On your bikes, ready. Vacation! The Lake Constance bike story ONCE MIDDLE AGES AND BACK

Mixed feelings as the alarm clock rings. I am looking forward to enjoying the sun, fresh air, nature, and water again on this last day of the route. At the same time, there is regret that this is our last holiday day at Lake Constance before heading home. Outdoor activity on the bikes feels good physically. Above all, I feel happy with every ride anew, discovering something unknown or unexpected around each bend. Around Lake Constance it is wonderfully varied, and thanks to e-bikes, we dare longer sections without problems. Today means getting up early once more and taking the bikes on the train to Radolfzell on the northwestern shore of the Lower Lake, the start of today’s cycling tour.

Although the Lake Constance cycle path runs right behind Radolfzell station on the lake, we first take a detour into the old town of Radolfzell. It is early in the day and, since we don’t know how close to the train departure time in the evening we will be back here, we take the opportunity to explore the third-largest city on Lake Constance a little. We cycle through the old town, and after turning back at Obertor – which was demolished in 1870 due to increasing traffic but the street name remains – we enjoy a beautiful view of the Radolfzell Minster with its 82-meter-high tower. Back at the station, we are surprised to find a beach with lake access on the other side of the tracks as we emerge from the underpass. There is already someone canoeing on the water. We leave the town under shady plane trees on the cycle street. We like the style of a large wooden-clad house on the town’s edge – a 4-star hotel, we note. For a short stretch, the cycle path runs as a poplar avenue parallel to the road until it turns into the nature reserve. Shortly afterward, we circle on a wide agricultural path the tip of the Lower Lake at the Radolfzell Aachmündung. From afar, fields of sunflowers shine brightly. Shortly afterward, we overtake the first visitors on their way to the Moos lido; a little further on, the Iznang lido tempts, and the next town Horn also has a lido. But today, we have a long ride ahead, and a swim in the lake doesn’t fit into the schedule. Perhaps tomorrow morning before departure we will spontaneously visit one of the lidos we discovered over the past days. From the Höri Peninsula, we see the Mettnau Peninsula, one of the oldest nature reserves in Germany and next to Wollmatinger Ried one of the region’s most important breeding areas for water birds. Goldfinch song accompanies us along the Hornspitze landscape conservation area. Soon we arrive at the municipality of Gaienhofen on the Lower Lake, from where one can see Reichenau Island with its three medieval churches, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2000. Also in view – on the opposite Swiss shore – lies the Thurgau municipality of Steckborn. Gaienhofen once had some very famous residents: the author Hermann Hesse and his wife Mia Hesse-Bernoulli lived here from 1904 to 1912 in two houses that can still be visited today: the Hesse Museum and the Hermann Hesse House with garden, which the author personally laid out with his wife. Another world-famous resident is Otto Dix. His house in the Hemmenhofen district, where the artist lived with his family from 1936 until his death in 1969, is now open as the Museum Haus Dix. From the corner of my eye, I also notice a sign for a UNESCO World Heritage pile dwelling site here during the ride. Meanwhile, the sun shines strongly from a cloudless sky, and we’ve gotten quite warm. To refresh, we enjoy some sun-ripened Lake Constance peaches in the picturesque town of Wangen on the Lower Lake. Stopping while descending Schlossstraße, we meet a couple cycling the route from Switzerland in the opposite direction and are absolutely enthusiastic about this lake side. We are also repeatedly fascinated by the beautiful lake view we enjoy during our tour. Shortly after, we cross the Swiss border by bike and are in the Canton of Schaffhausen. The first town we reach is Stein am Rhein. From afar, we are already captivated by the view of the historic half-timbered houses and the beautiful church tower. But when we push our bikes shortly thereafter through a small alley into the old town, we’re overwhelmed. We feel like on a time travel: everywhere around us stand magnificent medieval half-timbered buildings with artistically painted facades and lovingly decorated bay windows. Near the water at the Schifflände, the small harbor of Stein am Rhein, numerous restaurants invite you to stop. Our path leads us over the Rhine bridge, under which we see some groups of excursionists rafting down the Rhine. An information board at a boat rental station tells us that Stein am Rhein is a designated start point for rafting tours on the Rhine towards the Rhine Falls city of Schaffhausen. As exciting as this boat trip would be, we continue on the bike tour. The Lake Constance cycle path now runs again alongside the road and then, as we know from other tours in Switzerland, parallel to the railway tracks mostly near the shore. We cycle past pear orchards, raspberry and blackberry bushes. When passing the lido Steckborn, which also has a hostel, I notice that between the bathing area on the shore and the cycle path there are railway tracks, and crossings are rare. So unfortunately, we are “cut off” from the beach and the attractively deep blue water of Lake Constance. For us, that is no problem today; we had already left the swimwear at the guesthouse. Steckborn proves to be a larger town with numerous shops, cafes, restaurants, and also bigger companies. Flanked by vineyards, the route continues along Seestraße to Mannenbach-Salenstein, which belongs to the Kreuzlingen district and thus to the Canton of Thurgau. From the south shore of the Lower Lake here, a solar ferry starts to the directly opposite monastery island of Reichenau. For us, today remains only a view over the lake from the landing stage.

Further in Ermatingen, we can observe a flock of swans in front of the Wollmatinger Ried, one of the largest nature reserves on Lake Constance. From now on, the cycle path runs only alongside the railway tracks; we pass a large reed bed and a barbecue area located directly on the lake. On wide landscape paths, we go through the beautiful Tägermoos, a vegetable growing area made up of large fields and around 400 allotment gardens. In the fertile floodplain, cabbage, leek, carrots, corn, broccoli, and lettuce grow, among others. Grey herons often stand in the fields. Our brief visit to Switzerland is already over. We reach the Konstanz district Paradies via the Tägerwilen border crossing. In a café at Marktstätte, we strengthen ourselves with a snack before taking another look at the bay at the Konstanz Funnel, where Lake Constance turns into the Seerhein, and then crossing the bicycle bridge over the Rhine. In the Konstanz district Petershausen, we look for the path towards Allensbach, crossing the industrial area. But first, we stop once more at Wollmatinger Ried by Reichenau station to admire the new building of the NABU Nature Conservation Association. From the Lake Constance Center built according to ecological and climate-friendly criteria, staff, supported by volunteers, take care of 28 protected areas, including the Wollmatinger Ried and the 1,000 hectare habitat network “Western Lower Lake”.

Under trees, the cycle path continues, first to Hegne Monastery, a historic building complex near Allensbach, in which the Catholic religious community of the Sisters of Mercy of the Holy Cross resides, and further into the town of Allensbach, where we make another detour to the lake. We look a little wistfully at the boats rocking on the water in front of us and the opposite lakeshore where we cycled earlier through Switzerland. Nearly ten kilometers through the beautiful landscape of Lake Constance still lie ahead until we finally arrive again at the station of Radolfzell. After arriving back in Uhldingen-Mühlhofen, we return the rental e-bikes at Lake Constance Bike Rental Bischof and walk back to our guesthouse on foot. Happy and satisfied, we think back on the wonderful tours in which we circled Lake Constance and explored the beautiful and varied region. The quiet yet centrally located lake holiday town Uhldingen-Mühlhofen was the ideal starting point for the radial cycling tours. For us, it’s clear: We will come again!