August 15, 2019
Auf Wiedersehen Deutschland, hallo Österreich
Sun and rain from Friedrichshafen to Bregenz
It was an uneventful departure from Friedrichshafen this morning. Our group did not get lost one time today! The skies were cloudy but in a few minutes it turned into a light rain. That rain would follow us on and off for most of the day. It was light and did not affect my ride.
The cycle path continues to be in very nice condition, flat, and relatively easy to follow. Our first stop this morning was Kressbonn. There was some sort of a children's arts and crafts festival taking place. We locked our bikes and set off to explore the village. This is another one of those picturesque lakeside resort towns with beautiful colorful buildings and a very picturesque harbor.
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There was a farmers market taking place on the edge of the harbor. It was quite interesting. In addition to fruits and vegetables, there were breads, pastries, meats, fish, cheese, sausage, flowers and several food vendors. Everything looked delicious. Many residents were out shopping. Since it was not quite mid-morning, we decided to pass on a coffee and cake break. I know that is hard to believe.
At about noon, we pulled into the Insel Lindau. It was a quite busy tourist destination. As with other German lakeside cities, the streets were lined with very nice shops, dining, and bakeries. The waterfront was especially picturesque. All of these lakeside towns have ferrys that connect them to towns around the lake. It was a little past lunch, we decided to to eat at a lakefront Italian Cafe. It was surprisingly reasonable.
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We cycled a short distance across the German border and into Austria. Our destination for the night was Bregenz, Austria. This is a large city of 60,000 people. Hotel Germania, our hotel, was only two blocks from the harbor.
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This is known as the festival city. It is named so for its summer music festival. The highlight of this festival is a large floating stage and open air lakefront theater where an Opera takes place. This stage was something that I really wanted to see. The distance was just a little farther than my companions and I were willing to travel in the rain.
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The disappointing thing about Bregenz is that today is a Austrian national holiday, the Assumption of Mary. Almost every store is closed. It was difficult to even find a coffee shop that was open.
Radweg Reisen included tickets for a cable car ride above the city. It was rainy when I departed the station. I did not have much hope of seeing very far once I reached the mountaintop. I was surprised as the rain began to clear. After an afternoon cake and coffee in the mountaintop restaurant, the skies had cleared with some lingering clouds to some beautiful views of the Alps and alpine meadows.
We opted to finish the day eating at our Hotel Germania Restaurant. It was quite good. This day was typical of many other this tour. The cycling was good despite the intermittent rain. The scenery was amazing since we hugged the shores.
Tomorrow we head into Switzerland. Our destination a Saint Gallen. It looks like we're going to have some elevation to climb. The tour provider has given us tickets for a train that will take us for some distance into the Alps before we reach Saint Gallen.
Today's ride: 25 miles (40 km)
Total: 180 miles (290 km)
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