Southwest Germany
08/2018
It was the middle of August when my friend and I drove back home to visit my family in southwest Germany.
Black Forest
We spent a couple of days catching up with my family followed by a few nights stay at a hut in the Black Forest to relax and detach from the world.
Freiburg
Freiburg was just a stop along the way since we took a bus from there to the city of Constance to stay there for a few more days. We strolled through the city and walked up the Schlossberg where one can climb up a tower to have a view over the city. Not great for people scared of heights (like me).
Lake Constance
My sister has been living in Constance for a while now and even tho she has been on holiday herself we got to use her flat as accommodation and spent a few days there. Like ever so often when I pursue a journey we had plenty of luck with the weather.
My sister left us some bikes, making it possible to go for a bike ride around Reichenau Island. They had lots of greenhouses and orchards there. We ended that day with a swim in the lake and some fine food at a restaurant.
I was also keen to see Meersburg again, a town I remembered as particularly nice to see. We crossed the lake by ferry and walked around the Meersburg area.
Highlight of our visit was the so called Seenachtfest, a celebration at the lake. Besides food and entertainment there was supposed to be a big firework that night. There was something special about it: the city of Constance has a border within that separates Switzerland from Germany, so there is a german and a swiss part of the city. The firework was a joined effort, both fired their own firework and then had a shared ending.
We scouted out a spot at the lake from where you’d be able to see it. Since my sister is a local we got a good recommendation for that. Soon it got dark and people on their boats turned on their lights, making the whole lake glow like fairy lights. It was rather beautiful with the scenery of the boats and two fireworks at once!
