Day 4 - Lake Konstanz
Despite the lack of rest, we climbed up from bed as early as 6am in the morning. I don’t think there is another couple that enjoys torturing themselves during their holiday. Not wanting to break another pair of shoes, we asked the taxi to come and pick us up at a 8am the following morning. Turns out that their company has a number of drivers on shifts, and they were quite punctual in picking us up from the resort we were staying in.
For 10+ minutes, the driver sped down the highway at the velocity and stability Proton will never keep up with. As recommended by Kelvin, we bought 2 tickets to Lindau for a cruise. In our itenary we planned to go for Rhine-Mainz cruise, but Lindau is very much nearer and the trip was well worth it. For this, we had the chance to try their local bus, it’s comfortable and along the way we could see a different landscape compared to those we saw on train.
Once we reached Lindau, we went straight to the ferry counter to enquire about their ferry schedule. We were told that the next ferry was leaving in 4 minutes, and the next one would be 2 hours later. Without thinking twice, we paid for the tickets and went up the ferry. The ferry is not as big as LTH (Penang Gambling Boat Tour), but it’s cleaner and much more comfortable. We were lucky as it’s shining today. The sky was blue blended with the turquoise water made Lindau very photogenic.
We sat in the front deck so that we could have a good view of the fisherman, seagulls and a nice panoramic of the jetty. In fact, I think all the jetty looks much better than the ports we have in Penang. IMHO the money invested on building the ports not only allow the place to develop, but it generates income through tourism. The people loves nature, and hence the nature is very close with the people there to. It’s very obvious as we can see the fowls getting very close to the fishing boats and ferries.
Irresistible Aromatic Coffee
The cold makes people frequent toilets, and in no time Irene’s bladder is looking for a place to clear. I waited out in the cold enjoying the breeze and suddenly I heard a loud bang from inside. It’s Irene with a menu, pointing towards the coffee asking which one I prefer. Turns out the aromatic coffee is too hard to resist, no matter how expensive it costs. Sitting inside was much more cozier comparing to the chilling atmosphere outside. The cruise stopped over a few pier along the way, and we only went out to the deck during these times for some photo taking opportunity. The cold weather was making everything smelled exceptionally delicious. Not for long, Irene's nose started to get caught by the Fries (Pommes Frites) which we took with a glass of Weizenbier (beer with lighter color which brewed from wheat grain). One thing we noticed about the waiters in Germany, they carry a big wallet with them in their pockets/aprons/pouch where they will put the money inside after the customers paid the bill.
Konstanz by foot
After nearly 4 hours of cruising in the lake shared by 3 countries -- Germany, Austria and Switzerland, we arrived at Konstanz. From far, we could witness huge buildings and a statue of a Goddess. Just to share some background of Konstanz, the biggest town of the area. It is the starting point of Rhine. Visitors go there to see the Rhine Falls. But sadly, the beauty of Konstanz is over captivating that we had long forgotten about the Rhine Fall. You really should visit it if you happen to drop by.
Fearing that the money we had on hand was not enough for the trip, I decided to withdraw some money out for standby. We went into Deutchbank but were told that for withdrawal, I need to know my credit card's pin number. The officer redirected us to a Reiss Bank where they allowed tourists to withdraw money using signature. Not sure about the exchange rate though. Around town, we visited 2 churches, St.Stephen Cathedral and Munster Cathedral, both overwhelmingly big, with confession booth and tombs of the religious leader buried there. Munster Cathedral set as the buried ground of St. Pelagius, also known as Patron Saint of Konstanz. Inside the church, we were able to witness the Crypt and Relics of the 13 year old Martyr who was sacrificed back in 630ac.
After visiting the churches, we went for a stroll in the old town. Streets in Konstanz are rather narrow comparing to big cities like Munich. I can well assured you that those images that you saw on TV, small streets and alleys with buildings along the sides and flower beds at the balcony ARE FOR REAL!!! In fact, it's everywhere in Europe. Before returning to the Pier to catch the boat back, we managed to grab some "Aunty Anne's" and a nice warm hot dog.
Communing Issues arises
The ferry was late due to technical issues (what other issues can there be?). While waiting, we met an old Irish Couple who later offered us help for the instructions to the train station. After 15 mins of waiting, the ferry finally arrived, everyone was eager to get on board as this was the last cruise for the day. No gentleman or gentle lady gestures this time around. 'Cause if you missed that, you had to stay overnight at Konstanz. Once inside, we could see a nice sunset all the way back to Lindau. It's not like we are romantic couple, but it does strengthen our love even more watching the sunset together.
We had to change cruise at Meersburg before reaching Friedrichshafen and from there we have to take a connecting train from Friedrichshafen to Lindau. As usual with the language barrier we had, it was a challenge for us to find the DB station to transit. Fearing that we'd missed our train, we started to look around for help. Luckily there's a German with the name of Uma who was on her way back to the hotel, which happens to be located nearby DB, she kindly led us through. She brought her dog along, looked small but was already 10 years old. Her English was quite good and we get to know that she's in Konstanz for 2 weeks. "hm...if only I have that much leaves every year".
We were able to catch the train on time, thanks to the help of Uma for her direction. We transferred train at Lindau. 20 mins later, we reached Hergatz and transferred to an SEV back to Immenstadt. While on the bus, we asked a kind soldier for help to book a taxi for us. We wrote the instructions down on a piece of paper with the help of a phrase book, so that he would understand. Throughout the journey, we were both exhausted that we fell dead in our sleep until that same young man woke us up. I think we will keep sleeping in the bus if not for him. The taxi was already there waiting for us, drove us back to our resort. Not to mention, the lady driver drove so fast & furious.
At 11pm, we finally reached our cozy resort. Had a bowl of curry noodle each before preparing for bed. My back ache was too severe I had to salonplass on my back.
Very well satisfying trip we had on Day 4. However, the only regret is that we only have enough time for a hint of Lindau city's fountain. How we wish on of our lakes in Malaysia can be as developed. I noticed that dogs are allowed everywhere, even in public places like trains, parks and streets. How I wish Yang Yang can be brought out the streets like them here.
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Thanks for sharing...
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