Switzerland7-Northeastern Switzerland - John Covey - University of ...

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276 NORTHEASTERN SWITZERLAND LAKE CONSTANCE 8 Getting There & Away Stein am Rhein is on the direct hourly train route that links Schaff hausen (Sfr7.80, 25 minutes) with St Gallen (Sfr29, 1½ hours). LAKE CONSTANCE Before package holidays began whisking the locals and their beach towels abroad in the ’70s and ’80s, Lake Constance (Bodensee) was the German Mediterranean, with its mild climate, fl owery gardens and palm trees. The ‘Swabian Sea’, as it’s nicknamed, is Central Europe’s third largest lake, straddling Switzerland, Germany and Austria. It’s a relaxed place to wind down for a few days, whether cycling through apple orchards and vineyards, heron-spotting in the lake’s wetlands, or taking to its glassy waters by canoe. A SPIN OF THE LAKE Come in spring for blossom, summer for lazy beach days and autumn for new wine. Almost everything shuts from November to February. 8 Information The Bodensee Erlebniskarte (www.bodensee -erlebniskarte.de; 3/7/14 days Sfr102/131/181) discount card is sold from mid-April to mid- October. In its most expensive version, it entitles the holder to free unlimited ferry travel, entrance to many museums and attractions, including the Zeppelin Museum in Friedrichshafen and Insel Mainau, and a return journey up the Säntisbahn (p284). 8 Getting There & Away Good rail services link Zürich to Konstanz (Sfr30, 80 minutes) and Munich (Sfr89, 4¼ hours) in Germany. Trains (Sfr8, 15 minutes) run between Bregenz in Austria and St Margrethen in Switzerland. Hopping across the Swiss–German border from Kreuzlingen brings you to the highspirited, sunny university town of Konstanz (www.konstanz.de), well worth a visit for its Romanesque cathedral, pretty Old Town and tree-fringed harbour. Edging north of Konstanz, you reach the Unesco-listed Benedictine monastery of Reichenau (www .reichenau.de), founded in AD 724. Close by is Insel Mainau (www.mainau.de; adult/child €15.90/8.50; hdawn-dusk), a pleasantly green islet with 45 hectares of Mediterraneanstyle gardens, including rhododendron groves, a butterfl y house and a waterfall-strewn Italian garden. Stepping across to the lake’s northern fl ank you arrive in the wine-growing town of Meersburg (www.meersburg.de), where cobbled lanes thread past half-timbered houses up to the perkily turreted medieval castle. Just east of here is Friedrichshafen, forever associated with the Zeppelin, the early cigar-shaped craft of the skies, which made its inaugural fl ight in 1900. The Zeppelin Museum (www.zeppelin-museum.de; adult/child €7.50/3; h9am-5pm Mon-Sun) traces the history of this bombastic, but ill-fated, means of air transport. Still on German turf is the postcard-perfect island town of Lindau (www .lindau.de), with its lavishly frescoed houses, palm-speckled promenade and harbour watched over by a lighthouse and Bavarian lion. For further information, head to shop .lonelyplanet.com to purchase a downloadable PDF of the Germany chapter from Lonely Planet’s Western Europe guide. Lindau sits just a few kilometres north of Austria and the town of Bregenz (www .bregenz.ws), which hosts the highly acclaimed Bregenzer Festspiele from mid-July to mid-August, where opera and orchestral concerts are staged on a vast water-borne stage. Rising dramatically above the town is the Pfänder (1064m). A cable car (adult/ child return €11/5.50; h8am-7pm Apr-Oct) glides to the summit, where panoramic views of Lake Constance and the not-so-distant Alps unfold. Even if you don’t have your own car, getting around by bike or boat is a breeze. Wellsignposted and largely fl at, the 273km Bodensee-Radweg (Lake Constance Cycle Route; www.bodensee-radweg.com) encircles the lake, weaving through fi elds of ripening wheat, vineyards, orchards and shady avenues of chestnut and plane. Most train stations in the region rent out bikes. La Canoa (www.lacanoa.com, in German) has canoe rental points in all major towns on the lake; see the website for details.
8 Getting Around Various ferry companies, including Switzerland’s SBS Schiff fart (www.sbsag.ch, in German), Austria’s Vorarlberg Lines (www.bodensee schiff fahrt.at) and Germany’s BSB (www.bsb -online.com), travel across, along and around the lake from mid-April to late October, with the more-frequent services starting in late May. A Swiss Pass (p366) is valid only on the Swiss side of the lake. Trains tend to be the easiest way to get around on the Swiss side, buses on the German bank. The B31 road hugs the north shore, but can get busy. On the south shore, the N13 shadows the train line around the lake. Kreuzlingen POP 19,000 / ELEV 404M Kreuzlingen, in the Swiss canton of Thurgau, is often eclipsed by its prettier, more vivacious sister, Konstanz in Germany. That said, its lakefront location is charming, as is its SYHA hostel (%071 688 26 63; www .youthhostel.ch/kreuzlingen; Promenadenstrasse 7; dm Sfr31.20; hMar-Nov), occupying a former manor house. Otherwise the most sensible option is to change trains at Kreuzlingen station and head straight to Konstanz (Sfr3, three minutes); there is no passport control. Should you need more details, try the tourist office (%071 672 38 40; www.kreuzlingen -tourismus.ch; Sonnenstrasse 4; h10am-12.30pm & 1.30-6pm Mon-Fri). Direct trains run every 30 minutes between Kreuzlingen and Schaff hausen (Sfr17.20, 55 minutes). The lakeside road between Kreuzlingen and Stein am Rhein is dotted with quaint half-timbered Thurgau villages, such as Gottlieben, Steckborn and Berlingen. Near the latter is Schloss Arenenberg (www.napoleonmuseum.tg.ch; Salenstein; adult/ child Sfr12/5; h1-5pm Mon, from 10am Tue-Sun), the handsome lakefront mansion where France’s Napoleon III grew up. Romanshorn & Arbon ELEV 400M Despite its one prominent church spire, Romanshorn (population 9200) is of minimal sightseeing interest – little more than a staging point as you go to or from Friedrichshafen on the ferry. The medieval town centre of Arbon (popu lation 13,500), 8km southeast, is more appealing, with its half-timbered houses and ancient chapels. It’s about a 1km walk from the train station to the tourist office (%071 440 13 80; www.arbon.ch; Schmiedgasse 5; h9-11.30am & 2-6pm Mon-Fri, 9-11.30am Sat) in the historic centre, watched over by its 16th-century castle, Schloss Arbon. The castle’s Historisches Museum (Alemannenstrasse 4; adult/child Sfr4/2; h2-5pm May-Sep, Sun only Mar-Apr & Oct-Nov) races you through 5500 years of history, from the Stone Age to the 18th-century linen trade. On one lane, centuries-old houses bear frescos depicting trades of yore. Set in a pretty partly timbered house, Gasthof Frohsinn (%071 447 84 84; www .frohsinn-arbon.ch; Romanshornerstrasse 15; s/d Sfr122.50/185) has light, airy rooms and its own microbrewery. Venture down to the vaulted cellar (mains Sfr17 to Sfr42.50) for a cold frothy one and hearty fare like veal sausages with onion-beer sauce. For a down-on-the-farm experience, sleep in the straw and sip home-pressed apple juice at the blissfully tranquil Frasnacht Strohhotel (%071 446 4772; Kratzern 39, Frasnacht; per adult/child Sfr27/19; c). The farm is just off the Bodensee Radweg, 2.5km west of Arbon. If you don’t want to schlep your own sleeping bag, you can rent one for Sfr3. Romanshorn and Arbon are on the train line between Zürich and Rorschach. Rorschach POP 8820 / ELEV 398M Nothing to do with the psychiatric ink-blot tests of the same name, the quiet waterfront resort of Rorschach is backed by a wooded hill. Although something of a faded beauty, the town has some fi ne 16th- to 18th-century houses with oriel windows. There are three train stations: Rorschach Stadt, Rorschach Hafen and Rorschach Hauptbahnhof. If coming from St Gallen, alight at Rorschach Stadt station (Sfr4.60, 17 minutes) and walk 500m northeast through the centre to Rorschach Hafen station (on the line from Arbon and Schaff hausen), the nearby tourist office (%071 841 70 34; www .tourist-rorschach.ch; Hauptstrasse 56; h8.30noon & 1.30-6pm Mon-Fri) and the cogwheel train (Bergbahn Rorschach-Heiden) that leaves to the health resort of Heiden. Rorschach Hafen station is handily located on Haupstrasse, in the heart of the Old Town. Walk left (east) from the station to see some fi ne oriel windows, particularly 277 LAKE NORTHEASTERN CONSTANCE SWITZERLAND 8 8KREUZLINGEN
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