Our epic train journey from Luzern to Venice was pretty spectacular. There were many tunnels through the mountains but the views along the beautiful valleys made up for them.
As on past train trips there were many communities areas along these valleys. Initially there were Swiss chalet buildings then, as we came through northern Italy, the Mediterranean look evolved. The Swiss landscapes were certainly tidier than the unkempt Italian farms. The apartment blocks in Italy were quite run down too. There were lots of small farms with huge, very old, brick barns and in some cases the cows were in the nearby paddocks.
The mountains had snow in some areas and there were lots of tall, thin waterfalls. Some mountains were shrouded in cloud.
At last there were more grape vines!! They were very heavily pruned between Milan and Venice but we did see a guy in one vineyard training some vines with what looked like a cable tie gun.
There are more leaves and blossom on the trees as we move southwards.
As we've come through Germany, Czech Republic, Austria, Switzerland and Italy we've noticed many small garden plots, (some with tiny sheds others with junk heaps) along the railway line. At first I thought it may have been gypsies but apparently 200 years ago towns allocated small plots of land for folk to grow vegetables. In many cases these plots of land have been handed down and have now become private recreational areas ie. tiny holiday homes. Some of them are very cute.
The day was hazy and got greyer as we neared a drizzly Venice.
We caught our water ferry very easily and it took us within 200 metres of our hotel. We're in a great location on the fourth floor (attic) with a view of many orange clay tiled rooftops.