escaping xmas in italy

after only 3 weeks @ home i started again escaping xmas in italy. the 3 weeks at home had been very stressful. not only that i had to work, there were also lots of appointments in the evenings. besides my body had arrived in germany, my mind was still somewhere in africa.

so i packed again, i haven't had time to buy a new backpack, the old one was a bit fade out after 2 trips in africa. but i bought 2 straps to hold it together and off we went. my tennant olli brought me to the autobahn. it was about -15° cold but after 5 minutes a truck driver picked me up for the next 100 km. his truck was heated and i almost got grilled when i got out. again i didn't have to wait long to find another car for the next 100 km. he dropped me at the last gas station before switzerland and there i was lucky to get a lift from sergio, a sicilian painter who was going home and dropped me right in front of gianni's door at trezzano s.n. at the outskirts of milan. there it was much "warmer" only -4°.

i had hardly arrived when it started snowing. for the next 3 days we were snowed in. gianni didn't do much but watching tv which got on my nerves after a while. one evening some of his friends showed up for dinner and we were chatting all evening.

i called stefano at desio on the other side of milan. he was busy and said i could come on dec. 25 to stay with him and the family. on the 23. i tried to visit him briefly. the streets were still covered with snow and when i arrived at milano centrale the train station was packed with people. i saw that it would take ages to buy a ticket and i knew that i would also have to return in the evening. so i gave up the idea and strolled around milan instead. before xmas it was full of people all hunting for buying the last gifts...

talked to some africans to get information how to call mali with calling cards. bought a calling card but it didn't work... in the end i landed in a mall and bought an adapter for the notebook. at gianni's home it was terrible with the internet. his computer is very old and very slow and the monitor went black after an hour. i brought my netbook but couldn't use it. very unsatisfying.

the other day i wanted to go again to milan. i tried to buy a busticket but the tobacco shop didn't have any, so i went without. i never pay in italian busses. the ticket buying process is very complicated and i never got caught. when i told gianni he was very concerned that they would control me... so i promissed to buy the ticket but i had no luck.

in the end i asked some africans where i could find an internet cafe and how to call mali and this time i was lucky. spoke briefly with baba but it was a bit difficult to speak french after having spoken italian all the time.

xmas eve was quiet. gianni had to work. luckily his apartment ws without xmas decoration and gifts. i liked that. the day after i moved over to stefano's family. i bought a bus ticket!!! and waited patiently for the bus. for more than one hour the bus didn't arrive. in the end i felt cold and started to thumb down a car. it was faster than waiting for the bus. gaetano the driver took me to the train station porta garibaldi and told me his story. his wife had just left him after over 30 years and he was very upset. he started crying in the car and i felt sorry for him. in the end he said he wanted to commit suicide and i thought: hopefully not now. eventually we arrived at the train station. the next train was leaving half an hour later. there were 3 ticket machines, 2 of them were out of order, at the 3rd people were queuing. i didn't make it buying a ticket within 30 minutes and entered the train without a ticket. when the conductor came i told him the story and he wished me merry xmas and let me ride without ticket. it took only 15 minutes to arrive.

stefano, my former exchange student and his brother picked me up from the train station and we went to his family for lunch. we haven´t met for almost 1 1/2 years. it was good and i felt very much at home there. just, when you want to escape xmas you mustn´t go to italy. they seem to have invented xmas and it is worse than in the states.

in desio i stayed for 2 days and then stefano brought me to a gas station at the tangenziale where i found a lift to bologna - after having had some troubles with the cops. in bologna i met with marco, my italian/german language tandem partner. we have been chatting for almost 1 1/2 years but it was the first time to meet. marco showed me around bologna. in summer 2005 i have been here and remembered many places but of course not everything. i stayed a night in a hotel with internet access - very important. i had brought the netbook and all to do some work for my fistula project but so far i haven´t had time for it let alone internet access.

the next morning i decided to take the train and went to the station. but again most of the ticket machines did not work, long lines at the normal counters, i was fed up and decided to hitch. walked along the signs heading for the autostrada and tried my luck. after an hour or so i went back to the train station by bus - without ticket... and queued for a train ticket. they sold me a ticket but not for the train i wanted but the next train 2 hours later. i didn´t notice immediately and when i did finally it was too late to change. arriving at almost 10 pm in napoli, antonio and his family picked me up.

antonio is also a language tandem partner and we have many common interests. his wife antonella and his daughter were also very nice. he showed me around all the historical places which were at this time of the year tourist free. (the weather was also bad...) and i stayed with them for 3 days. then they brought me to the port of napoli where i wanted to take the ferry to cagliari/sardegna. when i wanted to buy the ticket i was told that the ferry was cancelled and the only other ferry was leaving 6 hours later from civitavecchia to olbia, 250 km north of napoli.

there was a man at the counter telling us that he wanted to take the same ferry and i asked him for a lift. he agreed and then the nightmare of this trip started. ilario was 80 years old, had problem with his prostata, was a bit senil and dement. we were speeding with 50 km/h over the autostrada, at every road sign he was slowing down to read it. he had to stop frequently to peee and did so whether there was a parking lot or not.
but the worst was that he was sure that we were on the wrong road and asked me every 2 minutes for the way. near roma he suddenly wanted to turn in the middle of the autostrada and i almost got a heart attack...
in the end we made it to civitavecchia. it was new year´s eve and i slept in the lounge. there were 4 tvs with 4 different programs in every angle but i didn´t care and managed to get some sleep.

arriving in olbia at 5 in the morning it rained, it was cold and windy. took the bus to the city and started hitching towards bolotana. at 10.30 i arrived, cold and wet. antonella picked me up and set a fire in the kitchen where i could warm up. it was good to have met her first as she was preparing to leave for africa some days later. spent the weekend in bolotana and bosa. hitching to daniele in cagliari on monday. it rained most of the time in sardinia and we couldn´t do much. one evening we went to a church to see a concert of sardinian songs, twice we were walking around cagliari and got each time very wet in the end.

from the weather italy was not great this time. but it has been very relaxing and i got all my work done - undisturbed by other obligations. my only concern was that the plane was leaving today. it did. came back to snow covered germany and for the first time in many years i was looking forward to returning home.