Ride: 35km; total: 289km
Rain, about 12 to 14 deg all day.
Awoke to more rain in the morning. Although it would be very nice, it can't be
fine and sunny every day of the tour. The 8:30am breakfast at this place was
really a bit late as I am up at 5:30am. However
this day I only had to ride 35km so no rush.
The usual Swiss/German breakfast fair was on offer cereal, cheese, meat,
yoghurt and fruit. Of course also great
hot, strong coffee, a must for any cyclist on a cold day. After a chat with the Aussie girl and her
boyfriend, I dressed in the complete wet-weather-gear, including shoe covers
and set off beside a very dull and foggy Lake Constance.
Had steady light rain all the way with one very nasty
thunderstorm which caused me to take shelter in a caravan park coffee shop. The
lighting was getting a bit close. The new Kathmandu
rain jacket and rain pants I was wearing for the first time worked a treat as
not only did it keep the cold out but not one drop of rain reached the old body.
The whole outfit breathed well so it never
felt hot either. Later I even stopped and put my water-proof gloves on as the cold
was seeping into my cold-sensitive fingers.
Arrived in Constance to
traffic chaos due to flash flooding of some roads and buildings, but it didn't
affect me on the bike path. Found the motel fairly easily and was shown
my own lockable bike garage. It was good to get out of all that gear and into a
nice dry, warm room. I then walked to the local supermarket and picked up
a late lunch of Vienna sausage, sauerkraut and ricotta. This also turned out to be my dinner as it
was too much for one meal. A wander around the city in the afternoon was
a good opportunity to check out the ferry for crossing the lake the next
day.
Konstanz (or Constance) is
situated on the lake and the Rhine re-commences
its flow under a bridge connecting the two parts of the city. North of the
river lies the larger part of the city with residential areas, industrial
estates, and the University of Konstanz; while south of the river is the old
town which houses the administrative centre and shopping facilities, in
addition to the Hochschule or the University of Applied Sciences. Car ferries provide access across Lake Constance
to Meersburg, and catamarans provide a shuttle service for pedestrians to Friedrichshafen. To the
south, the old town borders onto the Swiss town of Kreuzlingen.
As it was still raining off an on I called it an early
night.
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