ABOVE: Ingo Bollhöfer caught a seagull in flight with a water taxi, a vaporetto station, and Venice's Dogana di Mare in the background.

By day,  Ingo Bollhöfer is the managing director of a German software firm. In his off-hours, he takes pictures--including images of Venice, which he's been visiting since 2004. He recently shared a portfolio of his color and monochrome photos with us, and we think they're fantastic.

We've reproduced a handful of images from Herr Bollhöfer's portfolio here. To see more, click the link at the end of this post.

ABOVE: A dog takes a break outside a pizza and kebab shop.

ABOVE: A pigeon whisperer communes with a flock of feathered friends.

ABOVE: You're never too young to enjoy photography in Venice.

To see more images from Ingo Bollhöfer's portfolio, visit Inspire & Connect: Venice.

Images copyright © Ingo Bollhöfer.
All rights reserved. (Used by permission.)

In Venice, most goods are delivered or taken away in boats. That rule also applies to caskets and human bodies, not just to souvenirs, soda pop, or cornflakes.

One day, when we were walking along the Fondamente Nove, we saw a delivery boat pulling in toward shore:

As the boat landed and one of the men on board leaped onto the fondamenta with a mooring line, we noticed a pair of coffins on board:

The boatmen unloaded one of the coffins:

Next, they picked up the casket...

...and delivered it to an undertaker's unmarked storeroom:

For the boatmen, the delivery was all in a day's work.

For the coffin's future occupant, it meant a resting place for the next 12 years. (And if you're wondering why we say "12 years," read our article about San Michele, Venice's island cemetery at Veniceforvisitors.com.)

ABOVE: Two No. 12 water buses pass each other in the Venetian Lagoon.

When you're ready for a break from the crowds and urban atmosphere of Venice's historic center, take the ACTV's No. 12 motonave (water bus) from Fondamente Nove to Murano, Burano, and Torcello.

The No. 12 line (formerly "LN," for "Laguna Norte" or "Northern Lagoon") uses widebody boats that can accommodate several hundred passengers.

Boats normally run at least twice per hour during the daytime, with stops at the glassmaking island of Murano, the lacemaking island of Burano with its brightly-painted houses, the bucolic island of Mazzorbo (connected to Burano by a footbridge), the historic island of Torcello with its ancient basilica (check the timetable for boats that stop at Torcello), and--of less interest to tourists--the park-and-ride lots at Treporti and Punta Sabbioni.

If you aren't in a hurry, you can take a self-guided tour of the Lagoon islands and return to Venice's main waterfront above the Piazza San Marco on another ACTV waterbus line. For details, see our Venice Islands Tour article at Veniceforvisitors.com.

To whet your appetite for a tour of the Lagoon, here are more photos of Linea 12:

1. A No. 12 motonave with the Italian Alps in the distance:

2. The interior passenger compartment on a Linea 12 water bus:

3. Arriving at Faro, on the island of Murano:

4. The ACTV boat pier on Burano:

5. A sailor or marinaio prepares for the boat's arrival at a waterbus stop:

6. The lavatory on a Linea 12 boat, starting with a view from the window:

   

For more information about public transportation in Venice (including 12-hour to 7-day Tourist Travel Cards), see our Local Transportation Index and our Venice Water Buses article at Venice for Visitors.