on the road

September recap

I’d never thought I’d see the day when I will be able to finally finish up my summer chronicles of 2015, but here we are. I feel pretty sad actually, because I know now, retrospectively, what follows those three months of pure bliss: two nice weeks in Mariazell and nine months of depression in Linz. One thing I can promise: it won’t take another year and a half to get this blog up to date, because literally nothing happened to me during those nine months. You’ll see.

So how did I spend my last month in Vorarlberg? Splendidly!

I visited Switzerland…

…and Germany on several occasions:

I still found new to me places in Vorarlberg, too:

I took a ship to cross Lake Constance…

…and a train to venture into the moor:

I hiked through woods…

…and through sunflower fields:

I stumbled upon unexpected things…

…at unexpected places:

Some were rather strange, like this DIY boob art:

I learnt a lot about ostriches…

…bats…

…monkeys…

…and sea animals:

I also saw animals that could not…

…and that, in fact, did not exist:

I met Nemo…

…and the Emperor, who, together with the Pope, sits in the hands of Imperia:

Look at their naked butts!

I realized the difficulties people from the area have to face…

…learnt about their roots…

…admired their art…

…their housing situation…

…and that of their horses’:

Living conditions in the Lake Constance area may be ornamental…

…but people still have skeletons in their closets windows:

I also got to enjoy the company of my coworker’s dog, Casey for a whole week:

We went on international adventures…

…and also found some time to just chill out at home. She got spoiled to pieces:

On the last day of September I took a walk at the Bodensee promenade and said goodbye to Bregenz, promising to be back as soon as possible. You’ll see how it all turned out instead.

There is still a message I took away with me:

Bregenz – last day

Bregenz – the ground beneath my feet

my Bregenz neighbourhood – part 2

my Bregenz neighbourhood – part 1

New Rhine

Bregenz – Vorarlberg Museum

a matter of concentration

walks with Casey – Bregenz Oberstadt

walks with Casey – Bregenz

walks with Casey – Innerlaterns

walks with Casey – Mehrerau

walks with Casey – Gebhartsberg

Bregenzer Spaziergänge

Bregenz – Hafenfest 2015

Egg

on the road

Andelsbuch

Dornbirn – The Terracotta Army

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!

on the road

Schruns – Heimatmuseum, part 2

Schruns – Heimatmuseum, part 1

Schruns

Bludenz – Muttersberg

Bludenz

on the road

Bregenzer Spaziergänge

for the wood wakes, and you are here for proof