Someday...: July 2012

Bodensee - Day 3

Day 3 (1.7.2012): Meersburg - Friedrichshafen - Wasserburg (40km)

After the evening storm, there were some storms during the night and another one after breakfast. Then, the sky cleared up, and we went discovering charming sites of the city Meersburg:

Old Castle

New Castle

The Meersburg vineyards at the northern banks of Lake Constance are famous within Germany. The rosée "Weissherbst" wine is a specialty of the region. And I can tell you firsthand, that this wine is really delicious.

Friedrichshafen - the city of the Zeppelins!! Friedrichshafen is less of a tourist resort than an industrial town with a promenade. Its main claim to fame is as the home of Zeppelin airships. In the late 1800s, Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin, who had seen hot-air balloons used during the American Civil War, developed a rigid airship powered by gas. The first of his cigar-shaped models was launched in 1900 and passenger flights to America followed. Although the Zeppelin dream ended when the 245m-long Hindenburg exploded on landing in New Jersey in 1937, in the 21st century you can still take a Zeppelin trip (now using non-inflammable gas).

We saw one flying:

Zeppelin Museum:

Friedrichshafen:

You might ask yourself why are there no photos of Wassersburg. Well, the rain caught us again, so there was no time to really explore the city. We only found the train station and took the train from Wasserburg to Lindau and then back to Freising.
It was an amazing cycling trip!!

Bodensee - Day 2

Day 2 (30.6.2012): island Mainau - Bodman - Ludwigshafen - Überlingen - Salem - Meersburg (70km)

Before the unbearable heat, we visited small island Mainau, which is a "flowering island" notable for its parks and gardens. Frederick I, Grand Duke of Baden, created the island's arboretum, which now contains 500 species of deciduous and coniferous trees, many exotic and valuable.

Same photo (same place and same pose) took my mom many years ago, when we were visiting Switzerland and Island Mainau.

swimming...

City: Überlingen

The Cistercian monastery of Salem Abbey was founded in 1134 when the knight Guntram von Adelsreute donated land for its establishment. The abbey already had its own scriptorium in the 12th century, and formed one of the most important monastery libraries in Europe.
Currently the grounds are home to the middle school campus of the boarding school Schule Schloss Salem, which is considered one of the most elite schools in Europe.

Meersburg is a charming fairytale, medieval city, which we couldn't explore the first day, because the storm caught us soon after our arrival in the city. Then, we refreshed and "showered" ourselves while searching for our room in heavy rain. Finally we succeeded, and we got the beautiful view out of our window on the Lake Constance after the storm.

Bodensee - Day 1

Soon after Königssee, Chiemsee cycling tour, me and Tomaž were so enthusiastic about cycling tours, and so got an idea to cycle around Bodensee (Constance Lake). Last weekend of June was promising a nice weather, so we quickly made plan which way will we go and where will we sleep, booked rooms, bought train Bayern Ticket to Lindau, and HIT THE ROAD ;)

Lake Constance (German: Bodensee) is a lake on the River Rhine at the northern foot of the Alps. The freshwater lake sits at 395 m above sea level and is Central Europe's third largest, after Lake Balaton and Lake Geneva. It is 63 km long, and at its widest point, nearly 14 km. It covers approximately 571 km² of total area. The greatest depth is 252 metres.

Day 1 (29.6.2012): Lindau - Konstanz (80km)

We started in Germany, drove through Austria and Switzerland and ended the day just over the Swiss-German border in the city Konstanz

The historic city of Lindau is located on an 0.68-square-kilometre (0.26 sq mi) island which is connected with the mainland by a road bridge and the causeway of the railway to Lindau station.

Lindau's famous harbour. The 6m high monument with the lion looking over the lake is a work by the sculptor Johann von Halbing. The Bavarian heraldic emblem flanks the harbour entrance together with the 33m high lighthouse.

The old town hall

Intersting traffic lights in Austria

SWITZERLAAAAAND

In the Swiss site of Bodensee we mostly drove a bit away from the Bodensee shore, over small hills and during the hottest part of the day. So when we arrived on the hill over the Bodensee, we let off our breaks down the hill and "drove" into the lake to refresh and try the Bodensee water for the first time. PERFECT!