Rome, Pompeii, Salerno and Naples
Over Christmas we had only planned a trip to Rome, because my Aussie friend Tom found that there were cheap train tickets. Then somebody suggested, "Let's visit Pompeii as well!". I finally decided to check the map and realised that Pompeii is quite close to Naples and Salerno, which are where my friend Agostino worked and lived respectively. Never one to miss out on the possibility of seeing some extra cities, I put them onto my itinerary as well. So, on 23rd December, Tom, Wenjing, Han and I set off in our Trenitalia cabin towards Rome.
First, the train trip. A 10 hour day train trip is, in practice, much more exhausting and uncomfortable than a 10 hour plane trip, which I was already quite used to. For a start, there are no in-flight videos (don't underestimate its importance!). The person sitting next to you can potentially change at every stop, strange Italian speaking people come into the cabin to tell you why you should shake their hand, toilets don't work that well, etc. etc. But complaints aside, the range of scenery through Austria, South Tirol, Northern Italy and then central Italy (then later a bit further south towards Naples) was amazing - there was no sudden change at the border but rather a slow increase chaos and graffiti as one travelled south. The warmer climate brings significantly different looking buildings and farms as well - there are many more orchards in Italy.
Besides seeing the usual ruins and prominent sights in Rome, we also went to the midnight mass and the Christmas service in the Vatican city. That was quite an experience. While the midnight mass was a solemn and cold affair, the Christmas service had a much more relaxed atmosphere.
"Hey ... Benedito! Oh! Ah! I want to know...oh oh oh oh oh,would you be my Pope!" A bunch of Germans behind us were obviously feeling rather proud that the new Pope comes from Bavaria, but there were also plenty of other chants going on. Then the Pope announced the Christmas message in all the languages. The effort at the four Chinese words were not bad.
We visited Sara, a friend of Tom who lived in Rome's suburbs, and had lunch with their family. That was lovely, except the mother was unaware of how far Italian coffee (at least in principle if not in quality) has spread around the world, or perhaps they were used to visitors who had no idea about Espresso coffee: "Now here's some coffee. It's from the Mocha so it is pretty strong. If you don't like it we also have Nescafe!" We were quite happy to enjoy the Italian version. Then, a few interesting variations on the normal theme - Potato pizza, and Nutella pizza. And yes, they actually work.
Since this was my last day in Rome I decided to go for a walk in the evening, from the east side of town back to the east, which is where our hostel is situated. Starting at 7 p.m., I managed to finish my visit of a high vintage point by about 11 p.m. Now the Roman transport system is somewhat less predictable than the Munich one. The subway had stopped running by then, so I caught the railway busses. Then I waited at the bus stop to get to the hostel ... and waited, and waited. Then I decided to take the half an hour walk to the hostel - and of course, the bus eventually came and passed me about 50 m before the hostel. So, at 12:30, I was back.
Now it was time for Pompeii. Tom and Wenjing decided to explore Rome further, so Han and I went together to Pompeii via Naples. It was quite surreal to actually see the town and Mt. Vesuvius after studying a story about it in Year 7 Latin. I can't adequately describe it with pictures and words, but it is truly amazing to see how well some of the architecture and paintings on the wall have been preserved. And the longest line of people waiting to get into a building stood in front of ... the town brothel. Hmmm ...
After far too much walking around Pompeii I soldiered on alone that evening to go by train to Salerno. But that was no easy feat. The excavation site has a station on the local train line from Naples. But to get to Salerno I must get to the regional train station in New Pompeii, which is a couple of kilometers away. One restaurant owner said that trains to Salerno don't exist; so I trusted the paltry map in Lonely Planet and went for a walk. When I was sure that I was lost, I made some gestures to a local man who spoke no English, indicating that I want to get to Salerno by train. He was very helpful and guided me to the train station, which was about 15 minutes walk away.
Salerno is a very pleasant town on the Amafi coast. Agostino took me on a tour of the old towns to look at thousand year old churches and plazas and streets, remains of Roman aqueducts, and then to my room in the hostel which was previously a monastery. The next day was a guided tour of Naples from Agostino, through the old town, the narrow shopping and main streets, markets, and then the nicer higher areas. Near the train station it is a picture of chaos, but I quite enjoyed the walk through the markets and more pedestrian oriented areas. (sorry, forgot all the name of the areas). There is a lively and passionate atmosphere that just isn't present in Germany. Even when they are selling fish.
A particularly interesting section is where they sell figures and supplies for the traditional nativity scenes. Except the Napolitans have added a twist - some parts of the scene don't necessarily have to do with the birth of Christ. There were figures of prominent Italians, Michael Schumacher, and even Zidane headbutting Matarazzi! After a pizza, coffee, some desert, and then something called a Baba (sponge pastry that is soaked in Rum), I went back to Rome.
Without consciously planning it, I have managed to sample the two most important types of pizzas in Italy - the Rome variety, and the Napolitan variety. I don't claim to know much about it, but the Rome variety has a harder base, while the Napolitan variety has a base which is softer without being spongy. The ones that I had still had some elasticity to it. I must say that I do prefer the variety from Naples, without too much filling on top (a Magherita suits me just fine), but without the buffalo mozzarela (often the upgrade option).
With a 10 hour train trip back to Munich the next day, that ends my visit to Italy. Thanks to the hospitality of everyone and my travel companions (who also planned most of the trip!). I've skipped descriptions of most sights but you can find the pictures here:
Rome Trip Photos on Flickr
First, the train trip. A 10 hour day train trip is, in practice, much more exhausting and uncomfortable than a 10 hour plane trip, which I was already quite used to. For a start, there are no in-flight videos (don't underestimate its importance!). The person sitting next to you can potentially change at every stop, strange Italian speaking people come into the cabin to tell you why you should shake their hand, toilets don't work that well, etc. etc. But complaints aside, the range of scenery through Austria, South Tirol, Northern Italy and then central Italy (then later a bit further south towards Naples) was amazing - there was no sudden change at the border but rather a slow increase chaos and graffiti as one travelled south. The warmer climate brings significantly different looking buildings and farms as well - there are many more orchards in Italy.
Besides seeing the usual ruins and prominent sights in Rome, we also went to the midnight mass and the Christmas service in the Vatican city. That was quite an experience. While the midnight mass was a solemn and cold affair, the Christmas service had a much more relaxed atmosphere.
"Hey ... Benedito! Oh! Ah! I want to know...oh oh oh oh oh,would you be my Pope!" A bunch of Germans behind us were obviously feeling rather proud that the new Pope comes from Bavaria, but there were also plenty of other chants going on. Then the Pope announced the Christmas message in all the languages. The effort at the four Chinese words were not bad.
We visited Sara, a friend of Tom who lived in Rome's suburbs, and had lunch with their family. That was lovely, except the mother was unaware of how far Italian coffee (at least in principle if not in quality) has spread around the world, or perhaps they were used to visitors who had no idea about Espresso coffee: "Now here's some coffee. It's from the Mocha so it is pretty strong. If you don't like it we also have Nescafe!" We were quite happy to enjoy the Italian version. Then, a few interesting variations on the normal theme - Potato pizza, and Nutella pizza. And yes, they actually work.
Since this was my last day in Rome I decided to go for a walk in the evening, from the east side of town back to the east, which is where our hostel is situated. Starting at 7 p.m., I managed to finish my visit of a high vintage point by about 11 p.m. Now the Roman transport system is somewhat less predictable than the Munich one. The subway had stopped running by then, so I caught the railway busses. Then I waited at the bus stop to get to the hostel ... and waited, and waited. Then I decided to take the half an hour walk to the hostel - and of course, the bus eventually came and passed me about 50 m before the hostel. So, at 12:30, I was back.
Now it was time for Pompeii. Tom and Wenjing decided to explore Rome further, so Han and I went together to Pompeii via Naples. It was quite surreal to actually see the town and Mt. Vesuvius after studying a story about it in Year 7 Latin. I can't adequately describe it with pictures and words, but it is truly amazing to see how well some of the architecture and paintings on the wall have been preserved. And the longest line of people waiting to get into a building stood in front of ... the town brothel. Hmmm ...
After far too much walking around Pompeii I soldiered on alone that evening to go by train to Salerno. But that was no easy feat. The excavation site has a station on the local train line from Naples. But to get to Salerno I must get to the regional train station in New Pompeii, which is a couple of kilometers away. One restaurant owner said that trains to Salerno don't exist; so I trusted the paltry map in Lonely Planet and went for a walk. When I was sure that I was lost, I made some gestures to a local man who spoke no English, indicating that I want to get to Salerno by train. He was very helpful and guided me to the train station, which was about 15 minutes walk away.
Salerno is a very pleasant town on the Amafi coast. Agostino took me on a tour of the old towns to look at thousand year old churches and plazas and streets, remains of Roman aqueducts, and then to my room in the hostel which was previously a monastery. The next day was a guided tour of Naples from Agostino, through the old town, the narrow shopping and main streets, markets, and then the nicer higher areas. Near the train station it is a picture of chaos, but I quite enjoyed the walk through the markets and more pedestrian oriented areas. (sorry, forgot all the name of the areas). There is a lively and passionate atmosphere that just isn't present in Germany. Even when they are selling fish.
A particularly interesting section is where they sell figures and supplies for the traditional nativity scenes. Except the Napolitans have added a twist - some parts of the scene don't necessarily have to do with the birth of Christ. There were figures of prominent Italians, Michael Schumacher, and even Zidane headbutting Matarazzi! After a pizza, coffee, some desert, and then something called a Baba (sponge pastry that is soaked in Rum), I went back to Rome.
Without consciously planning it, I have managed to sample the two most important types of pizzas in Italy - the Rome variety, and the Napolitan variety. I don't claim to know much about it, but the Rome variety has a harder base, while the Napolitan variety has a base which is softer without being spongy. The ones that I had still had some elasticity to it. I must say that I do prefer the variety from Naples, without too much filling on top (a Magherita suits me just fine), but without the buffalo mozzarela (often the upgrade option).
With a 10 hour train trip back to Munich the next day, that ends my visit to Italy. Thanks to the hospitality of everyone and my travel companions (who also planned most of the trip!). I've skipped descriptions of most sights but you can find the pictures here:
Rome Trip Photos on Flickr
Comments
I wanna knoooooow if you'll be my pope! :D