Harimedia Forum

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New Year's holiday in Verona and Lago di Garda (2011)
Photos by Heinrich Emrich (Harshi)




- The bus we were traveling started from Nuremberg in the morning of the 30 December at around 7 o' clock.

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- When the bus first stopped at a roadhouse on the highway to Munich, the sun was rising in a resplendent way

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- Marina, my wife, who speaks fluent Italian was very eagerly to reach again the country she likes so much

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- The BP refinery we passed on the highway is blowing its fumes in the cloudless sky while the sun is rising

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- In Austria the bus stopped for a while at the roadhouse after we passed the Europe bridge (185 meters high)




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.The Alps in South Tirol


.Austrian village in the Alps

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- In the afternoon of the 30 December at around 4 pm we reached our destination Torbole at the Lake Garda




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The next morning at around 10 pm we travel to Verona




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- Our travel guide, in the middle, took us by foot through the side streets of Verona first to the house of Juliet




Through this doorway we entered thus the courtyard of the former house of the Capulet's, the family of Juliet

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The courtyard was full of tourists desiring to take a look first hand where Shakespeare's heroine lived ones...




In front of Juliet's statue was standing a Christmas tree full with letters written by lovers from all over the world

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- For entering the house of Juliet one had to pay an entrance fee of 7 Euro, standing on the balcony included...

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As fate or chance would have it exactly when we came out of the dorway of Juliet's house a Kirtan group was
chanting on the streets of Verona in a sweet melody I never heard before, they were from Ananda Marga




On their website one can read: "The mission of Ananda Marga is self-realization (individual emancipation) and
service to humanity (collective welfare): the fulfillment of the physical, mental and spiritual needs of all people."

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- After that we entered a park with a statue of the Italian military and political figure Giuseppe Garibaldi




- After 200 meters from here we reached the house of the Montague, Romeo's family, which is now a pizzeria







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- Than after crossing the narrow streets in the historic town of Verona we reached the river which flows there








- Among the many stories related to Verona, one can read in the "Illustrated Guide of Verona" the following story of Adelaide and Lothario. "Berengario I, the King of Italy had died. Thus his son Lothario, not yet of age, became king of Italy under the regency of his uncle Berengario II. Lothario was married off to the delectable Adelaide, which union ended when the uncle poisoned his nephew. Amongst the contenders for the hand of the young widow, the legitimate Queen of Italy, is the uncle himself. Adelaide, preferring any fate to the prospect of marriage with her husband`s assasin, was imprisoned in Rocca del Garda, near Verona, there to remain until she should repent of her obstinacy.

She smuggled however, a letter to the Emperor of Germany Otto I. If he liberated her she promised to marry him. Needing no other incitement than the plea of a damsel in distress, Otto I came with his vast army to her rescue, liberated the young Queen, married her and united Italy to his dominions. Thus in the year 999, Verona passed under the control of the German Emperor, Otto I and than of his descendants. However the German Emperors were distant and soon the northern Italian cities developed institutions of self-government. Given its position guarding the passes to Germany, Verona at that time tended to find itself in the position to support the German Empire"

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The Casa di Giulieta (House of Juliet)


.Statue of Juliet


Romeo and Juliet may or may not have actually existed but it has attracted tourists and lovers from all over the world. The story of Romeo & Juliet were repeated endless everyday to the curious tourists. Juliet's house is very near to Piazza Erbe. Build in the 13th century. A massive restoration were made in 1920s including adding of the balcony. It was once owned by the Dal Cappello or Capulet family. No entrance fee to be in the Courtyard. But there is a fee for entering Juliet's house - 7 euro. Romeo's house was not open to public previously but it has now been converted into a restaurant called "Osteria Dal Duca" (more)


.Photos: Interior of Juliet's house >.Juliet's tomb.


Romeo and Juliet is a tear-jerking tragic love story in which Romeo; a member of the Montague falls in love with Juliet a Capulet, two great sworn enemies. The feud between two of the most powerful aristocratic families in Verona. The two great opposing enemies' start a quarrel in the middle of the busy streets and the Prince of Verona orders it to stop, and old Capulet, to show his good faith, agrees that his daughter; Juliet can marry the Prince's nephew; Paris, so lord Capulet arranges a masked ball (party) to celebrate the engagement. Romeo, the only child of the Montague was persuaded to go to the party to make Benvolio, his dearest cousin contented, also Romeo's witty friend, Mercutio also accompanied them. Here he meets the lovely Juliet and for the two it is love at first site. They meet again that night, in Capulet's household, in other words in the garden which adjoins the house.

The two lovers swear eternal love, but aware of the feud between their families know they must keep their affection to each other secret. But as fate would have it, during a fight Tebaldo Capuleti, Juliet's cousin, kills Mercutio, Romeo's best friend, who accepted the duel on Romeo's behalf, to save his honour. At this point Romeo in retaliation kills the Capulet and is permanently exiled from Verona. Desperate, he recounted everything to his beloved Juliet, and the two decided to go married immediatelly in secret. Fra Lorenzo, a monk, aiding and abetting them, marries them in the hopes that this union will make peace between the warring families. That night Romeo entered the Capulets' courtyard, climbed up the balcony and spent the night with Juliet.

In the morning, however, he had to leave for exile in Mantua. After a while; Juliet's parents decided she had to marry Count Paris. She tried to refuse or postpone the marriage, but in that period it was the parents' decision and that was that. She went to the friar to ask for advise and he gave her a herbal infusion that will make her appear as if she were dead for forthy-two hours. In the meantime the monk was to go to Romeo, who was to come back and rescue her, so that they could elope but the monk didn't reach Romeo. Juliet accepts, but unfortunally Romeo is not notified of the friar having arrived at the gates of Mantua, he found the gates closed, there had been cases of plague in the Padana plain, and the people in Mantua were were afraid of the illness, so nobody was allowed to enter the city. W. Shakespeare's original book print was in 1599


Romeo when he heard that his beloved Juliet was dead and so desperate, he got on his horse, rode to Verona and went to the Capulets' crypt where she is really lying apparently dead. Here he meets Count Paris, mourning the girl who was to have been his bride. Romeo tries in vain to avoid an absurd shedding of blood, but Paris challenges Romeo with drown sword, and he, forced to defend himself, mortally wounds him. Than, embracing Juliet for the last time, he drinks poison. When Juliet awake, she found Romeo dead beside her, and she too decided she didn't want to live without him: she took his dagger and killed herself. She was fourteen and he was sixteen and the story is a true story, at least in its main lines.

Death thus restores to the two young people the dignity of the love that had been denied them by their rivaling families, who, faced with the tragedy, find the courage to make peace.
- Story taken from "Illustrated Guide of Verona" and "Verona - New practical guide"


.Plaque commemorating Juliet at Casa di Giulietta, Verona.

"Without Shakespeare we would have no Hollywood, no dramatic endings, no tragic love stories, no big screen epics. Here's to the Bard who started it all, and to the stories that are as timeless & relevant today as they were the day they were written." (more)

L'Arena from Verona

The city under siege. And the traffic goes haywire
By L'Arena staff, January 3, 2011


.Photos: Overlooking the balcony of Romeo and Juliet

- Historic town invaded. Massive presence of Italian and foreign tourists who often choose the "hit and run."
Boom of museums and monuments, 7,500 visitors on January 2, against 5000 last year. Many shops are open.


Verona, Italy (Google transl. from Italian) - The first Sunday of the new year marked the 'sold out' in the city center. After the day started a bit 'sleepy after New Year's Eve festive atmosphere, only late in the afternoon Verona was crowded with citizens and tourists which assaulted the shopping centers. Traffic tilt and shopping streets were crowded with pedestrians: this was the first image of the city that appeared around 5 pm. That may be also due to the fact that the Christmas spirit marked with lights and traditional markets yesterday - you know - only a few days, that is, January 6, but in fact yesterday in many stores discounted items were already sold.


.Photos: Interior of Julet's house > Casa Di Giulietta


One Sunday a record, that recorded yesterday from the main museums and monuments from the Arena, which counted 3443 visiters against to 2798 on January 2 last year. Altogether in the civic museums inputs were 7506, compared to the 4956 in 2010: the toursist influx almost doubled. Juliet's house, just to make an example of one of the most popular sites, came in two days 2.600 visitors compared to 1,202 last year; in Castelvecchio 580 as against 437 of 2. January 2010; Juliet's Tomb 366 compared to 231 last year.

As representatives of the hoteliers have explained several times already, this time Verona is essentially a dead season in terms of tourism if you look at the reservations. "The arrivals are plenty, just look at the coach park, but these are mainly groups that stop in Verona in a day, sometimes for only a few hours," confirmed some city guides. "There are groups of foreign tourists and Italians, in general of South Italy who came back from living in the North, stop in the city of Romeo and Juliet." (more)

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..Photos: Casa Di Giulietta -> Video: Juliet`s House in Verona > Movie: Romeo and Juliet (1968)

I am back in town after travelling for a few days to Italy, where I visited Verona, the city of Romeo and Juliet in Shakespeare's moving love story, and celebrating New Year´s Eve 2011 in a hotel on Lake Garda. The legendary lovers famed balcony has become a must see stop for tourists visiting Verona. It doesn't matter if they were fictional characters and the balcony was built in the 1930's to provide photo seeking tourists with a photo op, it's fun to dream and imagine Juliet peering out from the balcony waiting for her lover to appear. Today, you can stop in the courtyard and see the statue, leave a love note and just give your own Juliet a little hug and kiss as the lovers would have done. Juliet's house houses a small museum and temporary art exhibitions. All the frescoes, paintings, and ceramics on display are genuine antiques from the 16th and 17th century, however, none of them have ever belonged to the Capulets.


.Verona, Italy (New Years Eve)

Wikipedia: Romeo and Juliet

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Viewing though the window of my appartment in Nuremberg the shining snow of winter
By Heinrich Emrich (Harsi) 18. Dec. 2010











-The street I reside viewed from my window.


.The snow in the front garden of the house


.The street I reside seen from the front

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.The yard of the house


.The backyard of the house[/quote]

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.Here is me or rather my shadow in the snow


.The garden in the back of the house


.The part of the house in the back my brother and his family are living

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.Snow on the left neighbor's fence...





.in the house's back garden

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.Slowly clouds start to assemble in the sky...





.quickly this beauty of the shining sun was over. (This are plastic flowers

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.Trees covered with snow in the middle of the street

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.The crossroad with the Breslauer Street








.I hope you liked also this photos I made on Saturday morning from the surrounding area we live.