After Malcesine, Limone sul Garda and Riva del Garda, I present to you Torbole. I went to Torbole just because the boat from Riva del Garda to Malcesine stopped there along the way, and I’d never been there before. It was a weird little place. Like Riva, it used to be in Austria until 1918. Everyone except the staff of the restaurants seemed to be German, and really into intensely staring at you in the street. The light and the way the water looked along the harbour front was beautiful though, and I spent most of the hour before the boat back sitting on a bench soaking it in. I don’t think this is a real place, I think it’s a screen from one of those new-age computer games from the 90s like Myst.
This was basically the town centre. Some Germans forcefully stared at me while I was taking these pictures. I have spent quite a lot of time in Germany, and I am familiar with the German Street Stare, but nowhere has come quite close to this level. It was strange.
This is pretty much the whole town. There’s also another street with shops a bit further in. I saw some trainers I liked in a shop, but they turned out to be €300. I found some very similar ones in Malcesine for about €30, which also had the bonus (for me) of not being leather. The trend in Italy this year seemed to be metallic silver shoes, which I have no complaints about. Italian shoes are good for me, I’ve got narrow feet. Their clothes don’t fit so well, I’m far too tall.
The water here is flat and still like a mirror.
And there’s a covering of mist a lot of the time.
It was very soothing to sit here reading The Name of the Rose.
Even the ducks are quiet and neatly arranged.
Sadly my budget didn’t stretch to hiring a rowing boat, and besides I’m not the strongest rower.
This is the swimming area. It was much too cold to swim. I was comfortable in a rain jacket and tights.
The boat came every hour and a half. I spent most of my time in Torbole quietly reading. With a view like that, I have no complaints.
Those are daisies rather than some sort of freshwater barnacle.
The boat crew had gotten to recognise me by this point. Next stop, back to Malcesine.