René's old blog
Whatever I feel like posting, whenever
This site goes back some twenty-five years, so it is bound to be full of stale links and irrelevant information. It is, at best, updated irregularly.
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This weekend some 28 cruise ships and ferries will arrive in Venice. On Sunday alone, 12 cruise ships will arrive, of which 8 are huge, all in all carrying over 40.000 passengers. This might all be good. After all, 40.000…
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Modern times in Venice
Violence in Venice is rather rare, it is generally considered a fairly safe place to be. However, yesterday, a man stepped into a bar in the Via Garibaldi, which I pass very often and frequent at times, with his face…
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Ouch
This must have hurt – heart, wallet and maybe pride.
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Traffic on the Canal Grande
In August a German tourist died in a traffic accident at the Rialto Bridge, and there has since been much talk about what to do. This video show what have changed since the accident. That is, nothing. 8:47 am –…
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Sunflowers in odd places
This is the church of Santo Stefano near the Academia bridge. The church is about 600 years old, and built so it spans a canal. We often paddle underneath it. Apparently there is also a small garden up there, which…
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A kayaker’s view of moored gondolas
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Missile strike
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Regata Storica 2013 – the calm between the races
Maybe one of the best things about the Regata Storica is that practically no motorboats are allowed. The Canalazzo returns to some of its original splendor, full of slow and elegant movement, blurred reflections and magical light.
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Regata Storica 2013 – men’s race in gondolini
The main event of the Regata Storica is no doubt the men’s race in gondolini, which are very slender gondolas designed especially for racing. The race has for years been a two team match, between the cousins Rudy and Igor…
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Regata Storica 2013 – race in caorline
A caorlina is a traditional Venetian cargo boat. Originally they were rowed by two persons, but now they’re almost exclusively used for racing, with six oarsmen. Even if they’re big and heavy, with six rowers they’re still fast.
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Regata Storica 2013 – women in mascarete
The main race for women during the Regata Storica is fought in mascarete, which is medium sized sandolo traditionally associated with female rowers. In the last years the race in mascarete had been dominate by the couple Luisella Schiavon and…
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Regata Storica 2013 – young rowers
The first race of the Regata Storica appears to me more about participating than winning, even if the rowers might think otherwise. Our maybe there were just several races with a lot of participants passing in close succession. There should…