A Lindau visit as visa on slowboat to China

  Lindau, Bavaria, Germany
Thursday, August 28, 2008

Today we were supposed to pick up my son Francis at Friedrichshafen airport. But thanks to the snail pace of British foreign affairs, he is still in Sydney waiting for his passport with the appropriate UK residence visa.

They emailed him on Monday that the visa had been approved and his passport would be sent to him by courier from Canberra.

I talked to him today, Thursday, and by the sound of things his passport must be coming via a slowboat to China. The British embassy told him could expect the passport to take five days - by courier - snailmail is faster than that!

So we made a trip to Lindau instead. A town on one of the three islands on Lake Constance, Lindau is located near the juncture of the Austrian, German and Swiss borders.

Lindau from above

In my earlier life, I remember when driving from Geneva to Munich for the beer festival, stopping at the Austrian border before Lindau, to get an Austrian stamp in my passport.

But these days, since EU eliminated its borders, there is no longer any custom house between Austria and Germany and no visible sign when you enter Germany.

The town can be reached by car across the causeway or by train - it has an impressive mainline train station, which is one of only two major railway terminals in Bavaria (the other being in Munich), linking it by direct train to major German cities such as Munich, Cologne and Stuttgart.

Lindau railway station

As we drove across the causeway, there was a traffic jam of cars trying to get into the town and many tourists were walking towards us across the bridge. There were also many boats moored along the shores.

We were pleasantly surprised to discover parking was quite reasonable at one of the big parking areas at the edge of town at 5 Euro for six hours. The walk from the carpark to the centre of town is only 10 minutes and takes you across the railway lines via an old wooden pedestrian bridge.

One of Lindau's many pubs

We were soon in the centre of town walking along the main shopping street, Maximilianstrasse, with its colourful facades, flowers, shops and outdoor restaurants - all restricted from any car traffic.

Lindau's pedestrian precinct

Like so many other places around here, Lindau has a long and checkered history.

In 1224 Franciscan monks built a monastery on the island and the city became a free city in 1274-75 which meant it had independent representation in the 'Reichstag' of the Holy Roman Empire.

After the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, the town fell under the rule of Karl August von Bretzenheim, the elector of Pfalz and Bavaria, who in 1804 gave it to the Kingdom of Austria, which can't have been too pleased with the gift, for in 1805 it returned the town to Bavaria.

A hive of activity around the mid 18-hundreds resulted in the railway causeway to the island and a new harbour and its landmark lion sculpture and Bavaria's only lighthouse at the entrance.

Entrance to Lindau Harbour

In 1922, Lindau merged with the districts of Aeschach, Hoyren and Reutin. After WWII it fell under French administration and was not returned to Bavaria until 1955.

Things to do in Lindau include visits to the harbour, promenade along the Aeschach lake side, a range of water sports - from bathing and waterskiing to sailing, diving, yachting, windsurfing and canoeing - golf, cycling along its many cycle paths and 'rambling' along a new network of rambling paths linked to neighbouring communities and the Vorarlberg region.

The town also offer its own beer festival which takes place in early September as well as a puppet opera in late autumn.

The town is a major port of Lake Constance - and lake fishery has played a big role in the economy of the town. Today, the harbour was dominated by private motor launches and sailboats bobbing in the blue water while a zeppelin from Friedrichshafen floated across the sky.

Zeppelin overhead

As you walk through the cobblestoned streets, you can't miss the Lindau Townhall with its colourful Renaissance facade, featuring medieval knights and damsels, flowers and animals.

Lindau townhall and its impressive facade

We visited some of Lindau's many stores - which range from stylish boutiques, selling top labels such as Prada; houseware stores with an array of merchandise for the German houseproud frau, to food specialty stores selling typical German fare such as sausages and sauerkraut.

By four in the afternoon - the outdoor tables were emptying and we sat down at one of them, dying for a cup of coffee but were surprised when we ordered the coffee, the waiter told us the table was only available if we were having a meal.

At that time of the day - the demand for a meal was practically zero, so needless to say - the restaurant was looking disserted as the late lunchers were leaving.

We took our business across the street and relaxed under the market umbrella over a cappuccino enjoying the late summer sunshine and smell of the flowers.