Konstanz, Germany was the start and stop city of our biking tour. (We also biked through it on day 2.) A friend (who married a German and has been over there plenty of times) suggested visiting Lake Konstanz. I found the tour without remembering this, so it was fate when I looked at her list of suggestions.
The first day of Konstanz was surreal. I felt like I was in the German part of Disney World - but it was better. The buildings were real, you turn a corner and there are more old world buildings. One thing is for sure: Germans need to brush up on their map making skills. Streets weren't labelled, telling someone to "turn right after a couple blocks" didn't help when we weren't sure which direction (of 5 options) to initially head. Oh but it was worth it. We got there in the early afternoon so we had a lot of time to explore.
The hotel in Konstanz was nice. It was an old building decorated with old-world Germany. The restaurant inside was decorate with antlers and wood. The ceiling in the hallway had familial coats of arms painted on it.
And the beer! Beer was cheaper to order in most restaurants than water, so we expanded our taste buds with beer at lunch and dinner. (For financial reasons, of course. Right, Dad?) I'm not sure if this is Germany-wide or local, but we had "Cola-weizen" which is Hefeweizen with cola flavoring in it. The cola syrup made the beer sugary and it tasted more like a root beer float. (Cola beer float?) Don't worry, we tried to walk and bike those calories off.
And throughout the trip, there were signs (literally) that made me think of friends and family. Mimi's was a clothing store. I saw an SDK vacation agency. Lombardi's is a popular realty company in Italy. There was a Klein bakery in Sonthofen. There was a store called Memphisto. Oh, and I saw a few Kodak signs (some in closed store fronts and others open.)
No comments:
Post a Comment