The Bodensee Radweg is a 265 km bike path that completely circles the Bodensee (Lake Constance). This is an international trail that takes you through Switzerland, Germany, and Austria. SwissMobility breaks this route into 8 sections and I am following along with that plan. This past weekend, I biked stage 1, the 52 km that starts in Konstanz and ends in Überlingen, Germany. The first two thirds of this trail had me questioning why I was doing this – I got lost a number of times and I am still so bad at hills I needed to push my bike occasionally. And, because it isn’t following the lake shore, it isn’t that scenic. But the final third of the route was really wonderful and now I am looking forward to stage 2!
Detail Summary
| Where: | Konstanz to Überlingen Germany |
| Train: | Zürich HB -> Konstanz (Germany) – 1 hr 7 min Überlingen-Therme (Germany) -> Zürich HB – 47 min |
| What: | Bodensee-Radweg – Stage 1 Konstanz to Überlingen (SwissMobility) Bodensee Radweg Cycle path signs consist of a black line drawn cyclist with a blue back wheel.  If you keep the waypoints in mind, you’ll get there. Mainau -> Wallhausen -> Dettigen -> Langenrain -> Liggeringen -> Güttengin -> Stahringen -> Ludwigshafen -> Überlingen Note: I found this quote from Cycling Lake Constance to be 100 percent true: “In Germany, it is easy to miss a signpost in some places and go off the bike path. Due to the green-on-white optics, the readability is somewhat suboptimal.” Note: SwissMobility is great in Switzerland but not great in Germany. Be sure to download the map before heading out. |
| Stats: | Length 52 km, Ascent 520 m, Descent 520 m Mostly asphalt but some sections are packed dirt/gravel. |
Additional Info
Getting There
This trail starts at the Konstanz train station. I took my bike on the train to the starting point and then went down to the lake for a peek at the harbor before I went on my way.
This got me lost and I ended up cycling around Konstanz for a bit before I finally reconnected with my path.
The Trail
When I did find the path, I then went the wrong way for a bit. Anyway, after checking the map a number of times, I was finally on my way. Following the shore in the direction Mainau was the way to go. I didn’t see any of the official signs for the trail here. It was a frustrating start. But, the view over the lake was nice.
Once I got rolling, I did like the paved bike path and the wide bike streets. I still needed to check the map multiple times as the signs were hard to spot. The third picture below is the entrance to the gardens on Mainau Island. I went there once in the spring before I started writing the blog. The tulip and daffodil fields and gardens are a real joy. I plan to go back someday for the rose season but I haven’t done so yet. Also, just to note, the trail near Mainau Island was packed gravel and not asphalt like the trail description said.
After Wallhausen, the path turns away from the lake and heads up over the hill (aka – the Bodanrück via Wallhausen -> Dettigen -> Langenrain -> Liggeringen -> Güttengin). Again, I got lost and it took me some time to get back on the right path. This was also not a particularly scenic section so not very motivating, although I liked the flower field in picture two. I am also bad at hills. Fortunately, there is no law against pushing your bike up a steep hill, so I did that when I had to. Scenery-wise, the trail started to get more interesting around Stahringen.
After the trail returned to the lake shore by Ludwigshafen, I was starting to enjoy the ride a lot. It was well past lunch time and so when I came to the restaurant by the statue in picture two (Yolanda by the artist Miriam Lenk (german)), I decided to take a break. After lunch at Cafe Ristorante Aquarama (german) which was only ok, I took a walk around the harbor area. Really pretty views, and the end of the pier made a great place to take a selfie.
Back on the trail, I was surprised to see that one of the orchards was still heavy with apples in the middle of November. And I was also happy that the trail again had lovely views over the lake.
I was tired at this point but there were still a few km to go to the end of stage one.
Getting Back
Just before reaching Überlingen, in Goldbach, there are striking rock formations. I might have appreciated them more if I wasn’t feeling done for the day. Then, just as I entered Überlingen, I came to the Überlingen-Therme train station and the end of my ride.
While the start to this ride wasn’t my favorite, it ended so well I am now excited to do stage two. Winter makes it hard to know when I will get back to it, but I’ve heard this route gets super crowded in every other season, so I hope to get back to it soon.
| First Stage | | Next Stage >>>> |
Leave a Reply