Bike Ride Germany to Austria

Week of July 19th was definitely long as I was trying to back to the routine. It seemed like our communication was a bit off and Sabine asked if work was too much. I later explained to her that I was just exhausted from having a very early flight with no sleep and then a 10 hour day with them. Once we talked this over and everyone was feeling that there was no real issues (just some communication problems) we were back on track. This weekend was the only one off between the two trips, I wasn't sure what to do or where to go.

 Friday evening, Liam and I went to Nick's for dinner in Hagnau. This is the second time that I showed up unannouced and didn't bring anything. Bad form on my part. The food was delicious and Nick makes these killer potatoes.

After dinner we had a couple of drinks. Liam had more than a couple, but I made sure I was drinking Coke and water! We had a really great time with lots of conversations.

Went to bed around 3a and I was feeling ok, but Liam had a bit much to drink and would be feeling it in the morning. Feel bad for the guy.

The next day, July 25, I woke up pretty early and headed back to the house. Figuring out what I was going to do today, Sabine mentioned that I could go on a hike in Bregenz, Austria or ride my bike to Lindau, Germany. Instead, I decided to bike to Bregenz and then hike when I got there.

The roundtrip was 50 km on the bike (31 miles). The way there I wasn't sure exactly the route and followed the signs as best I could. Most of the path was pretty self explanatory but some parts just didn't point in the right direction, so I would take a longer route or realized one time I had to back track. The weather was positively perfect and I couldn't have asked for much more.

I had to pass through a few towns in order to arrive in Austria. The route was mostly on Lake  Constance and I was able to see each town from a different view. Down here it is so beautiful, sometimes I forget the ease of the lifestyle.

I started in Langenargen then crossed a bridge over to Kressborn. Here it is all Yachts and storage for the boats. Passsed a couple of beer gardens on the way and the food smelled delicious. Also there are some really great beaches to layout on.

Passing through Vineyards. Nick is a bit of a wine snob and dislikes many of the wines in Southern Germany. He says that they pick the grapes to early since there is so much rain here. I would agree with him on the wine down here, not the best, ordered a white and it takes a bit like water. The reds are much better.

Although the towns are all on the lake, they are all very different from one another. I believe Langenargen to be among the most beautiful.  Arriving in Lindau...

Next stop is Bregenz!

Crossing along the railway, I am headed directly to the town. I start feeling a bit hunger and happy that I packed a PB & J as well as some fruit.

Arrive and first stop is the Festspielhaus, wanted to check it out back in May when I came before and it rained. This houses concerts and preformances on the water. Here they must have just ended a show the week of? Looks like they are tearing down this set up.

Walked in town for a bit, very active with people selling nick nacks. Then I got one scoop of ice cream.

Decided to ride up to the Pfander instead of hike, still had to bike it back. I would go down the Mountain.

View from Cable Car on a clear day.

Sabine and the kids went the hawk show...apparently so did I!

Once I got to the top, I messed around taking some photos.

The weather up top was very pleasant, but still a little foggy.

I didn't have a map of the surrounding trails, but there were many signs that said how far they were. I felt that if I spent too much time on one of the trails I would have enough time to hike down or ride the bike back.

We wanted to try to meet up with one another, but I wasn't sure what time the Hawk Show would end.

I headed towards the trail to go down, I wasn't sure how long it would be til the bottom and would like to allow some time for error, taking photos, and pacing myself.

The hike down was better than I imagined, waterfalls and was able to pass along people houses that lived up on the hill.

The mountain was not as busy as I expected it to be.

When I reached the bottom. I located my bike and went to this Mexican restaurant on the lake front. Sabine said that they really love to go there, so I thought a chance that she was there with the kids. No such luck. I started biking back and I knew the road ahead. There is this one part in Nonnenhorn that is a steep incline. My knee was starting to twitch before reaching Lindau so I looked into a train. The price for a person is 3 Euro, with a bike it is 6 Euro...I was wondering why they think of a bike as a person. I can bike back and get the exercise. Also I would be able to spend 6 Euro at one of the beer gardens or a place to eat!

In Lindau while taking a rest, some old lady asked me about my bike and how much I paid for it (in German of course). I was a bit confused as to why she would ask that. I told her that it was a friends that I was visiting and it is theirs. She presisted to know how much the bike cost, and predicted 2k to 3k Euro. I told her that the bike is fairly old and not sure.

Really happy that I did this, some parts were a little painful, but now I biked from Germany to Austria and back. The day was most satisfactory and I felt ready for my trip 3 week trip to Scandinavia.