3 countries in one day

April 29, 2023

Near Konstanz to Hoerbranz

The family next door were perfectly quiet and the bed was actually comfortable so I was probably a bit harsh on our sleep prospects particularly as my snoring probably kept John awake. I blame my cold that I picked up a few days ago.

The lovely kids from the room next door desperately trying to kill each other on their faux farm machinery.

Last night we rode to the adjoining village and ate with the smoking locals in a family run bar/ restaurant. After alphabet noodle soup there was potato Rosti with veal in a cream sauce that was hearty and tasty and thankfully had no discernible cheese in it. It wasn’t until we went to pay that we realised they only took cash and we’d left that back 2 kms up the road. ‘No problems, just drop it in on your way through tomorrow.’

We leave Switzerland today, heading along and across Lake Constance, briefly staying in Germany before entering Austria. My observations of the Swiss are that they are a conservative but friendly bunch that have a social conscience. Unlike Australia they have regular referendums and mostly favour the common good over personal benefit. Recently there was a referendum on whether to get rid of the fee they all pay ($500 Aust) for free to air TV as more and more are use streaming services. But they voted to maintain it as they felt it very important to maintain a Swiss presence on television and didn’t want the service to deteriorate. I don’t think that would happen in Oz.

Do not fall asleep on a Swiss train platform waiting for your train. You won’t hear it coming. They are incredibly quiet and run to the second.

Swiss toilet paper is of the highest quality and tears perfectly on the perforation every time. I give it 5 stars.

Do not come to Switzerland if you have cholesterol issues. You will probably die.

We rode into the town of Konstanz and caught a ferry across to the northern shore of the lake and onto the Bodensee bike path. The ferry was packed with people and bikes out enjoying a sunny spring Saturday. The weather seems to have turned and I’m down to only 2 layers for the first time this trip.

The obligatory ferry photo in case you don’t believe me or have never seen a ferry or both.

The Bodensee bike bath goes all the 220 kilometres around the lake but we’re only going for about a quarter of that before we peel off to head towards Munich.
It’s been another tardy start for us with me telling John how I hate it when people fart ass around and then proceeded to do exactly that. I also lost my back light somewhere in Switzerland as I think the band holding it broke so I managed to waste 40 minutes in a bike shop getting a new one. I wanted a bright flashing light but that apparently is illegal in Germany. It can be a maximum of 30 lumens and can’t flash due some arcane 60 year old law devised by blokes driving black utes with motor bikes in the tray who hate cyclists.

I thought we’d be hugging the lakeshore but we spent more time adjacent to roads or away from water than we did next to it. And there were so many riders out enjoying the sunshine you couldn’t relax. The path was wide and smooth but so many people. I’d hate to see it mid summer. It made the ride less enjoyable than I thought it would be but still better than going to work.

We had a loaf from yesterday and some cheese and salami so we found a nice little church courtyard just off the path and had lunch in the shade. We tried buy a tomato from a nearby fruit stall but the vendor refused unless we bought the bunch. As we walked out sans tomato another customer asked her a question in German that I didn’t understand but she got abused as well and stormed out. The tomatoes looked so good. I pity the shop ladies dog.

At Lindau we turned off the main path to head the last ten kms to our Pension. We were both running out of gas so stopped in a rather dodgy bar attached to a snooker hall that had poker machines and a dance floor and a few unsavory characters milling around. Somehow our order of apple cider turned into a non alcoholic beer that tasted like they’d emptied the ashtrays from the pool hall into it. I noticed two more pool halls in the next hundred metres so maybe pool hall in German means brothel.

The last few kms were uphill. We got a room each and an en-suite. A slight improvement on the previous nights lodgings.

One of the few times we were by the lake.

I found it hard going today from the get go which happens sometimes. But as they say in the classics tomorrow is another day.

Today's ride: 72 km (45 miles)
Total: 513 km (319 miles)

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Rosie WindsorMmmmm tough day ? from your angle A bit negative- nancy
But it looked great from mine.
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11 months ago

Dennis LangleyWas a bit. Some days you’re just not so into it, although it doesn’t happen much.
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11 months ago