The Imperia

The forecast rain had set in and we kept a close eye on the weather radar hoping the rain would pass before we had to check out at 10am. Fortunately it eased and we crossed the bridge and headed out of town following the route to Radolfzell that we had driven the day before.  The Untersee was quiet and peaceful and we passed a few interesting fountains, including one of a washer woman.  We stopped at Allensbach for morning tea on the banks of the river before heading onto Konstanz.

The Konstanz Minster was surrounded by scaffolding and we continued past to explore the cobbled streets of the old town, with its pretty floral displays and made our way down to the harbour. 

The impressive Imperia, a ten metre tall rotating statue stood at the harbour’s entrance. Based on a story by Balzac, it shows a woman holding two men in her hands. According to its creator, Peter Lenk, these men represent fools who have acquired the insignia of spiritual and secular power.  Though according to others the men resemble Pope Martin V (wearing a papal tiara) and Emperor Sigismund (with an imperial crown).

We crossed the Old Rhine Bridge out of the city with its impressive watch towers and approach lined with statues representing the three wise men. The bike path followed the edge of the lake passing impressive mansions and busy marinas. 

We had kept our plans flexible due to the forecast rain and decided to continue on to Walhausen which had an hourly ferry that traversed the 20 minute crossing to Uberlingen. We made the 2:10 ferry with a few minutes to spare and made up our picnic rolls for lunch. There was plenty of room for our bikes and only one other person making the crossing.  

The harbour featured a Peter Lenk creation, the fountain “ Lake Constance Rider” which caused great controversy at the time of its unveiling.  It was also a nice spot to enjoy an icecream and watch the the ferries coming and going. 

We took a quick detour through the pretty town before following the bike path out of town stopping at a grocery store en route before the rain started again. We were quite wet when we reached our destination at Unteruhldingen only to find we had no internet connection so couldn’t access the check in details. I walked further up the hill in the rain and found a spot where I could download enough information to get us into the apartment – which turned out to be very nice. 

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