A day by the lake

Despite some rain in the night, it was fine when we awoke, and perfect for a day cycling round Lake Constance.  We had weighed up possible transport options and decided to cycle to Lindau and catch the ferry back to Meersburg.  This meant we would be cycling on the lakeside making it easy to stop for photos.  

First stop was Meersburg, with the oldest inhabited castle in Germany, located on a rocky outcrop above the town. We entered the town through the lower gate which was built around 1250. The main street was lined with restaurants and shops.

We reached the harbour, overlooked by two imposing buildings, Staatsweingut, the Meersburg State Winery and the New Castle, now a museum.  The Magic Column sculpture, another by Peter Lenk, illustrated a ‘magical variety show’ with well known figures from Meersburg’s history dressed in costumes whilst the base of the column showed an exorcist in action, with devils leaving a body.  

It was lovely cycling through little towns along the lake and after a less-enjoyable stint next to the main road, we reached Friedrichshafen where we bought some pastries for morning tea.  Unfortunately, we had neglected to pack the thermos, so missed our morning coffee as we ate our pastries overlooking the sculpture of the Sound Ship “Im Augenblick” built by Helmet Lutz and influenced by the war in the Balkans. Created in 1994, it sailed on a peace mission mounted on a ship along the Danube and spent a year in Sarajevo, the twin city of Friedrichshafen.  

We finished our morning tea with a very nice coffee at the Secret Café – clearly well known to locals as it was very busy.  We then continued south, cycling through a nature reserve, some vineyards and apple orchards.  In the distance could see the snow-capped peaks of some of the Alps.  

We changed course to return to the lake and passed through Langenargen with its landmark Montfort Castle and towering maypole. Soon after we reached Nonnenhorn where we found a lakeside kiosk selling supposedly healthy street food.  We ordered not-so-healthy burgers and fries and sat at one of the outdoor tables with views over the lake and some interesting sculptures. 

From there it was only a short ride into Lindau, an island city, linked by a land bridge. The harbour entrance had a six-metre-high statue of a Bavarian lion on the left side, and on the right was the new Lighthouse.   

We pushed our bikes through some of the streets, passing coloured houses and the impressive Old Town Hall before returning to catch the ferry back to Meersburg, a journey that took about 2.5 hours.  

Once in Meersburg we needed to pick up some yoghurt for breakfast which necessitated a climb up the steep pedestrian street to find a supermarket in the upper part of the town. This gave us an opportunity to see some of the old houses and pretty squares that we had missed on our morning route before our final ride back to our accommodation.  

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