Independent Research

Day 17
Oliver Brown

Today we started our week of independent research for our report and presentation. Our class met in the morning to discuss our topics and our individual plans for the day. I am studying the water supply system here in Venice, including the continuous fountains in the square. I measured the flow rate, so that I can calculate the amount of water used per day. 

Fountain near the Rialto fish market.

 The two pictures above are of construction workers maintaining and replacing sections of the canal walls where sediment has been washed into the canals, causing erosion and sinking. To do this, they first have to install a wall to hold back the water, which is what they are using the crane for in the second picture. After they finish this they have to pump out the area they are working on before they can begin repair.

 Shown above is one of two remaining bridges in Venice with no handrails. Didn't fall in!

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Haus des Meeres

On Saturday we wandered around Vienna. The highlight was definitely when we went to a 12 story zoo/aquarium in the middle of the city, called Haus des Meeres. At the rooftop cafe we ordered food and I had some delicious and refreshing apple juice. At the end of the day we got on the train to go back to Venice.

May 28th

We returned from Vienna fairly early because we took the night train. This left us with plenty of time to return to the beach for the day. We arrived at Lido around 11 and rented bikes to ride to the beach. After several hours of swimming and baking in the sun, we decided to pack up our things and explore the island on our bikes. The island was very small and rural but still as beautiful as the city. It also helped that I love riding bikes and this was the first time I've been able to in a while. We finally returned to Venice for our Sunday dinner with everyone. After dinner we hung out for a short while before I turned in for an early night.

28/5/17

The day started with all 8 of us students returning from Vienna around 830 in the morning. Once back, a group of us decided to head back to the beach for a day in the sun. We arrived at the beach shortly after 11 and spent a couple of hours swimming and tanning(or burning for most of us). After the beach we decided to take a bike ride around the peninsula. We spent 2-3 hours just biking around and listening to music. The day ended with dinner near our apartment. It was a very fun and relaxing day back in Venice after a weekend in the city of Vienna where everything moved faster.

Vienna

This weekend I took a trip to Vienna, Austria, to see what it was like in other countries in Europe. I toured a zoo, toured an aquarium, went to the Austrian Natural History Museum, and got lost in an amazing amount of local goods at the local market. Besides doing typical touristy things, I also studied things such as how the city has been made more accessible for the blind, which is something we studied as a class in Venice. The highlight of the weekend for me was the zoo, where I got to pretend to be a 12 year old again. The zoo was in the middle of the city and went up 10 floors of animals, leading patrons to a rooftop terrace where you could look out over the whole city; let me tell you it was BEAUTIFUL. Vienna was a blast, and I highly recommend anyone thinking about going there to do it! Now it's back to engineering in Venice on Monday.

Carabinieri Tour

Today was had a tour of the Carabinieri station in Venice. The Carabinieri are part of Italy's police and military force, and train accordingly. They are similar to our National Guard, but with more police duties. We asked the officer who gave us the tour what the most common crime they dealt with, he said that petty thefts and drunk driving in the canals occur the most. He showed us their impressive fleet of police boats, which is their only way to respond to a call other than by foot in Italy. One of the big problems for police in Venice is the response time, as it's time consuming to drive down the canals in a boat, especially if the location doesn't have direct access from a canal. Also they have issues with finding locations, as the house addressing system in Venice is chronologic, so directions are usually given with respect to the nearest landmark or Campo (square). One fact that I found interesting was that not all Carabinieri have boating licenses. I though that would've been a requirement. Most Carabinieri officers, unless unmarried, are not offered free housing in Venice. Because the cost of living is so high, many cannot afford to live on the Island, and are forced to commute from the mainland everyday, along with shop workers, vendors, and a large portion of the Venetian working class.

Tonight we leave on the night train for Vienna, Austria. We will be spending the weekend there, before returning to Venice for our last week of study abroad.

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Today started off great as our meeting time was pushed back to 1 PM. This gave us a little extra time to sleep and get some well wanted rest. After meeting up we visited the National Guard like Police, the Carabineiri. They were more than happy to meet us and tell us about what they do and how they do it. They even offered coffee and drinks while talking to us. I especially enjoyed hearing about how they navigate to respond to a call and what kind of boats they use. Unfortunately even the officer that talked with us didn't know why Venice has so many different police forces, between the Carabineiri, the federal police and the local police. After the visit we went and had apportivo before heading to the train station and hopping on the night train to Vienna.