olyman

I will do a trip report as soon as I can, but in the mean time if anyone has any questions on these towns, feel free to ask.

BTilke

Was Caracalla open in BB while you were there? My husband was there a few weeks ago and it was closed for cleaning/upgrading.

enzian

Where did you stay in Malcesine? We've been there and loved the town, but would like ideas for a different hotel. Thanks!

olyman

We stayed in the Hotel Du Lac. It has just been remodelled in a very modern style. The apartment for 4 persons was just great. It was just perfect for us - about a 10 minute walk south of town right on the path. They have a dock that sticks out into the lake, and best of all, tables on the patio that you can just sit at and drink/eat and watch the people go by on the path. I actaully collasped there for about 5 hours straight one day when I got back from walking DOWN Mt. Baldy. Ugh, my knees! There is a grassy, pay to lay place about 5 minute the other direction. They have a small but refreshing pool between the hotel and road which is nice (and not too much traffic noise) And, I just made reservations there about 30 minutes ago asking for the exact same room as last year.

bobthenavigator

Gee, I love the choice of towns---please give us details.

olyman

Bob, the rains have started here in the Pacific Northwest so I will sit down soon and do a trip review. All of the places we were at were great in their own way. My kids tending to enjoy the cooler locations best, but that's just becauase they are wimps! I enjoyed the hot weather and cicadas in Italy while sitting outside drinking wine and daydreaming.

enzian

Yup, rainy day here in Seattle. Ugh.

Hotel du Lac sounds great. We stayed in a place 10 minutes' walk on the other side of town (north). Nothing wrong with it--we had a lovely view of the lake, etc. Just nothing special. So I'll check out this place for next time. Thanks.

olyman

We walked north of town quite a ways and I have to agree with you. Other than having actual sand beaches there was not much special in the way of hotels, other than that one just below/beside the castle. We ate lunch at that cafe right on the water about a 10 minute walk north of the castle. The apartments at the Hotel Du Lac are perfect for up to five people, but I beleive all rooms had views of the water.

olyman

Enzian

Did you meet any othyer American at Malcesine? We saw none. My daughter found the place when her German exchange familiy took her there for vacation and she wanted us and her brother to seeit, so off we went. How did you find it? As a result of our recent travels I'm making grand plans to turn 20 acres of land we have on Anderson Island into a German/Swiss/ Italian/Slovenian familiy "retreat" complete with features from each place, including a vineyard. But first - the dreaded wetlands study!

enzian

Wow---that's quite a project. You'll need grapevines from each place? I planted a small vineyard on Bainbridge one with cuttings from the Bainbridge Island winery. We stuck bare twigs in the ground and every single one grew. Apparently there is no phytopthera around here, so no need to grow on resistant rootstock. Unfortunately they were not deer-resistant.

We found Malcesine from a photograph on the cover of one of my guidebooks---"Italian Lakes and Mountains". It was one of these "I want to go there!" moments. We needed someplace to go for a few days after Venice, and this was perfect. This was in April, so it was quite peaceful---many places had just opened for the season. And the weather was perfect. I marvel at you walking down Monte Baldo---I hate hiking downhill! We hiked up to the mid-station of the cablecar, rode to the top and hiked around, then rode back to the mid-station and walked down from there. The level of security around people's homes there is impressive. We brought home several "Attenti al Cane" signs.

We did not see a single other American. I speak German, so we did have several nice conversations with German couples, one on the hike and one in the little winebar in town (in the oldtown, near the castle). Ended up spltting a wonderful bottle of Amarone and discussing the relative merits of daycare in our two countries.

Good luck with your wetlands study.