Dolce Vita on Starnberger See

A Riva reunion on Starnberger See is something special. This was already evident during registration. After less than two hours, the event of the Riva Club Germany was fully booked. "The Starnberger See is made for our Rivas, after all, the boats were built exactly for such lakes," explains Konrad Börries, former chairman of the Riva Club Germany. But since the licences for motor boats on Starnberger See are severely limited, it is not so easy to be allowed to cruise on them. Members from the Fünfseenland and all over Germany came with their boats – some even brought their vintage boats all the way from Italy just to be able to enjoy the lake with its Alpine panorama.

According to legend, the famous Riva shipyard was founded in 1842 in Sarnico on Lago d'Iseo in northern Italy. The young boat builder Pietro Riva repaired the massively destroyed fishing boats there after a storm, and soon word of his skills spread beyond the town's borders and his shipyard grew. But the boats only developed into a cult object under his grandson Carlo Riva. Between the 1950s and 1970s, anyone with a reputation was likely to buy a sports boat from Carlo Riva. The jet set around Gunter Sachs, Sophia Loren, Sean Connery and Brigitte Bardot, all the rich and beautiful showed themselves on a Riva and gave the boat glamour and sex appeal - to this day, it still has a particular status. "We do have a special fondness. Maybe you have to be a little crazy for our enthusiasm," Konrad Börries explains with a laugh.

But even as an outsider, you understand the fascination at the latest once you have taken a seat on the mahogany-panelled boat and the steering lever is pushed forward. Then the boats roar off like American road cruisers, you slide deeper into the white leather chair and believe you are flying over the lake. The impression of sitting in a Cadillac vintage car is no coincidence, because the Riva boats are inspired precisely by these.

"The boats were made for the water and that's where they should be," says Konrad Börries. But to be on the safe side, the participants of the Riva get-together thoroughly check the engine after the trips and remove water from the sensitive wood and chrome. After all, they want to enjoy as long as possible what the boats were built for: to have fun. And that's what you get when the wind blows through your hair, the water spray splashes and you can even enjoy a great view of the mountains when the wind is blowing - just like on Starnberger See.