Italy Trip, Have Been There, Seen Almost Could not Return

02 / 02 / 2007

Italy Trip, Have Been There, Seen Almost Could not Return

First of all, I can say that this story is about "the mistakes" that one can do one after another.
It was on a trip in Italy in June 2006. I was going to return back to Groningen, Netherlands from Venice in the last day of my Italy trip. Around 13.00 o'clock I arrived to Venice bus station where I was planning to depart to airport. When I got there, I noticed that it was for once bus to airport for every two hours because of Sunday and my flight was 3 hours later, which I had to be in airport at least one hour earlier. I decided to go by taxi but meanwhile I realised that I have just 12€ left while taxi costs about 75€. I don't really remember what I was thinking that day about the Money but it was not a wise choice to depend on just 12€ while I have to return from a foreign country without any credit card with me as well as my bank card from ABN AMRO Dutch Bank was not valid abroad.

Since I was in bus station, I asked if there are any other ways to go Treviso Airport. I have been told that the best way is going to city of Treviso first and taking a
busfrom there to airport. I paid almost 4€ for the bus and left Venice. It was quiete annoying to wait for 1:30 hour in bus for a way that could just take half an hour without all those stops. Finally I arrived to Treviso and took the bus. After almost one hour the bus stopped in a city called Padova. I asked the driver when it will go for airport but as far as I could understood from his Engtalian he meant that I missed the airport on the way and I have to take another one back to Treviso, then this bus again. Imagine an airport, that can be just near the road and it will so small that even you can miss it. It was not that funny when you realise that there is only half an hour left for your flight when you are almost 2 hours away from the airport. I went to Padova bus station to take a bus back to Venice and consider the problem there since I got no more Money than just 8 euros. I bought my ticket from the machine and when I returned back to trains, I saw a train to Vicenzia (not Venezia, Venice in Italian). With all those low moral and feeling of guilt, you really can't consantrate on what you are doing. Even in the train, they didn't told me that I am in the wrong one after checking my ticket.

If you ever see a photo, video or a picture of Venice, it is a combination of 118 extremely small islands 400 bridges. The picture that I saw from train window was extremely different, a hill on the leftside and the city on the right. I hardly understood that I was in Venice but instead Vicenzia. I got 5€ left and I stil got to return from Italy to Netherlands and my situation was just getting worse, by the careless mistakes, being tired of travelling by a bag all the day etc. I bought another ticket for Venice the only Money left in my pocket was 2€.

On the way back to Venice, I remembered my friends were talking about an ABN AMRO branch in Milano and I thought if could return back to Milano I could get cash and whatever it costs I could return back to Netherlands. The funny thing is, I got 2 euros, a bank card thats not valid outside of Netherlands, and approximately 5€ credits on my cell phone. I called my best friend in Groningen, Duygu, and told how important the situation is and I needed a flight ticket that could be bought from Internet. She hadn't got any credit cards either, so she asked all the student house that we were living in. Meanwhile my parents were trying to reach my by cell phone, but when you got a call outside of your country, you pay a roaming fee as well. So I told them not to call me until I call them back.

When I arrived to Venice, I got directly to Exchange Office to change my 50 Turkish Liras to Euros. But It was 20:35 when I saw the sign working hours 08:00-20:30. It really makes you feel useless, stupid and careless when you face with this amount of misfortune in just one single day.

I had to wait until moning in Venice train station and I can say it was the worst night I spend in my 20 years life. Imagine you have 2 euros, and have to choose between eating, drinking and going to WC when you can not combine any of them. Thank God, from my biology lessons, I knew that the msot important thing I should consider was my blood sugar level. So I bought a coke and drink it really slow not to feel the need of going WC. It is an extreme case when you have to make choices between your basic needs. I know that there are a lot of people feel this every day and hope none have to face it one day.

In train station, it was quiete tragic to see all people departing and arriving from somewhere and you are the only actor that doesn't change in this movie. Police was looking like I am suspicious because I was there for so long. Around 2 oclock at night, they closed the train station and asked everyone to leave. I wasn't the only one waiting for morning for the trains, but as well as passangers there were many homeless people, that I can say live inside the train station.

They say, in times like this people find time to listen themselves. That's absolutely right, all night long I questioned why these happened, how my life came until here, what will happen next and etc. Since I was a happy tourist in the morning, it was damaging much more to your soul that you treadted like a pain.

Finally in the morning, I went through the exchange office. 50 Turkish Liras was about 25 Euros with the currency of that day. But since "Turkish Liras was not a commonly used" money, they taken 10 € of it as a commission. Normally I would really do not care about it, but when you don't have any money and you have to pay comission it is not easy to accept. I look for other banks etc., but it was the best choice. Anyway after exchanging the money, I went directly to ticket machines and I realised that a ticket from Venice to Milano was starting from 18€ when I got just 15€. After a while I discovered a train that goes somehow in 4 hours to Milano by having a really round trip and bought the ticket for 12€. For the emergency needs like food and WC I spend another 2€ and just got 1€ with 1 cent. I am writing the details exactly to demonstrate the stiuation as I was feeling in real life.

After a boring, and very long trip to Milano, I asked where ABN AMRO branch is in the city. I have been told that it was on the otherside of city and I had to use metro for it. While I was thinking if tourist information would try to sell the map, even I wouldn't be able to efford it. After that I was thinking if the metro coin was worth just 1 cent expensive than 1.01€ the game was over there. Luckily it was for 1€, and I looked very carefully this time where I was going through.

Finally I reached ABN AMRO with a very nice building but not a branch at all! No ATM machine, nor a branch for taking out cash. It was more looking like a Dutch embassy with a huge flag of Netherlands besides Italian Flag. But I can say I wasn't that happy to see a Dutch flag before. After some discussions, I could talk with Mr. Francesco Indovina, Head of Propoerty Services in ABN AMRO Milano branch. He let me call my friends in Netherlands so I could manage the flight ticket and also borrowed 50€ cash for reaching the airport. I am still greatful to him, since if he didn't help me that day, I was going to go police and make up a story like my wallet has been stolen and I need to go back to Netherlands.

I figured out the way back Netherlands after 8 days, which the last one was like almost a nightmare. I wanted to share this story with everyone, since the money is not the most important thing in life, but without it, it is not that hard to ruin your life. This was the biggest experience I had during my Erasmus Exchange Student Life and I will never forget it.
Ilker Taner