Ciaran, deep in thought...("should I have another Pretzel?") by the lake in the park.
A perfect afternoon in May
My other favorite place is the garden of the hotel. I look down to see if there's an empty table for a nice al fresco breakfast.
Across the rooftops
Many of our European vacations start when we step out onto our balcony at the Admiral Hotel in Kohlstrasse. I open a complimentary bottle of cold beer from the mini bar in the room and take a seat. I can immediately feel the many hours of travel-usually 12 hours from the time we left home to go to the airport in Chicago-fall away. The long flight through the night is worth it when you have stopped moving and are in your new home-from-home. We love Munich and we love Bavaria.
One evening on TV, back in late 2004 we saw a film called Bavaria from the Air, which was shot from a low flying helicopter. We saw a place there called Lindau that looked beautiful and the name had a special significance for Opera fans like us as it was the place where Richard Wagner, fleeing arrest for his part in the 1849 Dresden Revolution, got on a boat using a false Passport and sailed to Switzerland across Lake Bodensee (Lake Constance) where he would remain for 12 years.
So when it came time to return to Munich in 2005 we had to see Lindau and stay overnight.
It's less than a two hour Autobahn drive on A96 heading Southwest. The town sits on an island and is accessed by a road and a railway line. We would be staying on the waterfront in a beautiful classic hotel called the Bayerische Hof in a suite with a balcony overlooking the harbor.
http://www.bayerischerhof-lindau.de/?language=en
The Hotel
Many of the tourists you see here are on their way by ferry to either Austria or Switzerland, both visible across the Bodensee. There is a constant stream of ferries running from morning to evening.
As seen from our hotel balcony.....
Austria is to the left and Switzerland to the right.
There's no nightlife to speak of in Lindau, for those of you who like to be entertained and dance the night away. We are happy with a quiet town in a beautiful setting and the highlight of an evening for us is a fine meal and a stroll by the water on a warm evening.
There was actually entertainment happening on the harbor side when we arrived- a comedy juggler of considerable skill was performing. The crowd gathered there was laughing but his jokes were in German and we didn't get their subtleties. He was followed by a comedy unicyclist. Good simple entertainment for the passing tourists. They performed near the foot of a tall tower nearby.
This, though is the iconic image that says "Lindau" and is one that Wagner would have known back in 1849 as he sailed out. We just had to have a room with this view!There's an open-air Opera house at the Austrian ferry port of Bregenz where the stage floats on the lake which we someday hope to visit. There was nothing playing when we were there but I hope someday we'll get to visit it and take the ferry over to Lindau to see this lovely town from the water.
A quiet stroll away from the hustle and bustle of the harbor...
Interesting garden ornament
And the real thing relaxing on it's nest in a corner of the harbor wall
At dusk the tourists begin to leave
Wanting to stay by the harbor we decided to dine in the Hotel's restaurant that evening and enjoyed a fine German meal, cooked by a Swiss chef as is so often the case in Premium German hotels. Refined cooking and as always, stellar service. This was at a time when I didn't photograph all our meals-all that has changed of course.
With no night life to speak of, after dinner was spent sitting outside by the harbor listening to the water lapping against the dock. Then a deep contented sleep.
In the morning the procession of ferries would begin again and after breakfast it would be time to pack the car once again and continue on our travels.
Goodbye Lindau! We hope to see you again some day....
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