Day 5 Lake Constance (Patrick)

The Germans do have a sense of humour but not a lot of irony. 

Don't get me wrong. I'm as keen on my kilt as the next man.
If you've got a national costume then why not sport it?
But carrying a cuckoo clock on your back? And not in a funny way...

I awake to the sun shining through early morning mist straight into our cell. It is lovely, as is breakfast. Maybe Neustadt is not so bad after all. However, rather than waiting to find out we set off for a long circular ride around the southern half of the Black Forrest. The weather is good, t he views are good and the road is good. We feel good but are not good as we are well over the official speed limit most of the time. However, we ride well and eventually get to Konstanz.

Unfortunately the youth hostel is full, the camp sites are full, Konstanz is full. Don't we know that it is high season? Well it was too in the Black Forrest and that definitely was not full. I conclude that the Germans prefer the beach to the mountain trail. After several telephone calls we track down that the campsite at Markdoff to the north of Lake Constance has room and we get the ferry over. This illustrates some advantages of biking in that there is a longish queue for the ferry but we are waved to the front and get the last space on the boat. Ha!

On the ferry Charlie puts his foot down over camping as he is still in some pain after his prang and this will not be helped by the fact that he does not have a camping mattress. Blow me, we didn't call the Meersburg youth hostel and yes they do have space - for 2. It is only right that J&C take the 2 places (besides who knows who they will have to share with - and I have heard stories of amorous Frenchies) and I head up to the Markdoff campsite which I find no problem. I get the tent up on second attempt so not too bad. I think that this is another first - I have not stayed, let alone camped, at an official campsite before. I suspect that I have not hit the jackpot so far as campsites are concerned. Firstly, it is packed with only 4 tent spaces left, secondly it is high season and so it is nearly all happy families with many children running around and causing mild mayhem, thirdly my site is next the the road which is noisy. I am hoping that the road will quietness down later and I am sure that, once it gets dark and I go around making creepy noises, I should be able to get the kids to shut up.

As the site has its own bar and restaurant, I decide not to get not the bike again to find the equivalent in town and instead have a dunkle (dark) weissbiere and zander fish supper al fresco, as it is getting cool i go inside and have a mirrabelle schnapps and very good it is too. Now I shall repair to my commodious pavilion, read a little, listen to a podcast and, hopefully, sleep the sleep of the just.

This is me writing the blog. Not!
On the way to Munich we stopped at Garmish Partengarten to admire the ski jump.
And spotted this guy sitting in his garden, slowly leafing through a photo album.
Not a great picture but a rather touching moment.