Lake Constance

Jim Brennan took a tour of Lake Constance in September 2000. To summarize, the bike route 155 miles (250 km) long. About 40% of the route is paved bike path (very little gravel), 60% sharing the road with cars. (The Bikeline Guidebook and Map shows about 90% bike path so that means that much of the road sharing is on seldom traveled roads) Some small hills, mostly on the west end of the lake, but nothing major. Much of the path is along the lake shore and quite flat. One good guide book is Bikeline’s Bodensee-Radweg, scale 1:50,000 published by Verlag Roland Esterbauer. You can order maps with a credit card at the following web site: http://www.esterbauer.com or you can e-mail the firm at office.bikeline.at. Here are Jim’s observations and experiences:

This is from my second bicycle adventure in Germany. An extremely pleasant journey I would recommend to anyone!

Work took me to Europe for the last week in August so it was only natural to figure out an associated bike vacation. Peter and Irene, friends in Radolfzell, Germany, had a mountain bike to loan. Radolfzell is on the west end of Lake Constance, (known in German as the Bodensee). The lake is about 115 miles long and maybe 20 miles wide at the widest part. The lake borders Germany, Austria and Switzerland and is surrounded mostly by farm country with small and medium towns and villages.

I arrived September 1, 2000. In Radolfzell, I purchased rear panniers for €15. The next day I began the bike ride. It stopped raining about 10:00am so I packed the panniers with clothing, tools, camera and spare inner tubes, etc. and left Radolfzell heading north and then east to go around the lake in a clockwise direction. Much of the way there was a bike path, usually separate from the adjacent highway and in reasonably good condition. It would disappear on occasion leaving one amongst the motor vehicles but probably extended 40 % of the distance around the lake.

The first important stop was, of course, lunch in Uberlingen - Hawaiian pizza and German beer - overlooking a park on the lake. Finding places to eat while with the bike had two criteria: first, can I watch the bike from the table and second, did the eating establishment look like an interesting “local” place. From Uberlingen I went on to Meersburg where a ""boat station"" provided shelter from a passing rain cloud. Meersburg is one of two places where you can catch a boat that will take you across the lake. On the way, the bike path sometimes would head uphill into a town to keep bikes off the more congested lake front road. It was an opportunity to see a little more of the towns as I went through them. Most homes had flower boxes outside windows with bright colored flowers. About 3:00pm, the rain resumed and I pedaled on to Immenstad stumbling upon Hotel Gasthaus Krone at 6:00pm. They had a garage with a long chain anchored to a wall so cyclists could lock their bikes to something substantial. Cold and wet, few hot showers have ever felt better! Day one ended with a delicious dinner. I rode 34 miles (54 kilometers) in all (short but sweet).

Day two started after a hotel breakfast, on to Friedrichshafen, a small city perhaps halfway around the lake's northern perimeter. Friedrichshafen is the other city where you can catch a ferry across the lake. I was looking forward to visiting the Zeppelin museum but found it was closed on Mondays. It's a huge building and is suppose to have half a full size Zeppelin inside it. Mid-day found me at an outdoor café in Isle Lindau, an island bridged to the mainland. The café was in a lovely walled city with building dates like 1563. From Lindau, it was a short ride to Bregenz in Austria, another small city and major rail connection point. Again, I lucked into a hotel just south of the city, about 3:30pm with a vacancy. The bike was cable locked outside in a carport behind the hotel. Today’s ride was about 34 miles (55 km) again.

Day three dawned with a pouring rain so I signed up for another night at the hotel and settled in with a book I had brought along. Most places I stayed did not need to see a credit card or cash until checkout. Nice to know there are still some trusting souls on the planet.

Day four was bright and the Austrian Alps clearly visible behind the hills surrounding the lake. Looks like about 37 miles (60 km) to Konstanz (in Germany) through Switzerland. Switzerland is not an EEC member so they still have border crossings with passport inspections, etc. (little enforced). As I headed towards Konstanz on the southern return around the lake, I had no indication of crossing into Switzerland. However, leaving Switzerland was through a border crossing into Konstanz. Another outdoor café lunch (I could get used to this!) in Konstanz and on to Isle Maineau, an idyllic island/park with formal gardens, etc. From Isle Maineau, it wasn't far back to Radolfzell so I completed the circuit about 5:00pm this day after 54 miles (88 km). It was about this time I realized the European dogs not only don't chase cyclists, they completely ignore them- what a treat!

Day five started with croissants at the bakery for breakfast and then a day trip to Isle Reichenau. This is really a peninsula extending several miles into the lake. A visit to a church found a vintage dark ages structure, St Georg Church, dating from about 1000AD. The doors were locked but a peak through the keyhole revealed a beautiful interior, obviously still in use as a church. The Isle was mostly flower and vegetable gardens surrounding small villages of well-kept homes. You could smell the dill weed from a mile away! Round trip about 30 miles (48 km). Marvelous Thai dinner with Peter and Irene that evening at a local Radolfzell watering hole.

Day six was another day trip. This time to Stein am Rhine in Switzerland. This is the point the Rhine river exits lake Constance. It is a walled, fortified city and a real tourist attraction. The town dates from the 1500's (I think) and has mostly religious scenes painted on the building fronts (first floor businesses, upper floors residences, mostly). Since I arrived via bike path, I again unwittingly avoided another Swiss border crossing. This was a delightful day, about 33 miles (53 km) total with beautiful clear, cool weather and little traffic.

If you're looking for an easy, pleasant bike vacation in Europe, this is a good candidate. I would go no earlier than the last week in August as this area is a vacation destination for many Europeans and I would expect too much crowding. English is spoken well enough in most places. So, if your German skills are not up to the task you still will not have a problem. I had no hotel reservations (except the pension in Radolfzell) and never had a problem. Costs are very reasonable given the US dollar vs. local currencies.

Enjoy yourselves. The route takes you through three different countries. You’ll ride about 60% of the time in Germany, 10% in Austria, and 30 % in Switzerland. Maybe I'll do it again, but counterclockwise next time!

Jim Brennan, October 2000.