Adventures in Germany

The last ten days flew by, and the adventures have been stacking up, despite my lack of blog posts. 

The German town of Lindau is just six miles up the lakeshore, and there is a great biking/walking trail that goes all along the edge of Lake Constance. Last Tuesday after class about ten of us set off on bikes for Germany. It was a gorgeous day, perfect for a bike ride, and we made quick time. We found a spot on the island (of Lindau) to park our bikes, and the moment I locked up my bike I had the instant sinking realization that my bike cable key was no longer on my person. My first thought I must left it on my bed when I unloaded my backpack for the ride, so after ransacking my backpack several times, I borrowed Jon’s bike and headed back to Bregenz solo hoping to return in time to get in on at least some of the exploring with the rest of the group.

This church is about all that I saw of Lindau. The organist was practicing, which was perfect.

The whole way home I couldn’t help but think that I definitely had not taken the key out of my backpack since I had it a couple of hours earlier after class, so I prayed on repeat while I biked that it was somehow miraculously in my room. No such luck. My host family was nowhere to be seen, and of course the internet was down for the first time since I have been here, which meant that I had no way to contact them. I changed out of one sweaty outfit and rode to our school for some wi-fi access to let my family know what was up then set off back to Germany for the second time that day, without much of a plan but knowing that I needed to get Jon’s bike back to him.

Rainbow over Bregenz on our return trip

Another six miles later, I managed to find some of my group, and we considered our options. I was ready to leave the bike in Germany, take the train back, and come back for the bike later, but the guys wanted to try their hand at breaking the lock. While they tried various techniques (bobby pins, brute force, etc.), I took a mini-tour of Lindau while trying to find a bike shop with Jordan. I was prepared to have to prove my ownership of the bike somehow in order to get some help, but it must have been a regular occurrence because I barely explained my situation before she handed me a hefty cable cutter and sent me on my way. By the time we made quick work of the first cable, bought a new one, got some sustenance in us, and managed to collect the entire group, shops were closing and dark clouds were closing in. I decided that, since I knew the way so well now, my Lindau exploration could wait for another day. By the time we returned to Bregenz Jordan was bleeding, my bike breaks were off kilter, and we were all quite damp.

Part of the crew, braving the rain

Overall, a successfully memorable day of adventure in Germany with little harm done.

Miles biked today: 26