Tour de Europe - Days 6 - 7

One of the most fascinating parts of the day was when we descended past the snow line. Quite abruptly, the snow covering the ground gave way to green grass and foliage. Due to the snow we had set off quite late today, but we were determined to reach lake Garda before the day was over. The mountain scenery was as mind boggling as ever, and we headed to a glacier which was near our route.


Apparently the slope leading down to the glacier was home to Marmots, a type of cuddly looking alpine hamster beavers. Unfortunately, the weather was against us and we did not see a single one. Nevertheless, the glacier was quite the sight, the bright blue icy pond below it looking especially mysterious.

We continued our journey accompanied by sinister weather and eventually found ourselves on a road at the bottom of a valley. Riding through the fields squished between the mountains we approached the border to Italy. Little changed as we crossed the border, only a sign bidding us welcome and a "Ristorante Pizzeria" immediately on our right.

The final push to lake Garda was one of the most arduous portions of our trip, not helped by Italian traffic. It was quite pitiful to see small, idyllic Italian villages only to find their small roads clogged by trucks. Although wider roads were no better, as we found the motorways to be equally jammed. Luckily we weren't going by car, or we would still be there. Despite the prowess of our motorcyclists at negotiating the jam, they were no match for the mad Italian scooters darting through the gaps, occasionally flying off bridges as mischievous truck drivers opened their doors.

Upon arrival at our destination, we were confronted by the challenge of finding a bed for the night and a relatively safe place for the motorcycles. Indeed, the latter proved a challenge, and we were forced to leave our motorcycles at a public parking space, much to the unease of my father and Kari. After having finally settled down, our tired and hungry group walked to a pizzeria. What better way to end a day which had started in the midst of an alpine snow storm, and come to an end amidst Italian palms?





The next day we spent the better half of the morning exploring Riva de la Garda, the town where we were staying. The views were spectacular and the sun was shining. We stopped at a café for espressos and a lemon ice cream. Once we were finished admiring the old buildings, clear water, magnificent mountains, pasta stalls etc, we were ready for some new scenery.

Luckily our bikes had braved the night. We packed them, and returned to the hotel to change into riding gear. Then, thoroughly sweaty, we walked back to the bikes and were glad to be off again, especially with the steadily rising temperatures of our nerves. The activity of the day would be braving the Italian traffic and eventually making our way to Switzerland.