We finally got into Bologna, Italy, after two days of travel. We left our hostel in Athens on Saturday morning, took a 3-hour bus to Patras and then waited for a few hours for the ferry to take off at 6 pm. The ferry finally left Patras after a little delay and travelled all night across the Adriatic Sea and arrived in Bari, Italy at about 9:30 am Sunday morning. Then we waited about 3 hours for a train to go north to Bologna, which took about 6 hours. Wow...that was a long stretch of travel.
I was expecting a small ferry but this one is huge. It took in several tour buses and huge trucks and has room for more. There were a few hundred people on board. It's almost like a cruise ship, with restaurants, bar, a small casino, small shop, etc. Our Eurail Pass gave us free travel on the ferry, although we had to pay Port and Fuel surcharges (about 12 euros each). If we wanted to sleep on a bed, we'd have to pay another 50 euros or so. We were given airplane-type seats, which are not the most comfortable for sleeping. Luckily, the ferry was not full and we were able to stretch across 2 or more seats to sleep. Surprisingly, I was able to sleep well in spite of the uneven surface and being crunched up.
The food on board was quite good although it's slightly more expensive than what you get in regular restaurants. Most people just hung around in the lounge or bar areas because there's really nothing to do. Internet service was available for 3 euros for 120 minutes.
After we arrived in Bari, we had to wait about 3 hours for our train. We walked around town and had lunch there. The Italian trains are a lot faster than the Eastern European trains that we've been used to the last 3 weeks. They are also newer and the seats more comfortable.
We'll stay in Bologna for 1 night and walked around the old town for part of the day on Monday. Later in the day, we'll take a train to Pisa.
I was expecting a small ferry but this one is huge. It took in several tour buses and huge trucks and has room for more. There were a few hundred people on board. It's almost like a cruise ship, with restaurants, bar, a small casino, small shop, etc. Our Eurail Pass gave us free travel on the ferry, although we had to pay Port and Fuel surcharges (about 12 euros each). If we wanted to sleep on a bed, we'd have to pay another 50 euros or so. We were given airplane-type seats, which are not the most comfortable for sleeping. Luckily, the ferry was not full and we were able to stretch across 2 or more seats to sleep. Surprisingly, I was able to sleep well in spite of the uneven surface and being crunched up.
The food on board was quite good although it's slightly more expensive than what you get in regular restaurants. Most people just hung around in the lounge or bar areas because there's really nothing to do. Internet service was available for 3 euros for 120 minutes.
After we arrived in Bari, we had to wait about 3 hours for our train. We walked around town and had lunch there. The Italian trains are a lot faster than the Eastern European trains that we've been used to the last 3 weeks. They are also newer and the seats more comfortable.
We'll stay in Bologna for 1 night and walked around the old town for part of the day on Monday. Later in the day, we'll take a train to Pisa.
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