geeteetravels

We’re staying two nights in Dettingen so today was optional for the bike. We had a bit of difficulty finding a place to stay in Konstanz so we are here. Had we known it would be 35° we would have tried harder for a place by the lake. We wanted to explore Konstanz about 10km away and with a direct bus for free we kept the bike parked in the garage.

The tourist office was first to find out about self-guided tour options. There wasn’t an audio guide as in Strasbourg but they had an english language written guide with map we followed. Of course Konstanz has a long history but there was a large focus on the “Council of Konstanz” occurring from 1414 to 1418 and recently celebrated with a 600th anniversary. I will summarize it to say that the catholic church came to agreement on the next pope after a schism which had each of three ‘applicants’ for the job busily trying to excommunicate the other two. One other thing they agreed on was execution of a couple of brothers who were attempting to reform the church. Wrong place, wrong time guys. There are many houses, buildings and statues which are all related to this event which were part of our tour.

Of particular interest is the statue of “Imperia”, based on a story of a courtesan (courtly prostitute) of popes, clergy, and kings. She stands and slowly rotates at the entrance to Konstanz harbour while holding caricatures of the new pope and local king in the palms of her hands. It was created by Peter Lenk again (see Überlingen) and controversially erected in 1993. It’s a beauty.

And was it hot out, and did we see more Zeppelins? Ja und ja.

Cooling off by Konstanz harbour

Tara, with parasol /umbrella and Imperia

Another freakin’ Zeppelin

The smirking Imperia in all her glory

’nuff said

Many of the old houses had the old name or dedication beautifully presented

Lots of satirical street art

“Wahrheit” means “Truth”. The letters only show when the sun shines through the blocks. This was dedicated to the executed church reformers Jan Hus and his brother.

Today’s ride took us from Austria into Switzerland and back into Germany, a 3 country route. Again most of the way was along bike lanes and beside Lake Konstanz.

It was a very hot day today, the hottest we have had, 32 celsius, so hard for us Calgarians used to much cooler weather. Tomorrow is supposed to be 34!

Here are some photos from the ride.

It is very tempting to jump into the lake.

We are feeling a bit intimidated…

Polka dots and chevrons

Here’s something unusual, a vending machine with meat varieties.

The Swiss border, but we weren’t stopped.

Lunch time in Arbon Switzerland.

A break for the buttocks

Constance harbour entrance. The statue on the left is another work by Peter Lenk depicting the courtesan Imperia.

Today was a beautiful clear day so we opted to ride the cable car up to the Pfander summit above Bregenz. The view was spectacular and reminded us of the Heidi movie from our childhoods.

View of Bregenz on the way up

View of Lake Konstanz

“The hills are alive with the sound of music. “

We rode into Bregenz from the direction behind us.

Alps view. Definitely not as jagged as the Rockies.

Another Zeppelin sighting from the top of the mountain.

Pfanderspitze, the summit.

We rode the cable car up but hiked down. Not very far but quite steep, rocky, and slippery in spots, however a nice walk in the forest.

Cable cars above us during the hike down.

Interesting steeples.

The beast that guards the gate

Roses are everywhere you look.

We also had a walk around the old city.

Old Town Hall

St. Martins Cathedral

Old city above, newer homes below.

We also found this odd fountain.

Kein trinkwasser (not drinking water) The pool is the shape of Lake Konstanz.

We did a 60 km loop out of Bregenz Austria towards the alps, again following a pathway along the Rhine for part of the way. Today was Sunday and the cyclists were out in droves. Cycling is very popular here and there are bike paths or lanes almost everywhere. There were serious cyclists but also many families and trailers.

A smooth and fast pathway, we had the wind behind us and could easily do 35 kms/hr.

Lovely villages and the alps in the background.

A nice lunch spot beside a vineyard.

We went for a walk after the ride to check out the lakeside activities. We found the lakefront opera stage being prepared for Rigoletto. Unfortunately we will miss it as it doesn’t start until mid July. It is an amazing head complete with articulated jaw and hands. Not sure where the orchestra goes?

Clowns can be so scary looking.

Today was a gentle lakeshore ride for the most part. The weather forecast has been bad with a lot of rain but fortunately it has also been mostly wrong. We were sprinkled around lunch but then it cleared up considerably.

We rode once again mostly along pathways close to the shore so it was peaceful but not fast.

Lakeshore and the riding is easy

One of the highlights along the way was at Friedrichshaufen which is the historic and current home of the Zeppelin air ships. We had already seen them gracefully flying above the lake, but here was a chance to learn something more about their history and especially the Hindenburg disaster in 1937. George visited the museum and was quite impressed with it all.

The Zeppelin theme dominated as we approached Friedrichshaufen

The actual museum alongside a small Zeppelin in a play area

Further along we came to Lindau which is a small island connected by a bridge to the mainland. There is a nice harbour with an imposing lion on one side and lighthouse on the other side of the entrance. Another good spot for an eis on a warm afternoon.

Lindau Island from just a km or so away

We had an enthusiastic conversation about cycling and the tandems with this fellow and his wife

Cyclists still in huge numbers throughout the day

What’s your superpower?

Looking out from Lindau harbour towards Austria and Bregenz

We started the day with a panoramic boat tour of this part of Lake Konstanz. It’s a very large lake, the 3rd largest in Europe. The water was very calm the sun was shining so it was a pleasant ride. While out on the lake a Zeppelin flew right over us, something we haven’t seen before.

It is huge!

Many towns and cities line the lakeshore.

We spent the rest of the afternoon looking around Überlingen and walking on the promenade.

Hotel not recommended.

View of the lake from up high.

A very interesting and bizarre sculpture by local artist Peter Lenk.

More interesting carvings.

An ancient tower, part of the old walled city.

Hansel and Gretel house?

Beautiful fuschias.

In the evening we found a herring festival with music, refreshments and food.

A choir of mostly men singing and playing folk tunes.

We opted to not take in the eating of the herring but did enjoy the music and a glass of wine.

Today’s ride was a bit rainy but not as bad as we thought it would be. Also not much climbing so our muscles got a break. We followed the Danube pathway for about half the distance. Through much of this part of Germany you find an amazingly well developed network of paved cycle paths so you hardly have to deal with car traffic.

The Danube

There’s our friends just ahead.

There are many places where we would pass over or under the highway or railways.

George with all the rain gear.

Our destination today was Lake Konstanz or Bodensee as the Germans call it. It’s a large lake that borders Germany, Austria and Switzerland. It’s lovely and a popular tourist spot.

Enjoying some well deserved ice cream.

The sun finally came out at the end of the day.

One interesting thing we learned today was that June 20th is Corpus Christi (body of christ) day in this part of Germany. It’s a national holiday and just about every business is closed including grocery stores. There were some bakeries open but unfortunately Tara must avoid wheat due to allergy problems so today proved challenging as one needs fuel when cycling all day. She had to resort to McDonald’s, not someplace she frequents often, where she ate a burger without the bun and some french fries! 😨Not a typical meal for me.

This morning we met up with Rob and Katharine who had flown to Europe two days later than us. They caught up by staying only one night each in Strasbourg and Freiburg. We actually caught up to them right on the bike trail this morning leaving Freiburg.

The route today was to Donaueschingen on the Danube so we switched major rivers for a day. We had to climb most of the day and it was hot, 32° and sunny. Tough going as our muscles still need to grow some more! We actually pushed the bike up part of one section as a 15% grade and a loaded bike and our current level of conditioning don’t go together.

The top end of the big hill, thank goodness!

We also had a bit of trouble with our planned route as it sent us down a forestry road which was not good enough for a tandem road bike. Luckily we met a German couple from Stuttgart who were cycling as well. They were lovely and had a map! We were directed out of the forest to the nearest piece of asphalt and then flew downhill at 45km/hr on a great road for the next 10k to a café with ice cream.

Post ice cream and happy for the last 6km

That’s about it for the day as we were thoroughly focused on our hurtin’ muscles and not taking pictures. Maybe more tomorrow when it’s flatter and maybe (gasp!) rainy.

It is a joy to finally get riding after the flights and trains with a large and heavy case. We get to leave that all behind and hop on the bike and go, it’s liberating. Here is our starting point at Le Grande Hotel.

Today’s route was fairly flat and straightforward, following canal pathways and then the Rhine. It was very quiet and serene, very little traffic to deal with. We have got used to riding with the Italians on the road so this was a notable difference.

We saw lots of bird life along the way.

Once in Freiburg we were amazed at the sheer number of people commuting by bicycle, it puts us Canadians to shame.