We have tired on several occasions to describe the transportation here, but a verbal description just does not capture the experience and so it has been delayed and delayed. But what would a blog on Albania be without discussing the furgons? We must try. What is a furgon?
We did not know much about the period which led to the building of the Berlin Wall. We had seen the fall, but did not understand much of the history behind this event. Our tour through Berlin was interesting as the guide describe where the wall was and how it effected daily life.
Today it is off to the catacombs, outside the ancient city walls. We had to get the bus from the metro stop and then it was a 10 to 15 minute ride.
Carol describes our visit of Rome as Rome Outside as we did not go inside the main attractions; we saw them from the outside. There were just too many people and this was off-season.
Travel from Cinque Terra to Florence was very straightforward. Take the commuter train to La Spezia and then hop the next available to Florence. You can schedule yourself to catch either the regional trains which stop at every station, the intercity trains or the Euro-express. Since we are not on a timetable, we just take… Continue reading Florence
It is a long train ride from Bologna to Cinque Terre, 4 ½ hours. Now that doesn’t sound like very long, but when you don’t know which stop is yours, you must pay attention to every stop and it does become tiring. But finally you arrive and it is worth the wait.
Not sure why Criss wanted to see Bologna. He thinks it played an important role in the Middle Ages as a university town, but you will have to research that on your own. The other thing of interest is the twin towers. It seems while Pisa has the claim for the leaning tower, building foundations… Continue reading Bologna
Venice was an easy way to start our trip. We were able to wander the streets, get lost, see St. Mark Cathedral and learn to stand and drink coffee.
Our first out-of-country trip since coming to Albania almost 1 year ago (we arrived 3/26/06). Since Criss had never seen any of Italy, he put together a two week tour of the more important places – Venice, Florence and Rome and just because he was interested, we stopped in Bologna and Cinque Terre.
After the warm short-sleeve weather of Saranda, Gjirokastra was just cold. It is an ancient city with a large castle set on the hilltop. Overlooking the river valley, this castle controlled movement through the valley. The ancient city developed around the castle and today, cascades down