Some more pictures from the Lake Garda area. One of the days we went to Malcesine pretty early to take the first lift to
Monte Baldo, from sea level up to over 2000 meters high. From there we hiked along the mountain ridge to Monte Altissimo peak, which took a couple of hours going up and down. Monte Altissimo peak is at 2079 meters, so it sounded easy from the map. But in total we had several steep climbs, followed by stretches of downhill paths.
It was a very cold morning with terrific clear air, we were able to see the mighty Ortler group in the north, snowcapped, which had loomed over our holiday home
a couple of years ago.
Here is how Riva del garda looked from above. Don't ask me what the sign shows to the people in the valley, my guess is: ...nothing at all.
Historically interested visitors can enter the trenches from the World War I here, which criss-crossed the mountain head. Here the Austrians and the Italians fighted for the beautiful area north of Lake Garda, in the end the Italians won, ...obviously.
Then there was the main attraction, at least to me;-), on top of that mountain, the
Monte Altissimo Rifugio "Damiano Chiesa".
The food was great, I had Minestrone, then gulasch con polenta, followed by coffee and cake, all of it homemade by a very nice surfer boy-looking young cook. The highlight of the meal, which took hours, was a selection of the finest home distilled "Grappe", which the owner seemed to do very passionately, according to his introduction of the different flavours at our table.
Eventually, when we realized that we really have to get back somehow before darkness and started to move our lazy bodies outside, we met two friendly pets which seemed to live a good life on the kitchen waste in such a breathtaking surroundings.
..anyway, here is THE brigade from far away...
..and here from close, in front of the surrounding hills: the Ponte Vecchio (everything is sort of 'Vecchio' :-)
On top of it runs an ancient corridor, connecting Palazzo Vecchio (!) and Palazzo Pitti, the rest are house with a shopfront, mainly goldsmiths. 
And lots of tourists, of course..
..and the tourist entertainment industry as well..
View from the other side: the windows of the corridor right under the roof are visible from this side.
..this the central market,...
..and here is the railway station Santa Maria Novella, which is a piece of modern architecture in a medieval city.
On the tower next to us people were taking photos, too. We were higher, anyway :-)
On the descent we were able to admire the painted ceiling from close distance, so many things to admire in this city...
..while others keep slaying..
..while the lion guards his ball.
No wonder she looks disgusted.
Then there is the one and only, just outside. At the first glance I thought I was watching a mirror ;-)
...then the German cathedral..
...once more the Schauspielhaus, an hour later...
...and last but not least the French Cathedral with the buildings to its left where the concert took place some minutes later...
Lots of interesting graves of famous writers, artists and architects, even a German president is buried here, didn't know that. This grave in the picture is a mass grave of several people who died within a couple of days, during bomb raids in the last days of World War. Only some of them have names and of only a few the birthdays were known.
Also a chemist lies here which I hadn't heard of so far, but he was the first to discover several elements like uranium and titanium, which I do know.
Then, just some steps from Klaproth, there's the grave of Schadow, a German sculpturist who designed the famous quadriga on top of the Brandenburg Gate, the town mark of Berlin.
Even if I no exactly like to be on cemeteries it was rather interesting walking there and discovering names.
On the way to the exit a non-human sculpture reminded of the past summer, a perfect rose still alive and in bloom, though very lonely....
