the place where Germany meets Switzerland

One place where Germany meets Switzerland is somewhere in the middle of Lake Constance. To visit it, board the ferry in Friedrichshafen.

Don’t worry, you’ll arrive relaxed to your destination (entspannt am Ziel!).

When boarding, be aware of international spies.

Take your seat and enjoy the sight of your fellow travellers’ hair situation.

Watch the last passengers hurry up on board…

…and a few minutes later say goodbye to Germany.

On your way, greet those who are sailing…

and the rich people who can afford to pay 200 euros for a 30 minutes joyride flight those who prefer air to water.

And now, on to Swiss waters!

The border is somewhere here…

…or here?

Whatever. Can you spot the pirates?

A close-up of the fearless devils of the Bodensee:

Now it’s time to take a last look back…

…because you are almost at your destination!

Finish your drinks (or taking photographs of other people’s finished drinks, haha)…

…and prepare for landing.

To enjoy your adventure to the fullest, be the last one to leave the ferry.

Welcome in Switzerland!

the place where Germany meets Austria

One thing (amongst so many) I loved about living in Bregenz was its proximity to Germany and Switzerland. Because as a true child of the Iron Curtain Era, also called Socialism, I can’t get enough of the feeling of freedom that comes with crossing borders without being shot at. So I use every opportunity to prove myself that the world (or at least, the EU) belongs to me (well, at least until our president Orbán Viktor manages to get Brussels to kick us out of it, the possibility of which seems to grow with every occasion he opens his mouth for any other purpose than to breath, but let’s this blog remain my happy place, untouched from harsh Hungarian reality and forget for a moment to which nation I happen to belong) (it’s not easy; I have so much to tell you about how 3,3 million is not the 98% of 8,2 million – the number of Hungarian citizens allowed to vote – but I will try to restrain myself and concentrate on my adventures of the summer of 2015) (but believe me, these are the times that make me really regret that I’m not blogging in Hungarian anymore, hahahaha).

Anyway. Back to Bregenz and to nicer times, spent with my bike, Rozi II…

…with whom, on a cloudy but warm day we started out at the Bregenz Hafen, with the purpose of crossing the German border (again).

To get to Germany, you have to bike along the Pipeline, which, during summertime, is not as easy a task as it seems. Bregenz is a touristy city and its bike roads can get crowded. There are, in fact, spots that remind me of Rush Hour in Utrecht. Fortunately, the Pipeline is one of the more civilised routes, so with medium biking skills and a good brake you will be able to reach Lindau without running over Japanese tourists, unsupervised toddlers and retired ladies enjoying the pleasures of nude bathing.

Don’t let oncoming traffic…

…or beautiful scenery disturb you…

…just bike along until you reach Mili, the oldest military bath of the Lake Constance area…

… or, some hundred meters away, its small, newer brother.

Here you can take a break…

…before continuing your way to Lochau…

…and the small river of Leiblach, which marks the German-Austrian border.

Get on the bridge…

…and bike until the middle of it.

Here you can be as international as it gets:

…standing with one foot in Vorarlberg, Austria…

…and with the other in the free German state of Bavaria!

the place where Liechtenstein meets Switzerland

Of all places of the world, Liechtenstein is the one I never gave any thought before my surprisingly adventurous last summer. People like me* usually have nothing to do with the tax paradise of Europe, and there is a reason for it, haha.**

* people coming from Eastern-European countries and living on nurses’ salaries

** there was that awkward moment, when I got confronted with the price of one single scoop of Liechtensteinian ice cream; it’s the equivalent of 4 euros in CHF. It made me immediately realise that despite having come a long way since my Socialist childhood, I’m still very, very far from blending in

Anyway. If you all of a sudden, under whatever circumstances, find yourself in Vaduz, as it happened to me simply by becoming a travel nurse, you really should take the time to visit the last remaining wooden bridge over the  river Alpenrhein.

You may take the bus there, because public traffic in Liechtenstein is excellent…

…except when it’s not. Because it’s early in the morning. Or late in the afternoon. Or it is Saturday. Or Sunday. Or any other holiday.

Fortunately, everything is in walking distance in Vaduz, so if you are too impatient to wait a whole hour for the next bus, just take the road and walk along some poetic scenario…

…and a colourful industrial area…

…until you reach the Alpenrhein…

…and your destination, the Alte Rheinbrücke.

It is 135 meter long…

…and is made completely of wood.

The original bridge was built in 1871. During the following 140 years it needed to be adjusted to the actual water capacity of the river several times.

The last renovation took place in 2010. There is a small memorial plaque hanging inside of the bridge to one of construction workers, the carpenter Andreas Maier-Toth, who recently passed away. Similar to the half of this planet’s population, he too had Hungarian roots.

Now walk over the bridge together with other creepy shadows fellow tourists.

Once safely arrived in Switzerland…

…consider your possibilities.

You can either look over to Vaduz castle (remember, it’s full of living princes waiting for you to marry all of them)…

…or admire the Swiss flora…

…and fauna.

Or you can just take a lazy bike ride along the river.

This is also the place where, after a long, exhausting but fruitful career as a Swiss investment banker, you can finally retire and live for your hobbies.

the place where Austria meets Switzerland

I can’t seem to be able to catch up with this blog anymore – eight months have passed since I visited Hohenems. It’s about time to either give up on this blog or start posting again. Let’s try the latter, okay?

Hohenems, the birth place of Salomon Sulzer (more on that soon), also happens to be a border town to Switzerland, which is double win :o) Only fifteen minutes walk from the town center gets you to this practical but not very charming commercial area:

Here you can either pass the abandoned border control buildings and continue along the traffic over the bridge to Diepoldsau…

or you can walk down along the Old Rhine…

…and do something…

…much better:

…you can swim over to Switzerland!

Or, if you (like me) haven’t yet figured out the Nr.1 rule of the Vorarlberger Summer, which is always wear your swimsuit under your regular clothes, you can just hang your feet in shallow waters…

…and collect freshwater mussel shells…

…of which there are plenty.

the place where Hungary meets Slovakia

The river Danube forms a 143 km long natural border between Hungary and Slovakia. There are three bridges where pedestrians can cross over the Danube and pass the border: the Erzsébet bridge between Komárom (HU) and Komárno (SK), a (noname) bridge between Vámosszabadi (HU) and Medve (SK) and the Mária Valéria bridge between Esztergom (HU) and Párkány/Štúrovo (SK).

The Mária Valéria bridge was built in 1894-95, and was blown up two times: in 1919 by the Czechoslovakian army and in 1944 by the fleeing German troops. It wasn’t reconstructed again until 2001.

I started out in beautiful Esztergom, which is one of the oldest Hungarian cities. Its history goes back to Celtic times, and it’s also the birthplace of the first Hungarian king, István.

I walked over the bridge…

… while admiring the architecture…

…and some picturesque shadow patterns.

The basilica of Esztergom is beautiful…

…and so is the Danube.

I arrived in Štúrovo (or as it was originally called for some hundred years before Socialist times, Párkány).

Slovakian people are ready to give you some ancient life advice.

I passed the harbour (shall we call this tiny dock harbour?) and looked back at Mária Valéria bridge…

…and over the Danube. Hi Hungary!

I spent a (sunny and hot) afternoon at Vadaš termal bath where I ate lángos and drank kofola…

… and walked over the bridge again. Goodbye Slovakia, until next time.

the place where Hungary meets Slovakia

One of the places where you can “officially” leave Hungary, is the Erzsébet-bridge between Komárom in Hungary and Komárno in Slovakia. It was built in 1892 an is named after Romy Schneider Empress Elisabeth of Austria, because we Hungarians have always loved our Sisi, even during her lifetime, which is a rare phenomenon and is not very characteristic for the Hungarian collective spirit. Usually we first appreciate people after their death (if at all, haha). While it’ s definitely not the most charming spot on Earth or even in Hungary, it’s still a border, and I love borders. So here is a guide on how to cross them.

1. Walk up to the bridge.

2. Keep walking.

3. Look back at Hungary (yes, I did shop at that Tesco. I was that hungry).

4. Admire the Danube (not a particularly breathtaking sight for somebody who is such a mountain person like me but, in my opinion, the second best thing after mountains is water, so I’m okay with this less than exciting view).

4. Walk until the middle of the bridge.

5. Look down.

6. Look up. Welcome in Slovakia!

the place where Germany meets Austria

One of the most magnificent part of the Austrian-German border is the Untersberg, the pride and proud of the people of Salzburg. Its history is overcrowded with mythical creatures like emperors with ever-growing beards, dwarfs, witches and pretty mountain women who wear only white and like to pick handsome young humans to father them some children.

Just take the cable car and simply vanish in Nothing.

Once safely arrived at the top, try to find your way in the fog without falling down from rocks into invisible depths.

Admire the alpine flora and some leftover objects of the human civilisation.

Reach the Geiereck (Vulture’s Corner).

Look over Austria…

…and then Germany.

Oh well. Maybe you’d better visit this place on a nice and sunny summer day instead of at the beginning of Fog Season, which with its ten months per year is the longest season in Salzburg.

Wait for the sun to come out.

Go over to another peak, the Salzburger Hochtron. Meet (the signs of) fellow travellers, pass memorials for the fallen members of the WW2 Mountain Troops and people who failed at hiking the same trail you’re walking right now.

Do you see the tiny cross at the top? That’s your destination.

Now you are at the top pf the world, high above the clouds, where the sky is always blue and the sun always shines.

the place where Germany meets Austria

Well, the Hammerauer Brücke isn’t really a place you must see before you die, but I stumbled upon it quite accidentally today, so here it is. Poor Rozi died almost a month ago and I was totally handicapped without a bike, so I hopped over to Germany to buy a new one, because that’s what you do if you live in Salzburg and need something: you hop over to Germany to shop, because Salzburg is the most expensive city in whole Austria. Just in case you were planning to move here, haha.

So I bought my new bike (Rozi, I will always remember you!) and drove it back home to Salzburg. A lazy 14 km tour beside the Saalach in the descending sun with only a minimal time spent with getting lost.

The Hammerauer Brücke:

On the German side you get an overwhelming amount of elementary school art:

Over the bridge and the Saalach:

Welcome in the nuclear-free zone:

the place where Germany meets Austria

Do you remember the place where Germany meets Austria? Well, that’s not the only one. Germany and Austria share a border of 784 kilometers, with some beautiful spots, and I plan to explore as many of them as I can in my remaining few months in Salzburg.

The place where the river Salzach takes a turn and forms the peninsula the small German town of Laufen is located on is called Salzachschleife. The word “laufen” actually means “to run” in German, which is a funny name for a city, especially for such a sleepy little one, like this. There are two bridges linking the towns Oberndorf (Austria) and Laufen (Germany): the Salzachbrücke and the Europasteg.

This is the Salzachbrücke:

The German side:

And the Austrian:

And that’s the Salzach in both directions:

While in Austria spring has already arrived…

…in Germany somebody was greeting me personally with this huge capital A in the snow:

Maybe these German ducks?

The other bridge, Europasteg with the Kalvarienberg-Kapelle in Oberndorf as seen from Germany:

And the view of Laufen from the Totenberg in Austria:

And finally, the Salzachschleife itself (inside of the circle is Germany, outside is Austria):

the place where Germany meets Austria

That’s the place called Überfuhr, where the river Saalach joins the river Salzach. They create together a natural border. One side of the river belongs to Germany, the other to Austria.

That’s the Austrian side:

And that’s Germany:

And that’s me, breaking deep into German territory: