Bodensee

We camped by Bodensee for three nights, two in a big campsite at Langenargen, then one in the stelplatz in Lindau. The entire area is crisscrossed by cycle tracks and all three of us had great fun rediscovering the delights of cycling. Here's a quick photographic rundown of what we got up to:

Next day we moved to Lindau. It's truly one of the most charming towns I've ever visited. The old centre occupies an island in the lake. Steamers constantly come and go, squeezing between the twin pier heads, the first with a little lighthouse at the end, the second terminating more nobly with the town's famous, and much photographed lion statue.

We stopped off for lunch at the station cafe, not something you would want to risk in the UK. This was no ordinary station. Situated right on the lake side so trains could connect with the lake steamers, the building itself was interesting. Early 20th Century by the look of it, but definitely showing Jugendstil influences from a previous decade.

The streets of the old town are full of pastel coloured Fifteenth and Sixteenth Century houses and the square behind the Alt Rathaus centred around a beautiful sculptured fountain. Add this to its lakeside setting and Lindau exudes charm and an old fashioned gentility, without ever being stuffy or pretentious.

The Rathaus is covered in frescoes painted in a lively vernacular style which is difficult to date, they look mid Sixteenth century, but I suspect they are later. The squares hum with busy cafes and the streets resound to an eclectic mix of buskers ranging from Polynesian traditional singers, a lively saxophone quartet playing Disney themes, a dramatic Argentinian style accordionist and a soulful solo violinist playing something from the Romantic repertoire I could not place.