Lovely Lindau

---

Wednesday 26th June

The rail connections to get from Mulhouse in France to Lindau in Germany can be rather complicated, and can involve numerous changes. I opted for the least changes, which meant a TGV to Zurich, then a EuroCity train from there to Lindau. So it was four countries for the day, being France, Switzerland, Austria and Germany. The three latter countries all have part of Lake Constance. It was a hot day, and the air conditioning on the trains struggled, especially the second train, which was crowded and hot. It was a locomotive-hauled train, a rare beast in Australia but still very common in Europe. It stopped at the Swiss-Austrian border to change from a Swiss locomotive and crew to a German locomotive and crew. I had an hour and a half stopover in Zurich to have lunch and look around a bit, but with luggage and a 35 degree temperature, I didn't go far.

Lindau is an interesting and very beautiful place. The old town sits on an island in the lake, with only a road bridge and a rail bridge connecting it to the main lake shore. It features a beautiful boat harbour, the entrance of which is flanked by a famous pair, a lighthouse and a lion statue. It's a very touristy place, but in the evenings when the day trippers leave, it is more peaceful. I chose a hotel in the old town, just opposite the railway station, just 50 metres from the harbour. It's a lovely old town to walk around, especially in the evening when it has cooled off a bit. There's a walking path almost the whole way around shore of the island. Many medieval buildings remain, some of the old city wall, and a one thousand year old church. A very photogenic place. I climbed up to the top of the lighthouse (not as high as the last two! – see previous blogs) for the great view over the harbour and town.

Google showed me a few restaurants with GF options, and I chose one which actually had the menu marked with GF options – a first for this trip! Turns out the restaurant owner is from Gosford – unbelievable! Well, he was born in Gosford but his German parents took the family back to Germany when he was four. He has lived in Germany, France and Australia, and can switch instantly between the three languages. He does have a genuine Australian accent. We spoke in French and English.

After dinner it was still quite hot and I took a walk along the beautiful lakeside. There's no beach on this part of the lake, there's kind of a seawall. I came across a few swimmers here and there who had accessed the water, and finding a set of steps down into the water, I removed shoes and had a cooling dip, up to the knees at least.

The hotel room has a desk fan, and with the temperature cooling off at night, and open windows, I slept well.



Thursday 27th June

Today's plan was to visit the Zeppelin Museum in Friedrichshafen, further west along the lake. By far the best way to get there was to get out on the lake on one of the numerous ferry services, so I bought a return ticket and headed off. It was nice and cool moving across the water, and the lake shore view was very pleasant. The trip took an hour and a half, with about five stops along the way at various pretty towns and villages. The sun was really hot by the time I reached Friedrichshafen at about 10 o'clock.

The museum is right next to the wharf and I headed inside. A very interesting museum indeed, the highlight being that they have constructed a reproduction of a part of the Hindenburg, including the Bauhaus lounge and some cabins, as well as a part of the internal structure, showing the girders, bracing, exterior covering, gas bags, etc. There is also a lot of memorabilia from the days of the Zeppelins, and an interesting history of airships in general, with many scale models and historical artefacts.

After the museum visit I had my picnic lunch in a shady park by the lakeside. Out of the sun the heat wasn't too bad, but a breeze would have helped – like you get on a moving boat!

The boat ride back was pleasant but shade was the main priority on deck – outside was better than inside temperature-wise. I managed to get a seat in a spot that was shady most of the trip, except during calls at intermediate wharves when the ship changed direction.

Yesterday during my walk I had come across the Stadtgarten, and decided that it was the coolest spot in town, with deep shaded lawns and a fountain cooling the air. So this afternoon I took advantage of the free bus to go there and enjoy the relative cool. It was nice on the grass near the fountain, and I had a bit of an afternoon snooze. Then I headed for the lake steps I had used yesterday, and it was swim time! Today I had dressed for a swim and it was really nice and cool in the water. Then the bus back to the hotel to tidy up and head out for dinner – which was Thai this time. It was still very warm at bedtime.



Friday 28th June

My train to Munich to pick up a rental car wasn't until noon, so after a bit of a sleep-in and breakfast at the hotel (German hotels always include breakfast) I went out for a walk around the western end of the island, which I hadn't visited before, and which was shady and cool in the morning. It was very pleasant to view the lake and enjoy the breeze off the water. I also visited the thousand year old church, which is now a war memorial. The church has amazing old wall murals which are fairly primitive in style, but very old. There are wooden plaques on the walls naming all the Lindau soldiers lost in the two World Wars, and also one plaque listing Lindau victims of the Nazi regime.

I ended up walking almost right across the island from west to east, and visited the two main churches, which are side by side, at the eastern end. Both churches were built before the Reformation, but now one is Catholic and one Protestant. Each has interesting features, the Catholic church is extraordinarily ornate inside, quite stunning. The Protestant church had a new interior done in the 18th Century (or 19th) which is in a rococo style, so the interior is lighter and not very decorative. It does have 200 year old pews, though.

Back to the hotel to pick up my bags and onto the train to Munich. The train was run by a private company, not DB, and the carriages were reconditioned older stock. No air conditioning, but with windows which opened! This was actually much better, as one had fresh air blowing in, and a better view for photos. The carriages had compartments too, which was nice. The train was not very crowded, and I had a good seat on the shady side. It was a very scenic trip, passing valleys and hills, lakes, fields, towns and villages, and with the Alps in the distance to the south. The line from Munich to Lindau is not electrified, so the train had a diesel locomotive, but they are working on extending the catenary south west from the Munich suburbs. There were sections of completely new catenary infrastructure – all new masts, posts, wires, tensioners, etc. Very interesting for me, as my model railway has German style catenary, which I assemble myself from parts, so it is very educative for me to study the prototype to see how they do everything.

I ate my picnic on the train today, and arrived in Munich just before 3pm. The rental desk guy was clearly stressed out. He didn't try to sell me any extras, which is unheard of! The car is an almost new red Ford Fiesta, much better to drive than the Opel Corsa I had in Brittany, and with 6 speeds, so even at 140 km/h on the autobahn, it was quiet. I can't figure out how to turn on the cruise control, and it doesn't have a reversing camera (the Opel did), but it has built-in GPS and is a much nicer car overall.

It was about a two hour trip down here to where I'm staying, near Berchtesgaden. It is absolutely beautiful here, with an Alp across from my window and a rushing stream in the gully between me and the mountain – just delightful. I had a superb dinner in the guesthouse restaurant, they were very helpful with GF. More on the Alps on the next blog post!

---