Picture from St. Peter's Square at the Vatican on Christmas Eve...

Here are pictures from our Christmas Eve adventure at the Vatican. The story is below.

Chrstmas Eve at the Vatican...

On Christmas Eve day we all walked from our apartment to the Vatican. It took about 50 minutes and is a walk of about about 2 miles. We got there at about noon, and after looking around the square for a few minutes we began to look for the office where we could get the tickets to midnight mass that we had reserved. I had my letter from the Vatican that confirmed our tickets and gave the general location of the office.

It became apparent that we would have to go through security to reach the office so Danny and I got in a line of about 100 while Kathy and Noah waited in the square. I had assumed that just about everyone in line was there to get their tickets to midnight mass as well, but after going through the metal detectors everyone else proceeded into St. Peter's basilica, and that's not where we needed to go. After asking another security guard about the office and showing him the letter, he pointed to its location, just to the right of the basilica as you face it. There was a double glass door at the top of a long set of stairs, with two Swiss guards in full regalia standing watch.

I first showed my letter to two Italian guards who allowed me, but not Danny, to head up the stairs. There, one of the two Swiss guards examined my letter and then opened the glass doors and into a long hallway where he pointed me to the third door on the right.

I entered the office and found a relatively small room - about 20 feet square - manned by a single individual. He stood behind a row of tables upon which sat boxes and boxes of envelopes. There was a nun in a white habit talking to this gentleman and I waited for her to finish. On my right there were two chairs where a man and woman sat patiently. It appeared that perhaps their paperwork was not in order (maybe they forgot to bring their letter) and were waiting to acquire tickets to mass.

The nun finished her conversation, in Italian, with the man behind the tables and I stepped up. I handed him my letter from the Vatican and it took him about 30 seconds to find an envelope with my name from one of the several boxes. He handed it to me and I went to leave, pausing just long enough to open the envelope and verify that it contained four tickets. It did.

I collected Danny at the bottom of the stairs and we went to find Kathy and Noah to continue our sightseeing. It was not quite 1 PM so we had a full day ahead of us before returning to St. Peter's at the recommended time of 9:00 - a full three hours before the start of midnight mass.

We arrived back to St. Peter's square a few minutes after 9:00 and there were already thousands of people in the square. We saw a line and started walking towards its end to take our place in line. We walked and walked and didn't see the end, and then noticed that it went all the way around the large square and then coiled inward, like a spring. We found what looked like the end but weren't quite sure so we asked a group of people in front of us, who were Americans. They thought it was the end of the line, but they weren't 100% sure. Then another group of Americans took their place in line behind us and asked us if this was the line for people with tickets. Danny decided to go out scope things out and returned a few minutes later confirming we were in the right spot.

The line was not moving forward but people continued to line up behind us until it had circled the square a second time. We chatted with those around us and Noah went to sit by the fountain that was in the middle of the square. I found it interesting that there did not seem to be anyone from either the Vatican or Italian police to help with the organization of the line. Everything just seemed to happen on its own (quite amazing, really).


With this satellite picture of St. Peter's you can see the fountain in the middle of the square and picture how the line went around the outside of the square and coiled inwards.

A little after 10 PM we could see that people were now going through security and entering St. Peter's basicila. Finally, the line started moving - very slowly. We moved towards where people were being screened for security but we then the line moved away to make the second trip around the square. By 11:15 we were moving closer to getting in but we could tell it would be close. Also by this time there were at least a thousand people, and maybe lots more, behind us.

We continued moving until we got about 30 feet from the entrance to security when the line stopped. At first we weren't concerned since the line had stopped many times over the last 90 minutes. But the line didn't move for 15 minutes and then we noticed that people were no longer entering the basilica. One of the Americans in front of us walked up to check and came back with a report that they weren't letting anyone in now as the church might be full, but they may allow more people in later. By the way, the capacity of St. Peter's basilica is 60,000 people.

After another 10 minutes, at about 11:45, Danny went up front to check and came back to let us know that no one was in the security line and that metal detectors were not manned. Others around us said that no one else would be allowed inside as the church was full.

I finally went to the front myself and confirmed what Danny had found - it certainly looked like they were done processing people through security. There were a few police/guards inside the security area and they were getting harassed by people waiving their green tickets, asking why they couldn't get in if they had tickets. Someone with a red ticket caught the attention of one of the police and he motioned them to a separate entrance where they entered after showing a second guard their red ticket. Obviously, the red tickets were for VIP types.

There were three large TVs set up in the square and they came on about 11:30. A choir sang hymns and a cantor, in English, asked for those inside to pray in preparation for the start of the service. The mass actually began a little early, about 11:55.

The square was filling with people who were coming just to watch the mass on the big screen televisions. Literally hundreds were pouring in by the minute. But even at 12:15, and well into the mass, the line of green ticket holders was still formed and in place. Even those a hundred yards and 1,000 people from the front of the line did not leave the line. There was absolutely no evidence that more worshippers would be let in, but it appears that hope springs eternal, especially at St. Peter's on Christmas Eve.

The four of us eventually left the line to sit on some stairs at the back of the square and watch the mass on TV. Our legs were exhausted from standing for over 3 hours and from the walking we had done all across Rome all day - we probably walked 10 miles that day.

It was a beautiful mass, with angelic music and all of the pomp you would expect of Christmas Eve mass at the Vatican.

We walked the 2 miles back to our apartment and were amazed at how many people were on the streets. This was nothing like Minnesota (and the entire US) when everything is closed after about 6 PM on Christmas Eve and doesn't open again until the 26th. It was after 2 AM and restaurants were open! We didn't stop, though. We were too tired. We were very disappointed not to have gotten inside for the mass, but really what can you do? We were in Rome for Christmas and life was good.

Our arrival in Rome...

Our arrival in Rome did not go completely as planned. Our flight was two hours late leaving from Prague and this caused the van that we had hired to take us form the airport to our apartment to not be waiting - however the company replaced the van with 2 cars. I had hired the van because it was a lot cheaper than 2 cars, and you would think I would still get the lower van price because it wasn't our fault that the flight was late. But you would be wrong. The 2-car 30 minute ride from the airport to our apartment cost 120 Euros ($175). Ouch. That was about $75 more than I had planned.

Our apartment was in a four story building on a very narrow street (typical for Rome) about 4 blocks from the Colosseum in the oldest part of Rome. The owner of the apartment was supposed to be there to open the apartment and give us the keys - but no owner in sight. The two cars drove away leaving us on a back street in a strange city at night. We waited a few minutes before I called the company that we had booked the apartment through. He was supposed to be there, they said, but they would call him on his mobile phone and get back to us. 20 minutes later I called back and they said that they had left a message on the apartment owner's voicemail. I wasn't impressed with the progress, so I asked what Plan B was. They said they would start looking for another apartment to put us.

Another 15 minutes went by and I watched the luggage while Kathy, Danny and Noah went exploring the nearby streets. An Italian couple carrying shopping bags walked up to the main apartment door and opened it. I figured we looked strange waiting by the door with several suitcases so I said that we were waiting for the owner to let us into one of the apartments. They motioned us inside and it turned out that the man was the brother of the owner and he had the keys. Apparently the owner was out of town for Christmas. They were nice but there was no explanation as to why they showed up 2 1/2 hours after our scheduled arrival time. I was almost glad our flight had been late.

They showed us around the apartment, which was quite nice, and then left. A few minutes later the phone rang and it was the apartment company telling me they still hadn't heard from the owner and had arranged another apartment for us. I informed the company that we had been let in by someone else and it was news to them. It seemed that this is the Italian way of life - letting things happen as they happen.

We did some quick unpacking and then went to find dinner since it was now after 7 PM. There were many restaurants in the vicinity and we ended up picking one just down the street from the apartment. It had outdoor seating with space heaters - and since the temperature was about 50 to begin with we decided to eat outside. The service and food were both very good and by the time we finished we were tired from the travel and excitement of being in Rome so we went back to the apartment and got ready for the next day - Christmas Eve.

The Colosseum in Rome...

We went to the Colosseum on Wednesday afternoon. We were a little concerned about getting in since it closes near sunset and by the time we got there - 3:00 or so - there wasn't much time left.

As we neared the ticket line we were approached by an American college-age kid asking if we were interested in a tour. We found out later that there are dozens of these people who round up tourists looking to get into the Colosseum and coax them into tours. The basic ticket price for entrance into the Colosseum is 11 Euros, or about $16. With just a general admission ticket you have to wait in line, which is normally about an hour and can be longer. Obviously, this was a problem for us since it was so late in the day.

The price of the tour is 10 Euros ($15) so that brings the total to over $30 each. We decided to go ahead and get the tour and realized only later what a good decision that was.

Tours bypass the general public waiting line and go straight into the Colosseum, so five minutes after paying for the tour we passed by the general public waiting line, went through Security and were inside the Colosseum. [Security was a bit of a joke as they pushed people through the x-ray machine very quickly, yet no one ever set off the alarm. I went through with my BlackBerry, belt, apartment keys and wallet with coins and the machine didn't make a peep].

The tour would have been worth the 40 Euros ($60) just for the time savings alone, but we were fortunate to have a guide who was interesting and knowledgeable. He was not a native English speaker, as most of the other guides seemed to be, but that wasn't a problem. The Colosseum requires hearing devices for groups of more than 8 and since our group was about 20 people we each received a small walkie-talkie on a lanyard that we hung from our necks. The guide spoke into the only transmitting walkie-talkie and the rest could hear fine, even if we were at the back of the group.

The Colosseum is just a shadow of its former greatness, but even in its dilapidated state it is amazing, and one can only imagine what it was like in its prime. The guide gave same amazing facts - that in the several hundred years it was used for entertainment it is estimated that one million people - prisoners of war and gladiators - died as part of the games conducted there.





Here we are as we approached the Colosseum. It is an impressive sight even from a distance. And very large.



Here is a view looking down from the upper level. At the far end they have reconstructed a section of the floor to show how it would have looked. The floor was all wood, covered with sawdust (to soak up the blood). Under the wood floor was a labyrinth of rooms and hallways used to get animals up to the floor using a complicated system of trap doors and pulleys. Wild animals, like lions and tigers, were kept in the dark for up to two weeks without food before being let up onto the floor to attack the unfortunate souls there, who were either unarmed or woefully underarmed. There was another level even under the one you can see under the floor.



Here we are at the floor level looking into the interior.



Another view of the remains of the lower level.



A nice picture showing the cross that has been added in the interior of the Colosseum. There was no religious significance to the Colosseum during its use. It's only afterwards when Rome became the seat of the Catholic Church that it did.





Something that was interesting to me that had not known was that in midieval times the plague (black death) claimed about half of Rome's 1 million inhabitants and when the empire collapsed the population of Rome dwindled to as few as 25,000.


From Wkipedia:
The Colosseum or Coliseum, originally the Flavian Amphitheatre (Latin: Amphitheatrum Flavium, Italian Anfiteatro Flavio or Colosseo), is an elliptical amphitheatre in the centre of the city of Rome, Italy, the largest ever built in the Roman Empire. It is one of the greatest works of Roman architecture and engineering.

Occupying a site just east of the Roman Forum, its construction started between 70 and 72 AD under the emperor Vespasian and was completed in 80 AD under Titus, with further modifications being made during Domitian's reign (81–96).[1] The name "Amphitheatrum Flavium" derives from both Vespasian's and Titus' family name ("Flavius, from the gens Flavia).

Originally capable of seating around 50,000 spectators, the Colosseum was used for gladiatorial contests and public spectacles. It remained in use for nearly 500 years with the last recorded games being held there as late as the 6th century. As well as the traditional gladiatorial games, many other public spectacles were held there, such as mock sea battles, animal hunts, executions, re-enactments of famous battles, and dramas based on Classical mythology. The building eventually ceased to be used for entertainment in the early medieval era. It was later reused for such varied purposes as housing, workshops, quarters for a religious order, a fortress, a quarry and a Christian shrine.

Back from Rome...

We had smooth traveling back from Rome to Prague today, but we are tired after five days of sightseeing and walking - lots and lots of walking. We never took the metro although there was a station a block from our apartment. I guess that we walked 20 miles or more oer the five day visit.

My overall impression of Rome is extremely positive. I had expected to like it, but was surprised when I loved it. Prague is a wonderful city with magnificent sites but anyone who thinks Prague is the most beautiful city in the world just hasn't visited Rome.

My post today will be brief but I will continue to post about Rome over the coming days.









Waiting in line in St. Peter's square on Christmas eve Noah was tired of standing in line so we let him sit by a fountain in the middle of the square. I snapped this picture because I loved the juxtaposition of Noah on his Nintendo and the nun on her cell phone.










Here are the four of us at dinner on the day after Christmas. The food throughout our stay was just wonderful.










Our tour of the Colosseum was one of the highlights of the trip - we all agreed on that. Here is Noah with the interior of the Colosseum in the background.










Here is St. Peter's square on Christmas eve. This ended up being our biggest disappointment of the trip but more on that - and the rest of the trip - over the next few days.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from Radio Free Europe...

We are off to Rome, and we will be out of pocket until Friday the 28th. Not taking the laptop since there is no connection in the apartment we are renting (the building is from the 1700s). You can reach me via my work email if necessary since I will have my BlackBerry.

We want to wish each and every one of you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. 2008 promises to be another exciting year for the Tischler family, with some potential big changes.

Midnight Mass in Rome on Christmas Eve...

Kathy and I, Noah and Danny will be spending five days in Rome over Christmas. Being Catholic, one of goals is to see the Pope while we are there. The Holy Father normally has an audience every Wednesday at 11:00 in the morning so we sent an email to enquire about tickets (they are required). I got a response back a couple of days later saying that since Christmas is on a Tuesday this year, he will not be having an audience on the 26th.

Plan B was to get tickets to either Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve, or the noon Mass on Christmas Day. Per the Vatican web site last Friday I sent a fax (no emails) to His Excellency Archbishop James Harvey, Prefect of the Pontifical Household and requested tickets to both masses. I received a fax response from Archbishop Harvey today, saying that we had tickets reserved for the Christmas Eve Midnight Mass in St. Peter's Basilica.



His letter says "Since this ceremony is so popular, I would advise you to be at the Basilica no later than 9:00 PM". Hmmm, I'm not sure how Noah will react to a 3-hour wait even before Mass starts (actually, I do know how he'll react) so we'll wait and tell him at the last minute and be secure in the knowledge that someday he will look back in wonder at what a great experience it was.