Today was a very full day sightseeing with Christa and Dieter our enthusiastic local guides.

The morning was sunny, and we cycled together about 6km to the Reichenau island. You enter the island through a long causeway across the lake and a short bridge. There is a statue of bishop Permin who founded the monastery on the island in 724, as you enter.

    

We were surprised by the number of greenhouses and vegetable farms across the island. There are also many beautiful homes, some with rooms for tourists to rent, all with bright flower gardens.

Christa took us through the Reichenau abbey church, there has been a church and monastery here for over 1000 years. Part of the church is Romanesque architecture and part Gothic. There are many treasures, including old reliquaries, a relic from St Mark, and old chalices.

              

We made a stop at a large garden centre where Krista bought some plants and then to a lakeside cafe. We sampled some local fish, and also fresh salad grown on the island.

Kris’s bicycle began to make clicking noises as we rode around and he thought his bearings were going. So Kris and Dieter took it to the local bicycle shop and they confirmed that they needed to replace the bearings on the crank shaft and the back wheel – luckily they could do it by 11am the next morning.

As Kris was now without transport, Christa and Dieter took us to have a look at Konstance by car. It is a very beautiful city with a great vibe, especially around the waterfront where there are lots of places to promenade along the lakeside.

             

             

            

That evening Christa made some traditional cheese noodles for us as a treat. I watched her make them made with special flour, egg, salt and water – she beats them very hard, and then puts the soft dough through a sieve into boiling water (there is obviously a knack to this, I don’t think I could make them). The noodles are then drained in cold water and can be kept for a day before serving. They are served fried with cheese and with fried onions on top and are very yummy.