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What can I write about Venice that you don't already know about? My greatest perspectives come from not living in these places and only visiting occasionally. I was last in Venice in the 90s and have totally avoided it ever since. Yes, the place is unique and amazing, but it doesn't quite rock my boat. I find it a bit sad and moody, with those alleyways containing memories and history that might be best forgotten. But today's visit was somehow ok and the crowds really weren't that bad and nowhere near what I expected. The worst part was the narrow alleys between the Rialto bridge and Piazza San Marco.


This view is near Santa Lucia train station, towards the Tronchetto parking lot


Fruit and vegetable stall on the way to the Rialto bridge, offering a nice variety of peppers


Gondola on the Grand Canal


Gondolas in a side canal near the Rialto bridge

Italy's musical imprint is these days a faint shadow of what it used to be, when you consider what Venice alone has produced in the 1600s and 1700s. Vivaldi, Gabrieli and Marcello father and son are just the tip of a huge iceberg of music, much of which celebrated the acoustic properties of Venice's many churches and in the case of Vivaldi served the needs of the girls school where he worked. The best I could find on this trip was a recital of two squeezeboxes playing arrangements of Vivaldi and Albinoni. Maybe I didn't look hard enough for other concerts, because I wasn't really in a state to go to concerts on this trip. As it happened, it was a very pretty girl on the beach at Lido who invited me to the squeezebox concert (yes, I know, it's unbelievable and ridiculous, how the heck did that happen on a beach??). Can I just say, I have wonderful colleagues who teach the accordeon and I have nothing against the instrument... it's just that I wasn't in the mood to listen to two squeezeboxes scraping their ways through arrangements of Vivaldi violin concertos! Anyway, here are a selection of pics from my walk through Venice.


A somewhat iconic view of the Rialto bridge


And the famous Piazza San Marco


Gondolas on the Venice lagoon


On the waterbus, heading over to Lido si Venezia

lamphs

I see. I was thinking it was a foul odor or something.

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I ended up in Lido di Venezia because this trip was planned to be something totally different to what it ended up being. Initially I was driven towards Lido by the stupid prices of the hotels in Venice but I also wanted to get away from the hordes, the milling crowds in Venice that I find so tiring. Lido was an ideal place for me to process and recover from the surprises that I had experienced in the last few days. I found a cheap pensione which offered a serviceable room for just under €50 a night. La Pergola was perfectly clean, set back in a quiet residential district off Gran Viale, and the owner loaned me a rickety yellow bicyclette which would not have looked out of place in Amsterdam.


One of the café restaurants along the Gran Viale


A real Italian coffee and panino


My means of transport for getting around Lido di Venezia

There's really not a lot to see or do in Lido. There is a network of canals, numerous grand old Palazzo properties and a huge lengthy beach facing the Adriatic which when I last came here in the 1990s was open for everyone to use. Now much of it has been converted into a private beach with an entry fee, although there is a free public beach to the north. I visited a sepulchral mausoleum for fallen soldiers near the main landing jetty for the boats. And right at the top of the island is a charming little private aviation airport, Aeroporto Nicelli, with a grass landing strip. The entry hall of the airport is impeccably outfitted with furniture, accessories and carpets and there is a restaurant there.


There are lots of canals in Lido di Venezia too


Nicelli aerodrome at Lido di Venezia, which has a grass landing strip


The interior of Nicelli aerodrome terminal building, which must be one of the most lovely airport buildings I have ever visited

There were no great aperitivo places or restaurants that I managed to discover and most eateries are clustered along the main drag Gran Viale. The Belvedere Hotel down near the boat stop offered a buffet of semi reasonable food at semi reasonable prices, although I had doubts about the hygiene of the place. I made friends with many of the bar owners along Gran Viale, enjoying beers and glasses of wine, with the blue drop standing out as the best.


The beach at Lido di Venezia which is still open to the public, despite the encroachment of these private beach clubs


Open expanse of beach at Lido di Venezia


One of the jetties facing the Venice lagoon

Fabo.sk

That bicycle could indeed be parked at any place in the Netherlands... if it wasn't for one detail - it would have a wheel and chain lock, in itself of about 2x value of the bike

I've recently learned that my vacation plans for summer will change a bit, and initially I thought it will simply allow me to add an extra day in Italy, I am now more and more considering, whether I should not reconsider the whole of my progress across the country from Liguria, and besides adding a stop or two at the lakes in the north, maybe I should throw out the stop in Venice (and instead, fly there after the main season has ended, or before it starts again).
Truth be told, your words are not exactly pushing me away from this decision... Great report anyway. And a good inspiration to try to get to the airfield as well, once there.

lamphs

Nice writeup on Lido di Venezia. How were the food and beverage selections as compared to Venice itself?

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The food and drink options in Lido di Venezia were mediocre but they were fairly, if not reasonably, priced. Certainly, there a couple of bars that are nice enough, although it's not hard to find bars in Italy. I hate to say it, but for decent food you need to go into Venice itself. I believe that there are a lot of really good places that are somewhat hidden. You need to look in the Italy forum here on Flyertalk.

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Here is a tip for arriving at Venice Marco Polo airport (VCE). The number 5 Actv bus to Piazzale Roma costs €10 from the airport terminal. If you walk 10-13 minutes towards the village of Tessera, you can board the same bus for €1.50. I would not try the walk at night, because there are around 200 meters along the main road with no sidewalk (yes, I did it at night to get to one of the cheap airport hotels and it was foggy, but I had no luggage). In addition, you would need to walk another 200 meters beyond the Tessera bus stop to the Tabacchi shop to buy tickets and it will be closed at night.


On the waterbus leaving Lido di Venezia and heading towards Santa Lucia train station


Approaching the landing jetty at St Mark's Square (Piazza San Marco)


After leaving the landing jetty at St Mark's Square we encountered a regatta

In Bologna there is a similar trick, which I accomplished early on a Sunday morning. I wasn't in any state at all to enjoy Bologna and I just had a couple of glasses of good wine in a nice downtown enoteca. I had stayed in the Combo Bologna (also known as We Bologna), a newbuild university hall of residence which doubles up as a youth hostel just 1km north of the main station. I didn't have a good night there and the place was infested with mosquitoes, but the staff were friendly and there were lots of people of all ages (I got the last bed available, in a room with 4 beds). Total cost was €42, when all other hotels showed stupid prices.
So, to get to the airport I wanted to avoid the Marconi Express, which leaves from the main station, takes just a few minutes and costs a ridiculous €11.00. If you go outside to the front of the station, bus 91 goes all the way to Birra bus stop, from where you have to walk around 10 minutes to reach the airport. Tickets cost €1.50 and must be bought in advance from Tabacchi stores then validated in the bus. The walk goes past two roundabouts and under the highway to reach the terminal building (there is one sketchy bit at the second roundabout, where the crumbling sidewalk disappears for a bit). It's maybe best avoided at night time.


This is the Combo Bologna, a cross between a good quality hostel and a student hall of residence


I wandered into central Bologna, which consists mostly of pedestrian zones


I found this excellent wine bar in a side street in downtown Bologna

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I didn't greatly enjoy Bologna airport (BLQ), but this was not a time to be enjoying things. I found BLQ to be a relic of the 1970s which would usually probably be efficient and not stressful. The VIP lounge is actually landside and it isn't great, but you can get a semi decent cup of Italian coffee there (as opposed to the usual dire coffee machines found in most airport lounges). From the lounge you are decanted into the fast track security area, which took just a couple of minutes to clear, and then into the departures area which was too cramped for all the people who were there. There are endless flights with Ryanair, Wizz and other LCCs, hence all the people.


The general VIP lounge in Bologna airport is used by various airlines and it is somehow not very inviting, despite appearances here


Boarding the Air France flight to Paris CDG by the front steps


Looking down the fuselage of the Airbus A220 aircraft

Boarding was onto a bus, after a longish wait on the downward ramp, and we were driven to a remote stand. I always enjoy boarding by the stairs and I found myself on an Airbus A220 again with, when facing forward, two seats on the left and three seats on the right (it reminded me a bit of the old Fokker 50 aircraft that KLM Cityhopper used to have). The flight was totally full, including business class, and I was in the row immediately behind business. An announcement was made that no catering had been loaded, so there was only orange juice or water to be had. A small packet of sablé biscuits was also handed out. Air France is really descending to a very poor level and we are reaching the point where they will introduce BoB pay on board service, saying that us, the customers, were begging for it as a solution for improved catering. Also, the service has become kind of offhand, in a way Air France never used to be. At least the flight was on time with a punctual arrival at Paris Charles de Gaulle.

Rating 6*
Seat 3F
Aircraft 223
Registration F-HZUT


The Economy class catering was pretty poor on the BLQ-CDG flight and reflects how the quality of service on AF has really declined


Crossing the Alps is always spectacular if the weather is clear and visibility is good


View of the apron after deplaning at Paris Charles de Gaulle airport, Terminal 2

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The stay in the Air France lounge in Terminal 2F was pleasant if a bit long and it was overclouded with the issues I'm currently trying to come to terms with. I was unable to find a wine that pleased me (they're mostly pretty cheap wines) and one of the coffee machines broke down. This time I did manage to find some hot food though.


Boarding the Air France flight from Paris CDG to Geneva


A quick view out on the apron at Terminal 2F at Paris Charles de Gaulle airport


Standard seating on Air France European flights

The flight boarded on time and left just a few minutes late. Once again on an Airbus A220 I was seated well towards the back in row 28 and a woman was sitting in my window seat. So I quietly left her alone and sat in her aisle seat. This flight was much better in terms of service, with a choice of drinks (I had tea and water) and multiple handouts of the famous vegetarian sandwich. I was so tired with what has been going on during the last few days that I slept most of the way to Geneva. Again, the weather was amazingly clear and there were clear views in all directions. Cabin crew were much more approachable and I talked about the poor quality of the previous flight and the lack of catering from Bologna and indicated that I thought Air France was currently experiencing a major decline in terms of service quality.

Rating 7.5*
Seat 28F-28D
Aircraft 223
Registration F-


These are the toilet facilities in the Airbus A220 aircraft


View down the cabin of the Airbus A220 aircraft


Proper European Economy class catering

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The correct sequence for this trip was as follows:

Montreux - Lausanne: SBB 2nd class
Lausanne - Bern: SBB 2nd class
Bern - Basel SBB: SBB 2nd class
Basel SBB - Köln Hbf: DB 1st class
Köln Hbf - Duisburg Hbf: DB 1st class

Today was looking a bit challenging. Although I was technically not supposed to (German Sparpreis ticket with restricted trains) I took a train which left an hour earlier so that I could visit the Centre de Biométrie in Lausanne at 07h45. This was for my new C permit, but the photo session was just awful at that time in the morning (I have full understanding and sympathy for women when it comes to photos). The onward trip to Basel passed without a hitch although the train to Bern picked up a bit of delay. The journey in 2nd class was, at least, quite pleasant. The Bern - Basel train was much more crowded, but the Swiss SBB experience was pleasant enough.


Looking down the 1st class compartment of a Deutsche Bahn train

I had a pleasant stop in Basel to see a friend whom I had met on my trip to Málaga in 2022. We had a coffee at the Café Elisabethen which is just inside "church" and went for a browse in my favourite bookshop, Bider & Tanner. For lunch we returned to the multi cultural Markthalle where we tried the Thai food stall which turned out to be quite good - which was to be expected, given the number of people lining up.


A closer look at the seating in 1st class with Deutsche Bahn

The onward trip to Cologne main station went surprisingly smoothly and I actually managed to catch what I had decided was an impossible connection at Cologne. The remainder of the trip to Duisburg main station went surprisingly well, given the endless problems on the line between Cologne and Düsseldorf and we reached Duisburg only 10 minutes late. The trip itself represented a good use of an upgrade voucher which cost 500 Bahnbonus points. The ICE106 from Basel to Köln was a new generation Deutsche Bahn train, very clean with table service (I had a big mug of coffee) and outfitted with a proper WiFi connection. The train from Köln to Duisburg was an SBB train, so, no table service and no WiFi. But I managed to sit in the panorama wagon on this part of the trip!


Overhead information screens

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I was invited to do some work at the Detmold opera house (Landestheater Detmold) during the month of October. This was a welcome invitation because I had experienced a strange autumn with unexpected situations and surprises, none of them good. Actually, Detmold was desperate for help because two of the pianist coaches were absent, one with a broken hand, the other with a gig in Vienna. So they provided decent conditions including a very nice local hotel, the Elizabeth Garni, just a short walk from the Theater. The piece in question was Les Contes d'Hoffmann (Offenbach) which was to be performed in French as well as Dead Man Walking (Jake Heggie), which I didn't have time to do much work on because I had to get back to work in Switzerland. I arrived in Detmold just in time for the colourful premiere of Das Feuerwerk (Paul Burkhard), an amazingly attractive operetta which was first given at the Zurich Schauspielhaus in 1939. The writing for the orchestra is lucid and it is easy to follow the rather anodyne story, which nevertheless helps make Das Feuerwerk a crowd puller.


The exterior of the Landestheater Detmold, the opera house in Detmold


Looking down at the stage inside the Landestheater Detmold


In the street outside the theater, Bismarckstraße

Detmold, like the Ruhrgebiet, Düsseldorf and Cologne, is in Nordrhein Westfalen and although it is not really a tourist destination, the old city with its timber framed houses has been carefully preserved. The Landestheater Detmold, with its imitation Greek columns on its facade, adjoins parkland (belonging originally to the Residenzschloss) next to the old town itself. The Lippisches Museum is nearby, but I never got around to visiting it. There are plenty of cafes among the old timber framed houses but I find that in the provinces of Germany it's virtually impossible to get a decent cup of coffee. So I stuck to tea, which was excellent (tea is better in Germany than in England). Portions of cake in places like Café Cup were huge, so I shared them with my Schauspielerin (actress) friend who showed me literally every cafe in the town. Restaurants seemed a bit limited and there wasn't anything that stood out, but there were a number of bars well worth a visit, such as the new and trendy Lui.
Detmold is also known for its Hochschule für Musik, at which there are a number of star teachers.


There are a lot of timber framed houses in Detmold in the very pleasant city center


There are several waterways which meander through Detmold, as well as a park connected to what was a Residenzschloss (a castle that was a residence)


My walk from the Elisabeth Garni Hotel to the theater took me through Kaiser-Wilhelm Platz past the Christuskirche

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EDLN (MGL) = Mönchengladbach
EDLM (ZOJ) = Marl-Loemühle

During the entire week in Detmold I had been sure that this day of flying with the Piper 28 aircraft would never take place. The weather forecast was awful and true to its name, Wet Mould (a name we coined for Detmold) saw more rain than I have seen for two years. But pilot Tek and friend Florian really wanted to fly on this last weekend of October as we hadn't seen each other for about a year. As it happened, the weather unexpectedly improved and we were able to skip around the worst of the storm clouds and we ended up having an amazing day up in the sky.


Checking the engine of the Piper aircraft before take-off protocols begin


In the cockpit of the Piper 28 aircraft , prior to take-off from Mönchengladbach MGL

I was late in reaching Mönchengladbach airport because the A44 Autobahn was closed and I had to navigate my way around on country roads. Tek had completed most pre flight checks, printed the weather forecast and filed the flight route with the German Flugsicherung. So we did the preflight briefing in the private terminal of the RWL German Flight Academy and headed out onto the apron to inspect the aircraft and look at the motor. Once onboard, we did the cockpit preflight checks and taxied to the fuel stand, where we let the motor turn over for about 10 minutes. While there we contacted air traffic control (ATC) and asked for permission to taxi to the head of runway 13. Minutes later we were airborne, being batted around like a mosquito in the strong winds.


Lining up at the runway at Mönchengladbach Airport


Waiting for clearance on the runway at Mönchengladbach Airport MGL

From MGL airport we headed over Neuss and swung around the south side of Düsseldorf heading immediately into the hills on the other side of the Rhine. After passing Wuppertal, which looked quite hilly and impressive from the air, we headed into the Sauerland, with the autumn forest colours flaming red and yellow everywhere. Although the weather had been fairly clement up until now, the thick clouds and heavy rain appeared to close in all around us. Somewhere over the Ennepetalsperre dam (last year I completed a hike from Hagen up to this big dam) Tek made a sudden decision and banked the plane sharply to the left and flew us back the way we had come. We banked around another wall of cloud and rain and headed for the central Ruhrgebiet. Tek called out for alternative airport suggestions and I suggested Marl-Loemühle, a small airfield just north of Recklinghausen near the huge chemical works complex at Marl. As we flew over Bochum, Herne and Recklinghausen, the sunshine and clear visibility returned.


After take-off from Mönchengladbach airport, with amazing views of the Rhine river


We quickly fly into bad weather, as we head towards Arnsberg-Menden Flugplatz


Entering poor weather on the way to Arnsberg-Menden Flugplatz

Marl-Loemühle Flugplatz was not easy to find on visual - with a lot of these airfields, you only see them once you are more or less over them. Luckily we had good charts and I had a detailed map with me, so we soon found it just to the west of the A43 highway to the north of Recklinghausen. The landing strip looked scarily short and narrow, but Tek brought the little Piper down to a safe and smooth landing, using the full length of the runway in the process.

Rating 9*
Seat 2F
Aircraft PA28
Registration D-EFXM


Approaching Marl Loemühle airfield


Landing at Marl-Loemühle


Marl-Loemühle Aerodrome

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EDLM (ZOJ) = Marl-Loemühle
EDLN (MGL) = Mönchengladbach

Marl-Loemühle airfield (ZOJ) was the least busy of all the airfields we have visited since beginning these private plane excursions. The control tower said to just park the plane anywhere we wanted and there was only one other aircraft parked nearby, another Piper 28. From there we sauntered across a small stretch of apron to the gate leading through to a makeshift exterior snack bar made of wood, with a canvas roof which flapped like crazy in the wind. We ordered Wiener schnitzels, not the best meal but it kept us going for the return trip to Mönchengladbach airport (MGL). We had quite a discussion between us about how there seems to be really a lot of bad things going on everywhere and everyhow this autumn, and everyone seemed to have had emotional issues to a greater or lesser extent.


A good, basic schnitzel at the snack bar at Mark Loemühle airfield


Walking back after lunch to where our Piper aircraft was parked, near the hangars


Approaching the main runway at Marl Loemühle airfield, just prior to take-off


The runway at Marl Loemühle is surprisingly narrow

During our extended lunch time at Marl-Loemühle the worst of the poor weather passed and the dark clouds rolled back to reveal some sunshine. So we taxied back out along an incredibly narrow taxiway to the head of the short runway and quickly took off. The trip back to MGL airport was a lot less turbulent than the outbound trip, probably due to the nicer weather conditions. A couple of low cloud formations did cause a little bit of turbulence, but we were quickly back into clear weather. The weather over the hilly country to the south of the Ruhrgebiet remained shrouded in rain clouds.


Tek flies us through high winds with great skill


Again, the rather poor weather over the Ruhrgebiet was never that far away from us


Looking out towards the northwest over the Ruhrgebiet


In this pic the Gasometer of Oberhausen, which is now used for art and photography exhibitions, is clearly visible

The views included an overfly of the Veltins Arena, a clear view of Bottrop (although there's not much to see in Bottrop except for the Tetraeder sculpture on top of an old slag heap). We also had an excellent view of the Gasometer in Oberhausen as well as the city center and Alstaden, where I have been spending my time when in Germany. Lastly, the whole Innenhafen and port of Duisburg was very impressive from the air. I never get bored of looking at the Rhine when we fly over it and it was as impressive as ever as it wound into the distance towards the Dutch border. There were also good views of Moers and Kempen before MGL airport came into view again. During landing the small plane was buffeted around in the wind as Tek glided it to a smooth landing on runway 13.

Rating 8*
Seat 2F
Aircraft PA28
Registration D-EFXM


Here we are looking over the meadows beside the Ruhr river between Oberhausen and Duisburg


This is a nice view of where the Ruhr river joins the mighty Rhine, in the distance


Crossing over the Rhine on the way to Mönchengladbach airfield


Just touching down on the runway at Mönchengladbach

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I headed early in the morning to Düsseldorf airport (DUS), the day after completing the flights to Marl-Loemühle Flugplatz (ZOJ) with Tek and Florian. Although the S-Bahn ran a bit late, the airport was lovely and calm, a long way from the frantic activity of the summer period. It took just minutes to clear security and I had enough time in the lounge for some breakfast.


The Eurowings check-in area at Düsseldorf airport (DUS)


My SWISS (LX) flight to Zurich (ZRH) is waiting at the gate at Düsseldorf airport (DUS)

​​​​​​This time the flight was operated by SWISS International Air Lines itself, with no sign of that awful Air Baltic franchise that has plagued the ZRH-DUS route for at least a year now. The aircraft was an A220 and I had a nice window seat towards the rear. The flight was quite full but I ended up with a spare middle seat next to me, a small taste of previous FTL status treatment which is a shadow of its former self. The flight was certainly pleasant, with a fast and efficient flight route down the western part of Germany and an early arrival at Zurich. The usual service involving distribution of water bottles took place and chocolates were offered towards the end of the flight. The BoB trolley was pushed down the aisle but not a single passenger bought any of the overpriced junk on it. This service concept is IMO a failure, nothing more, nothing less.

Rating 7.5*
Seat 20F
Aircraft 223
Registration HB-JCT


Standard Economy class seating on the SWISS flight to Zurich


Flying over the Rhine river on approach to Zurich airport

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IN PROGRESS

This was an unusual sort of "flight", where a flight number is placed on the train from Zurich airport to Geneva Cornavin main station. ZHT is the offline airport code for the main train station in Geneva. Prior to going to the airport train station I managed to cadge my way into the business class lounge at Zürich airport. I was surprised that the scanner accepted my entry, but it enabled me to have a spot of hot lunch before the 3 hour train trip. The train was very long and I headed for the rear where there were two empty second class rail cars. The trip was pleasant enough because the train was not too busy. I find 2nd class on Swiss SBB trains perfectly adequate and 1st class is barely worth the extra money. The route headed down along the bottom of the Jura mountains, going through Biel/Bienne, Neuchâtel and Yverdon, with a scenic part of the route along the shore of Lake Neuchâtel. The train did not stop in Lausanne but went directly from Yverdon to Morges. I arrived at Genève Cornavin exactly on time and went to my rendezvous with a very good friend.

Rating 8*
Coach 12 Seat 67
Aircraft TRN
Registration n/a


Another shot from the previous flight, on final approach to Zurich airport (ZRH)


Standard 2nd class seating on the Swiss SBB train with a flight number, from Zurich (ZRH) to Geneva Cornavin main starion (ZHT)


I used the time to study this work, in preparation for a rehearsal that same day