Day four began with a big name: Stelvio Pass.

Normally, this name stands for hairpin bends, views and motorcycle romance. Today it stood more for rain, snow and the realization that June in the Alps is just a calendar claim. I didn’t stop at the top and hardly took any photos. If you want to see beautiful Stelvio pictures, you’ll find plenty of them on Pawtrail. Today was more of a case of close your visor and move on.

After the Stelvio Pass, we headed towards Bormio and then onto a route that I hadn’t had on my radar: up to the Torri di Fraele and on to the Laghi di Cancano.

Before that, however, I first stood at an electronic toll station. Everything was in Italian, I had to enter my license plate number, take a ticket and somehow understand what the machine wanted from me. While others just drove through, I stood there and did it properly. Typically German or simply law-abiding on two wheels – you never know.

Then suddenly there were two horses next to me. Me with ticket, motorcycle and question mark in my helmet. The horses continued to eat relaxed. They had probably seen more tourists fail at this toll station than they would have liked.

Then came the real surprise of the day. The road to the Torri di Fraele is a real insider’s tip: hardly any traffic, old watchtowers, great bends and a landscape that is immediately memorable. Not as famous as Stelvio or Gavia, but perhaps that’s why it’s so special. Up there, everything seems a little quieter, rougher and less staged.

We continued on to the Cancano Lakes. It was clear at first glance: this is no romantic natural bathing tub. The banks look artificial, the dam walls are clearly visible and you can see everywhere that hydropower plays a major role here. The Laghi di Cancano are artificial reservoirs and, together with Lago di San Giacomo, form a large hydroelectric system.

But that doesn’t make the area any less interesting. On the contrary. High mountains, water and technology come together here. On the one hand mountains, vastness and alpine tranquillity, on the other dams and engineering. The landscape is almost surreal in places. For me, this was one of the highlights of the day.

We then headed back towards Bormio and on to the Gavia Pass. I already knew it from an earlier tour with Regine, but from the other direction back then. So the terrain was no longer completely unfamiliar. Stelvio and Gavia were already familiar to me, even if they felt completely different on a motorcycle and in this weather.

The Gavia Pass is always impressive. It was about five degrees at the top, it was raining and the lake was still partly frozen. Italy in June – but with a freezer compartment rather than a summer vacation.

So let’s warm up first. Vegetable soup, café latte and a fireplace that was burning comfortably. For a moment, the rain outside didn’t matter. The café latte gets four out of five coffee cups. Delicious, warm and just at the right time.

After that it got really wet. On the way towards Lake Iseo it rained so heavily that I could feel the drops even through my motorcycle clothing. The rain radar also gave me little hope. So I canceled some of the points originally planned. Instead of more passes, I now had about 80 kilometers to the hotel on the agenda. Reason beats the romance of bends – at least when your gloves start to feel like wet sponges.

With the Cancano Lakes, I had already reached part of the Upper Italian lake world, but in its rugged high mountain version. Lake Iseo felt completely different. Here began the lake landscape that many people have in mind when they think of the lakes of northern Italy.

My hotel is right on the lake in Pisogne. A little spartan perhaps, but in a beautiful location. After this day, all I wanted to do was arrive, dry off and take a hot shower.

Of course, it stopped raining just as I arrived. That was obvious.

After a hot shower, I wanted to take a look at Pisogne. The place is really pretty. Small alleyways, lots of charm and just the kind of place you like to stroll through. Unfortunately, it started to rain again. So the stroll through the town turned into a quick pizza mission. The pizza was really tasty.

Day four was not an easy stage. Stelvio in the rain and snow, Gavia with a frozen lake, hours of rain and soaked clothes. But there were some real surprises in between: the horses at the toll station, the Torri di Fraele, the Cancano lakes and finally the arrival at Lake Iseo. Sometimes it’s not the most famous names that stick with you the most.

Conclusion: No conclusion today. The author had to blow-dry his clothes.