medici, has over 40 rooms of nothing but paintings and sculptures. One thing I did not realize was that most of the paintings of this time period were done on wood, not canvas. But as everyone knows I am no expert on cultured things. After the Uffizi we ventured into the lesser known Museo di Scientifica which houses many of the early Galileo and Da Vinci contributions to science. There was a lot to pack in. Spencer told me that his head was going to explode at one point. We even met (I should say ambushed by) a young Italian woman who was quite an enthusiastic scientist. She was fun and informative. Our trip was supposed to extend up the Italian coast through Pisa, Genoa, and Milan, but the $100 gas tanks put the kibash on that idea. Instead we decided to head towards the ski town of Solden in Austria for a little snow and partying.
As we drove through the Alps we came upon a sign that said the Trimmeljoch Pass, our only way from the south to Solden, was snowed shut. DETOUR! Mid way through the Alps we headed east and made our way back towards Buchheim. As we wound through the Alps, climbing ever higher, Spencer remarked on the great view and we pulled over for a quick pic. All around us were mountains covered in snow. It really was an awesome sight. We hit our max height at 2,700m and then it was all down hill.
Thursday and Friday were spent partying and recovering in Buchheim. On Saturday Spencer was treated to an Illesheim Rugby match. It was so cold out that all the girlfriends and wives watched from the cars and Spencer actually had to put his beer down because it was too cold in his hand! We beat Munich 42 – 13 and I almost scored just for Spencer. We headed back to the clubhouse for warm air and cold beers. Monday night it started snowing and did not stop until we got Spencer to the airport on Tuesday morning. Although all the stories we had are not told here, overall I think we had a great adventure.
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