Biking through 3 countries around the Lake Constance (Bodensee)

St. Margrethen (CH) – Bregenz (Austria) – Lindau (Germany) – Wasserburg – Langenargen – Friedrichshafen
Distance: 54km

Since last year we plan to cycle around Lake Constance bit by bit. We bike slowly, combining physical exercise with sightseeing, looking left and right, and dropping by beautiful places along the way. So we don’t cover a long distance, but we discover a lot on the way.

Today we started from St. Margrethen, a Swiss border town, and cycled peacefully along the River Rhein.  Within half an hour we saw a border sign saying that we were about to cross over to Austria. For me, a Japanese who was born on an island, it still feels strange to cross countries so easily, even after a couple of decades of living abroad.

After the beautiful lake promenade, we arrived in Bregenz, a large town with an apparently well-known theatre festival and large museums. Lots of people were sitting in open-air cafes and restaurants under the sun which created a resort-like feeling.

We biked uphill to explore a charming, but quiet old-town inside the fortification wall. Impressive half-timbered buildings and old wooden entrance doors were here and there. But we can see people still live behind these antic doors. It feels that time stands still here.

We had a quite OK sushi lunch in a small restaurant called “Sakura” for 13 Euro per person. That’s about the price of a starter in Switzerland.

On the way to Lindau, we crossed the German border without really noticing it. We skipped the island of Lindau, famous for its flower garden, and cycled to Wasserburg, a charming lakeside town with a large church and restaurants. Lots of people were enjoying the sun around the port.

By this time we have developed a new cycling regime between us. We decide on the next stop and cycle off. Each of us rides his or her rhythm and looks at what s/he wants. Later we meet at the agreed place, take a break, have a coffee, and discuss the next meeting point.

The next stop was Langenargen with an impressive lake-side castle under restoration.

We biked to today’s last destination, Friedrichshafen, and took a 40-minute ferry to Romanshorn on the Swiss side, enjoying the expansive lake-view.

It was a beautiful bike tour, with nice lake-side paths and woods as well as historical towns along the way.