Bolzano and Riva de Garda

Only an hour train ride north of Trento is the town of Bolzano. Because of its proximity to Austria (it was actually part of the Austrian empire up till 100 years ago), there is a distinct Austrian flavor to the town. Not only is German the preferred language, the buildings/towers have a much more Tyrolean architecture. It actually reminded me a lot of Zurich.

Bolzano folk costumes--they don't look very Italian!

In the old town square we came upon yet another celebration. This one was honoring the 196-year anniversary of the establishment of the carabinieri (Italian police/military). Lots of uniforms and speeches.

Carabinieri

Our first stop was to the Archeological Museum to see Otzi, the Iceman. In 1991, hikers came upon a frozen human corpse in a glacier that was later discovered to have been over 5000 years old. Scientists were able to remove the body and many items of clothing/gear found nearby. Extensive forensics determined lots of facts about Otzi: age (45), weight (130 lbs.), what he had eaten, his traveling lifestyle, etc. Of course some things were still questions: was he a hunter? a shepherd? He was killed by an arrow. Why? You can see the corpse (a skeleton covered in leather-like skin) in a temperature-controlled viewing room and many of the items he wore. They even have his arrows and quiver. Amazing! Sorry, no pictures were allowed.

We then bought a picnic lunch of bread, salami and cheese and took a funicular up to the top of the nearby mountain. At the top of the funicular, there's a small train that travels across the ridge with amazing views of small villages/valleys to a trail that we took to see the Pyramids (mud-like geological formations). The views of the Dolomite mountains were spectacular!

Along the trail--a cute house with garden gnomes

View of the Dolomites

Pyramids

View of charming village on the hills near the Dolomites

The next day we took a 2-hour bus ride to Lago di Garda. We visited the northern shore and I think we were lucky to get there early in the season. There were lots of people, but I'm sure it gets even busier in July and August.

Our first stop was to Torbole which is famous for windsurfing. Evidently, the wind in this area is extra-strong and a real challenge for sailors of all kinds.

Windsurfers

Torbole waterfront

Sunbathers

We then walked to the next "town"--Riva de Garda--about 20 minutes away. This is a pretty resort area with elegant hotels, tour boats and a town square with (what else?) a medieval clock tower. We had to climb to the top and this was the wonderful view:

One direction from the clock tower...

...and the other direction

Riva di Garda