Konstanz, Germany

Saturday afternoon, we traveled to Konstanz, Germany which borders with Switzerland.  Not that far away, it took us about 55 minutes to get there on some very beautiful highways.

Konstanz is pretty much surrounded by Switzerland and because of it's location, the Germans fooled the Allies during World War II by leaving the lights on at night.  This fooled the Allied Bombers into thinking that it was part of Switzerland.  It was spared any bombing.

Konstanz is also the birthplace of Count Ferdinand Adolf Heinrich August Graf von Zeppelin, the inventor of the Zeppelin and founder of the Zeppelin Airship Company.

Traveling on Highway 1 to Konstanz, Germany

 It was still very cold at -3 Degrees Celsius (26.6 Degrees Fahrenheit).  As we got closer to Germany, it dropped to -6 Degrees (21.2 Degrees Fahrenheit). There were snow flurries while we were in Konstanz.  When we returned Saturday Night, it was -11 Degrees (12.2 Degrees Fahrenheit).  Brrrrr!

At some point this week, I hope to convince my Brother-in-Law (Andreas) to take us to Sankt Gallen where there is a Pine Christmas Tree over 65 Feet Tall.  It is flown in by helicopter for the Christmas Season.  And here I was complaining about decorating a Seven Foot Tree.  I'd hate to be the person that has to put the last ornament on the top of that tree.

Walking Toward Germany

We arrived in Kreuzlingen, Switzerland (right at the border) and parked our car and walked over to Germany.  We could have driven into Germany but parking was terrible there and it was easier to walk.  One thing you do in Europe is walk.  And the moment you put your foot in the street at a cross walk, cars come to a screeching halt to let you walk on through.  Andy would tease me and ask me why was I waiting.  The cars will stop.  And they did.

We were not stopped at the border to check our passports but I could tell that we were carefully checked out.  Some people were stopped.  Others were not.

 To say the least, it was colder in Germany.   There was a lot more snow in Germany and it was colder.  I'd hate to be the owner of this bike.  Unless he delivers snow.  By the time we got to the lake, we were quite cold.  Did I mention it was cold?










Pizza was also out the question.  At least outside.  Sitting at these tables would definitely be chilling!

Konzilgebäude - The Council Building in Konstan

Konstanz was beautiful.  We even met Sankt Nikolaus.   We went to the Lago Shopping Center.  Check out the beautiful Castle Models that were constructed.  Wow!  Here is a slide show for you to see at least some of the sights we saw in Konstanz.

We finished the night by eating at a lovely restaurant in Regensdorf.  I even drank Panaché (known as Shandy in the U.K. and Radler in Germany).  It's a mixture of Seven-Up and lager beer.  Rumor has it that a German bar owner was running out of beer during a bicycle race.  He cut what he had left with some lemonade and served it to the cyclists, telling them that it would help them to finish the race.  Radler means Cyclist.

Enjoy the Day!

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