Day 11 * Stein am Rhein and Konstanz

Woke with a start, and with the little trains at 7 am.

Hotel 3 Landgasthof Schafli – Wängi
Well appointed room on the top (2nd floor) – the non-smoking one (though the paint still carries the faint odour), with a view of the Frauenfeld–Wil Highway and Railway, and if you lift your eyes a little higher, to some of the surrounding countryside. The restaurant is below us on the bottom floor and this afternoon on our return we wondered if the person who serviced our room had been smoking, til we realised the window was open and the BBQ was going for the restaurant. They use a sweet smelling wood for their charcoal as it is not at all foul.

Breakfast with the Friebes and Paul was there too. More hugs and kisses and he opened his present of a good Saints Cab Sauv from the Hawkes Bay. After heart surgery, he too has had the message that at least one lass of red wine a day si good for the continued health of the heart!. More catching up with the Coopes and then they were off to Zurich and Denise and I to Konstanz. However Margrit had slightly different ideas and she and son Philippe took us to Kreuzlingen via the Carthaus Itingen - a Carthusian Monastry that was erected on the site in 1079, then to Stein am Rhein which is back in the canton of Schaffhausen. It is a wonderful old town which has all these old buildings that have scenes from their history painted on them, some of the paintings going back centuries. Shopping and taking photos and more shopping and more photos. I couldn’t work out who was more excited Denise, or Margrit who could see Denise’s enjoyment.

Then it was off to Kreuzlingen which is the Swiss side of Konstanz, and the road wound along the side of the Rhein - photo opportunity strikes again, through Ermatingen where I preached on my stay 10 years ago. Margrit and Philippe dropped us off just near the border and left us to fend for ourselves. The trip across had had Kathrin calling three times as she checked with Margrit that things were all arranged, who after the second call laughed and said she thought she was making Kathrin & Philippe nervous that everything would be all right. She certainly seemed to be a lady in control.

Back to Germany. We walked disappointedly across the border - once more no one stopped us, asked for passports or stamped them or anything! But oh for some lunch. Hang on - we swapped all our Euro, so after counting up the small change in Denise’s purse and realising €2.60 wasn’t going to buy much lunch it was off to a bank or rather a Geldautomat. Walked through the impressive city gates and into the old part of town. Like them all, each old town has its own building style and Konstanz was lovely. The humidity was getting up to 100% and apparently a storm was brewing so we found a nice looking Italien restaurant and had salad and pizza - a different salad for each type of pizza. I thought I’d ordered one with the house speciality (Sardines) but no got that wrong – on top of my tomato slices – was…Rocket! Still, it was very tasty and we were impressed with the lightness of the bases.

Off exploring and down to the lakeside. The wide market place was filled with people and street musicians and in the subway there was our accordian player friend from Zurich. Up the ramp and on to the waterfront and there was the statue of the wonderful lady of the town with a bare-assed bishop on on hand and a king in the same attire balanced one on each hand. It commemorates a famous church council of the 12th century held in Konstanz. After looking at her we noticed a round trip ferry tour, having decided not to go over to Meersburg after the weather warnings, and had a delightful 45 min tour of the harbour and wider area.

Got back and went to the station which has a Swiss section, (no passport check there either!) to find we’d just m issed a connection to our next destination Weinfelden. Fortunately they run regularly and we got one a quarter hour later. I suddenly realised where we were, as it was the train that I regularly caught from Lengwil, next to Oberhofen and was able to show Denise where I’d spent my study leave 10 years ago. A train change at Weinfelden and we were on our way to Wil (the other end of the line from Frauenfeld) to catch the little red tram to Wängi. Had an oops moment as I thought I knew where it was situated but no it was 180º and across three platforms, so did a brisk walk to find it didn’t leave for another 10 mins.

Had a wee rest having got back at 6.25, which got a little bit extended and walking up the road to Friebe’s I could see Margrit looking anxiusly down the road for us coming. A wave and she was fine. Got there and had fondue and racklette on the porch for evening meal. A lot of fun and Margrit was amazing coping with all us Kiwis without any of the others of her family there. We went inside after the thunder storm brought some rain. It was the second night in a row to have one - most spectacular - pink flashes every couple of minutes or so. Picked up our laundry, got the instructions for the morning and came home to pack bags and stuff for the trip tomorrow. Stopped in the hotel restaurant for coffee and ice-cream for Denise and kirsch for me – wow on both accounts. The mocha/vanilla ice-cream was so smooth and creamy it was nothing like we’ve had before. Found out where we were to store our stuff while away and then retired to finish the packing.

Turned the light out and had one of the noisiest nights we’ve had - almost like a good night on Te Rapa straight with cars, bikes, loud louts and the bells from the train crossing every half hour, right into the night.