Germany
Konzilsgebäude Konstanz

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    • Day 44

      A Bloody Incident in Arbon

      September 30, 2023 in Germany ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C

      It was certainly a shocking and unexpected sight. As David made his appearance at the breakfast table, we could not help but notice that his arms and shirt were covered in blood. It is hard to know how to react in such circumstances. Do you just ignore the elephant in the room, or do you try to make light of the situation?

      I know that we were staying in a 700 year old establishment, and also that such establishments would undoubtedly harbour many dark secrets, but I had no idea that such things could influence the actions of someone in the enlightened 21st Century.

      Of added concern was the fact that Carol was yet to make her appearance. If our police inspector couple were still with us, I am sure that they would have been asking penetrating questions. We all know that marital relations can become strained on these protracted holidays, but none of our previous 49 trips had ever terminated with a murder.

      David finally noticed the strange looks all directed in his direction, and then explained that somehow in the middle of the night, he had ripped his arm open on his goose feather pillow. The resulting hemorrhage had left the sheets and pillows covered in blood. Now I had heard some far fetched stories in my time, and also met some mighty thin skinned Collingwood supporters, but this story really pushed the boundaries of credulity to the maximum.

      When Carol finally made her entrance, we were all a little relieved to see that she was still alive. Maybe there was some truth to David's story after all. In any case, David spent the rest of breakfast time, staring into space with a blank look of terror on his face. Apparently it was the time of the Grand Final in Melbourne, and he had somehow tuned his hearing aid into the Internet in order to follow the proceedings.

      This was all very well, but every time someone tried to talk to him, he replied with a huge shout. It was obvious that he had no idea of how loud he was talking. At one stage, the owner of the hotel down the street, came into the room to ask if we could keep the shouting down a little as his guests were getting rather unnerved at the noise.

      David did not finally settle until he announced that the final bell had sounded and that Collingwood had won by four points. I guess that sent thousands of bogan supporters into a toothless delirium. It was only later that I read that they only won because of an umpiring howler in the final 2 minutes of the game.

      We finally started riding on the last leg of our Lake Constance circuit at the later than usual time of 9.30am. It was a little sad that we would soon be parting company with these bikes that had served us so well. At least the weather was still perfect, although the sky was a little cloudier than the previous few days.

      The route itself held no great challenges, but the scenery was quite superb. At about the half way point, several of the women started demanding a toilet stop, after all they had ridden for over 15 km without a break. I tried to communicate this request to Gordon, but somehow the peloton split into two (and remained that way for the rest of the ride).

      The rear half of the group stopped at a lakeside cafe for coffee, cake and toilets, while the front half disappeared into the distance.

      All too soon we were rolling back into the familiar territory of Konstanz. We crossed the Swiss/German border without even noticing it, parked the bikes for the final time and went in search of lunch.

      Tomorrow, we have a very early start as we travel to Dijon. We will finally be leaving Germany and entering France - our home for the remainder of the trip.
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    • Day 39

      Crossing the Bodensee

      September 25, 2023 in Germany ⋅ 🌙 15 °C

      As much as we loved the time we had in Ulm, it was time for us to move on to the next stop on our journey. We will now be leaving the Danube and heading south to the famous Lake Constance. Our plan is to ride clockwise around this huge inland sea, starting and finishing in the city of Constance (or is it Konstanz ?).

      Our first task was to get our group of 8 and their huge pile of luggage from our hotel in the centre of Ulm, to the railway station. Due to our advancing ages and deteriorating state of health, the decision was made to order two taxis to help us get to the station without further ruining our bodies.

      After checking out of the hotel, we waited for the two taxis to arrive. We didn't have to wait long before two luxurious Mercedes Benz station wagons cruised to a stop near the front door. It looks like being a taxi driver is quite a prosperous occupation in Germany.

      We had been previously told by the helpful lady at hotel reception that the fare would be 8 Euro. Not bad we thought. The luggage was piled aboard, and soon we were on our way. During the short journey I had been watching the meter to make sure we were charged the correct amount. When we arrived at the station, the meter registered 9.70 Euros. This was a bit higher than we expected, but we could pay 10 Euro and thus allow a small tip.

      It was at that point that a quick push on a secret button somewhere magically doubled the price shown to almost 18 Euro. Strange but true. I have seen some shifty taxi operators in my time, but this was blatant extorsion. Carol also noticed the deception, but did not know what to say. We paid the inflated amount, but it really left a sour taste in our mouths. Now we knew how the taxi company could afford such expensive vehicles.

      When the second taxi pulled up, we found that their driver had only charged 12 Euro. Apparently his vehicle did not have the secret "daylight robbery" button.

      We managed to manhandle our luggage to the correct station platform, and then load it onto the correct train. That was the easy part. Finding our allocated seats and then finding anywhere to store our luggage - that was the real challenge. About 10 minutes was spent dangerously wobbling around the swaying carriage, while trying to locate a numbered seat and avoid falling into some random German's lap.

      Somehow we survived the 60 minute ride to Friedrichshafen, but it was a somewhat stressful trip. At the destination, we then had the challenge of having to quickly unload our mountain of luggage onto the platform. We were all glad to be out in the brilliant sunshine and fresh air.

      The next stage was to catch a ferry across Lake Constance (The Bodensee) to Constance city. That was a dream by comparison to the train trip. The voyage was smooth and fast, and 1 hour later we were walking off the boat in Constance.

      Although it was too early to check in to our hotel, we decided to at least drop our luggage there. It was only a short walk from the ferry terminal, and when we found the hotel, our luggage was not the only thing that was dropped. The opulence of the hotel entrance and foyer was not what we were expecting. The Budget Ibis it certainly was not.

      All around was polished wood, proclaiming a long and proud history. The breakfast room was enough to send the females into raptures and a session of rapid photo taking. I think it would be safe to say that everyone was happy.

      The rest of the day was spent wandering the area near the hotel. Initial impressions of the city were extremely favourable, and the location by the side of the lake was breathtaking.

      In the evening, the clear skies gave the 3/4 moon a chance for us to see how different it was from the moon we are familiar with in Australia.

      Tomorrow is a free day to further explore the area near Constance.
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    • Day 9

      Konstanz

      March 31 in Germany ⋅ ☁️ 14 °C

      Nach einer ruhigen Nacht in einem Wohngebiet direkt am Bodensee, ging es für eine Runde durch die Altstadt. Zuerst zur Dominikaner Insel, dann zur Imperia, schließlich in die Altstadt und zum Konstanzer Münster (Münster Unserer Lieben Frau). Mit Hilfe einiger Labcaches konnten wir wohl die meisten Sehenswürdigkeiten besuchen.Read more

    • Day 12

      Tag 12 - Kostanz Zusammenfassung

      December 13, 2021 in Germany ⋅ ⛅ 3 °C

      Was ein geiler Tag!
      Das Wetter war großartig und ich bin ca 50 km nach Friedrichshafen (über Lindau) gefahren und dort mit dem Katamaran nach Konstanz übergesetzt!
      Konstanz ist wirklich unglaublich schön - eine tolle Universitätsstadt!
      Bin noch etwas unschlüssig, wie es Morgen weiter geht aber ich bin guter Dinge, das es wohl nicht kälter werden soll…
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    • Day 9

      Konstanz

      July 28, 2022 in Germany ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C

      Heute stand die Stadt Konstanz auf der Tagesordnung. Ich bin hier vor einigen Jahren mal durch gefahren und da dachte ich schon, dass man hier noch mal extra her muss. Jupp, hat sich gelohnt. Zum Glück spielt auch das Wetter mit. Entlang des Rheins (Rheinpromenade) ging es an die Promenade im Stadtgarten am Bodensee zur Imperia.

      Die Imperia ist eine Statue im Hafen von Konstanz am Bodensee. Die Figur ist aus Beton gegossen, neun Meter hoch, 18 Tonnen schwer und dreht sich mit Hilfe eines Rundtisches innerhalb von vier Minuten einmal um die eigene Achse. Die Statue der Imperia erinnert satirisch an das Konzil von Konstanz (1414–1418). Sie zeigt eine üppige Kurtisane, der ein tiefes Dekolleté und ein Umhang, der nur von einem Gürtel notdürftig geschlossen wird, eindeutige erotische Ausstrahlung verleihen. Auf ihren erhobenen Händen trägt sie zwei zwergenhafte nackte Männlein. Der Mann in ihrer rechten Hand trägt auf seinem Haupt die Krone eines Königs und hält einen Reichsapfel in der Hand; die Figur in ihrer Linken trägt eine päpstliche Tiara und sitzt mit übereinandergeschlagenen Beinen. In Kürze entwickelte sich die Imperia zu einer Touristenattraktion und zu einem Wahrzeichen der Stadt. Es dürfte sich zudem um das weltweit größte Denkmal für eine Prostituierte handeln.

      Im Anschluss ging es durch die Stadt, wo es in einer Seitenstraße lecker war zu Futtern gab.

      Am Altrhein bin ich zum Abschluss des Besuchs in der Schweiz noch eine kleine Runde geradelt und konnte dabei 8 Döschen finden.
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    • Day 6

      Endlich Sonne in D

      May 3, 2023 in Germany ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C

      Endlich mal den ganzen Tag Sonne. Wir sind nach Konstanz gefahren und haben sightseeing genossen. Eine sehr schöne Stadt mit vielen gemütlichen Ecken und sehr unterschiedlichen, liebevollen gestalteten CaféRead more

    • Day 3

      Regenschauer und Kaffee

      September 15, 2022 in Germany ⋅ ☁️ 20 °C

      Auf dem Weg nach Friedrichshafen hat uns ein mächtiger Regenschauer auf den Rad erwischt. Also wieder Konstanz, Kaffe oder sonst was, dann weiter mit dem Rad und Fähre ins Zeppelinmuseum Friedrichshafen, zurück über Insel Mainau - das ist eigentlich der Plan für heute, - aber wir sind ja sehr flexibelRead more

    • Day 2

      Ein Tag am Bodensee - Konstanz

      September 14, 2022 in Germany ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C

      Eigentlich wollten wir nur zum Strandbad laufen, war aber so schön, dass wir dann doch bis Konstanz am Strand/Ufer entlang gelaufen sind. Wetter war dann auch wieder besser.
      Unterwegs noch Mädchen-Männer Steintürmchen gebaut u d von großen Steinen fast den Fuß verloren.
      Unglaublich wirklich alte und Hohe Bäume dort, die uns aber nicht als typisch deutsch erschienen.

      Konstanz hat eine echt geile Altstadt mit vielen Häusern von ca. 13.und 14. Jahrhundert.
      Ganz viele tolle Geschäfte, viele mit nachhaltiger Auswahl. Waren dann dummerweise im Shoppingrausch wie Cord Latzhose für Janine und 007-D. Craig Jacke für mich.
      Zurück sind wir mit einem Mietroller gefahren, auch cool, aber Bus wäre günstiger gewesen, Taxi wohl eher nicht.
      Jetzt müssen wir am zweiten Tag schon nach Hause fahren, weil pleite. Heute Abend hats nur noch für eine Dose Suppe mit Nudeln gereicht 😢
      Jetzt noch Nachtisch wie Mr. Tom, Eietlikörchen und...
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