To Londau then Stein am Rhein

Goodbye to the mountains

Lindau

Thursday 19th - Friday 20th September

Vaduz - Stein am Rhein via Lindau, Bergenz and Konstanz (among others)

160kms.

Two more glorious days of sunshine , flowers, mountains, fields, villages and rivers. Thursday's ride started with Heidi fields hugged by the mountains and full of country smells to go with the cattle and the horses. Smiles were order of the day as we passed many a young mother walking prams, presumably with small children in them, smiling quietly wondering at their luck to be living in this paradise. Returning to the river and sadly the motorway (managed to avoid actually accessing it) it was notable that the volume of water is increasing, and that the local administration is very proud of their flood prevention works. It's on lots of notices! The water has also turned beige in protest no doubt.

We were heading into tourist country as we pedalled nearer to Lake Konstanz. We had been advised that this was an area favoured by the Germans on holiday and so it proved to be! It is stunning and it is easy to understand why lots of folk would want to be there - would just have preferred not quite so many!! Truly hundreds of visitors on bikes! Whoever thought of the electric bike must be a millionaire many times over. The riders now come in all shapes and sizes and with varying degrees of competence. There is no code of behaviour - you just wheely along oblivious of other track users and do your best to stay upright! Remarkably everyone seemed to avoid tragedy. It is notable that more than 80% of cycles were power assisted. Not quite sure how I feel about it all.

Leaving the heavy traffic behind, we followed the lake side for much of today passing through a number of old villages. Many have tried to maintain, at least some of the old and original buildings but it is also true that much is being built to feed the rich housing market. It is hard to imagine such a large continuous area of opulence anywhere in the UK surrounded by hills and lakes. Fair takes your breath away.

As ever, it is the people who inspire us, not always in a positive way as Al can vouch for after a short altercation with a minibus driver on a cycle track! There is little in the way of greeting other riders but hosts in the guest houses have, without exception, been charming. We will continue with our hellos and happy greetings and so onward with our trip.

Ferry to Kontanz

Stein am Rhein