Travel report: Cycling trip around Lake Constance and to the Rhine Falls

A little over a year into retirement, I fulfilled a long-cherished wish for the best wife of all and booked with Radweg-Reisen back in April 2023...

Despite a brief moment of shock - she had fallen during a walk on the way there and injured her knee - we picked up our ordered bikes in Constance the next day full of joyful anticipation. Without wishing to flatter - we felt that we were well looked after right from the start! It's not just the friendly welcome that's worth mentioning, a bike change requested at short notice was also carried out without any problems, and so after a night in the very nice Hotel Halm, we actually set off.

Since the Rhine Falls in Schaffhausen was a declared destination for me, we had chosen the route via the island of Reichenau followed by a short boat trip to Gaienhofen. Unfortunately, we didn't have enough time to see its beauty, but Stein am Rhein made up for it - and also for the fact that some of the climbs were a bit tough for us e-bike deniers ("If you love your bike, push it"). This town is a one-of-a-kind open-air museum!!!

Schaffhausen's historic center was not far behind, and yet the highlight of the day was still ahead of us. The illuminated Rhine Falls are simply a must-see, and I put this experience in the same category of beautiful travel memories as seeing the Northern Lights in Norway (2017) or visiting Peterhof in St. Petersburg (2012)...

Friday: We didn't let the only rainy day spoil our mood, packed ourselves and our bikes into the train for a short ride and thus had much more time than planned to explore another "must see", the Zeppelin Museum in Friedrichshafen. That done, after a short break, we strolled along the lake here too and enjoyed life.

It was Saturday morning and the weather was really autumnal for the first time. That is to say - the temperatures when we set off in the morning were certainly autumnal, but of course we were not affected by this. However, we had to have a glass of mulled wine at lunch in Lindau... To rave about the beauty of Lindau Island would probably be like carrying owls to Athens, but there was still a lot waiting for us.

For example, the cable car ride to and the view from the Bregenz Pfänder...

And then a romantic walk along the promenade in the evening - a wonderful thing even after 42 years of marriage and now several years past 60...

The next day, we crossed the old Rhine delta and, after a few stops (e.g. for lunch in Rorschach), we reached our penultimate destination for the day, the picturesque little town of Arbon in Switzerland.

The castle-like Hotel Römerhof offered us accommodation for one night, and the very nice service lady at breakfast made it even more difficult for us to say goodbye. Before that, however, we still had time to take in the sights of Arbon - including the (alleged) footprint of St. Gallus, who was probably well over 50 in sandal size.