Uhldingen-Mühlhofen, Germany

A mouthful of a town to say, Uhldingen-Mühlhofen was where I spent my first 2.5 months in Germany au pairing for a family and the base of the travels I have written about thus far.

I would be surprised if you have ever heard of this tiny town along the shores of Lake Constance/the Bodensee, but it does have a bit to offer.

I only feel really foolish that I never took my actual camera with me on my walks along the lake.

The two sights to see (apart from the lake) are the Basilica and the Pfalbauten.

The Basilica of Birnau is a gorgeous baroque cathedral surrounded by vineyards with a view of the lake and, on a clear day, the Alps. I stepped inside once (no pics allowed) and it was very ornate. Despite having driven past this church numerous times, I never got a decent picture of it. Especially without the Alps being completely clouded over, so I’ll give you this:

source

The other sight is actually a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Pfahlbauten is a prehistoric (think several millennia to centuries BC) settlement of stilt houses around the lake. They are found all over on the lakes and rivers of Germany, France, Italy, Slovenia, Austria, and Switzerland (the Alps region of Europe) with 111 sites total.

There was also a tractor museum, which I thought my dad would enjoy. I never visited it, but was slightly tempted.

Other than that, I enjoyed walking along the lake on the days it wasn’t raining (few during my last month) and strolling through the tiny town.

The bad part of being there when I was (October-December) is that I never got to really enjoy the lake. I would love to head to the lake in the summer, go swimming, maybe boating, and ride my bike along the shores of the lake. Actually, there is a bike trail completely encircling the lake…I’m definitely tempted to return and do that some day.

Meersburg, Germany

I realized that I have mentioned Meersburg before, but I never wrote a post, and it would be a shame not to see some pictures of this amazing little town.

To start out, I have been to Meersburg a lot.

Well, I’ve been to its bus station a lot, but you can see the town’s castle and down some of its colorful streets from there.

However, I did explicitly visit the town twice and really enjoyed it.

Meersburg sits right on Lake Constance/the Bodensee, right across the lake from Konstanz (there is a ferry running across the lake to Konstanz regularly). Like most of the towns in the region and along the lake, this town is full of colorful buildings, winding streets, half-timbered houses, and amazing views out onto the river and into the Alps (on a clear day…there aren’t a lot of those during the late fall).

Meersburg is quite a touristy town despite there not being a lot of “things to do” there (think Trip Advisor). I enjoyed simply walking around, admiring the wonderful architecture.

There is the Burg Meersburg (old castle), which is the old medieval castle/fortress. I never toured it because I mainly enjoy looking at the outsides of castles, but that’s a possibility. Actually, it’s the oldest inhabited castle in all of Germany, which is quite impressive, having been built in the 7th century.

There is also the Neues Schloss (new castle, even though it was built in 1750). It looks like a nice palace from the outside and the inside houses different exhibits. I read that it wasn’t worth the admission, but there is a wonderful terrace in the back overlooking Meersburg and Lake Constance/the Bodensee.

The last major “sight” in Meersburg is the old half-timbered water mill. It’s neat to see, and there is actually someone living in the house attached to it, which would be awesome. In my opinion.

Other than that, enjoying a stroll through town and along the shores of the lake is the best way to spend time in this little town. Finding yourself an ice cream shop to sit outside and enjoy the views on a warm evening sounds just about perfect to me right now.

Lindau, Germany

The day after coming back to Munich from Rothenburg ob der Tauber, I decided to take the train to Lindau to meet up with another au pair in the area and explore the town.

A train.

To Lindau.

Again?

I was not about to relive another Neuschwantein fiasco, so I was particularly careful when it came to picking the car I was to sit in for the journey.

I got to thinking after Neuschwanstein, and my troubles were probably because I got into a car right in the middle of the train where it split. If I got into a car door labeled to Lindau but actually sat in a different car, that could explain it all, right?

I get in the back of the train thinking, the front of the train went to Lindau before and the back went to Oberstdorf, maybe this time will be the opposite.

I was super careful to remain in the same car of the door I entered through labeled to Lindau.

The lady who sat across from me even asked if it was going to Lindau, I said yes. I hear other people in the train car saying Lindau. Not a sign of Oberstdorf.

I try to relax. If I mess up, at least I won’t be the only one!

Then we get to Immenstadt, where the train split before.

My stress levels are a little high. I know that we sit here for a couple of minutes.

Something doesn’t feel right.

It’s too much déjà vu.

I don’t care if the car was labeled to Lindau, I want to see the platform signs to see that the section I am in is going to Lindau.

I stick my head out the door.

Nope!

The back half was labeled to go to Oberstdorf.

I get out and run to the very very very front of the train (only behind the locomotive) and then the doors close and we are off.

Whew!! I made it.

No glitches, but they really need to find a better method to label the cars. I am sure other people made the same mistake!! (I felt bad, but the lady who sat across from me went to the bathroom during the stop, so I could never tell her that she needed to switch trains!)

Except that I had to ride the train backwards because the car was so full. (Not a major problem for most, but if you get easily motion sick like I do, it can pose a serious problem.)

Anyways, I make it to Lindau right about the same time as the other au pair I was meeting there and we spent the afternoon into the evening exploring the nooks and crannies of Lindau and walking along the Bodensee/Lake Constance.

The old town of Lindau is actually an island, so it’s very easy to walk around its circumference (or at least part of it). Unfortunately, the clouds obscured the mountains (this seems to be the norm in the fall/winter), but it was still a lovely, albeit cold, walk around and along the lake.

We also took the time to explore their Christmas market which was super cute and right on the water. I enjoyed an *unburnt* flammkuchen, some candied nuts, and a taste of kinderpunsch. All of which are staples at the markets around here.

Lindau is definitely worth a visit, and I can only imagine how nice it is in the summer when you can swim in the lake or ride your bike along the lakeshore.

Holy smokes!!

Holy smokes!

I was going to title this post something along the lines of “Only one month left (before I have Christmas break and then travel north to Bremen for a year)” but that seemed only slightly obnoxious.

The other week, I was going to do a post about having been in Germany for a month already, but now it’s closer to 2 months!

And today marks one month left for me being an au pair for this family…

I cannot believe that I have done so much in this short amount of time!

*Part* of the reason I picked this first family was their location.

(I was partially thinking…this’ll be just like the Sound of Music. I’m in the Alps, on a lake, taking care of kids. The younger girl went from 16mos to 17, so that song had to be sung, etc. etc.)

I mean, come on.

The Bodensee/Lake Constance borders 3 countries (Germany, Switzerland, and Austria) already, but I’m only a hop skip and a jump away from France…and then there’s Liechtenstein and a bit further south there’s Italy.

So, being here for such a short time means that my weekends off have been FILLED with travels!

So far, I’ve been to:

• Oktoberfest/Munich/Dachau
• Konstanz, Germany
• Meersburg, Germany
• Bregenz, Austria
• Colmar, France
• Freiburg, Germany
• Zurich, Switzerland
• Salzburg, Austria
• Hallstatt, Austria
• Füssen, Germany
• and other small towns along and around the lake/see

In the books for the rest of 2014, I have:

• Lucerne, Switzerland
• Strasbourg, France (voted best Christmas Market in Europe for 2014)
• Lindau, Germany (gorgeous town on the lake/see)
• Munich, Germany (because I haven’t really seen it!)
• Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Germany (because you’ve been on Pinterest)
• Nuremberg, Germany (because CHRISTMAS MARKETS!)

I still need to plan which order, but yeah…

CHRISTMAS MARKETS START NEXT WEEKEND!!! I am soooo excited!

Even though I won’t be able to see every place around here that I wanted to, that only gives me all the more reason to come back!! 😉

And for Christmas break, which starts a month from now, I am so hoping that everything works out and I get to see my friend (who I haven’t seen in real life since studying abroad in Sevilla 2 years ago but who is now teaching English over in Spain) and visit some more, TBA destinations.

(Spoiler: I’m thinking Prague, Vienna, and Budapest)

One thing that is a little er…LOT scary is that in one month, I will need to have taken and passed my German language test in order to apply for a visa and stay here legally once my free 90 days are up.

Pray for me.

So much to do, so little time.

I’m completely looking forward to everything, and then moving up to Bremen (FOR A YEAR) the beginning of January.

Bregenz, Austria

One of my first weekends here – after I started to get the hang of driving a stick shift – I took a day trip down to Bregenz, Austria, with the car.

This small town sits right at the bottom of the Bodensee/Lake Constance.

I figured, if I want to do any hiking around here during my time at the lake, I had better do it soon, as it has been getting colder each day!

Although the weather was terribly foggy in the morning, it cleared out to be a spectacular day to hike up the Pfänder/Pfaender, which is Bregenz’s “mountain”.

So, it’s technically called a mountain, but I don’t think it can quite qualify as that, so I’ll just call it a big, tall hill…

I could have taken the Pfänderbahn up, but it really wasn’t too difficult of a hike…apart from the fact that it was straight up going up (that also means straight down, making the return journey all the easier!).

Given how gorgeous of a day it was, and that the views from the trail were spectacular all the way up, I’m certainly glad I stuck with my original plan! (Although I had a really difficult time figuring out where the trail started at the bottom, so I almost didn’t do the hike up!!)

It took about an hour and a half to climb up, but I did stop halfway through in a field for lunch, because…how could you not with a view like this for lunch??

As I neared the top, I ran into a bunch of cows grazing in the field. Random fact, but cows moo with accents just as people talk with accents! I just feel like everyone needs to know that! 😉

Then, I reached the top!!

To the back, you see the beginning of the Alps, which is amazing.

And then to the front – what you have been lucky to be seeing throughout your hike so far, is the Bodensee and 3 different countries.

The closest is obviously Austria. Then basically everything on your left-hand side is Switzerland and everything on your right-hand side is Germany.

There really isn’t a lot to say, because the views speak for themselves!

As I made it down rather quickly, I walked through town a bit and stopped for a moment at the lakefront to enjoy the view before heading back up the German side.