Insel Reichenau, Bodensee, Germany.

42 spark magazine travel
INSEL
REICHENAU
Bodensee, Germany
r
Great Things in Common
The many lakes in Germany,
especially in the south, have
much in common. First they
are clean, with no pollution –
be it environmental or noise.
Second building of any type
around them is tightly limited
so that their natural beauty is
maintained, and third snowcapped mountains often
surround them.
The lakes, be they in the
north around Berlin, or in the
South in Bavaria, are popular
with both local and overseas
visitors, drawn not just to their
natural beauty but the quality
human made additions like
“Ferienwohnungen” or holiday
apartments, high quality fish-
by Paul M Southwick
serving restaurants, five star
hotels, camping grounds, bike
or walking tracks and ferry boat
rides.
Germany is a land of lakes and
rivers. The 1,230km Rhine that
flows from the Swiss Alps out to
the North Sea is the best known,
but the 2,860 km Donau – which
flows from the Black Forest in
Germany through ten countries,
all the way to the Black Sea, via
Moldova and the Ukraine, in
the east, is significant as are the
many smaller tributaries to these
superstars like the Isar, that flows
gracefully through Munich –
with its pebbled beaches, surf
and sun bathing spots.
First Among Equals
At 571 km2, Bodensee, or Lake
Constance as it is known in
English, is by far the largest
lake in Germany – being four
times larger than any other.
The Rhine River flows in and
out - via the captivating rushing
water falls at Schaffhausen, and
is bordered by three countries
- Germany, Switzerland and
Austria with their stunning,
jagged, white mountains.
Inhabitants of the German
State of Baden-Wurttemberg
whose shores make up the
largest portion of the German
side are not too keen to be
told that the lake also borders
the state of Bavaria. Bavaria is
famous for at least four other
lakes – Chiemsee on the A8 to
issue no.5 october 2015 43
Salzburg, the uber reich shored
Starnberg near Munich, the
nearby sister lake Amersee
which is so good for swimming,
and the home of so many current
and past Munich based CEOs,
Tegernsee.
History
Not surprisingly a place as nice
as Bodensee has been inhabited
for a very long time. Who
wouldn’t want to live there?
The German city of Konstanz,
after which the lake gets it
German name, is one of those
places that straddles two
countries with the Swiss town
of Kreuzlingen being simply
an extension of the same road
and railroad. This was great for
German residents in WWII as
Konstanz was one of the very
few places not to be bombed by
the Allies for fear the explosives
might go astray and hit the
“neutral” bankers.
establishments – many of which
have plaques of the high water
mark – above their front door
step.
Konstanz, a busy and obviously
wealthy university and tourist
town, with a population of
80,000, traces life all the way
backs to the Stone Age. It was
the site of the only Roman
Catholic conclave ever held
north of the Alps, in 1417, when
Pope Martin V was elected.
The great natural beauty of
Bodensee is matched by the
number of family friendly
things to – many of them
outdoors in the warm, blue-sky
summers running from June
to September. The Internet
teams with sites offering up
all the attractions and visit
ideas. For example: http://www.
constance-lake-constance.
com/ or http://www.constancelake-constance.com/ or http://
wheel2wheelholidays.com/
pages/lake-constance-cyclingholidays
Bodensee rarely freezes over,
the last time being 1963 – and
before that in the 1880s. It
also rarely floods, the last time
being in 1999 when it rose
over two metres flooding local
Multiple Family Activities
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Here are some of the best
attractions: The Airship museum
at Friedrichshafen, from which
tourists can take a ride in a modern
airship; the ferry trip from historic
Meersburg across to Konstanz
– necessary when driving from
Munich; The “flower island” of
Mainau – a must see – refer here
http://www.mainau.de/home.html
cycle tours around the whole lake,
and the smaller but historical island
of Lindau off the Bavarian “coast
line”.
Insel Reichenau – the
Jewel of Bodensee
The historic, UNESCO World
Heritage site (since 2000) and
fresh, green, glittering island, of
Reichenau is the shinning jewel of
Bodensee. It lies just 15 minutes
drive from Konstanz – there is
narrow causeway across from the
mainland, built in 1838, and has a
Mediterranean like climate.
This 4.3 km2 island has a
permanent population of just 3,300
that swells by tens of thousands
over summer – rather like Mt
Maunganui or Wanaka in New
Zealand or Sorrento or Noosa in
Australia. Total tourist bed nights
per annum are over 220,000, but
it is not nearly as crowed as the
aforementioned down under
holiday spots. It is famous for its
three historic churches –and the
establishment of The Benedictine
Abbey of Reichenau, in 724, by
Saint Permin.
Although “invaded” by tourists
in the summer and those with
weekend homes during the
vacations, its main role is growing
vegetables, fruit and grapes
that find their way throughout
Germany and Europe. The annual
production of vegetables is 14,000
tonnes – that’s a lot of lettuce.
There are also 20 professional
fisherman netting plentiful
whitefish, kretzer, pike and trout
Getting There
The options are all very easy and
scenic. First one needs to get
close. This could be by one of the
many regular from anywhere flights
into Munich, Friedrichshafen or
Zurich, train to Konstanz, or by car
down the autobahn from Munich
or Stuttgart – an experience in itself.
Then it is a quick drive, ferry or taxi
from Konstanz to the island. Once
issue no.5 october 2015 45
on the island cars can be used
but much more popular are bikes
which can be rented everywhere
for ten euros per day. All providers
have a good range of wellmaintained bikes and child seats.
But helmets tend to be frowned
upon in Germany (strangely
undemocratic and against
personal freedoms), so bring them
with you for yourself and family,
or, well, be daring and do as the
locals do, after all it is “Ferienzeit” or
holiday time.
There are many useful tourist tips
here: www.reichenau.de
Accommodation
For a small island there are multiple
accommodation options of all
types. There is a large camping
ground right on the water, multiple
holiday apartments – either
attached to locals’ homes or
separate, and several hotels. By
far the best is the five star Hotel
Strandhotel Löchnerhaus right
on the water at Reichenau where
the ferries come and go all day.
Even the address sounds good.
It’s “An der Schiffslände 12” Not
only is this the best place to stay
but it is also the best place to eat
with magnificent views across
the Lake to Switzerland. It is the
destination of many romantic
weekends, a place, for sure, of
much “conception”.
There is also a cross between
hotels and holiday apartment that
are based around a central area
with meals, activities and great
opportunities to mix with other
holidaymakers – many of which
will be Germans.
Churches
Three well preserved medieval
churches in the style of the 9th to
the 12th century – St George, St.
Mary and St Mark, and St. Peter
and Paul are popular with tourists
– visitors can walk, bike or drive
to them and have a look inside.
There are few signs in English
but the murals, monuments and
architecture – both internal and
external, speak for themselves.
Standing inside the churches t is
46 spark magazine travel
very hard not to imagine being
on the island way back in 1400. It
surely was just as beautiful then.
Ferry Rides
Beautifully maintained
wooden ferries with names like
“Reichenau” and “Schaffhausen”
come and go all day. They can be
used either to get to another place
on the lake - there are so many
wonderful spots, for example
Radolfzell (a must to time the
return trip at sunset), or as is often
the case, for a leisurely trip on the
lake with tea and cakes.
For the lovers of green energy
there is even a small solar
powered and silent ferry that
travels back and forth to the small
Swiss town of Mannenbach where
tourists can go for lunch. Like all
ferries here it also takes cycles and
is very reasonably priced.
Swimming
If there is one thing Germans love
and do often it’s swimming in the
lakes. And Insel Reichenau is one
of the best places to do that. In
summer the water is warm, clean
and clear. There are lovely little
mini beaches with pebbles or sand
and even better, unlike Australia
or New Zealand, no crocodiles
or sharks to eat you. The water is
crystal clear and the slope gentle.
There are of course no waves but
being able to lie back and look at
the snow capped mountains or
grape covered hills makes up for
that.
Because of the calm warm
waters in summer sailing, paddle
boarding, canoeing and similar
water sports are very popular and
perfect for the whole family. Again
it is easy to rent this vessels around
the lake and yes, life jackets are
provided.
The beauty of being on this island
is the sunsets at the end of long
sunny days. At this romantic time
many locals emerge for a swim or
walk hand in hand. Early morning is
also very popular for swimming.
Out and About
At 4.5 km long and no more than
1.5km at its widest point, a walk
around the entire island is easily
achieved in half a day - even with
kids, and there are many great
places to stop for a rest – the
churches, camping ground, boat
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harbour, central shops, cafes or
any number of beautiful bays.
One of the best places for a walk
is to the highest point on the
island the “Hochwart” – at just
45m above the lake, from which
visitors can take photos of the
surrounding winery, lake - in all its
parts, as well as the green hills and
snowy mountains of Germany,
Switzerland and Austria. Visitors
to this point often linger and find it
very hard to tear themselves away.
Some say “we have got to find a
way to buy a place here” – it’s that
type of island.
It is also possible to tour the island
for free on a double decker bus
that has a great commentary.
A favourite and recommended
stop is the excellent museum
in the centre that highlights the
interesting history and teaming
wildlife of the area. Entry is free - as
for the buses with your hotel check
in confirmation.
Day Trips
There are many great days trip
tourists can do by rental car or
public transport from the island.
The most recommended would
be: To the massive Rhine Falls
(Rheinfall in German) the largest
plain waterfall in Europe where
the mighty Rhine exits the lake –
they are 50 m wide and 23 m high
with average flow in summer of
700 m3/s. The water rushes so
fast between the rocks, like Huka
falls near Taupo in New Zealand,
that no fish, except rock hugging
eels can climb them; to Zurich in
Switzerland to buy a Rolex watch,
Louis Vuitton handbag or similar
classy item; to the Airship Museum
in Friedrichshafen; to Stuttgart or
Munich for the day (longer trips);
or perhaps into the nearby town of
Konstanz for some shopping, sight
seeing or dinner. Don’t worry you
will get by fine with English. There
are also trips into Austria for cable
car rides to mountaintops.
Conclusion
Easy to get, clean and green, with
beautiful blue skies, historic, and
perhaps the most beautiful place
in Germany, Insel Reichenau is
the perfect destination for a great
family holiday. Make sure you stay
at least a week. Even if you do
you will be left wanting more and
booking to return next year.