This weekend I went to the Bodensee (Lake Constance) with Hanna, Babsi, Teresa, and Liz.The Bodensee is on the southernmost tip of Germany- bordering it are the German states of Baden-Württemberg and Bayern, Switzerland, and Austria. Liz came down to Heidelberg on Wednesday, and the next morning, bright and early, we all hopped on the Bummelzug south towards Konstanz. We rode on the Baden-Württemberg ticket, a wonderful deal by which 5 people ride all day on the slow trains through the entire state for 28 euro. It's cheap and beautiful- from Karlsruhe southwards we rode the Schwarzwaldzug (Black Forest train) through the small towns and villages of southern Germany. The Schwarzwald is breathtaking. Rolling hills, castles, rivers, cows, churches, farmers. We arrived in Konstanz around 1:30 and met Teresa, who met us after a night at home in the area.
We took the bus to another part of the city, all based off of Teresa's memories of a school field trip 7 years ago. Hanna asked a lady for directions and the lady thought she wasn't German due to her crass northern accent. We found the camping spot after a short walk and were told there was no room left- Teresa, doing her best impression of my mom, wiggled us into being allowed a spot. She's a girl you're happy to have on your side. We set up camp, shocked by the hospitable size of both tents. We were exhausted and promptly exhausted the food reserves we'd packed- the sun was very strong and we hid in the shade. Eventually we suited up and headed to the lake.
Expectations for this lake shed light on the differing notions of size between Germans and Americans. I live (and study) in Chicago on Lake Michigan. We consider Lake Michigan to be huge, but I think it's so big we all kind of consider it as an ocean. Its surface area is 58,000 km squared. A bit larger than Croatia. It's huge. But I feel like that's never really discussed, because it really is so huge.
The Bodensee, by comparison, is said to be this massive landlocked ocean, nestled between three countries and a must-see vacation location for millions of Europeans each year. Don't get me wrong, it is beautiful. From our camping location we could look southeast across the lake to the Austrian alps, covered in snow while the sun browned (or reddened) our skin. But its surface area is 536 km sq. That's less than 1/100th of Lake Michigan. Teeny. Wimpy. But still jaw-droppingly stunning.
Thursday evening we met up with Teresa's friend from grade school, Sina. She took us on a walk around Konstanz, ending up at an Asian take out place, from which we grabbed some noodles in boxes and headed towards the waterfront. There's something incredibly relaxing about a city, at night, on water. And add to that the German prowess at lighting buildings, it makes for a beautiful evening. We ate there and talked for a while and eventually made our way back to the campground and our tents. The skies had been threatening all evening, and once we had safely entered our tents Mother Nature decided it was appropriate to let loose. While enjoying wine and candlelight in the tent, the heavens let loose and we decided to call it a night before it got any worse. The rain continued for hours but we stayed (mostly) dry. Sleeping outside in the rain isn't quite as enjoyable as watching a storm from a balcony- it's less spectator and more participant, but we made it through the night unscathed and were given the gift of beautiful weather on Friday.
Friday we had breakfast on the lake, with the rising sun beating onto us. I went for a swim early. The lake was bitter, bitter cold, but after 20 minutes or so it was quite refreshing. And the evaporative cooling once you left was also nice. We relaxed in the sun for most of the day, reading, swimming, and laying in the sun. In the evening we went to Sina's apartment for dinner. Sina's roommate, his brother, her dad, and her boyfriend joined our ranks for a party of 10- we all wandered to the grocery store and got our wares. On their sweet and sizeable balcony we grilled sausages, chicken, veggies, cheese, and more, but the absolute highlight of the night was the Bärlauch brought by Sina's dad. Bärlauch in english is called ramson, wild garlic, or bear's garlic. I'd never seen, tasted, or heard of it before coming to Germany, but I'd never eaten it fresh until Friday. Bärlauch is basically a highly concentrated spread, rich in Vitamin C and tasting sharp-spicy-garlicy. It was fantastic, with bread, sausage, chicken, what have you. Sadly the leaves bloom around mid May and become not so tasty, so that may have been my last chance to eat it fresh. Thanks to Sina for her hospitality and a wonderful evening.
Saturday we decided to do one more day in Konstanz, soaking up rays and reading books. I finished "Der Vorleser" (The Reader). More on that later.
We packed up the camp and headed towards Konstanz for lunch. From Konstanz we rode the train to Teresa's home in Waldshut. Along the way the train passed through Schaffhausen, Switzerland- a new country! We also saw through the windows the Rheinfall, or Rhein Waterfall- huge, and cool, but again, Niagara is 52 m tall and the Rheinfall is 23m. I'm not saying, I'm just saying.
Teresa's home is beautiful. Waldshut is directly on the border of Germany and Switzerland, as far south as one can live in Germany. It's right on the Rhein and one can see Switzerland from her balcony. Her home is perched on a hill overlooking the town, looking south. Again, breathtaking. Saturday night (after showering for the first time in three days) we had a late dinner of garlic bread and tomato-mozzarella salad on their patio by candlelight. Lot's of wonderful beer was enjoyed, and eventually the guitar came out. My favorite song was Nowhere man. Pure joy.
I slept in a bed (!) and we woke to another beautiful day today in southern Germany. We had a perfect, traditional breakfast and hopped on the train back towards romantic Heidelberg. I'm tired.
I said goodbye to Liz again. Each time it's tougher than before, but as we said, it's sad because it's so happy.
So as I mentioned, I finished Der Vorleser yesterday. I got home today and found the movie online. I haven't finished it yet, but a few things have jumped out to me, and they mainly pertain to the adaptation, in general, of a book into a movie. I'm watching this movie directly after finishing the book, and I'm shocked by how subtle a book can be, and by comparison, how blunt a movie is, at least in this case. When the character is well known (I'd spent the last 3 days with them), and the plot is also no surprise, one can analyze other elements more closely. Certain moments, intended to be subtle upon first screening and prophetic upon later screenings, appear slow, unnecessary, and indulging. I don't want to give away anything in the film, but I gained an appreciation today of the power of literature to introduce and guide, as opposed to film's ability, or tendency, to bluntly affront.
Anywho, I hope all is well with everyone. My next trip is hopefully a bike tour along the Neckar to visit a friend studying in Tübingen. It'll be a two day ride with a layover in some little village. Maybe this weekend? Another great thing about the trip this past weekend- excluding food, it cost each of us a grand total of 34 euro. Unbelievable.
The first photo is our view from the campground beach area. The second is a tree on the shore, and the third is the view from Teresa'sliving room. The power plant is in Switzerland.
Love from Heidelberg,
Al
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