I took a solo excursion to Lake Constance, known by the Swabian Germans as the Bodensee, a couple of weeks ago, and fell for the "seaside" ancient town of Meersburg. Konstanz itself (the big town) was cool too, and really did have the feel of a late season resort town on a gulf somewhere, rather than a large lake sitting directly below and in sight of -- on a clear day, anyway -- the Swiss Alps.
Hey, this is a gallery window on the stately main drag of Konstanz, therefore it's art. Stop giggling now. Besides, my night on the town was kind of a bust - standing there taking this photo was the most fun I had!
I don't know how many hostels are this cool, but I dig the whole converted-water-tower thing. In my very first hostel experience, I checked in to an empty room, went out for the night, and greeting me when I flipped on the light at 2am was an old german dude in one bunk with little to nothing on. I managed to not look closely. He bantered on in German for awhile, even after I made it clear that I speak "nicht Deutsch", so thankfully the ipod was on hand.
And the view I looked out to in the morning mist? Something I didn't detect when I walked up at night...a freakin' cemetary next door! Good morning campers - look to your left now for a view of the deceased and contemplate mortality as you break fast for the day. Yowzah.
Those of you who know me well can imagine the supreme coincidence of staying in a neighborhood of Konstanz named apparently for the greatest jamming rock band that ever did exist. I'm going to have to write Gregg and ask what he knows of the pre-redneck family tree.
Just a local church. Mein Gott, do I love Germany sometimes.
It was full-blown election season at this point, one week from the big day, and campaign posters abounded. They were rarely billboard size, though. Here's the eventual big winner, in the standard 'look nice and smile for the camera' pose that must be mandated by German election law. Really, every poster is large and has a full photo of the candidate...they dotted the whole long walk I take each day to the base. It's far more entertaining than our boring and ubiquitous name placards...I put words in their mouths and imagine what pearls of wisdom they dispense. Good times.
The Allmansdorf neighborhood and harbor in the rearview, I headed off on a Sunday morning ferry for Meersburg, across that piece of the Bodensee. Rain came in bunches, and it did not look like a promising day for wandering, but I was determined.
Who let the sporty Irishman on the boat? He must be suffering an identity crisis, pre-lederhosen.
The vineyards of Meersburg's surroundings hills emerged from the mist only minutes after departing. The lake is crisscrossed by ferries all over the place...it's the efficient way to travel in the area, unless you sport gills instead of boring old lungs. I wonder if my Aquaman underoos would have helped.
I wish more local maps were this cool. A 3-D wood carving of the area showed some routes at the small ferry terminal. They moved like clockwork, transported cars on and off more efficiently than anything you've ever seen, and had hot coffee and cold beer inside. Again, they got it right!
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