Malcesine (pronounced Mal-CHAY-zih-nay) is on the north end of Lake Garda where the terrain turns from small hills to big mountains. As you head into this mountainous region you’re in a way leaving Italy. German becomes the first language and Italian the second. (This became even more evident when we continued up to the Dolomites.) Our host, with her two braided pigtails, thankfully spoke pretty good English as well. The town sits right on the lake, with a castle to protect the shores of course. One of the highlights here is to take the gondola from town to the top of the mountain. Somehow we picked the cloudiest time to go up, as we arrived to a thick blanket of clouds (the kids thought that was pretty cool). But what we lost in views we made up for in atmosphere. When we exited the lift you could hear what sounded like wind chimes, but couldn’t see a thing. When a break in the clouds rolled through, we found ourselves surrounded by cows wearing big cowbells. (Watch out for cowpies!) Come to find out, all of the farmers march their herds up to the alpine meadows each spring and then down in the fall. The cows enjoy the cooler temps and wide open pastures. Another thing we really enjoyed about this area (and later the Dolomites) is that Americans do not vacation here. Not that we’ve become anti-American, but we found ourselves totally surrounded by a foreign land. When I asked one of our waiters what percentage of their customers were English, he just laughed.
View off the top of the castle.
Fed by water from the mountains, that water is chilly!
Ella found a little spot in the castle she could take in the views.
An evening concert in the square with the town church looming in the background.
King of the mountain!
More clouds rolling by.
Another castle nearby.
