Getting to Venice

 July 8, Friday - Split to Venice 

Alice and I rolled our luggage up a slight hill to the departure area of the Split airport. Looking around we found that all desks said All Flights. You go to any desk for any airline. Checking in for our Austrian Airlines flight was smooth and quick. Our bags were checked through to Venice. We had a transfer in Vienna. 

I had been concerned about how we would get our negative COVID test. Holland America required one no more than one day before boarding. That meant we would need to be tested in Split. If we ran late there, we had the Venice airport as a backup. Happily we had ample time in Split thanks to Ivor. 

We were told that we should go out and cross the road. Then we should follow the yellow signs. This took us to a place that looked deserted next to a small parking lot. We found 4 cargo containers that had been converted to offices and also an outdoor waiting area. But no one was to be seen. At the last container we visited, a woman answered our request and took our payment. Then she directed us to a colleague in another container. That lady entered through a back door as we walked up to the window. She swabbed our noses and directed us to the seating area. She said it would take 15 minutes. 

As we waited for the results I was hoping they would be negative. We had just spent a week where if we wore our masks, we were the only ones wearing one. In 15 minutes we were presented with the certifications that we had tested negative. Hooray!  At least we knew that if we could get to the ship we could board it. 

We walked back to the beautiful terminal and went to the top level to buy lunch. It read 1:45. Our flight boarding would be called at 2:45 for outside boarding. 

Split airport 

Lunch was fast food followed by interesting people watching. We were relaxed at last. Everything went on schedule. We arrived in Vienna on time. However, the trip to the connection was a bit stressful. We passed through immigration even though we were only transferring here. This took some time and then we had what seemed like a never ending walk to our new gate.  There we finally boarded a packed bus for a long drive out to our plane. 

We arrived at the plane, climbed the stairs, found our seats and stowed our carry on in the overhead. Interestingly the carry on only fit sideways. They all stuck out if you tried wheels first. The pleasant surprise was that the seats were wider than most and very comfortable. 

Our flight was smooth and on time. Getting to our luggage was smooth and quick. Outside we got a taxi to the Venice Resort Airport Hotel. The hotel was close but it was too far to walk to it. The taxi fare was 20 euros. That is the minimum for a taxi in Venice. It worked fine for us. 

The hotel was just outside a small country town. The property looked like a repurposed farm. It was 33 rooms in 3 buildings that were old but refurbished. Our room was in the main building on the first floor. The breakfast room was on the other side of the office from us. Across the road and a short block away was a very nice Italian restaurant. We retired after a good dinner and promptly fell asleep after a busy day. The next chapter begins tomorrow.