Austria 2002 - Lake Constance

Day 1 - Arriving in Germany

We arrived in Friedrichshafen in Southern Germany late afternoon and picked up the car that we'd organised to rent at the airport. We were a little bit dissapointed to find that they'd given us a Vauxhall Astra ESTATE (not what we'd ordered), but when I found out that it had plenty of gadgets, including sattelite navigation, I was happy. Using the onboard computer, we searched for the nearest campsite and ended up in a VERY crowded campsite on the edges of lake Constance looking across to Switzerland, Leichenstein and Switzerland!

Below: The campsite was so full that the only place they had left was between some sailing boats! DOH!

After hurridly setting up camp before the onset of heavy rain, we ate some sweet bread a packet of crisps and drank some lovely water all bought from the local shop! What a way to kick off the holiday! As soon as the rain had stopped we walked down to the lake and watched the sun set.

Above: Looking across the lake towards Switzerland. You can just about make out a mountain in the centre of the picture. Our first glimpse of the alps.

Above: Poor old Ang had forgot how much ickle stones can hurt her little toes.

Below: The Austrian flag on a passing passenger ferry.

Day 2 - Feldkirk & Travel to Stubai Valley

Waking up the next morning in the warm sun we knew we were on holiday! We had breakfast on the beach (below) and then set off across the German border into Austria, stopping off at a small town called Feldkirk.

Using the sattelite navigation in the car to find a car park we then set off to see the sights of Feldkirk. The centre of Feldkirk was very quaint and was full of small cafes out on the street (below). We had a look around some of the shops where Ang was excited to find H&M!

Below: After wandering through all the small streets and tourist shops we bought a sandwhich & some fruit from the market, and then sat by the river to be attacked by wasps. The scenery was quite impressive by the river, with over hanging cliffs over looking the city centre.

After leaving Feldkirk we made the 3 hour journey towards Innsbruck into a valley to the south called Stubai. Click here to see pictures of Stubai Valley and the next day.

Day 8- Lichtenstein & Lake Constance

Leaving early from Neustift early in the morning we made our way back through Austria west towards Feldkirk. We travelled past Feldkirk and headed towards one of the smallest countries in the world, Lichtenstein. The country is so small that we almost drove straight through the capital city without even realising it we'd got there!

Above: The centre is overlooked by quite an impressive building.

Below: This is the centre of Lichtenstein and where the main roads meet! You can get an idea of how small this place is by the lack of traffic. The town was full of posh banks, expensive designer shops and Americans buying chocolate!

Leaving Lichtenstein we headed back towards Feldkirk where I tried out the local lunchtime favourite, salty sausage and dry bread - yuck! We then headed back to Friedrichshafen and booked a hotel room using the tourist information office. Again, the car's sattelite navigation took us straight to the hotel and even displayed a checkered flag as we pulled up the drive. As the last couple of days had been quite wet, we were very happy to be inside and in a dry bed!

Above: Angela is quite happy about being in a dry hotel room.

Below: That evening we headed down to the water front, bought ourselves a pizza & kebab (German style of course), and watched the sunset for the last time.

Above & Below: While we were eating our dinner an accordian band started playing - interesting....

Above: The water front was very well landscaped.

Below: Heading back to the hotel we grabbed a bottle of wine and some pringles. Here you can see Angela trying to open the bottle with my pocket knife. Not easy.... for a girl!!!

Day 9 - Meersburg & Flight Home

Our flight out of Germany wasn't until mid-afternoon so we decided to spend the time exploring Meersburg about 10 miles up the coast of the lake. Meersburg was obviosly a popular tourist destination with coach loads of people arriving all the time. There were lots of quaint little tourist shops and a "schloss" on the hill overlooking the lake (below).

Above: At Meersburg we decided to play crazy golf which was CRAZY! Poor old Angela didn't do very well - but it was great fun none the less. We then grabbed an icecream and tried to soak up the last rays of German sunshine before the flight home.

Below: While waiting for the flight out of Germany we sat in the newly refurbished restraunt at the airport which had a great view of the runway and even better food. For some reason, and we're still confused, Friedrichshafen is famous for Zeppelins. While we were eating our lunch one of them landed at the airport, picked up some people and flew off again!

Our flight home was very painless except for the big rain clouds that appeared as soon as were over the UK - doh! Getting off the plane made us realise just how flat it is down here! We couldn't see even a hill anywhere!