The great thing about planning a roadtrip “on the hoof”, is that you can go where the wind takes you and not be confined to a route due to pre-booked campsites. The downside to this is that it sometimes takes a few attempts to find somewhere to park up for the night and there are occasionally obstacles along the way you may not have anticipated (low bridges, for example 😳). So it is that I find myself outside Konstanz, near the shores of the Bodensee in a gravel parking lot just a few minutes walk from the third campsite that has turned me away. As it happens, there is a huge silver lining with this as (a) it costs €2 instead of €25 and (b) the campsite, when I bike down to it, is my absolute worst nightmare being that it’s jam-packed with with hordes of campers leaving no chance to enjoy the beautiful scenery in peace. So, feeling as though I had got the better end of the deal, I continued my bike ride along the lake and round a small island where I took refuge in a delightful Yacht Club while a huge storm erupted all around with a large glass of rosé (well, why not?!) Konstanz is yet another absolutely gorgeous and enchanting German city, emanating a distinctly romantic feeling with endless characterful old historic buildings and views of the Bodensee or the River Rhine around every corner. I know that I have been waxing lyrical about the beauty and intrigue of Southern Germany; as you can probably tell, I have completely lost my heart to this area and would thoroughly recommend to anyone to put it on their holiday list. The post-storm skies added to the charm of the place, as shown in the photos below….

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So, back to planning “on the hoof”; whilst sitting on the lake shore near Konstanz, I realise that it’s only a half hour detour to go via Austria. So obviously I decide to ‘pop in’ for a coffee the following morning, as you do. First of all, the Swiss border had to be negotiated and, once armed with my “vignette” (what a great idea to avoid toll roads – a one-off payment that lasts for the year), I head to Austria. What happened next is going to stay with me for the rest of my life and is still making me giggle/quake at its memory. Following my Satnav along a very narrow but acceptable road, I came face-to-face with a bridge that had a ROOF (why?!) which Gloria definitely couldn’t pass through. By this stage, I had built up a nice little trail of traffic behind me and there was certainly no room to do a 3 point turn, as the road only just allowed for 2-way traffic. I WAS STUCK!!! This is obviously a fairly common occurrence here as, just as I realised that I had run out of ideas, up popped a very nice Austrian policeman! As much as I was surprised to see him, I think that he was even more surprised to see me and, once he’d had a good look in the back of Gloria, trying but failing to find the man who could take the wheel and thus save the situation, he looked back at me with perplexity and then dismay when he realised that I was the only option. He indicated that I needed to reverse back to the previous junction. WHAT???!!! He had managed to get the numerous cars behind me to pull over to each side of the road, generously leaving me just a few centimetres either side with which to negotiate this tight manoeuvre. I think that Perplexed Policeman was even more surprised than I was that it all went smoothly and soon I was back on my way. Phew! Needless to say, I didn’t spend much time in Austria, as I was too worried that I might commit another faux pas and run into Perplexed Policeman again, so I just had a brief look around Bregenz and got myself out of there and back into Switzerland pronto. You will also be pleased to know that I have now downloaded some software that will advise me of any low bridges enroute – rookie error! Although I would like to apologise to all those Austrian drivers who were late because of me, the look on Perlexed Policeman’s face was almost worth it and makes me giggle every time I think of it 😂 Also, it’s nice to know that I can still stop traffic at my age!!!!

The fourth country of the day was Liechtenstein. This is a country that has been on my bucket list for years, as I was fascinated to know more about this little country and, added to that, I wanted to see in person why it always comes up in Pub Quizzes (it’s one of only two double landlocked countries in the world, for example). I found a great parking spot part-way up the mountain in the middle of nature which turned out to be the local tennis Club – I did check in to see if anyone wanted a game, but there was no one around. My “coffee – bike ride – castle” routine that has worked so well for the past week was an absolutely winning combination here, as it was just a short ride to Vaduz Castle……and then a very long 2:30 ride completely uphill to witness the most stunning view of this little Country. It was hard work but worth it, especially with the speedy long drop back down again into the valley!

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So now I find myself back in Switzerland in the gorgeous little town of Chur. I have 2 nights here and spend the intervening day going up the cable car (a weird experience without ski gear) and hiking up the mountain. I knew the weather wasn’t good, but it was either hiking in the mist and cloud or going to a museum, so it was an easy choice and definitely the right one, as it felt like so much more of an adventure climbing into the mists. I had the mountain to myself along with about 10,000 cows who provided a great musical accompaniment with their cowbells. I had just one hairy moment when, after a staring contest with a cow directly on my path that had horns, the cow won, mainly because I wasn’t entirely sure if it wasn’t masquerading as a bull, and a detour seemed the best option…..

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I am writing this sitting beside the River Rhine (rivers are second only to castles on this trip as the best memories to collect – so far, the Neckar, Danube…..) with rather shaking legs, wondering if this was from my big day hiking yesterday or the prospect of a hairpin mountain road to my next destination, St Moritz. Wish me and Gloria luck for this one!

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• Thoughts so far:
• German bike paths are plentiful and “wunderbar” – a bike is essential
• …..but is it time to upgrade to an e-bike?!
• Austrian policemen are very friendly
• Leichtenstein is the world’s leading manufacturer of false teeth
• Can cows have horns?

Footnote: this is being sent late due to (a) my unlimited data turning out to be limited (?) and requiring me to find coffee or beer spots to send anything (not a hardship!) and (b) because I was genuinely so worried about getting down the mountain pass from St Moritz and wanted to ensure that I hadn’t stopped traffic in Switzerland too….the next post will definitely feature ‘sweaty palms’ in the title!! 😅