The Vagabond Hiker

Hiking, trekking, and climbing the world

Images from Arco, Trentino & an eastern European city break

Confession: I almost decided not to publish this blog. After all, I already posted twice in 2019 and 2023 on hikes and ferrate in the Lago di Gardo area of northern Italy. In addition, city cultural walks are not the main focus of my vagabond life, though I have published two blogs, in 2022 and 2023, featuring some amazing cities – predominantly European – that I have had the fortune to visit. However, my month-long stay in Arco highlighted different aspects of the environs of my favorite town in Italy that I have not yet shared. Furthermore, a chance to travel to two of the three remaining countries in Europe that I hadn’t yet visited, convinced me to post this blog. I hope you’ll indulge me a few photos from this past month. . .

Arco (TN), Italy

Located only 6 km north of the northern tip of Lago di Garda, to me it seems a world away from the water-sports and beach tourism of the lake. As arguably the outdoor capital of Trentino, Arco certainly attracts its fair share of active adventurers and all the climbing, hiking, and mountain/road biking shops to support them. With a two-week heatwave engulfing much of Europe, as well as some (thankfully) short-lived physical maladies, my excursions were generally short, always directly from my apartment, and early in the morning, often finishing about the time the sun appeared from behind the mountains, signalling the onset of another baking summer day in the Anthropocene epoch.

View of Arco Castle Hill with tower from my apartment balcony. The Sarca River (Fiume Sarca) is visible below.
Fiume Sarca and old mill near Arco. Several times I did an 8 km early morning loop walk up one side of the river and back the other side.
Roman bridge at Ceniga, rebuilt in the late 19th century. This was the farthest point of my many riverine loop walks.
Massone village street with clock, a few minutes’ walk from my apartment. From here there are numerous hikes through the Bosco Caprone and up into the nearby mountains.
Morning view towards Riva and Via Ferrata Susatti from above Arco. This lovely lane with oleanders and olive trees was part of the approach walk to the Monte Baone scramble.
Eremo di San Paolo along the Fiume Sarca above Arco. Near this hermitage a plethora of climbing gear is attached to an overhanging cliff.
Night view of Castle Hill with moon from my balcony
A morning view of the Monte Baone scramble route just outside of Arco
An early morning view of Fiume Sarca and community choir hall from the pedestrian and bicycle bridge 3 minutes’ walk from my apartment
My Sarca Riverside Apartment, a fantastic value with its own parking space. A faint blue rectangle shows my balcony. No AC for the summer months, though!

Chișinău, Tiraspol, and Odesa

Low-cost Wizz Air offers direct flights from Verona, Italy to Chișinău, Moldova three times per week. Many of you dear readers may know that I suffer from chronic FOFE*, but the opportunity to visit Moldova and Ukraine was too good to pass up. Flying out on a Sunday and returning Thursday gave me 31/2 days to experience the culture and history of an area I had never visited.

Map of Moldova, showing Transnistria and Odesa, Ukraine

Day 1 in Moldova featured a guided tour visiting the Curchi Monastery, walking around the historical and archaeological complex of Old Orhei (sorry, no pictures), lunch at a local rural restaurant, and an afternoon tour & tipple at a unique winery. The next morning I enjoyed a private guided walking tour of Chișinău and an afternoon relaxing by the lovely hotel pool. The “5 star” Diplomat Club Hotel I stayed at in Chisinau was a solid 3 star experience, nothing more. (To be fair, the price reflected this reality). The quiet location and outdoor pool were certainly unusual in the city, and with only a 20 minute walk to the center or 10 minute walk to Valea Morilor park, it was a good choice despite the run-down rooms. The third full day I took a private guided tour to Transnistria and Odesa, Ukraine. The final morning before my return flight I spent walking around Valea Morilor park.

* – FOFE: Fear Of Flying Economy

An Orthodox church at Curchi Monastery. Less than 2 hours’ drive from Chișinău, it was wonderful walking around the grounds and enjoying the art and architecture.
The recently renovated orthodox church dome at Curchi monastery
With our small group at Milistii Mici Winery. Their wine-cellars are the largest in the world, with more than 200 km of underground galleries and 1.5 million bottles. The tour was fascinating and the wine’s not bad, either!
Mihai Eminescu National Theatre in Chișinău. I missed a wonderful piano concert here as I did not get back from Odesa until late that evening.
Saint Pantaleon Orthodox Church, Chișinău. The historic center of the city was very leafy.
St. George the Victorious Chapel with WW2 tank at the Memorial of Glory in Tiraspol. The landlocked breakaway state of Transnistria, internationally recognized as part of Moldova, is a throwback to the Soviet Union, with 1500 Russian troops stationed there. I am assured that most are locals, however.
Catherine the Great Monument Park, Tiraspol. The city is not all that walkable, but this large park is lovely.
Ladas at a Tiraspol Soviet-era cafeteria. Lots of relics and mementos from the Soviet Union make this a popular spot with tourists.
Moldova-Ukraine border crossing. It took almost an hour each way to cross. Not all that bad considering the country is at war.
A traditional (though a bit kitschy) Odesa restaurant, where my guide and I had a late lunch after crossing the Ukraine border from Moldova.
Odesa National Academic Theatre of Opera and Ballet. I grabbed the photo of this lovely institution from the internet. (My photo, taken from a moving buggy, was horrible). Though the theater reopened a few months after Russia’s invasion, for obvious reasons all museums in Odesa remain closed.
Old Odesa Corner, a lovely quiet spot in the bustling city
Lion statue at Old Odesa Corner, symbolizing power, courage, and guardianship. Definitely appropriate for these troubling times.
Odesa’s Potemkin Stairs, immortalized in Sergei Eisenstein’s 1925 silent movie Battleship Potemkin. Intriguingly, one can see only the landings from the top and only the stairs (no landings) from the bottom. Note the hotel on the pier that was bombed by Russia in 2023.
A gorgeous (IMO) 19th century baroque revival building in Odesa
Odesa Passage (shopping arcade) in Derybasivska Street, another gorgeous example of baroque revival
Damage to a side chapel of the Transfiguration Cathedral in Odesa, sustained on on 22/23 July, 2023 from missile and drone strikes by Putin
Valea Morilor Park steps, 10 minutes walking from my Chișinău hotel. Circumambulating the lake was wonderfully peaceful after a long, stressful day in Transnistria and Ukraine.

Despite the lovely city of Odesa and the great winery we visited, I must admit to being glad to return to Italy. Moldova was certainly interesting, but ex-soviet countries almost invariably lack any service-oriented culture and their infrastructure is spotty at best.

It is a rainy Saturday in Vione, Brescia, two reasons not to be out hiking today. However, I’ve done some amazing hikes in this mountainous area of northern Italy that I will post next month when I’m enjoying the seaside in Hastings, East Sussex. Until then, stay cool outdoors,

The Vagabond Hiker

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