Travel report: Lake Constance for sporty people

From our guests Annemarie and Christoph

Before the trip

We've had the Radweg-Reisen catalog at home for quite some time. Over the last two years, we've been busy building our house but have been browsing through this great catalog again and again. This year we moved into our new home and treated ourselves to a Radweg-Reisen holiday. I simply informed Radweg-Reisen of our preferred date and starting point. So we booked a Lake Constance cycle tour for sporty cyclists from Bregenz for July 2019.

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Arrival

After a six-and-a-half-hour drive from our hometown of Purgstall in Lower Austria, we were very excited about our first hotel in Bregenz, the location of the hotel and the e-bikes we had booked. Even the first impression was great:
A hotel right in the center, very close to the lake promenade and the lake stage. We also took a look in the hotel's underground car park, where our e-bikes were already waiting for us.

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On the first afternoon, we visited the lake stage, where Giuseppe Verdi's opera "Rigoletto" was performed that evening. We were very impressed by the impressive stage design.

Afterwards, we took a stroll through the old town of Bregenz, where a very nice lady immediately approached us and showed us the center. We fortified ourselves in a pizzeria before heading back to our hotel.

Bregenz lake stage

Day 1: Bregenz - Constance (82 km)

On the first day of cycling, we left our luggage at reception for transportation and picked up our bikes after a wonderful breakfast at the hotel. We started our cycle tour from Bregenz to Constance in wonderful weather.
A beautiful lakeside promenade and a great view of Lake Constance were our constant companions. We cycled through the well-kept towns of Hard, Gaißau, Altenrhein (Hundertwasserhalle), Rohrschach, Arbon and Romanshorn. In Kreuzlingen we crossed the border to Constance. There we cycled directly through the city center and along the lakeside promenade "Little Venice" to our accommodation in Litzelstetten, near the island of Mainau.
The Hotel Ko'Ono was furnished in Hawaiian style and was run by a very nice, young, chill team. We then had our well-deserved, very tasty meal there.

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Day 2: Constance - Schaffhausen (68 km)

On the 2nd day of cycling, we cycled full of energy from Constance to Schaffhausen. Gottlieben, Steckborn, Eschenz, Stein am Rhein, Gailingen and Büsingen were wonderful villages with lovely houses. Stein am Rhein is particularly worth mentioning. It is the most beautiful little town we have come across so far. The medieval old town center with its wonderfully restored half-timbered houses, the countless facade paintings, the idyllic corners and the dreamy alleys were very inviting.

Schaffhausen - the town of 170 oriels - and the Rhine Falls there were our destination. The Rhine Falls is the largest waterfall in Europe - a truly amazing natural spectacle that you have to see! The Rhine Falls can be reached by boat. In the middle of the thundering Rhine Falls, you can climb the stairs along the rocks. In the background is Schloss Laufen, an ancient fortified castle with spectacular views!

We spent the night in an old hotel right in the center of Schaffhausen, in a "Dachkammerl" on the 4th floor, which on closer inspection turned out to be newly renovated and very tastefully adapted to the roof truss. In the evening, we went to the banks of the Rhine and enjoyed an excellent meal in a typical Swiss riverside restaurant.

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Day 3: Schaffhausen - Überlingen (73 km)

On the 3rd day of cycling, we headed back to Stein am Rhein, where we once again enjoyed the unique flair of a romantic old town. We were there early, so there were no bus passengers yet. We cycled on along the Höri peninsula to Gaienhofen (Hermann Hesse).

We kept catching glimpses of the monastery island of Reichenau. This was followed by Stiegen, Oberstaad, Wangen, Gaienhofen, Moos and then Radolfzell. There we took a break at a wonderful bathing spot. We continued on to Bodman. After 73 km we reached the imperial city of Überlingen. There we spent the night in a traditional hotel with a rustic but beautiful ambience and very friendly staff. We enjoyed dinner on the lakeshore and were entertained by passing tourists and music from the restaurant next door.

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Day 4: Überlingen - Bregenz (70 km)

On the 4th day of cycling, unfortunately the last, we headed back to Bregenz. Via Uhldingen (pile dwellings) we went to Meersburg - a very lovely historic old town. We continued via Hagnau and Immenstaad to Friedrichshafen (famous Zeppelin museum). We enjoyed a break on the wonderful lakeside promenade. There was also an artists' market taking place that weekend and we arrived just as it was being set up. We then cycled through orchards, through a campsite and on to the picturesque island town of Lindau. A beautiful lakeside promenade and a fantastic view of Lake Constance delighted our hearts. After several kilometers, we treated ourselves to a dip in the cool waters of Lake Constance. That was pleasant, as we were already cycling for the 4th day at 37 / 38 degrees!

After that, we enjoyed the last part of our cycle tour to Bregenz, where we stayed in the same hotel as at the beginning.

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in Überlingen

I would particularly like to highlight the company Radweg-Reisen GmbH - it was a trip into the blue for us: 
Will we have roadworthy bikes? What will the accommodation be like? What will the route be like?

There were a few uncertain questions beforehand, but we simply took them in our stride - true to the motto: No risk, no fun!

And what actually happened:

  • The e-bikes
    We found bikes that were as good as new and of high quality. Charging the battery worked perfectly. They were our faithful companions for the entire duration of our bike tour!
  • The hotels
    My God, we were glad that we didn't have to look for accommodation at the end of a bike tour. All the hotels were great. The nice thing was that they were mostly located in the city center, not far from the cycle path!
  • The luggage transport
    The suitcases were delivered to us - it seemed as if brownies were working in the background.

It's a shame that we never met anyone personally from the company Radweg-Reisen GmbH. So I would now like to put this in writing:
We were completely satisfied with everything and can only warmly recommend Radweg-Reisen GmbH!

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