Venice 2022 - Part 1
Since a few years, we go to the Biennale [↗] in Venice. Usually, I have shown here no photos of the Biennale itself, but of other sights in the city ( 2017 / 2019 ). I will keep it that way, as the exhibitions are closed now.
In contrast to the last trips that we made with the art society Senden [↗], this time we are traveling on our own. This has the advantage that we can look for a hotel in Venice itself (previously we were always on the Lido). On the other hand, we also have to take care of the journey itself. We decide against a car or plane and choose to go by train.
From Munich, there is a direct connection to Venice. This train is also quite ok, but until one is in Munich with the regional train, it stretches quite a bit. Since the German Bahn is mainly known for delays this year, we decided to take an earlier connection. Unfortunately, the regional train runs only every hour. Nevertheless, it was a good decision, because of course the train was late and if that had happened to us with the originally planned one, the train to Italy would have been gone. So we have to bridge some time in Munich, but soon we can get into the connecting train and make ourselves comfortable in the cabin.
Around 18:30 we reach the train station in Venice and now have to walk about 30 minutes to our accommodation. In the meantime, it has started to rain lightly. Our hotel is located at the eastern end of the Cannaregio district on a small dead-end street. We walk in circles a few times before we find the right alley. After a quick briefing, which is also the last time we see any of the staff, we head to a nearby restaurant. It's good that we can borrow an umbrella from the hotel because in the meantime it's raining quite hard.
The next morning I head to San Marco Square even before sunrise. At this time of day, there is not much going on in the streets of Venice. Only the street cleaners try to sweep up the remains of yesterday's day. With small carts, the garbage is then brought to the canals and disposed of by boats. Also on San Marco Square is not much going on yet. A few photographers are already there and a wedding party gathers at the back end of the square. There are still some puddles from yesterday's rain, in which the Campanile is reflected, and also the lighting is still switched on at this time.
After spending some time at San Marco Square, I go to the waterfront to photograph the sunrise. For a while it looks like the sun won't make it through the clouds, but then the sky starts to burn. What a spectacle 🌝.
On the way back to the hotel I take a picture or two and get us something for breakfast at a bakery. We then spend most of the day at the Biennale.
For the sunrise the next day I chose the Rialto Bridge. We were there already last evening, but it was not really productive. Especially at sunset, people jostle in rows of 4 or 5 in front of the railing. If you want to take a good photo at this time, you should be there at least half an hour before to secure a spot.
It is quite different in the morning. When I arrive, there are only a few teenagers hanging around, obviously trying to down the last beers of an all-nighter. But the pre-dawn timing has two additional advantages: The lights are still on and there is still relatively little traffic on the canal, which always leads to ugly smudges with the long exposure times.
After the pictures from the bridge, I go down to the canal to photograph from there the Palazzi and the bridge itself. Slowly the sky turns pink and I go up to the bridge again to take more pictures. Even now there are no tourists except for a few photographers.
Afterwards I walk a bit through the relatively empty streets and return to the hotel with sweets for breakfast.
Today the second major exhibition area of the Biennale, Giardini, is on the agenda. The Biennale opens, by the way, only at 10 o'clock (in the summer even only at 11) and since one spends several hours there already, there is not too much time for further activities. In addition, even in early October the city is still relatively crowded and in the late afternoon / early evening, you rather push through the alleys than stroll through comfortably. This is at least true for the central downtown areas where most of the tourists are.
