Planes, Trains, and Automobiles

I have a lot of empathy for the Steve Martin character from the movie in the title of this blog. Like his character, I have taken a BUNCH of transportation options today in my effort to get from Moscow to Bolzano-Bozen, Italy. Let’s see. In order they were:

Car, plane, bus, bus, plane, bus, bus, train, and a seemingly long hike from the train station with my suitcase on my back.

From the time the driver picked me up in Moscow to the time I unpacked in my room in Bolzano was 15 hours.

To be fair, unlike Steve Martin’s character, my trip went incredibly smoothly. All of my connections were made, none of my connections were cancelled, there were no language barriers, and I never had to drop an F-bomb laden tirade on some poor desk clerk.

I started the day with a little proactive stress simply because of the time of the departure. After only about 3 1/2 hours of sleep, I was worried the driver wouldn’t be waiting for me at 4 AM this morning (2 AM Bolzano time) if for no other reason then I had no idea what my back up plan was going to be. So few people speak even one word of English in Moscow (certainly no one working at the university hotel spoke any) that I was worried I might have to simply walk to the curb out front and start negotiating a ride in sign language and using the international language of money. I needn’t have worried. When I walked out shortly before 4:00 he was there putting oil in the engine. Good thing too because the “Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride” through the pre-dawn streets of Moscow had to have put a wear on things! One would think that Moscow would be quiet at 4:00 AM. One would be wrong. Most of the GOOD clubs are only beginning to think about calling it quits (most are open until 5:00 AM). Lots of road construction is still going on. It wasn’t as bad as if we had done this at 6:00 PM (quitting time) but it was still and adventure.

Fortunately, the trip to the airport was uneventful and I was checked in and through passport control (another stress point because they kept warning us about having our paperwork in order and avoiding a shakedown by the border folks) by shortly after 5:00 AM for a 7:20 flight. Long wait #1.

The flight from Moscow to Frankfurt was a nice one. We were on a large plane (10 seats in each row) yet it was probably only one third full. That meant that we could scatter out and have a row to ourselves. Also, Lufthansa is a very nice airline with comfortable seats and good food. I would fly them again any day.

The layover in Frankfurt was brutal - three hours is a lot of time to kill when walking more than a few gates requires going through passport control again. I had decided to go find my gate first before doing anything, not realizing this issue. When I finally decided to go get Euros so I had some for the bus in Verona I technically “left” Germany and then returned five minutes later. Yes, somehow the central area with stores and restaurants and currency exchanges all lie outside of Germany??

The flight to Verona was a relatively short one (about an hour in the air) and my next stressful connection turned out to be very easy. I had to get through customs (although no passport control), find the bus from the airport to the train station, and then negotiate the purchase of a ticket from Verona to Bolzano. That was incredibly smooth and I only had to wait about 45 minutes for the next train to leave.

The train ride was incredible. I would have paid the 13 Euros just to ride the train for the scenery. Within 20 minutes of leaving the Verona train station we were pulling through a long tunnel and into a wide canyon/valley with the Dolomites rising up on each side of the train. It reminded me a lot of the drive through the Big Thompson into Estes Park, only a little wider. There was a pretty rushing river running along the floor of the valley, perhaps a half mile or so across from valley wall to valley wall. Just enough room for small villages and lots of grape vineyards. Every three or four minutes there would be a pretty little church, and every five or six, an old castle/fortress nestled along the cliffs. Again, worth the money just for the view. The fact that it was the quickest AND cheapest way to get me from point A to point B was simply a side benefit.

Once I arrived in town it was only a long walk down a park-lined street to arrive at Piaza Walthar and my hotel. WHEW, I am beat though. Fifteen hours of travel after only 3 ½ hours of sleep last night makes for a long day. I had just enough time to unpack, grab a quick shower, go across the street for the Sunday night Mass at the Catholic church (in German of course, not Italian) for the first time since I left the US (the Russian Orthodox service in St. Petersburg probably doesn’t count, but it was done in good spirit), and enjoy a lovely relaxing dinner at the outdoor café, overlooking the piazza and the mountains before a short walk and bedtime!

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