We were down for the typical breakfast around 8:00. Typical seemed to be: cold cuts, cheeses, boiled eggs, pastries, cereal and fruit.
After checking out, we walked the same route Grandpa and Brennan had done last night
. St. George's was much prettier in daylight with light streaming through the stained glass. The men were still busy setting up the Christmas village. The soon to open Christkindle Markt was also busily setting up and businesses were all hanging evergreen garland and lights.
We made every effort to avoid the autobahn on the drive to Ulm, which would be about the halfway point on our drive for the day. Ulm brags of the tallest steeple of any church in Germany. It was a visual G&G had from 40 years earlier.
Our desire to avoid the autobahn, had its price. There were several detours that our GPS didn't pick up (last updated 33 months ago); thank goodness for a good map and better navigator.
It was a very picturesque drive through rolling hills of farmland, pastures, forest, and ever present Bavarian tutor architecture.
As we approached Ulm, the steeple dominated the skyline
. We found street parking and the best surprise so far, the Christkindle Markt was in full swing. We did a brief tour of the church which Brennan said was the largest he had ever seen (beat St. Lorenz in Nuremberg two days ago).
Brennan got a footlong wurst in a bun at the Markt and the only other thing we bought was a postcard of the church.
The landscape leveled out as we neared Lake Constance. We had an apartment rented in Langenargen. After retrieving the key from a lockbox, we spent about two minutes there, but our quick impression was that it was nice.
We had to head to Lindau immediately to arrive before dark. Lindau is a city on an inlet of Lake Constance, which has to be one of the world's prettiest lakes. It is surrounded by the German, Swiss, and Austrian Alps.
After finding metered street parking we began to explore this incredible city with its maze of narrow cobblestoned streets lined with shops
. We walked the waterfront promenade to the harbor inlet, guarded by a huge lion on one side and a lighthouse on the other. The dusk/sunset over the still water was incredible (afraid the photos won't do it credit). We know it sounds like a broken record, but the Christkindle Markt was just being set up. We saw a Camino de Santiago shell engraved in the street - guess all roads in Europe lead to Santiago!
In search of dinner, our first choice was closed and the second place was open under a new name. It was in the small village of Oberdorf. The back of the building was a barn with tractors parked in front. It was a Gasthaus environment with only locals. No English spoken and no credit cards, but the the food was great! Brennan had the kinder Wiener schnitzel and G&G had a steak and salad.
Back in Langenargen, we made our second brief stop at the apartment before going for a walk on Langenargen's promenade along Lake Constance. Finding an ATM, we got 200 euro.
The great find was the Montford Castle. The only activity this night was ballroom dance lessons on the 3rd floor; today's lesson, the tango. They had racks of shoes, dresses, jackets, etc., for the students. During full tourist season, we believe there is also a restaurant there.
It must have been 10:00 by the time we got back to the apartment. There was a full kitchen, living/dining room (location of Brennan's sofa bed) and a bedroom. The bathroom had a wand shower, without a shower curtain, which would prove to be a challenge in the morning.
One full day after another!
Dinkelsbuhl, Ulm, Lindau, Langenargen
Tuesday, November 22, 2016
Lindau, Bavaria, Germany
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2025-02-12