Day 8 Unexpected adventures

From Bologna, armed with our Eurail pass our plan is to have a day trip to Ferrara and maybe if time permits a trip to across to the coast at Rivenna.  The station is crazily crowded when we arrive and with the help of the electronic train departure boards we realize that we have two options. The slow train leaving in 50 minutes that will probably take about an hour or the fast train leaving in 5 minutes which will take 30 minutes. We check the boards, the monitors on the platform and also the screens on the train to be sure that the train we are on will be stopping at Ferrara. Wendy hears a strange announcement on the train before we depart which seems to suggest that the train is not stopping at Ferrara but is to be diverted, but Richard refuses to listen as the information on the boards seems to be unanimous. The train does not stop at Ferrara. So we decide to get off at Padova, the next stop, and come back on a regional train. The train does not stop at Padova. The train eventually stops 2 hours later at Verona some considerable distance to the west of where we should have been going. Rather than wasting the whole day traveling back we cut our losses and stay on the fast train bound for Venice. Who can argue with an unplanned day in Venice?

As we arrive in Venice we are greeted with a sun drenched winter’s day and a perfect blue sky. We buy a small Calzone Pizza each  for lunch and find a sunny spot away from the crowds to eat them, right next to the Grand Canal. For the first time on the trip we sit in the sun with jackets off and enjoy the view. Once finished our lunch we walk for hours around Venice and without a strict schedule we enjoy this fascinating city. Getting lost in the backstreets is just part of the fun.

At the end of the day we decide to catch the local ferry back to the station for one last journey down the Grand Canal. Once again the route is not quite what we had expected and we eventually reach the station but via the industrial canals of Venice - informative but not very glamorous.

The train home is a Eurostar fast train, which this time takes the correct route, but the day’s adventures are not yet over! The theory is that you are supposed to pay extra for a reservation on these trains, (even with our Eurail Pass). This had been a problem on our last trip in 2008, and occasionally in Italy, we had to pay the guard an extra fee of $18 Euro. But tonight as the train is nearly empty we board and hope for the best. Minutes later our fears are relieved as a guard checks our tickets and with an Italian grump he waves us, OK. We settle back for an uneventful trip but about 40 minutes before we are due to arrive in Bologna another guard checks our tickets and tells us in no uncertain terms that without a reservation we have to pay a fine of $38 Euro. After some discussion he must have felt sorry for us and offered us a merciful alternative – at the next stop we can get off and wait for the local train. So for the first time ever we are kicked off an empty train for not having a reservation. To make matters worse the station we find ourselves on is Ferrara, our original destination for the day. We are too tired to explore and wait for 3 minutes until the local train arrives, which gets us back to Bologna only a few minutes later than the fast train.

We love Italy but its public transport system does provide us with some unexpected adventures!