Trip to Rome (Italy) - 7th to 10th of August 2009
So after my relaxing holidays in Crete, I spend again a lot of time with working, working and guess what….working :-) But it was interesting and I was glad that I had already booked my trip to Rome! I have never been before to Italy, thus I thought Rome might be good start. (I’m not counting in my trip to South Tirol).
So first the preparation, some things I did good, some …well lets say not so good. Well I booked my flight I guess 4 months in advance thus I got a pretty good price to fly with Ryanair from Frankfurt Hahn to Rome Ciampino. I booked a hostel in Rome, pretty close to Termini (it’s the central train station in Rome). And I took an early bus to the airport. Thus all went well. Now the things that were not good organized, actually it’s just one “my shoes”. Yep keep in mind to take with you shoes that give your feet the best comfort and allow you to walk miles over miles without aching feet… believe me, I know what I’m talking about.
So I arrived on the evening of the 6th August around 22:30 at Ciampino airport. I already prebooked my bus to the city, thus it didn’t took me a lot of time to get to the bus and then to the city. The bus stop is directly at Termini and most of the hostels (including mine) are located around Termini. But keep in mind that the area around the central station in every city is pretty bad, thus you have to be careful and use common sense in order to keep yourself out of trouble. Thanks to my map I found my hostel pretty fast and then directly went to bed. By the way the weather was awesome! around 32 degree Celsius…
The next day (7th) I woke up pretty early, as I know the masses of tourists are already running to the tourists sights. As I was staying in a really small hostel, there was actually no breakfast…but in order to get a fresh start it’s good to get a really, I mean really really good breakfast at the bakery which is in the supermarket at the Termini (underground). Also the first thing what you should do is buying the Roma Pass. The Roma Pass offers you 3 days flat rate of using the bus and the subway in Rome, it also offers you two free entries to famous tourists sights, and a lot of discounts. Here is the link
So here is the list of sights, sorted by days (maybe I forgot one or two sights, but believe me, it was hardcore sight seeing!!!) :
Day 1:
Directly from the termini I went to the vatican city. You can reach it pretty easily with the metro:
from there I walked by the St. Peter’s Square, had a quick look at the St. Peter’s Basil,
but went directly to the Vatican museum (with the Sistine Chapel):
Wikipedia says: “The Vatican Museums (Italian: Musei Vaticani), in Viale Vaticano in Rome, inside the Vatican City, are among the greatest museums in the world, since they display works from the immense collection built up by the Roman Catholic Church throughout the centuries. Pope Julius IISistine Chapel and the Stanze della SegnaturaRaphael are on the visitor route through the Vatican Museums.” founded the museums in the 16th century. The decorated by
and I must say it is huge and really impressive. So many sculptures, paintings….a must see for everyone!!!
a quick look into the vatican city/state 
….as you can see, not much going on…
Inside the museum there is also a little park and (who would ever have guessed that) also sculptures from the old egypt and even some modern sculptures…
The highlight of the vatican museum is the Sistine chapel (that’s actually why most people visit the museum):
“Sistine Chapel (Italian: Cappella Sistina) is the best-known chapel in the Apostolic Palace, the official residence of the Pope in Vatican City. It is famous for its architecture, evocative of Solomon’s Temple of the Old Testament, and its decoration which has been frescoed throughout by the greatest Renaissance artists including Michelangelo, Raphael, Bernini, and Sandro Botticelli. Under the patronage of Pope Julius II, Michelangelo painted 12,000 square feet (1,100 m2) of the chapel ceiling between 1508 and 1512. He resented the commission, and believed his work only served the Pope’s need for grandeur. However, today the ceiling, and especially The Last Judgement, are widely believed to be Michelangelo’s crowning achievements in painting.“
Unfortunately it is highly protected and forbidden to take photos…. thus I can’t show you the great painted ceiling… but I managed to get some secret shots
i know it is not very good….just skip it and google for better pictures, if you can’t visit that great place…
Next stop is Castel Sant Angelo…. the castle of the Angels…. actually one of my most favourite sights in Rome:
“The Mausoleum of Hadrian, usually known as the Castel Sant’Angelo, is a towering cylindrical building in Rome, initially commissioned by the Roman Emperor Hadrian as a mausoleum for himself and his family. The building was later used as a fortress and castle, and is now a museum.”
of course I went inside the castle…luckily there was not a huge queue, well and I got in for free with my roma pass. And also if I would have to pay the entrance fee, I would certainly do it, cause the view from the top of the castle is just amazing!!!!
by the way, for those who have not read the book “illuminati” there is really a direct connection between the St. Peters Basil and the castle…. but can’t be used by us “normal” people….
so from the castle I directly made my way to the even more famous Trevi Fountain:
“The Trevi Fountain (Italian: Fontana di Trevi) is a fountain in the Trevi rione in Rome, Italy. Standing 25.9 meters (85 feet) high and 19.8 meters (65 feet) wide, it is the largest Baroque fountain in the city.”
and you should definitely visit by day, be night, when you are a couple or alone for gelati or vino….
On day one I was there alone for gelati (ice cream), so I threw a coin with my right hand over my left shoulder into the fountain (”A traditional legend holds that if visitors throw a coin into the fountain, they are ensured a return to Rome.”), sat down with my ice cream and just enjoyed the magnificent architecture of this fountain:
and you guys must know that there are many many, and I mean really many other fountains in Rome, which are worth visiting them. Like for example the Bernini fountain:
So after this first day, I was pretty exhausted. Although Rome has a good metro system, buses and so on, I kept on walking all the time. In such a city you just have to walk to soak in all the different sights, the architecture, the atmosphere….. So I decided to stay the night at the hostel to meet some fellow traveler’s.
I can assure you, I could definitely could cut of my feet that night…. as I said…wrong shoes…..
Day 2:
began quite early for me, as I wanted to be one of the first person to enter St. Peter’s Basil….before it gets crowded and I have to queue up for hours…. So I got up, bought some good breakfast, took the metro to Vatican city, sat down at St. Peters Sqare (Piazza San Pietro) and first enjoyed my breakfast, the sun, and the wonderful view:
Who of you does remember this sign from a Tom Hanks movie?
Swiss guards in their uniform protecting the pope
View from the Basil at the Piazzo…..
The Basil itself is huge, a lot of sculptures, history and also a lot of gold…..
and guess what, you can go up……
Basically the Basil has 4 levels which you should visit. In the underground there is the Vatican grotto:
“There are over 100 tombs within St. Peter’s Basilica (extant to various extents), many located in the Vatican grotto, beneath the Basilica. These include 91 popes, St. Ignatius of Antioch, Holy Roman Emperor Otto II, and the composer Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina. Exiled Catholic British royalty James Francis Edward Stuart and his two sons, Charles Edward Stuart and Henry Benedict Stuart, are buried here, having been granted asylum by Pope Clement XI. Also buried here are Maria Clementina Sobieska, wife of Charles Edward Stuart, Queen Christina of Sweden, who abdicated her throne in order to convert to Catholicism, and Countess Matilda of Tuscany, supporter of the Papacy during the Investiture Controversy. The most recent interment was Pope John Paul II, on April 8, 2005. Beneath, near the crypt, is the recently-discovered vaulted fourth-century “Tomb of the Julii“. (See below for some descriptions of tombs)”
Due to the respect to the dead, of course I did not took any photos there. I must say it was quite impressive when people kneed down in front of the tomb of pope Johannes Paul the second to pray and pay their respect. There you could feel the real energy of this religion.
The other three levels are, the basil itself, the rotunda inside the top of the basil, and the top of the dome. As usual the whole visit of the Basil is actually free, but when it comes to the dome… you have to pay a small fee. That means 3 Euros if you want to take all the dangerous steps and 5 Euros if you want to take the lift for half of the way….and I guess what I did??? Of course the steps… believe me I was pretty done after so many steps during that hot weather but the view was worth it:
and look at this whole mosaic artwork….
and the great view from the top:
so that you believe me that I was really on top of that dome….
a couple of levels lower, the statues which you usually see from the piazza…
After exploring the Basil to the fullest… I went to the next tourist destination….
Thats right, it is the Colosseum!!!! And here you definitely can benefit from your Roma Pass, cause it is free entry, and for the holder of the pass there is a separate queue where you can jump the damn long queue next to you… 
“The Colosseum or Roman Coliseum, originally the Flavian Amphitheatre (Latin: Amphitheatrum Flavium, Italian Anfiteatro Flavio or Colosseo), is an elliptical amphitheatre in the center of the city of Rome, Italy, the largest ever built in the Roman Empire. It is considered one of the greatest works of Roman architecture and Roman engineering.”
Here are some impressions:
and believe me or not… some people knew the TV show “How I met your mother”, saw me in my shirt and always said “Suit up!” or “What up!” and gave me a high five:
In one area of the Colosseum there was also a small open museum build up, where you could read about the history of the Colosseum and also about the dynasty of Vespasian….
Directly next to the Colosseum is the grand Arch of Constantine
“The Arch of Constantine (Italian: Arco di Costantino) is a triumphal arch in Rome, situated between the Colosseum and the Palatine Hill. It was erected to commemorate Constantine I’s victory over Maxentius at the Battle of Milvian Bridge on October 28, 312. Dedicated in 315, it is the latest of the existing triumphal arches in Rome, from which it differs by spolia, the extensive re-use of parts of earlier buildings.”
and like in an amusement park, also the Roman Forum is also next to the Arch and the Colosseum:
“The Roman Forum, also known by its original Latin designation (Latin: Forum Romanum, Italian: Foro Romano), is located between the Palatine Hill and the Capitoline Hill of the city of Rome, Italy. Citizens of the ancient city referred to the location as the “Forum Magnum” or just the “Forum“. It is part of the centralised area around which the ancient Roman civilization developed.
The oldest and most important structures of the ancient city were located in or near the Forum. These include its ancient former royal residency the Regia as well as the surrounding complex of the Vestal Virgins, both of which were rebuilt after the rise of imperial Rome.”
The Forum is huge, I started at Palatine Hill and walked through the whole Forum until I reached the center next to the capitoline museums which includes all the old temples…..Here are some impressions:
like you are in a different world….. and I also enjoyed the look back at the Colosseum:
As I said, from the Roman Forum I directly exited to the capitoline museums where you can see this famous sculpture:
If you don’t know the sculpture, than you should probably sit down and read the legends about how Rome was created.
By the way: “The Capitoline Museums (Italian Musei Capitolini) are a group of art and archeologicalmuseums in Piazza del Campidoglio, on top of the Capitoline Hill in Rome, Italy. The museums are contained in three palazzi surrounding a central trapezoidal piazza in a plan conceived by Michelangelo Buonarroti in 1536 and executed over a period of over 400 years.”
After walking down the steps from capitoline hill you will get directly to an italian architectural masterpiece, which is known as the National Monument of Victor Emmanuel II:
“The Monumento Nazionale a Vittorio Emanuele II (National Monument of Victor Emmanuel II) or Altare della Patria (Altar of the Fatherland) or “Il Vittoriano” is a monument to honour Victor Emmanuel, the first king of a unified Italy, located in Rome, Italy. It occupies a site between the Piazza Venezia and the Capitoline Hill. The monument was designed by Giuseppe Sacconi in 1895; sculpture for it was parceled out to established sculptors all over Italy, such as Angelo Zanelli.[1] It was inaugurated in 1911 and completed in 1935.”
From there I made my way through the city, passing beautiful architecture and fountains,
to the famous Spanish Steps:
“The Spanish Steps (Italian: Scalinata della Trinità dei Monti) are a set of steps in Rome, Italy, climbing a steep slope between the Piazza di Spagna at the base and Piazza Trinità dei Monti, dominated by the church of Trinità dei Monti. The Scalinata is the longest and widest staircase in Europe.The monumental stairway of 138 steps was built with French diplomat Étienne Gueffier’s bequeathed funds of 20,000 scudi, in 1723–1725, linking the Bourbon Spanish Embassy to the Holy See, today still located in Palazzo Monaldeschi in the piazza below, with the Trinità dei Montim the church that was under the patronage of the Bourbon kings of France, above.”
and as you can see, it was crowded like hell. So I decided to visit the steps the next day morning and move on to the Trevi Fountain, to enjoy it by night and also have a nice Ice Cream. I will
So it was quite late, the evening/night at the Trevi Fountain was fantastic and I went back to the hostel to get good 5 hours of sleep….
Day 3:
So Day 3 has already arrived, I have visited already the most famous sights of Rome. Now I just had to visit the Spanish Steps, the Pantheon and for the rest of the time, just let the city surprise me on every corner with more wonderful architecture. Also, as this is going to be my last night in Rome, I planned to party without end
So I started at a place which is called “Piazza del Popolo”
“Piazza del Popolo is a large square in Rome. The name in modern Italian literally means “People’s Square”, but historically it derives from the poplars (populus in Latin, pioppo in Italian) after which the church of Santa Maria del Popolo, in the northeast corner of the piazza, takes its name.
The Piazza lies inside the northern gate in the Aurelian Walls, once the Porta Flaminia of ancient Rome, and now called Porta del Popolo. This was the starting point of the Via Flaminia, the road to AriminumRimini) and the most important route to the north. At the same time, before the age of railroads, it was the traveller’s first view of Rome upon arrival. For centuries, the Piazza del Popolo was a place for public executions, the last of which took place in 1826.” (modern
beside its history it is for me one of the most beautiful places in room… just look:
the whole piazza is symmetric…..
the church Santa Maria del Popolo is not that great, but still worth visiting it. As you can see in the above picture, directly behind the piazza is Pincian Hill:
“The Pincian Hill (Italian: Pincio, from Latin Mons Pincius) is a hill in the northeast quadrant of the historical center of Rome. The hill lies to the north of the Quirinal, overlooking the Campus Martius. It was outside the original boundaries of the ancient city of Rome, and was not one of the Seven hills of Rome, but it lies within the wall built by Roman Emperor Aurelian between 270 and 273.”
And I must say, the view from that hill is quite nice:
From there I went through the gardens of Villa Borghese:
“Villa Borghese is a large[1] landscape garden in the naturalistic English manner in Rome, containing a number of buildings, museums (see Galleria Borghese) and attractions. It is the second largest public park in Rome (80 hectares or 148 acres) after that of the Villa Doria Pamphili.”
which is the nice “green” side of Rome and therefore was great to walk through for a change….
From the gardens, the way let me directly to the Trinita dei Monti, which is on the top of the Spanish steps. Don’t worry, I was not that lazy to only walk the steps down, I also walked all of them up. But I don’t know why people are making such an issue about these steps…. there are not that many.
“Trinità dei Monti (also called Santissima Trinità al Monte Pincio, Trinità del Monte, or Holy Trinity on the Pincio Hill) is a Baroque church in Rome. It is best known for its scenographic dominance above the Spanish Steps that descend to the Piazza di Spagna. The church and its area (including the Villa Medici) are the property of the French State.”
From there I went to the famous Piazza Navona, where you can see artists painting tourists, nice fountains, a church in between of houses, and people enjoying really delicious food:
“Piazza Navona is a city square in Rome, Italy. It is built on the site of the Stadium of Domitian, built in first century AD, and follows the form of the open space of the stadium. The ancient Romans came there to watch the agones (”games”), and hence it was known as ‘Circus Agonalis’ (competition arena). It is believed that over time the name changed to ‘in agone’ to ‘navone’ and eventually to ‘navona’.”
I know, you always ask yourself, where should I go for some good food. It is difficult to say in such a city like room. It is really a tourist city. If you want a good restaurant, then you have to make sure that you have a lot of money, as they charge you a lot. If you go to cheaper restaurants, than you have to be aware, that the food will be made to met simple tourist expectations…not more. Well I took some time, sat down at the Piazza Navona and had some good Risotto and Wine. I really recommend it! Just risk it!
Afterwards I went to the Pantheon of Rome:
“The Pantheon (pronounced /pænˈθiː.ən/ or /ˈpænθi.ən/ (UK),[1] or /ˈpænθiːɑːn/ (USA), Latin: Pantheon,[nb 1] from Greek: Πάνθεον, meaning “Every god”) is a building in Rome, commissioned by Marcus Agrippa as a temple to all the gods of Ancient Rome, and rebuilt by Emperor Hadrian in about 126 AD.[2] A near-contemporary writer, Cassius Dio, speculates that the name comes from the statues of many gods placed around the building, or from the resemblance of the dome to the heavens.[3] Since the French Revolution, when the church of Sainte-Geneviève, Paris, was deconsecrated and turned into a secular monument, the Panthéon, the generic term pantheon may be applied to any building in which illustrious dead are honoured or buried.”
it was great with all the history and the architecture….but a bit too crowded…
After the Pantheon I passed some other places like Campo de’ Fiori where some of the pubs and bars are, saw quite a lot Obelisks and went back to the hostel to get some rest.
So for the evening I had planned to join a Pub Crawl… as the hostel was quite small, there were no people actually to party with. So I went to a pub, where I retrieved a flyer …so around 8 pm, I arrived at that pub… and it seemed that the Pub Crawl was not that huge, so I skipped it and went directly to the Spanish Steps. You must know, that the best pub crawl of Rome always meets up at the Spanish Steps and then goes to a good range of pubs and clubs in Rome. So I went to the Spanish Steps, but I was not sure if there would be a pub crawl on that day, because it was a Sunday… Usually they meet up around 9 pm, but know one was there around that time… I was getting nervous…but luckily I kept on waiting and they met around 9:30. And we even had a lot of people joining! I especially like the pub crawl shirt that says “I came, I saw, I crawled”
The crawl was sooo good, that we actually never knew where our guide was taking us (blind trust)… but the great thing was that the intelligent crawl ended right at the termini, cause the guide knew that almost everyone was staying at a hostel and all hostels are around the termini
Day 4:
Due to the Pub Crawl last night, which led myself to come home around 5 or 6 in the morning, it was not really possible to get up early to do some sightseeing. Also at the same time, my feet were still hurting so much, that actually it was not possible for me to walk. I also realized, that two days before I had a mosquito stitch at my left ankle , which I scratched, which then got infected…. and as a result I had a swallowed ankle in a combination with a damn hurting foot sole…. I barely could not walk….
But I am a traveler, thus I got up, packed my bag pack and started the tour…. I went to have a look at the Circus Maximo…
I know it has a lot of history, many many men were killed here… but nowdays….really it is not interesting…just a large area to look at…..
From Circus Maximo I went to a more modern part of Rome where I passed some embassies….. but soon I couldn’t walk anymore…therefore I sat down at a nice open cafe… relaxed and enjoyed a couple of hours…. went to termini to get something to eat and then caught my bus (Terravision) back to Ciampino the Ryan Air airport.
The walk to the gate was like walking through hell. I really was not sure, what was wrong with my foot. Most of the time it felt like my ankle and foot were broken :-S
Anyway, I sat down, put my feet up and kept reading my book (The Swarm, by Frank Schätzing)… My flight was only a bit delayed…. thanks to the taxi which picked me up at the Frankfurt central station I arrived around 2:30 in the night at home, packed my bag as I had to go to Bonn for an event at 7 in the morning…
My foot was not better, even with my home medcine… I was handicapped for the next two days, but somehow managed to survive the event…. (was not able to try salsa dancing though)….
Thursday I finally managed to see the doctor, who gave me a cream for my ankle, and ofter 4 days…it was good again…
All in all it was a fantastic trip! I definitely should take some time and also visit other Italian cities, such like Florence (Firenze) or……..
we will see….
until the next trip!