German Road Trip #2: Lindau

Our Great Bavarian Road Trip officially began after we drove two hours from Freiburg to Lindau. The historic town of Lindau is situated on a little island on the Eastern side of Lake Constance, which also borders Switzerland and Austria.

Photo by Edda Praefcke via Wikipedia

My first impression of Lindau is that it reminds me of my childhood spring breaks on Hilton Head Island. It's a laid-back harbor town with a lot of little shops and a lot of ~older~ people walking around. Walking around is our favorite thing to do, and this little island was perfect for it. There are countless alleyways which open up to pleasant surprises like a tiny garden or a secluded cafe. I noticed that this town was very ADA-friendly, as opposed to many other European towns which are all stairs and no ramps.

Lindau Harbor is characterized by the only lighthouse in Bavaria and the Bavarian Lion statue, both built in the mid 1800s. We took a ferry ride around the lake, which was beautiful but also freezing. We sat on the deck in a sunny spot, shivering while drinking our cold beer. There are some things in life which cannot be compromised.

I was on the lookout for cool typography, and found some inspiration in these fun beer labels. Not sure what the wee Alpen child is doing with a giant liter of beer, but it's adorable. I also like the illustrative quality on both of the labels, I can tell a lot of detail and care went into designing them.

I want to improve my illustrating skills myself, and used this trip as a starting point. The sketchbook page below wasn't drawn on site, but I did use some pictures I took around town. I want to become an urban sketcher -- I even got a travel watercolor set!

Some logistical things:

- Hotel: We stayed at Hotel garni Victoria. They have three parking spaces for guests that are available on a first-come, first-served basis. The staff was very cautious and clean about everything covid-related.

- Food: We had a great dinner from Valentin and ate kebabs for most of our other meals. We did find some late night food at Straßer's Essbahnhof near the train station. As you'll see in my sketchbook notes, the owner gave us Jager shots and let us practice our German with him for a while.

- Parking: There's a large parking deck on the island, right after you get off the bridge called Inselhallenparkplatz. It's expensive, but it's convenient.

- The Best Park: There are a lot of parks and gardens along the perimeter of the island, but we thought the best one was called "Gerberschanze". It's secluded and had a pretty view of the lake.

After two nights in Lindau we were excited to get further into the Alps! Our next leg took us about an hour East, to Bad Hindelang, where we went on the most challenging and rewarding hike of my entire life. I very much look forward to sharing those pictures with you next time!