The (no-where-near-Jersey) Shore

Driving south today, I made my way past exits for a couple of places we've already ventured.  Note to self, rent car first thing next time.  Finding somewhere to park is still WAY less hassle than wondering if you're going to have to lug all of your crap from the train station to the hotel in the rain.  Use car to go between cities, park car, use public transportation to get around IN the cities.

Sorry, I digress.  I made my way briefly out of Germany, through a corner of Austria (no cranky bus drivers this time), and through a section of Switzerland.  Somewhere in Switzerland, I pulled into a rest stop to grab something to drink, and took this through the fence in the back.  This was my first real view of die Bodensee.  It's definitely pretty picturesque, if somewhat developed.

The atmosphere around Lake Constance aka "die Bodensee" is interesting.  While Germany isn't land-locked, it's ocean coast is on the Baltic Sea.....so not exactly bikini weather for most of the year.  Fortunately, Lake Constance provides an almost-beach atmosphere somewhat closer, and I'd imagine cheaper, than the Mediterranean coast.  Imagine taking one of the smaller great-lakes and dropping it in, say the geographic middle of Colorado.

It's a touristy area....but mainly for German, Swiss, and Austrian tourists, as those three countries border the lake.  Konstanz itself lies on, and slightly across the German/Swiss border, witnessed by the imposing check-point on the border......that's a lie, it's not.  it's a small sign with a camera pointed at it for no real reason.  I walked across the line taking pictures a few times, and then ran back and forth across it later in the evening.  No one cared.  There were no pill-boxes or guard-dogs involved.  Yay EU! (in this case anyway).

Before I got to the whole running thing, I checked into the hotel, parked my car in an underground lot a block away, and then wandered around the waterfront for a couple of hours.

There are several harbors in Konstanz, this is the entrance to one of the larger ones.  You can see a small light-house marking the end of the break-water, and a statue of Imperia across from that.  The statue is really only circa 1993, but commemorates events going back much further.  It was a bit controversial when it was erected for a number of reasons.  Also it rotates.  This last point is key because I can show this view.  The reverse may or may not be work-safe depending on how puritan your HR dept. is.  It's in the gallery if you're curious though.

Konstanz was also home to Graf Zepplin....yeah, that Zepplin guy.  Some of the early prototypes were tested out over the lake.  There's a statue....I'm not sure "of" him, but dedicated to him in the harbor park.

After wandering around a while, having some schnitzel at a cafe on the water, and then dropping a euro on a scoop of the absurdly good/bad-for-you ice cream they sling here, I repaired to the hotel to dodge a brief rain-shower, and then set off on a run to, and then through a couple of different water-front parks in two different countries.  Try that in southern Texas, lol.

In theory, I should be adding one to my party tomorrow.  I suppose when you're meeting someone in Europe it's good to pick a neutral location......(waka waka waka).

On that note, I believe this post has thoroughly run it's course.  More to come from Konstanz tomorrow.