On Sunday morning we all met in the lobby of the hotel and boarded a bus for Lindau on Lake Constance. After a longish ride we arrived at the Bayrischer Hof hotel and were greeted by our guides for the week, Corrina Rach and Aernoud De Jong. Corrina was new to me, but Aernoud had been one of the guides on my Mosel trip, and it was a pleasant surprise to see him again. After a brief orientation meeting, we headed out to the bikes and started our warm-up ride along the lake, which was soon shortstopped by the trail being closed due to construction. Corrina found us a detour and we continued, crossing the border to Bregenz in Austria. It felt good to get on a bike and exercise again. Most of us went a little farther than the minimum, and got as far as the site of the Bregenz Festival, which had recently ended, but which allowed us to see the seating and the floating stage that still had much of the set from the previous summer’s production of Turandot. We turned around and returned to Lindau, checked into our rooms, had a chance to explore the coast near the hotel a little, and later Corrina and Aernoud led us to our welcoming dinner in town. After that we returned to the hotel. I walked around outside a little, then retired. There was no air-conditioning, but it was temperate enough that opening the window sufficed for me. Wade and Linda however changed rooms (for a surcharge) to where there was AC.
Our first full day of riding started out once again with a bus ride. From Lindau we crossed into Austria, through a tunnel that was several kilometers long, then up, up, up into the Alps in the Bregenzerwald. From there it was mostly downhill in the morning—one moderate climb—through absolutely spectacular scenery. About mid-day we met Corrina with the van on which we loaded the bikes, and were driven up to a restaurant where the lunch was cheese spâtzle. It was incredibly delicious. I wanted to eat more, but held back because there was still an afternoon ride to do. Nonetheless Aernoud upheld the honor of the group and polished off what was left in the bowl. Scenery on the afternoon ride was not quite as spectacular as in the morning, but was lovely by any reasonable standard. There was one hill that was a challenge, but still doable, and the rest was again downhill to Bregenz. Once at the lake there was a final view of the Bregenz theater, then the ride back to Lindau on the same path as the day before. It was a long ride, and the post-ride shower felt good. After the shower I wandered the waterfront some more, then had a drink with Chuck, Vesna, Alan (Embree) and Patti. The five of us then went to dinner, finding a restaurant after wandering around Lindau for a bit. Later retired to the hotel, and the morning and evening were the second day.
Tuesday we bid a reluctant farewell to Lindau, and began our ride to the next hotel in Überlingen. There was some suburban riding, but mostly we were on bike paths or rural roads, passing through numerous orchards. Riding through one of the orchards, we saw a blimp out of Friedrichshafen. After a rest stop at one of the oldest suspension bridges, we eventually reached Friedrichshafen, the largest town on the north shore of the lake. We had a chance to explore a little, and I grabbed lunch with Wade and Linda. I was starting to feel a little chafing, so I decided to pass on the next leg, and got a ferry from Friedrichshafen to Meersburg instead. It was a pleasant ride and gave a different view of the scenery, so I’m glad I made that choice. After docking at Meersburg, I walked the bike through the town center, as it was too crowded to ride comfortably. Once past the town gate it was back on the bike, passing vineyards and the lower grounds of Basilika Birnau. Had to pass through a narrow passageway at the beginning of which was a sign to dismount and walk, but I was probably the only one to do so. Continuing brought me to our hotel in Überlingen, the Bad Hotel. It was also withour air conditioning, but opening the window again served to make things comfortable. Oddly enough, the only people who generally complained about the heat were the group from Orlando, whom I would have expected to be least affected. Go figure. The hotel was surrounded by lovely grounds, and right on the lake, so after settling in, I walked around and took in the area. Dinner was on our own this night, so I walked into town and found a restaurant where I was later joined by Tom and Tina. After dinner a little further exploration found a gelato stand which naturally required sampling, and then a walk along the lakefront back to the hotel and bed.
Wednesday was our last day along the north shore of the lake. We started with a short ride to Unteruhldingen where there was a tour at a museum of lake dwellings recreated from the stone and bronze ages. After the tour it was back to Meersburg and on into the countryside through orchards to our lunch stop the Wirthaus Frohsinn. As it was a late lunch, I felt I’d done plenty of biking already, and I wanted to spend some time exploring Überlingen, I got in the van with Wade and Linda for a ride back to the hotel. Corrina suggested that we stop at Basilika Birnau, which we were only too glad to do. It was a lovely pink building with an ornate Baroque interior. After reaching the hotel and freshening up, I walked into town and found the Franciscan church. It was yet another Baroque masterpiece, though Baroque ornamentation and Franciscan sensibilities seem somewhat at odds. Returned to the hotel in time for our walk to a group dinner. Aernoud and Corrina outdid themselves this time by taking us to a cheese shop where we all had a hand in making a fondue, none of which was ultimately left untouched. We were regaled by the shop owner who gave us her life story—including a dig at her “free-range" ex-husband—and we left with smiles on our faces and full bellies.
The next morning we boarded a ferry from near the hotel and crossed the lake to the island of Mainau, a former estate whose display gardens are now open to the public. There were extensive flower displays, to include an extensive dahlia planting, and, of course, roses everywhere; an arboretum; fountains; a children’s area; herb garden; vegetable garden; an extraordinary butterfly house; and, of course the usual assortment of cafés, souvenir shops, etc. After spending the morning exploring Mainau we were off again, crossing the lake peninsula—one nasty hill just after Mainau—to Reichenau Island in the Untersee of Lake Constance, connected to the mainland by a long tree-lined causeway. Ran into a construction detour, but it was fairly obvious how to negotiate it, and it posed no problem. Corinna and a few of the others caught up to me at the end of the detour as I was waiting for a crossing signal over a busy roadway. Not sure if she was surprised, relieved, or gratified that I had figured out how to get through the detour. After riding the causeway and reaching the island, the sky was starting to look ominous, so instead of stopping at a Konditorei at the beginning of the island I decided to forgo lunch and continued to bike a circuit of Reichenau, hoping to finish the ride and make it to the next hotel without getting too wet. By the time I had finished the circuit, the sky had begun clearing, which was not necessarily the case with my hunger, so before leaving I did hit the Konditorei for a quick luncheon snack. A ride down the causeway, through the construction detour, and a little more brought me to the rail line into Konstanz, beside which was a bike path, which after a couple km. led directly into the city. With only a couple blocks more to negotiate, I arrived at the Hotel 47 Grad, a more modern and less classic place than the two earlier ones. After depositing the bikes, cleaning up, and relaxing a bit it was time for supper, on our own this evening. The bad news is there were limited choices of restaurants in this part of town. The good news is that the two that Aernoud and Corinna suggested, in addition to the hotel’s own restaurant, were on either side of the hotel: Brigantinus, a fancier place; and Holly’s a more informal spot. I chose Brigantinus, and it proved to be quite good. After finishing dinner, I explored the area a little, then stopped at the gelato bar of Holly’s for a final sweet something before retiring.
Our final day of riding began with a walk to the Konstanz train station where we caught a Swiss train to Diessenhofen. Corinna met us there with the van and bikes and we set off, crossing the Rhine on a covered bridge to the right bank to begin our ride back to Konstanz, basically paralleling the Rhine and the Untersee. After some uphill riding on packed gravel and then downhill, we stopped at the Swiss town of Stein am Rhein, where we visited a chocolate shop. It was too tempting not to take some home for myself and for gifts. After perusing the town with its many interesting buildings, it was on the road again. Things went fine for a while, but some confusing directions sent me on a detour. Fortunately Aernoud showed up to rescue me, and we were soon on the bike path again, crossing back into Germany. This took us to a group picnic at that Corinna had prepared at Iznang overlooking the Rhine. We finished our lunch and headed back to Konstanz through countryside similar to what we had done all week. There were some confusing directions toward the end, but Aernoud was there to explain things, and it was straight on to the construction detour from yesterday at which we now were past masters, though entering from a different direction, then to the rail line and the bike path to Konstanz, and finally the hotel. Riding had now come to an end; only a sausage, as the cue sheets informed us, has two. After turning in our bikes and cleaning up, we had our farewell dinner at the hotel restaurant, at the end of which Aernoud and Corinna sang us a farewell serenade, and we thus ended our biking on a harmonious note.
But wait; there’s more! The schedule for the next day was to explore Konstanz. Aernoud walked us over the pedestrian bridge to the old town to meet our guide for the day who failed to appear, so Aernoud did extra duty and showed us around the old town. Somewhere mid-tour my camera battery ran low and I discovered I had forgotten to bring the spare, so after Aernoud finished with us I trekked back to the hotel to retrieve the extra battery, then returned to Konstanz to explore on my own. Of more than passing interest was the revolving 1993 statue of Imperia, erected to commemorate the fifteenth century Council of Constance, whose purpose was (primarily) to end the papal schism and create one legitimate pope. Lasting for several years, it afforded the participants ample opportunity to savor the fleshly delights of the town, so the prostitute Imperia holds a prelate in one hand and in the other a king. Spent the better part of the day looking around, including lunch at a harborside restaurant before returning to the hotel. Relaxed a bit, then had dinner at Holly’s, followed by, of course, some gelato from Holly’s gelato bar. Walked the riverfront a little then returned to my room and to bed.