Going to Gallipoli

The Train to Gallipoli

This area of Italy is really not that wide, and although Lecce is close to the western coast, an hour train ride will get you to the East coast, so we decided to take a train and visit Gallipoli.

Castello di Gallipoli

The Italian train system is a good one, the trains get you almost anywhere you want to go, and they appear to run on time. There is a big difference however between the big shiny inter-city trains and the local trains. The intercity trains are long, clean, shiny and fast. The local trains are only two cars long, grubby and not so fast. Yup, it was a local train that was taking us to Gallipoli.

No Wonder the seafood is good!

Gallipoli is a town that was originally completely on an island just a short distance from the coast. Of course the town has spread, and now the island is connected by a convenient bridge, and the train station is a short walk from the old town.

Crossing the bridge, you are confronted with an imposing fortress, obviously needed to protect the town; so vulnerable to invasion by those troublesome Turks of old. In fact the entire old town is built on a raised sea wall which surrounds it all. We started our self-guided tour by walking the perimeter, following the wall around the city as we looked for a place to eat. We had been told that the seafood was amazing in Gallipoli, so we wanted to sample some.

Wandering the streets of Gallipoli

Not sure what this is about

Finding a restaurant suggested by our guide the previous day, we stopped and examined the menu. It looked delicious, but when we requested a table we were ushered to one by the back door. We said we wanted a table out front by the ocean, but were told the were all "full". When I pointed out that the restaurant was completely empty, he pointed to his watch, indicating that it was 1:50 pm. I had forgotten about that 2:00 to 4:00 thing again. Now I know what everyone does during their "break"; reserve the best tables in town. A bit annoyed, we elected to try elsewhere.
Once you leave the sea wall walk, the town is much like the other small town in the area, with narrow winding streets and whitewashed stone buildings. We were a bit disappointed that none of the churches were open, but, it was Easter Weekend and many places were closed.
The castle however was open, and we spent an hour or so exploring this attraction. The castle/Fort has been partially restored, although in some places it was very confusing, and one spot had a display about a gate and chain bridge, but it was difficult to even picture this in its present configuration. Unlike the castle in Bari, which we were disappointed in because so much of it was closed or blocked off, here we were free to explore much of the old castle.

A fort colliding with a castle

Arriving back at the train station for the ride home to Lecce, we were pleasantly surprised to find a sleek red modern train waiting, but part way home we were told we would have to change trains, and at that point we were shuffled back onto the little local train, which was already mostly full with a wide variety of passengers, from a Justin Bieber "wannabe", young girls dressed for a night on the town, or a friendly group of North African street vendors, one of whom got off at each town. The last of them knew I was going to Lecce, and made a point of telling me that my stop had come, for at that point it was dark, and you could hardly see out of the grimy windows to see the dimly lit station platforms. 

Not Another Bloody Castle!

Regis loves castles. She loves looking at them from afar, loves touring them, and just really enjoys visiting places that have castles. The river cruise through Europe was perfect, one day is spent cruising the Middle Rhine, and the brochures claim that “There is a castle around every corner!” is not really that far from the truth.

Castle Overlooking the Town

The day started with a tour of Marksburg Castle. This spectacular castle sits right on top of a hill overlooking the Rhine. This castle is unique, because it was never destroyed and so although sections are “restored”, it remains basically as it was in the 13^th century. The castles on the Rhine were mostly built to allow someone to control a section of the river and collect “tolls” from ships using the essential waterway, so they are built on the rocky hillsides looking down on the river. As a result, the castles are built to fit the hillside and come in many shapes and configurations, rather than your “regular” square castle with four ramparts and a central building protecting the lords and ladies. Marksburg castle wanders up and down over the hilltop with the actual rock it is built on serving as the floor in sections (Not real comfortable . . . ). It was a wonderful tour visiting the chapel, kitchen, armory, living areas, and the torture chamber.

Castle Ruin

Once leaving Marksburg, there literally seemed to be a castle around every corner. This of course makes sense. The castle sitting on the hillside could only control the section of river they could see, so as soon as one castle as out of sight another greedy robber baron could build another castle and start collecting tolls. It must have been a nuisance for the boats using the river, and indeed in time, as the central government became strong enough the practice was stopped.

Wake me at the next Castle

Unfortunately most of the rest of the castles were torn down at least once if not multiple times. The King, to prevent the collection of tolls, destroyed some. Apparently the French came in during the 1600’s and destroyed most of the castles to establish their control of the region. Some have remained as ruins, but many have been rebuilt. Our guide on the boat giving a running commentary as we cruised past these castles used the expression “Restored in the  . . . style”; in other words they were sometimes not restored, but rebuilt to suit the new owner. Some are private homes, some museums, one is a hotel, and a number are youth hostels (you sleep in bunk beds but have the BEST view). This entire section of the river has World Heritage Site designation, so most of the castles are now somewhat protected, but it really is a spectacular section of the river.

We spent the afternoon, sitting up on deck chairs on the sundeck, waiting for the boat to round the next corner and the next spectacular castle to appear. We got to the point that even Regis was saying “Oh no, not another bloody castle!”