Venice between Carnival and Easter

After once again escaping death (how many times is this now😳?), I felt I needed a few days in Venice for my peace of mind.

The days between Carnival in mid/late February and Easter, which is at the beginning of April this year, are beautifully calm, and truly: no crowds on the Grand Canal, Piazza San Marco is relatively peaceful, unfortunately some palaces are covered with tarps and under construction, also some areas at the entrance of St. Mark's Basilica are hidden under plastic, the light is, as sometimes in summer, milky and the sun doesn't quite shine through, but all in all, Venice is wonderful and makes me happy as always.

With bus number 5, you can go directly from the airport to Piazzale Roma, where you can purchase a weekly ticket for the Vaporetti, and then hop on the boat to ride the entire Grand Canal down to Piazza San Marco, passing under the Rialto Bridge and the Accademia Bridge, past the fish market and Peggy Guggenheim until you reach the stop at the Doge's Palace. The first glimpse of the beautiful windows and speckled facades in all earthy colors you can imagine, with the gondolas, most of which are still wrapped, peacefully rocking along the canal banks.

A short walk from the Doge's Palace to the Campanile, which seems to lean slightly to the side this time, but that’s probably an optical illusion; hopefully it won’t collapse again.

No more pigeons in Piazza San Marco, they've cracked down hard and finally banned the fun of my childhood. Café Florian and the other one across the street are quite empty. The two bell-ringers are still standing on their roof, and this building has finally been completely restored.

Pasting by the Bridge of Sighs (again not wrapped this time!) to the next Vaporetto stop, continuing on to Giudecca and to my favorite restaurant La Palanca, where the owner greets warmly and gives advice on what good dishes are available today. I believe he sometimes cooks himself too. Mainly fishermen and locals come here. It’s loud and crowded and cheerful, and the warm endive vegetable, the pasta with octopus sauce, and the chocolate almond cake are a delight. I immediately make a reservation for the next day, but outside by the water, and am warmly seen off with “A domani, Susanne!”

Giudecca is much quieter and simpler than the rest of Venice, somehow reminiscent of the good old days. Here lies my quite cozy, spotlessly clean hostel with a view of the opposite Venice with towers, facades, and palaces.