Karol Zacharczuk – Psychology – Level 1
Venice, Italy
Our university trip to Venice commenced on 12th of July when our group gathered by a meeting point on Edinburgh Airport. At the time, little did I expect from Venice to astonish me, at least when it comes to appearance of the city. The reason for that was my brief visit there 10 years earlier with a school trip. I did not remember anything that I especially liked about what I saw then – St. Mark’s Square, Basilica and surroundings. In my mind I had an image of Venice constructed on the basis of this tiny part which I saw as teenager.
We were to spend three full days in Venice, one of which was entirely dedicated to visit at Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, where we were expected to take part in series of lectures and seminars. After we managed to get to our hotel from the airport it was already getting late and this night we did not see much of the city, however we had an excellent dinner and got to enjoy Italian cuisine for the first time during this trip.
Next two days were almost completely dedicated to sightseeing. We had some group trips planned as well as a visit at Ca’ Foscari University, except for that we were free to do what we wished ( while remembering about appropriate behavior, of course). At this point I had already realized how mistaken my previous opinion about the city was. I found it definitely much bigger than expected, much more beautiful and mysterious. It seemed like a vast artificial movie set. Narrow alleys, water canals spread throughout the city like a web and lack of cars created an impression that this place is unreal, as if it was frozen in time.
Distinctness of Venice inspired me to think about the people who lived there, about how their daily life may have looked like. I tried to imagine taking water bus (vaporetto) to work or university, or wondered how local businesses managed deliveries of goods through canals. I also could not help noticing warning signs of high water level emergency. Venice experiences flooding almost every year. I really hope that this city will never end up under water, it would be a colossal loss.
Unfortunately, I did not get to see the lectures at the university, because of food poisoning. I spend the last day recovering, however I took a lot of fantastic photos and collected many unforgettable memories during this trip. The last day of our stay was concluded with delicious dinner at nearby restaurant. We were all sad to say goodbye to Venice – but it definitely encouraged every one of us to come back.
