Yesterday morning, I packed up my belongings, checked out of the hotel and walked down to the San Marco Canal bus dock. Venice is such beautiful city that I had to take a few more photographs on the way to where I had parked the car.
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The young woman in the following shots was the first mate on the canal bus who would dock the boat and open up the portal for exiting and boarding passengers.
Once at Piazzale Roma, I stopped in a little tobacco store to purchase a few postage stamps for mailing a couple of postcards that I bought at an art and design shop on Via delle Industrie. They had my favorite little cigars displayed on the shelf behind the register. I bought a tin for the trip to Frankfurt and put the postcards in the postal box outside.
The parking garage in which the Fiat sat was in the next building over. After paying for its two nights stay, we were on our way. The left front tire was low on air and had to be filled at the service station while fueling the tank with petrol before getting onto the Autostrada and A4.
The trip from Northern Italy into Germany crossed over the Alps and satisified another one of my must do before I die requirements. I was awestruck to say the least. The views were breathtaking!
Having crossed the border into Germany, the mountains exhibited more of a rocky and snowy appearance as shown in the next series of photos.
I stopped to eat dinner at a rest area on E45 in München that took me off of the main highway. When finished and having departed for E45, I took a wrong turn and ended up in the city, not knowing where I was and how to get out of there. After driving around for about an hour, I stopped, bought a map of Deutschland and found my way out of Munich toward Frankfurt aM Main. It started raining and by the time I arrived in Frankfurt, it was already today by 30 minutes.
The requisite stopping the car several times to find an internet hot spot because I was lost and needed mapquest to find the hotel where I was staying for the night took place as expected. After all, it was raining, I was exhausted and all I wanted to do was go to sleep. It turned out that once I had found a hotspot and located the Bristol Hotel, it wasn't too far away. And when I finally arrived, I found a parking spot right by the front entrance that I was able to keep until morning. Finally, some good luck for a change. I registered and crashed shortly thereafter.
After sleeping like a baby, showering and checking my email, I went down to the hotel's dining room and ate a scrumptious breakfast from the all you can eat breakfast buffet that offered everything imaginable. I kept it simple with scrambled eggs, toast, sausage and bacon with a glass of orange juice, two cups of coffee and a bowl of fresh fruit. With a filled belly, I loaded everything including the suitcase from hell back into the Fiat. I had to re-organize the suitcase as I been living out of a backpack since Rome and had to sort out the dirty laundry which was placed in its rear pouch that is designed for that purpose.
I would have liked to have spent more time in Frankfurt as it seems to be a friendly and fascinating city. However, tempus fugit and off to Amsterdam I went.
Only one picture was taken today. The scenery was pretty but flat and it was raining for most of the trip into Amsterdam. The following shot was while cruising on the Autobaun. Yet another one of my must do before I die essentials has been accomplished! I better start finding some more before I run out.
I never drove as fast, ever! I even reached 140 mph at one point. What a great highway system it is for a speed freak like me. The only hassle was the construction work found sporadically and one had to slow down to a snails pace... 65 mph.
In closing, I'd like to mention that since Europe formed a union with one common currency, traveling about is like going from state to state in the US or Province to Province elsewhere. There are no customs or check points from country to country except coming into France from the UK and returning from France, back to the UK. The anxiety of having to learn different currencies is a thing of the past and makes the trip that more enjoyable and practical.
I'm in Amsterdam until Saturday and will be checking in from time to time. Click Here
