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.

Konstanz

My first full day after arriving at my host family’s home was full of excitement and a trip to Konstanz.

As the biggest city town on the lake, it makes sense that the lake is named after it…

Lake Constance if you didn’t get that.

Or, more properly, the Bodensee.

Where see means lake.

I have a feeling that that will always bother me.

Anyways, since that first full day here, I’ve been to or through Konstanz several more times and am certain that I will visit/pass through it a few more times in the coming few months.

It’s really not that big (it’s smaller than my hometown), but it feels like a big city.

But maybe that’s because I lived in a town of maybe 200 over the summer and a couple thousand now.

But also because of its shopping.

You see, Switzerland is crazy expensive and Konstanz is essentially situated on the border between Germany and Switzerland (there’s even a spot in town where you can have half of yourself in one country and the other half in the other…I haven’t found that spot yet, but will have to do so!) so all the Swiss people come over to do their shopping and then they don’t have to pay taxes.

But the size of the city center/old town is quite big and touristy.

You have your cathedral,

plazas,

and cute little side streets everywhere you look.

Konstanz isn’t only a town where Germany and Switzerland meet, but also where the Rhein/Rhine meets the Bodensee/Lake Constance.

Here, the closer water is the river while the water beyond the bridge is lake water.

Fun fact that I just learned. This year marks the 600th anniversary of the Council of Constance – the council that ended the Great Schism/3-Pope controversy.

Another thing I just learned is that this scandalously-clad, rotating statue (called Imperia) was erected to commemorate the Council. In each of her hands is a naked king wearing only his crown (Emperor Sigismund called the council) and a naked pope wearing only his mitre (Pope Martin V, who became the new pope after the council).

It’s so brash, but if you think about the Great Schism and that this Imperia is a seductress, you’d think it’s a *little* less weird…

Speaking of classy statues in Konstanz, I present you with this one:

All in all, Konstanz is a cute, colorful, lake-side town that warrants a visit or however many more that I will make across the lake. If not just to get a closer look at Imperia.