August 14th Konstanz to Stein am Rhine

We rolled out of Konstanz without knowing our exact plans. We wanted to reach Basel but we could do it in either 4 or 5 days depending on how much time we wanted to spend on the bike. There is quite a bit to see in this area. The Bodensee is a large lake where the Rhine starts. There is actually a large tributary that feeds the Bodensee called the Vorrhein (before rhine). There are a number of old cities, there are falls on the Rhine. We decided to simply follow the Rhine bike path and see what we would find.

We quickly found the bike trail and started towards Basel. We cycled along the Bodensee which was quite pretty but not spectacular. The Bodensee was extremely clear and clean. The bottom of the lake could easily be seen in 10 feet of water. As we left the Bodensee and started along the Rhine the Rhine was much smaller and cleaner than we had seen in other places.

We rolled through a number of small towns that were not very special until we reached Stein am Rhine. There was a city square that was surrounded by beautiful buildings each of which was several hundred years old. The buildings were architecturally interesting and were also painted. It made for an impressive surrounding. At the same time this city square was not a museum either. There were a number of small restaurants with outdoor patios and number of stores that were doing a brisk business. People went about their daily activities while we gawked at the buildings.

We stayed in the square for an hour using the time to buy a Swiss Army Knife for Alex and some post cards. We then rolled on and lunch on the banks of the Rhine just outside the city. We found some accommodations just outside of Stein am Rhein which was also a canoe rental center.

We spent the afternoon paddling down the Rhine in a 4 person canoe. The trip down the Rhine was pretty exhausting requiring about 5 hours in total. There was about 3 hours of paddling and an hour hour break to go swimming. At our canoe drop-off point, there was a 20 minute walk to the train station and about a 30 minute trip back to Stein am Rhein.

2009-08-14 Stein am Rhine