Our last day in Italy…..January 5

Do you know how dark it can be in a strange room in a Strange place, in a different country?
Very!!!

Settling in for the night, after a small dinner , after our wet wet day….finding nothing opened for food except a small bar who gave us toasted Ham and cheese sandwich …the television in our room only speaking in Italian or German, so instead of trying to work out what they were saying…we decided to have an early night.
Ablutions completed, good night kisses , lights out , and wham….the darkness engulfed us,
Now I like to sleep in the dark but this was ridiculous !! It was pitch black…blacker than tar!!
Normally you can see outlines of various features of your room once your eyes adjust to the night visions , so we waited…..but did they adjust,,,no. Not for either of us.
Instead the darkness smothered you and enfolded you in Its arms completely strangulating you in its presence. Oh yes, it was so dark. I could not see Marc at all who was only cms away from me.i could feel his breath, but could I see him…??? Could I see an outline if anything at all?
No.

Now imagine that darkness situation when you have to get up and use the bathroom throughout the night!!! I already have had trouble finding my way to the many bathrooms we have stayed in….this was ridiculous!!!!
So….my knight to the rescue ….one shutter window was opened…to allow some normality of dark into the room…a patch if light to reveal silhouettes of shapes at least !
Ah..now. I can sleep.

Morning returns with the weather of a much more conducive aspect to viewing the city. After my bad impression of Trieste with the rain and the gloom and the wet, I decided that I would not be too harsh on the city and attempt to view it in a different way. Deciding where we would go, after our minimal breakfast provided of bread roll, jam and coffee ( Marc had ham and cheese) we ventured into the big side world of Trieste.
I must add here that the B&B was organised and maintained by a male….it was so clear rom our travels. Our first B & B in Rome was the same. There is nothing of the female soft touch about anything ..the towels were scratchy ( and so was the toilet paper Laura !!) but jokes aside, you can freshly see the difference between male owned and run establishments and female ones. Different touches altogether. Even breakfast was better…but I amble on…..back to the story.

Unfortunately Trieste did not impress me visually any better than my initial perspective but it provided us an opportunity to view a concentration camp used by the Germans in the Second World War. This was Risiera di San Sabba . It was a 5-storey brick-built compound that functioned as a Nazi concentration camp for the detention and killing of political prisoners during World War II.
The building was erected in 1913 and first used as a rice-husking facility (hence the name “Risiera”). During World War II, German occupation forces in Trieste used the building to transport, detain and exterminate prisoners. Many occupants of were also transported to the Nazi concentration camp at Auschwitz-Birkenau in Poland. However historians estimate that over 3,000 people were killed at the Risiera camp alone and thousands more imprisoned here and transported elsewhere. Can you imagine that ?
This was a very sad and emotional trip back into history learning and seeing visually about the Jews and the political prisoners such as partisans who were interned and executed through horrible killing techniques and then burned in the huge crematorium.

We had an audio guide and two or more hours later of history we left the buildings feeling emotionally battered by what we had seen. The museum is now a national museum and in 1967 they commemorated it to the memories of those who were interned here. There are also stories and visual displays from some of the prisoners which were complimented by the audio guide we listened to throughout our slow wandering visit.
Interesting when I placed up one of the photos on Facebook, a friend of mine came out with the comment that her father was in a concentration camp like this one for five years in Germany. It is difficult to comprehend that , as being Australian and so far away from the harshness and reality of these camps ,,,in my age and stage to actually have a friend make this comment was amazing. It made the reality if what we saw even more intense.
We were both glad that we did see this section if Italian history.

The weather today was no longer raining but still cool so we thought we would give the centre of Trieste a second chance to redeem itself after being underwhelmed yesterday in the rain. We walked through the main city centre into the piazza. We wondered why there was not a lot of traffic on the road as we drove from the prison into the centre, and that parking was free at the seaside parking areas ..( Trieste is a huge international port) and we learnt that today is a public holiday. It is the day of epiphany. I gather it is a national Italian holiday and not just for Trieste as there were crowds of people meandering and walking with their families enjoying the afternoon sunshine.
We partook of a lovely lunch at a lovely restaurant, knowing that we would not find anywhere for dinner near our B&B ,(,and I had had my fill of ham and cheese for the day…). We both chose what we though were fish dishes but obviously our Italian was wrong. I got grilled beef,,,Marc got the fish….a mixture of sardines, fillets, prawns calamari and octopus !!! Octupi….complete with legs, Marc offered me one..I refused…but he made me close my eyes…and I ate it. Was ok…but refused anymore,,,did not look right,
I had a lovely beef and vegetables dinner….the two meals were shared and we had a mixed plate if grilled vegetables. Three out of the four I could eat,,,.but not the last section,,,it was bitter and horrible..even Marc left it. We were not sure what it was either!!!
Two coffees and a lovely shared dessert of cottage cheese, lemon and coconut cake we waddled our way back to the car ready to go home and pack up.

Sadly I would have to say, apart from the concentration camp historical aspect, Trieste does not offer much else. If is a port to elsewhere…both by sea and by plane but that is about all. It is dull, gloomy and grey brick buildings everywhere. The centre was a little more colourful but even with the sun out…it did not present itself very well.I would not recommend it as a place to visit.

Trieste itself is about forty minutes away from the airport, and our B&B was about ten minutes (this was why we chose it due to the early departing time to Greece.) Our host had offered to pick us up from the airport after we had returned the rental car…but we thought we would not inconvenience him as he was quite busy…and instead, deposit the car on our way back from the main centre of Trieste. We saw taxis at the airport as we drove in, handed in the keys to the lovely rental car (Italian) man, and then waited outside the arrival area of the airport to wait for a taxi.

We waited.
We waited some more
We waited even more
The sun goes down…getting colder…standing on the footpath outside the terminal.
Ah a taxi….no that one was booked already and a mother and child bustled into the taxi complete with much luggage…it leaves,
We wait some more…
Another taxi…the couple in front of us take their turn.
We move up the queue
We wait some more
Night descends
Ah another taxi arrives…the next gentlemen takes that one
We shuffle up to the Taxi space
We wait
We wait some more…and more…and more…..
I am now hopping from foot to foot because it is so cold
I am now singing songs from Sound of Music to keep myself warm and happy…and Marc of course !!!
We are waiting……for this one single white car that says taxi on it to appear.
It is dark.
By now it is 1 and half hours since we left the car…since we stood on the steps
Finally Marc rings our host who collects us within ten minutes,

He informs us…
‘It is a holiday…only two taxis for airport….and very expensive !!’

Ah..memories of our last day in Italy

Off to Greece tomorrow!!!

What ventures shall we have there???

Who knows!!!!