Last night was an early night and we rose early and felt fresh. We started early from Bregenz and headed to Lake Konstanz. This route will take us through three countries - Austria, Switzerland & Germany.
The south shore of Bodensee
Lake Constance (Bodensee) can be circum-navigated either via the South (Swiss) shore or the North (Austrian–German) shore. The Swiss shore, passing through the primary resort towns of Rorschach and Romanshorn en route to Konstanz. This is shorter (58.5km to Konstanz compared to 69km plus ferry via North shore).
The Swiss route, which runs close to the lake for most of the way, is well sign-posted throughout. The route leaves the main route at Fussach Bridge and goes through Rheineck, Rorschach, and Arbon to reach Romanshorn after 36km. It then goes through Uttwil and Landschlacht to arrive at Kreuzlingen and the Swiss-German border.
Every summer Bregenz plays host to Festspiele, a major music and arts festival. The centerpiece is a massive outdoor opera performance on the Seebühne, a unique floating stage on the edge of Bodensee with on-shore seating for 7000 spectators. Performances are drawn from the popular operatic repertoire, and feature innovative staging making use of the lake. Should rain intervene and the performance be canceled, those with higher-priced seats get to see an indoor adaptation in the Festspielhaus, while holders of the cheaper tickets get their money back.
Leaving Bregenz behind and continuing back to the Rhine delta. In Hard, we rode across a bridge, whose river comes from the Alps and flows into Lake Constance. Riding across the border in Gaibau, we enter again into Swiss territory. In Altenrhein, the artist Hundertwasser left his mark, by building the market hall. On from the town, the route heads to Rorschach, Steinach, and Arbon.
Our ride along the Swiss side is devoted to the Canton of Thurgau which is endearingly known as “Mostindien” (Cider India) because of its huge apple orchards and slightly remote location, at least from the Swiss perspective. The route takes you along the banks of the lake to the old St. Gallen harbor town of Rorschach with its stately public buildings and unmissable Kornhaus (granary) built in 1749. Rorschach is a magnificent port town with a very old monastery of St Gallen. The old town is a must to walk around with historic streets and merchants' houses. Here bathing in the lake is also very popular. Soon as we arrived, had our lunch break overlooking Lake Konstanz and spent some time in the scenic and historic town.
Then we cycled through Arbon which is on the site of a castle built by the Romans in the 3rd century and later altered in the 1500s. In Arbon, there is an Art Museum - Martinskirke with its Gothic Bell Tower and 18th-century town hall. Then we continued further along the lake bank to Guttingen.
On the way from Romanshorn to Kreuzlingen, we were always close to the shallow Lake Constance cycle path near the shore. We passed many beautiful beaches and swimming spots and it was so inviting for a dip.
We arrived quite early at Kreuzlingen( Swiss) and we went to the German town of Kreuzlingen for our dinner (borderless crossing). I think this was one of the best scenic routes we cycled through so far.