From there, the path takes on something of a different character; it becomes more "fancy", if you like, with roses planted alongside and leading up to the private yacht harbour where members only are allowed to moor. In the summer, this bit is very busy, but now all boats are covered for the winter, and there were only a few people about for maintenance work.
At this point, I had completed my walk around the island.
I found these two sleeping beauties snoozing in the main harbour. The picture of the lighthouse was taken from the base of the Lion, same as this selfie. (The Lion being the same one you can see in the first picture of my previous post.)
Oh dear! People can't leave an iron railing alone these days, it seems. The "love lock" fad started with bridges, and now it looks as if it is spreading to just any type of railing. This is not a bridge but the railing around the base of the Lion. Also, people throw coins, trying to land them on top of the pillars. I could think of a thousand better things to do with one's money.
It was lunch time by now, of which my stomach reminded me with quite some insistance. I went for something to eat at a place called "Die Möwe Jonathan" ("Jonathan the Seagull"), which is the German name of the novel "Jonathan Livingston Seagull" by Richard Bach, published in 1970. I have not read the novel, but it has become famous enough for everyone to associate the name Jonathan with seagulls, I think.
Anyway, my lunch was nice, chatting with the hostess and watching the world go by, thinking about what to do for the afternoon.
The café/restaurant have their own facebook page, if you are interested.
I'll let you know what I did in the afternoon in my next post.
This was a great walk, I think. Too bad you did it alone, but I think you don't mind that at all. It is so interesting to be at a place which can be very crowded in summer and at other times of year is nearly deserted. Or at least can seem so in comparison. I'm not fond of this "lovelock" fad, and smiled at your comment that you could think of a thousand better things to do with your money. Still, as a small child with my grandmother, we would often throw a penny each into any sort of "wishing well" or pool we came across.
ReplyDeleteIt is what I like, this contrast of how a place can look and feel at different times of the year, from the hustle and bustle of the full tourist season in the summer to the much quieter atmosphere in autumn and winter.
DeleteYou are right, I did not mind at all to do that walk alone. Quite the contrary, I was glad for the chance to reflect and reminisce without having to pull myself together for RJ's sake.
What is it with those padlocks on railings? A waste of metal and money in my view though I must admit I didn't think that way when I first saw the phenomenon - on the Ponte Vecchio in Florence. Now people are getting their padlocks professionally engraved.
ReplyDeleteI do so wish the "love lock" thing would go out of fashion! It can be even dangerous; there is a bridge in Cologne across the Rhine where they now had to cut off a large number of locks because the weight was getting too much for the statics of the bridge. And on Ponte Vecchio?! Please, no! That bridge is so beautiful on its own, it certainly does not need any "embellishment"!
DeleteIt looks like a lovely place, almost Italian to my eyes! Does "spiel bank" mean "play bank"? If so its a reasonably appropriate name for certain financial institutions I can think of! I get tired of the padlocks too... That fad has passed its sell by date, I think.
ReplyDeleteYes, Jenny, it does have something of a North-Italian feel to it, with the palms and the street cafés and so on. Spielbank literally means play bank indeed, and is the German word for casino.
DeleteSigh. I know it's not but it still makes me think of the Italian Lakes. Linda will, however, be much more orderly. I hadn't come across the locks phenomenon until my trip to the Cinque Terra a few years ago and now I, too, see them everywhere: even in remote parts of the Scottish Highlands. I first read Jonathan Livingston Seagull many moons ago and it is a rather beautiful book. It would take you a couple of evenings at most Meike.
ReplyDeleteI've been to Lake Garda and can therefore understand how Lake Constance and Lindau remind you of the Italian lakes.
DeleteI can put Jonathan Livingston Seagull on my to-be-read list (which is getting longer nearly by the day); your recommendation means I'll probably like it, as we have similar reading taste it seems (for instance, the Jack Sheffield and the Agatha Raisin books).