Adventures in Überlingen

Everywhere we went, there were boats lined up on the Bodensee.  This was taken while we were waiting for a ferry to Überlingen. 

 

Überlingen was by far my favorite town.  As you can see below, there was a main shopping street with a bit of character.  It was also the only town that we stopped at (aside from Konstanz) that had a boardwalk on the Bodensee.  We ended up eating dinner right next to the walking path, and with a great view of the Lake.

 A story about Brot:  The restaurant that we had dinner at (I believe it was called Anna's Cafe)  did not have English menus.  This was typical for 2/3 of the restaurants we looked at.  This was our 6th day of our German-speaking vacation, so we recognized some words.  Our waitress at Anna's was nice, but we didn't want her to translate the menu for us.  We knew that Pff***** was the word for mushrooms, mit means with, kartoff is potato, etc.  We saw "Ensalat mit Brot" and we both had Bratwurst on the brain.  What would be better than a Bratwurst salad??!  Surely "Brot" was a shortened version of "Bratwurst."  Maybe it was in small patties instead of the traditional hot dog shape.  Needless to say, Brot is bread in German, it has nothing to do with Brats.  (And do you notice the o vs a?  We did not.)  Regardless of our mix-up, the salads were great and was a good change from the massive carbs and fats that we loaded on from spaeztle, brats, schnitzels, etc.

We watched the Sunset over the Bodensee (Lake).  The best part is that we could hear a 2 man band sing their songs at a nearby restaurant.  Their melody was the same for every song, but they used English lyrics from songs from the 90s, including a song about the Appalachian Mountains, one about the US South, and I think a Texas song.  It was fun to sing along.

Biking Tour days 1&2: Reichenau and Öhningen

It took us two detours until we realized that there was a bike path (usually separated from the road) that ran all around the Lake.  This is the trail we took to get to Reichenau: there were marshes on both sides of the road, and it was a GREAT location for a first day!

Reichenau was picturesque to say the least.  It is 4.5 km x 1.5 km, has only 5000 residence, and its bike paths took us past all/most of the gardens and green houses.  Most plots of farmland had an amazing view of the Lake.

We then took a boat from Reichenau to eventually get to our final destination of Öhningen.  Below is a picture of the houses across the street from our hotel (which was really like a B&B).  The yellow house had its door open the whole time we ate dinner (alfresco in the front of the hotel) and had a puppy running in & out.  The one thing I could not take pictures of was the fact that Öhningen is on top of a steep hill.  The battery on my bike was well-used while going up a series of hills.     

 The next day, crossed the Rhein into Switzerland.  It was a VERY scenic ride.  And I heard the bell of this goat before I saw it!  Swiss goat cheese, anyone?

 I of course had to have a photo shoot with the Swiss cows that make Swiss cheese.  We passed orchards, fields, vegetables.  We rode through quaint old towns with a lot of history.

 And we passed a Bernina factory!  I was tempted to stop and ask for a tour, but until this point, the locals' English was not good - even those in restaurants and the hotels.  (That was by far the best part of the trip.  We vacationed where the Germans vacationed!)  I figured my chances of being able to communicate were slim.

Adventures in Konstanz

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.)

Adventures in Sonthofen

Sonthofen is the second most southern town in Germany.  It initially appeared to be a retirement community, but I think it turns into a haven for skiiers once the winter season rolls around.  We arrived in the early afternoon, but the reception at the hotel didn't open for several hours.  (We of course, were notified of this after carrying our luggage a mile to the hotel, and couldn't get in.  I was half tempted to leave my suitcase under a bench.  We rolled back to the pub near the train station and had Bratworst and a beer for lunch.  (A-maz-ing!) 

 

  

 

Everything was closed on Sunday.  Luckily I found a nearby town that had a cable car to the top of the Alps!  We were able to hike around for a few hours before heading back down.  You might be able to see a little bit of snow in the background slopes.

This guy knew what it was all about.  I loved the hat & bow tie, but was a little disappointed he didn't go full out with the lederhosen.  As we hiked around, I was able to give a little yodel.  It wasn't loud enough to echo, but who else do you know that has yodeled in the Alps?

As we walked around Sonthofen a little more, I happen to laugh at some of the signs around town.  Unfortunately, Kid shits was closed.

The local brewery was closed, but the restaurant attached wasn't!  The beer was delicious, and we were able to spot it at a few of our Lake Constance stops.

Adventures in Zurich

It has been a long time since I blogged, but I need to show my family my European Adventures!  The first stop was Zurich.  We spent 2 nights in a business hotel, two blocks from the train station.  Despite the fact that we had 36 hour transit passes (buses, trains, trams, and a few boats), we walked for miles our first day.  My favorite was Old Town Zurich: cobblestone paths, streets too narrow for cars, flags posted every where.

The heart of Zurich sits at the top of a lake, with a river running through it.  We climbed the spiral staircase in the Grossmunster (the Protestant church) tower: oh the views!  Pictured above is the view across the river from Grossmunter, and below a view from the tower.  I just loved looking at the houses, check out the chevron patterns!

 We took a train to Kilchberg to head to the Lindt chocolate factory.  You might think of chocolate when you think of Switzerland, but they sadly closed the "Chocolate Museum" and didn't have any tours available.  I guess there aren't a lot of American tourists in Zurich.  I was able to restrain myself from taking pictures of workers on break. As we approached the Lindt Outlet Store, the air smelled like chocolate.  I think I gained 5 pounds just crossing the street!  As we walked, there were flowers in most of the windows.  I just love the Swiss flags!

 We took a train to the top of a hill, with a view of Zurich.  What I didn't know was that after the train there were miles and miles of hiking trails available. 

 We were able to have dinner with a view of Lake Zurich.  I had the best dinner: large spaetzel wrapped in spinach topped with crisp prociutto in a cream sauce.  I like it so much the chef wrote down the name.  (I said too many English words that none of the servers knew.  They told me to use the internet for a recipe.)