Strolling through Venice
Venice, Italy. June 2011.
Lonesome waiters
Living in Vorarlberg, Austria, I usually acknowledge statements about Venice's gastronomy being over-priced with a sour smile. Compared to the ruthless local rip-off here in Vorarlberg, I consider Venice reasonably priced. How do you explain, for example, 4,80 € for a 2 cl glass of Ramazotti*) in a street café in Dornbirn's city center compared to 2,50 - 4 € for a 5(!) cl glass of the same drink in Venice?
Venice's "Piazza San Marco", however, turned up to be a prime example of the free market economy - and it somewhat shook my view of the world, I must confess. Is the international tourist possibly not quite as dumb as generally believed?
There, at the only seating-accommodation as far as the eye can see, where stuck up waiters, for their readiness to make the sacrifice of elliptically and sluggishly serving bothersome foreign guests in the blazing sun and the total absence of any sunshades, require 10.50 € for 0.3 liters of beer or 8.50 € for a glass of Prosecco (without tip!) and banish entire families from the neatly clothed tables just because junior enjoys an ice-cream cone on the premises, the demand noticeably lags behind the supply.
Well, where modesty, sanity and reason fail, free enterprise rules...
*) 1 Ramazotti = holiday reference currency