Capri, that's CAP-pree

24.6.13 

After a very soggy day in Füssen, Anna and I were finally leaving Germany and headed to Capri, Italy, off the Amalfi coast!  However, this was going to be a day of travel like never before.  We had to catch a 7:02 train with an arrival time at the Buchloe station in Germany at 8:17 followed by a transfer at 8:20 to the München HBF where we would take the S-train to the airport, board our flight to Napoli (Naples), get in a taxi, ride to the port, board a hydrofoil (a fast water taxi) to the Island of Capri.  From there we would have to take a bus up to Anacapri and then walk, and walk, and walk, with 80 lbs of luggage to our hostel.  An easy day, right?

When our 5:45 am alarms went off, neither Anna nor I saw this as a good thing.  While we were excited about getting to Capri, the traveling did not excite us.  Yes, I know, I’m in Europe, traveling to all these wonderful places, poor me!  Well, let me tell you, it’s exhausting when you have nearly 80 pounds of luggage to carry with you (and that’s before I get souvenirs, so ya’ll back home had better be appreciative!).

We had everything marked out.  Today was my time to shine, as I had the trains down to the exact time and everything we needed.  At one point, our train was running 4 minutes behind schedule, no big deal right?  Well, when you arrive at 8:17 normally and your transfer is at 8:20, those 4 minutes is very stressful.  German trains may run behind schedule after they start, but very, very seldom, in our travels, do they not leave on time.  I was a wreck the entire morning on the train.  I did what any nervous Catholic should do: I prayed.  I pulled up my Laudate Catholic App and searched my prayers, finally deciding on a general Intercessory prayer.  Somehow, our train that was running 4 minutes behind managed to arrive at the station only 1 minute late and we made our transfer.  As long as we could get to the airport before 10 am, I knew we would be ok!

The second train brought us back to München (and oh, how I love München) and we switched to the S-Bahn and road it all the way to the airport!  We arrived at the München flughafen (airport) and realized it was quite large.  Anna has this funny way of not believing me when I give directions, so we stopped to confirm that we were going the right way:  we were.  We made it to the Air Berlin counter and I experienced the longest line at an airport I have ever come across.  Granted, at the Louisville airport I don’t’ think I’ve ever seen a line, and the last time I flew I was in Junior High, so that’s not saying much, but still!  25 minutes in line and we made it to our counter.  Both Anna and I had been pretty close to the 50lb weight limit on our suitcase, and we were nervous our souvenirs might tip us over the edge—which luckily they didn’t!

Our flight boarded on time and then decided to taxi halfway to Napoli.  But for real, we literally taxied around the airport for 25 minutes.  I have no idea why.  So we were about 15 minutes behind schedule after that. Finally we took off and the flight was smooth for the most part.  As we approached Italy, the excitement grew.  Ana (AH-nah), as it’s said in Italian, is incredibly biased from studying there last year and absolutely adores Italia.  My first impression was not so great.  We get off the plane in Napoli and have to take a bus to the station, which isn’t a huge deal, but then it takes for-ever to get our luggage!  Ana was quite nervous about Napoli and didn’t want to have to mess with the public transit system.  I’m quite cheap, so she had to talk me into paying for a taxi—and I’m glad she did.  Mostly.  If you have never heard about Italian driving, let me summarize it for you:  IT’S REALLY SCARY!  Cars, mopeds, buses, people, objects, high speeds, close shaves, lots of horns, quick stops, sharp turns, Hail Mary’s and lots of other prayers are involved.  Pedestrians sometimes follow the pedestrian lights, if they are tourists.  Otherwise you just walk across the street whenever you please.  I am sure there are rules of the road, but I couldn’t figure out any.  Lane changes are sudden, but to their credit, every driver in Italy uses a turn signal—something Louisville drivers could look into. 

Apart from the cultural experience of the cab ride, the city, itself, is scary.  As Ana describes it, “It’s like a third world country.”  This is neither politically correct or socially considerate, but 100% accurate.  The city, or at least the parts we were in, was filthy.  Trash was everywhere, the buildings and sidewalks were grimy, and the overall atmosphere seemed rough and rude.  I am sure there are beautiful parts, and that it’s just rough around the edges, but it was quite scary around the port and train station.  Either way, Ana and I didn’t stay long.  We were headed to the gorgeous island of Capri! 

Finally our taxi dropped us off at the port and we figured out where to buy our hydrofoil tickets.  These were a little expensive for my tastes, but what can you do, Capri is an island and I certainly wasn’t going to be swimming to get there! 

After a 40 minute hydrofoil (it was quite sketchy) ride, where I napped on and off to avoid feeling sea sick and Ana nearly got sea sick, we were on the island.  I would tell you it was beautiful, but that is the understatement of the century.  I thought the island was gorgeous, but I would learn the next day, that it would only get better!

The view upon arrival 

Our hostel was actually in Anacapri (ana in Italian means up, so it was the upper part of the island), so Ana and I found the bus station and headed up the mountain.  Now, by this point I thought I was a public transit expert.  Again, I could not have been more wrong.  We boarded this short little orange bust that had 7 seats on it and was about the size of Cargo van, except thinner and longer.  I had been told that the buses in Capri you would feel like you would be herded about, but I didn’t realize how tight this would be.  Ana and I loaded our luggage, and were charged for an extra passenger each because they were so large (but it was only 1,80 euro, so it wasn’t terrible).

After cramming into what I thought was max capacity, the bus took off.  Remember, Capri is a small island.  I was expecting it to be small, and somewhat crowded, but I was in for quite the ride.  There were turns that were literally 180 degrees.  Remember that driving I previously told you about in Napoli?  Well, it was like that on Capri, except with far narrower roads.  When I say the roads were narrow, I mean, narrow.  Think about an average size ally in the US.  Keep it that size, add sidewalks, and put two cars in it.  That is the approximate size of the main roads in Capri.  Now, think about a sidewalk, there you have your side streets, where cars still go—and mopeds. Lots of mopeds.

So, with that description in mind, imagine driving up a windy road, where you would feel uncomfortable about being alone on the road because of how narrow it is.  Now put two buses, taxis, about 50,000 mopeds, and pedestrians on it, and you have Capri’s main bus routes.  There were points where the driver would stop suddenly and back up so another vehicle could get through. Additionally, honking in Italy is not like honking in the US. There are different types of honks.  There are friendly honks at people you are on the road with and then you have warning honks around sharp corners.  Additionally, you have your random honks that are reminder honks that there is an orange bus barreling through full of people at speeds you are surprised are possible in such a machine.  The final honk is the angry honk, and it is seldom heard, but when it is, it is usually accompanied with an annoyed yell or an expressive lifting of the hands (which is frightening, as they should be on the wheel).

So, one new bus experience later, Ana and I arrive at the bus stop “closest” to our hostel.  The reviews of the place we decided to stay at were great, except for one thing:  It is incredibly hard to find.  By this point, however, Ana and I are pro navigators and can take on anything (especially when we quickly consult her mobile data plan).  Now, it take us a little while, but we found our hostel, nestled in the heart of Anacapri.

Anacapri, as mentioned, is higher up on the island.  Capri is the island and the lower part with all the ritzy resorts, million-and-billion-airs, yachts, etc.  Anacapri is the more “native” part of the island.  While still touristy, there are more natives and you can experience more of the culture and less tourism. 

So, Ana and I arrive at the hostel, check in, and drop our bags off.  The hostel operators were incredibly nice and helpful.  They let us drop our bags off, get settled in, and then had us come back to the desk and showed us on a map everywhere we should go.  It is great to have other people plan things for you.  While they gave us a lot of good advice, we did deviate a little bit, but that’s for tomorrow!

After receiving some great instructions, Ana and I needed some food.  We had traveled for 12 straight hours with only a light snack on the plane, and were in desperate need of food.  Our hostel operator highly recommended Mamma Giovanni’s—I think they have a “special connection”—so we headed there.  They have a shuttle service, but Ana decided we could walk and experience the island.  So, off we went.  It was only about a mile from our hostel, or 1.5 miles after all the wrong turns we took, but it was worth the walk.  We got to experience the true beauty of the island and side streets most tourists probably never get to.  It was tiring, but when we got to the restaurant, it was well worth it!  I had ravioli and Ana had pasta with clams.  We split a half portion of the house white wine, and it was wonderful.  It was truly an Italian evening!

Part of the garden outside our restaurant.

View of sunset during dinner

I want to be very clear:  Ana really likes seafood.  And those were some of the freshest clams Ana has ever had. Ever.  In her life.  Totally fresh.  Absolutely amazing.  So amazing, that she is still talking about them, two days later! 

After a successful walk back, where we navigated back to the hostel perfectly, we decided we needed to plan a bit, blog, facebook, and do all sorts of other things.  Of course, who wanted to be stuck in a room of their hostel when they had a beautiful rooftop patio they could sit on?

So, of course, up to the patio we headed!  It was absolutely amazing, sitting up on the roof, listening to the wind blow in from the ocean, smelling the flowers and salt, and enjoying a truly, peaceful, night.  After a long day of traveling and lots of island walking, it was a much needed calm night.

Finally, the wind started to become a little chilly and my eyelids began to anchor down.  Ana and I both headed back in and decided it was time to call it a night.  The biggest down side to our hostel came next:  the beds.  They were like sleeping on boards.  However, it was a hostel, so we weren't complaining too much, especially since we had our own bathroom! 

We set our alarms and finally drifted off into dreamland after an exhausting, but wonderful day.  We knew we were in store for a gorgeous island the next day, and we needed to be well rested for all the hiking we would do!