Great time in 3 countries!

Part 2:
We took an overnight trip to Bregenz on another day to go to the outdoor lake stage opera. What an experience. If any of you get the chance to attend (4 weeks every summer mid July to mid August) just be forewarned that the show does go on, even in a pouring rain. I think the only thing that would cause them to cancel would be lightning on the lake. The first half of the opera was a little difficult to hear because of the big rain drops pounding on our rain poncho hoods! Here is a link to the website where you can click on the pictures to see some of the elaborate stages constructed for the operas which run for 2 summers in a row.

We also spent the better part of another day on a hops trail to and around Tettnang. They had just started harvesting hops in this region and it was remarkable that they let visitors wander around in the buildings among the equipment where the stripping, drying and bagging process was going on. There was also a pleasant 4km walk around the fields from the town to the biggest producer with restaurant and hops museum.

Thanks to many of you for specific restaurant recommendations, we tried several of them and loved the fish, schnitzel, rosti, spätzle and fresh summer fare.

We used a car, train (there were 4 of us so the regional tickets were economical), ferries and our feet to get around. We didn't use bikes as our house only had 3 and there were so many people doing serious biking around the lake that we weren't sure what our competence level would be.

I'd like to encourage more RS travelers to visit this area. In 3 weeks, we only heard native English spoken on the day we went to Freiburg. There were a lot of German tourists and some from a smattering other European countries enjoying this sunny, beautiful lake area. It was always busy and bustling with visitors. There were private beaches and big elaborate spas at the major towns that many were taking advantage of.

We had a great time and I think many of you would too. Our favorite most beautiful towns were Überlingen, Lindau and Meersburg (the only lake town without train access).

We flew home from Frankfurt yesterday after enjoying a Rhine wine festival in an interesting part of that city the day before.

So many places, so little time. Thanks for the report!

Mona, great report. I think your trips are perhaps closest in style and content to the types I hope to take in the coming years. I spent about a week in the Bodensee area as a kid in 1982, visiting a German family that my family had met before. They lived in a very nice part of Lindau, and we took a multi-day boat trip all over the lake. I remember hanging around Lindau's old town a lot, and visiting Konstanz. I liked the vibe of Konstanz. One day I walked to Bregenz and I remember stopping at a quiet border post and waiting to show my passport to the border guard, who was on the phone and not really noticing me.

I love the fact that the lake is shared by three countries, a pretty unique feat.

Hi, Mona. Thanks for the report. I'm working on a 3-week Germany trip for next May with 4-5 days at Bodensee. I will be staying in one of your "favorite most beautiful towns" -- Meersburg. I looked back at the post where you solicited requests for Bodensee, which is helpful. Anything that you found particularly noteworthy that you would encourage me to fit into my few days there? Thanks.

@ Dave
With your 4-5 day stay in Meersburg in May I'd recommend planning some of your excursion days with weather in mind. A friend of mine, who immigrated from Lindau as a child, told me her family's recommendation was to enjoy the lake and all it has to offer every sunny day. In May I could imagine that this might be a challenge. During the 3 weeks we were there we only had two days of rain and unfortunately one of those days was our outdoor opera evening in Bregenz, a date we couldn't change at the end of their opera season, mid July to mid August.

I think you'll really enjoy upper and lower Meersburg (the castle areas and the harbor/sea promenade). Fortunately there are lovely restaurants and places to sip a drink at both levels. Be sure to walk, bike or drive to the Birnau pilgrimage abbey on the lake and maybe have a meal at Rebmannshof restaurant on the shore below the abbey.

We enjoyed the large Zeppelin museum in Friedrichshafen but didn't visit the smaller museum in Meersburg. Either museum would be good for a rainy day visit. We spent several hours at the Friedrichshafen museum.

We really liked our boat ride to Mainau Insel and the extensive, varied gardens. We took the bus to Konstanz on the same day and then the boat back to our base in Überlingen. Be sure to spend a day in Überlingen walking the moat and finding the beautiful city towers. There is also a wonderful free city garden along and above the northern end of the city.

Spend a day in Lindau as there is so much to see there. It is the furthest western town in Bavaria bordering the lake. It might be good to take a guided tour in this small gem of a town. We happened upon an interesting church which had just discovered some extensive 15th century frescoes, perhaps by Hans Holbein. The other end of the church, St. Peterskirche, was a WWI and WWII memorial.

If you are beer drinkers take a drive through the orchards and vineyards to the hop fields around Tettnang and visit the working hop museum a couple of km north of the town. Perhaps some of the fruit trees will still be blooming when you are there in May and the hops should just be getting a good start at climbing up the 40' poles!

We've also spent a month in Freiburg so I highly recommend the Titisee area southeast of Freiburg for hiking and the wonderful towns to the west of Freiburg in France for day trips. We enjoyed Strasbourg, Colmar, and the numerous small towns along the wine route.

Great trip report. Lots of food for thought. Thanks for posting.

@Mona... Thanks so much for your thorough response! I greatly appreciate the effort that went into providing all of that information. We will be hitting the Black Forest prior to our stop at Bodensee. Gengenbach will serve as our base there, with plans to spend some time in Freiburg and to do some hiking in the area southeast of Freiburg. Thanks again for providing so much excellent information!