On the shores of the Bodensee
Trip Start
Apr 10, 2010
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4
Trip End
Apr 16, 2010
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Bregenz, Austrian Alps, Austria
Saturday, April 10, 2010
We arrived at the hotel just as the news broke that the Polish president and over 90 other important Polish dignitaries had died in a plane crash in Smolensk. A rather somber way to begin a holiday.
We ventured off to the Old Town which is, as way to many European Old Towns are, straight up a hill. We walked up the old part of the city and were enchanted by the onion domed buildings, the pretty facades, and the un-touristed cobbled streets. Everything was in bloom so the streets were awash with color.
We continued our walk by going up the funicular which took us to the highest point in the area. From there we could see the Swiss Alps - as well as wild pigs. They were in a pen, and they looked like they were recovering after a night of revelry on wine and chocolates.We returned to the center to have dinner and were thrilled to find that "Asparagus season" had begun in Austria. Our dinner was in an old pub where we were served fresh asparagus in pepper sauce with grilled pork steaks. So delicious that we would return the next evening and have the same darn thing. And it was just as good the second time!
Awakened by Sunday churchbells, after a stunning breakfast, we headed off by train to Lindau, Germany - an 11 minute train ride. Lindau is an island off the German coast of the Bodensee. We enjoyed sitting out and having a beer under the magnolia trees while the sparrows chattered and watched carefully for the stray crumbs to fall from tables. We then climbed the lighthouse for a good view of the town. The wind at the top was so strong that I thought that we were going to be blown into the lake!
After the stress of gale force winds we went walking through the alleys of the town. We came across a lovely little church with 11th century frescoes. What was interesting was that there was also a war memorial inside. As you will see in the photos, the memorial is to the war dead in the Second World War. By many of the names you will see the SS insignia. Rather incongruous to have such a lovely church and SS memorials on the same site. Actually, just rather eerie.
We finished up our trip to Lindau with a boat tour. We had just enough time to delight in Apple Strudel in hot vanilla sauce before boarding the boat - where we froze our butts off. The only good view was the one of the harbor which we left. We endured 90 minutes of gale force winds and views of frozen Swiss bogs. Not a highlight. Sometimes it is better to forego such experiences and just fantacize about what it might have been like. I think that for our boat ride, this was clearly the case....
