Lago di Garda

On mother's day, after attending church with the little English-speaking branch, Uncle Bern, Aunt Aleta, and I drove up to Lago di Garda, a lake in the Dolomite Mountains. One of the great things about traveling within Italy is the countryside is so beautiful. This part of Italy is full of cyprus and olive trees, vineyards, fields, hills, castles, and churches, and poppies that grow wild everywhere along the roads. The drive up to Lago di Garda had all of that, but it was unique because we drove through a canyon to get there, and the mountains seemed super tall on either side, and in the places where there weren't terraced vineyards and farms on the mountainsides, there was lots of spongy-looking green stuff. Here's one of the first views you get of the lake as you drive up (minus the girl who looks like she smells something funny).

Sometime around the fourteenth or fifteenth century, the Venetians decided they wanted control over the lake and the surrounding area (I don't remember who was in control before them), so they transported a fleet of boats up a river and over land. They finally entered from the valley you can see behind me.

The town we spent most of the afternoon in is down toward the southern end (we're on the northern end here, I think). It's called Malcesine (sounds like mal-cheh-see-neh).
Walking through the town is like walking into another century. It's so weird. As I was wandering around with Aunt Aleta, I probably said about 20 times, "this is weird. It's so cool. This town is so weird and cool." Have a look:


I'm not joking. This is how the whole village is. People live on streets that look like this, and there are shops on these streets. It's so weird! Surrounded by the town and right on the edge of the water is a Scaligeri Castle. It's a very old castle - in fact, there is an Etruscan tomb in one of the courtyards, but the Scaligeri family added some fortifications in the 14th century (this family had a lot of castles throughout the region - they were very powerful. You can tell it's a Scaligeri Castle by the unique shape of the battlements - it's supposed to be a swallow tail or something).

You can walk through the whole castle and there are gorgeous views from all over inside it. It's a very picturesque place.





The bell tower inside the castle was built higher and higher over the centuries, but somewhere along the way, there was a brilliant architect who provided this lovely picture window so that the tourists hundreds of years in the future could take a break from climbing the many flights of stairs and enjoy the scenery.
After we had thoroughly enjoyed the castle and town, we headed back to the north end of the lake, which is a bit more modern (Uncle Bern says on one of their previous trips to the lake they drove up a slot canyon and found several rustic, pastoral towns - the kind where sheep-herding is the main economic activity). This little area, on the other hand, has sort of a resort feel. There are some lake-side cafes in the picture behind me.
And this is unrelated, but facing the other way quirky little building. You may not be able to tell from the picture but the little house is right on a pier.


Anyhow, I think Lago di Garda is great. A+.
And before I finish, I know it's several days past Mother's Day, but I love you mom! I think you're A+ too.