You probably took the same route to Italy that I took! Nice train ride, especially passing the Alps. I remember the stop Rovereto, wondering if it would make a good base for exploring Trentino. Now I know, thanks to you, Adelaidean! Beautiful pictures of your day trip to Lake Garda

Lake Garda looks beautiful and such a contrast from where you've been in Central Europe. I've not made it to any of the Italian Lakes yet.

Tripplanner, we have stayed in very north of Lake Como, on Lake Maggiore in Stresa (and Locarno, but that is Switzerland), have had 2 daytrips to Lake Lugano annd 1 to Lake Orta, and stayed in Lake Garda previously.
It is hard to choose!

Ingo, the train is very convenient from here, part of the reason I chose it.

Cherthor, I haven’t ventured into south Italy.

My evening wanderings last night..



Mozart held his first concert here in 1769


Mozart’s first private concert in Italy was in Rovereto


Lovely small stores










Menswear - very stylish

Day 28: Rovereto


Slow morning, had an espresso at the nearby square where a tiny food market had set up.





Then headed to the castle. It’s 5 mins walk from my apartment, and included in the Guest card


The walk to the castle is a pretty nice 5 minutes!














The original fortress was built around 1300, came under Venetian rule in 1416, and redesigned with towers and improved fortifications after that. In 1509 it was ceded to the Habsburgs.

The castle now houses the Italian Historical Museum of War. Rovereto lies on the WW1 frontline between Italy and Austria-Hungary and the collection preserved is enormous.

https://museomitag.it/en/the-castle/

https://museomitag.it/en/



This is a most incredible museum.

It’s set in a castle, so that in itself is a challenge of modernising and accessibility and it is so fantastically well done.

The museum displays are excellent, I’m too deaf to use an audio guide but the signage was clear and very readable (pet peeve- too many museums have difficult to read labelling, pale script on glass, or over lit and causing reflections)

There is an enormous display of weapons and uniforms.

Each space has a theme related to war, for example, changes in technology and strategy, propaganda to encourage nationalism and conscription, communication systems, life in the trenches, the human cost.

There are personal letters, photos, short films, it is very moving.













Fill up your water bottle - but just look at that tap!


Toilets in a castle


Not that door…


Nor this one…


And you wander through rooms, and tunnels, and outside to panorama viewpoints, and into towers (displays of archaeological finds and medieval weaponry).







Personal items



Tobacco advertising back in the day.



There are a lot of weapons..


And uniforms


Elaborate headwear


War Photographs


Cut out showing plane interior


Photographer captured an explosion as troops advance


No words






Refugees


In between you get to wander to viewpoints






Alpine fighters


Winter requirements


Fighting in the mountains


mobile kitchen facilities


A propaganda film produced by a Turin company in 1916


A prosthetic leg


Views to the hills


Views down to the river


Beautiful




Armour detail


More armour detail


And more


Fortress towers held the older displays


Archaeological finds




You exit the tower through a tunnel


More views


Heading home, nice carport


This is the view near my door, hillside village barely visible


Could ‘chat’ to the museum attendants, (without a common language but Google translate) because it’s so quiet. They also guide you through to the next space as it’s not purpose built and some access via external walls or through tunnels.

So enjoyable after having been in Prague castle and the tourist frenzy.

I spent nearly 4 hours there.

So, by the time I emerged, Rovereto had gone to sleep, post lunch.

Most places shut, so headed back to my apartment to refresh a baguette for my very late lunch and a rest.

That castle is right up my alley. Beautiful pictures, moving exhibit. Rovereto looks more and more appealing.

On the whole, I am not a museum goer, but I do like to visit to castles and fortresses. I truly enchanted by this museum inside the fortress. I just wonder how do soldiers put on those heavy armors. The details of that prosthetic leg is amazing.

Thanks for the inspiration!

Day 29: Rovereto (daytrip to Ala)



Ala is about to host stage 6 of the Women’s Giro d’Italia: so thought I’d visit before it got hectic.

This town is just a short 10 minute train ride south of Rovereto.



Ala is a small station


View from station


Ala is also known as the “City of Velvet”, as it was a landmark city for the production of silk velvet between the late 17th and 18th centuries. Hence the elegant town centres and palazzos.

https://www.visitrovereto.it/en/disc...alazzo-taddei/

This would have been interesting
https://www.initaly.it/en/articolo/g...pubblico-15466
but I missed it

What a sweet and charming town. Wandering rather aimlessly along the narrowing lanes, into the historic centre until I was in need of coffee and searched for a cafe.




Getting ready for the bike race


Nice murals


Even the street art is good


Lovely alleys






Oooh tight parking… or too much vino…
















Off street parking












Lots of pink flowers ready for the race






Ohhh yes




I had the one on the right - sooo good


Ok I had the custard one too


2 different creams inside a crusty layer, with almonds, best pastry combination yet

€6.60!! Double espresso and 2 pastries. I think I’m going to move here…



























A bit more wandering and then an easy train ride back.


The afternoon was spent at the MART, Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, not my favourite thing to do, but it was hot, and the museum free with my Guest card.

I’ll post those photos later as my host has just arrived ..

Ok, the host is siliconing the shower…

so MART photos, …

these I liked…
























these not so much…







The building is interesting…





and the walk home very photogenic, plus several gelati stores on the way so…

What a find! Ala is super picturesque! However, there is NEVER too much wine! ;-)

The first batch of MART pictures I like, too. The second batch is ... interesting.

I need gelato also!

Ingo, my hosts just took me out for an aperitivo, and we have had those snacks you get with it, so now I hardly need dinner.

Ala looks very quiet but great for wandering on foot. Makes me think of our most recent visit to Semur-en-Auxois in Burgundy.

Adelaidean, we just returned from a trip to Ireland, so this is the first chance I have to start reading your awesome trip report. I skipped ahead to Prague since we have visited twice, and I wanted to read about what you did there and see your photos. Wow!!!! Your photos of Prague are spectacular!!! So much better than ours! You really captured the beauty of the city, especially its architecture. You have a great eye for composition and focusing on details of the buildings and the best angles. Your photos make me want to return to Prague! During both of our visits, we did not visit any of the parks. They look so beautiful, especially at this time of year.

So wonderful to see your photos of Vysehrad. We first visited Prague in 2003 when our youngest daughter studied in Prague. Her classrooms were held in Vysehrad, so she took us there to see her classrooms. We fell in love immediately with this area of Prague that was not crowded at all in 2003. We love the Sts Peter and Paul Church and the lovely National Cemetery. We also visited the Communism Museum, which at the time was located either above the McDonald's or right next door, which struck us as very funny.

When I have a chance, I will next read your installment about Wroclaw. My mom's mother was born in Poland, and my Dad's parents were Polish, too, but born in the US. We visited Krakow on our first trip to Prague, but we haven't been back since. I would love to return to Poland at a future date, as long as our health and mobility is in our favor, at our ages.

Day 30: Rovereto (daytrip to Trento)



We previously overnighted in Trento when we did a family trip to north Italy, loved the city, so knew it’d be a nice and easy day out.



Decided to take the bus to Trento (60 min) and the train back (15min).

I enjoy the bus rides, I’m getting on with the nonnas as it’s mid morning, and passing through the little towns, it’s a slice of suburbia too, and quite a different view than the trainline.















The Guest card is valid, just remember to validate using the QR code on board the bus, and the code is next to the validating machines at the train stations (before you board).

Trento is such a spectacular city, I just wandered the lovely squares and admired the facades, and had lunch in a quiet back lane, before heading to the river for the Sardagna cablecar, but it wasn’t running today.
So I’ll return another day.
The castle is very impressive, we visited it last time, might revisit again.































cablecar wasn’t running




The bus station and train station are next to each other, and a 2 minute walk through a park to the historic centre.



On my return to Rovereto, I passed the local museum (Museo Civico) and thought I’d pop in.

Well, turned out to be a fascinating museum of (some gifted) collections related to the regions and a donated collection from a Rovereto archaeologist with an incredible coin display.

https://www.visitrovereto.it/en/disc...-museo-civico/



The staff tried so hard to find me some English pamphlets and even chased after me when I left as I’d missed visiting the astronomy section.

Natural history, fossils, archaeology, astronomy - it really was a great visit. Free, quiet, and on my way home.



















Fascinating coins





















I rarely visit museums, and I really enjoyed it. I had to use a translate app, but it was so quiet and I wasn’t holding anyone up.


Then decided I needed to do the Italian thing and walk 100 m to a piazza and have my late afternoon aperitivo, watching the locals sit with the sport papers or chitchat with passersby.

€5 well spent!

Tripplanner, there’s no doubt those smaller places in France were some of my favourite also.
Karen, I think you might have been the poster that led me to include Vysehrad, so glad I visited. But it was a big day of walking.

Fantastic pictures again, Adelaidean! Another city I have to visit ... Trento looks very interesting. Aperol Spritz?

Enjoying your report, and the useful information about Rovereto and Trento, haven't been to either of them.