The British Berliner
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A quick guide to Lake Constance!
©Victoria Ade-Genschow – The British Berliner – Lake Constance / Bodensee – August 2020
A couple of weeks ago, I raved over a splendid part of Germany.
The Southern part of Germany to be exact.
It was my husbands’ idea.
I thought Bavaria, the Rhine, the Black Forest, castles …
Yaaaaaas!
And then he said.
To Bodensee!
To where?
I had no idea what he was talking about.
I was soon to find out …
He whipped out his phone and did a search for the English word for Bodensee and it was …
Drum-roll please …
Of course, I know of Lake Constance
I just hadn’t previously been there!
Duh!
I have now!
It was brilliant!
Now since I wouldn’t want you to go through a fog of ignorance, here’s a quick guide to Lake Constance!
Here we go.
You’re welcome!
Lake Constance / Bodensee!
In my last post, I went into great detail as to what Lake Constance, otherwise known as Bodensee, is all about.
It’s good stuff which you can check out for yourself here!
Lake Constance or Bodensee covers the country borders of Germany, Switzerland, Austria and Liechtenstein, and is shared quite equally by all four (4) nations!
Officially, if you’re on the lake quite frankly, you’re in Germany, Switzerland and Austria!
All three (3) countries at the very same time!
Not only that but you can easily get to Liechtenstein too – Europe’s fourth-smallest country outside of the Vatican City, San Marino & Monaco!
Although you can go only get there by road, not by water as Liechtenstein is only half an hour from Lake Constance by car!
Isn’t that cool?
Give Me The Good Stuff!
©Victoria Ade-Genschow – The British Berliner – Lake Constance / Bodensee – August 2020
Which countries are part of Lake Constance?
Germany
Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg
Austria
Vorarlberg
Switzerland
Thurgau, St. Gallen, Appanzell, Schaffhausen
Liechtenstein
the Principality of Liechtenstein
Languages
The local language spoken around the lake is German, with variations in dialects and accents. However, English is well understood in most places catering to tourists, as well as French & Italian!
Money
Legal tender in both Germany and Austria is the Euro – €
Legal tender in both Switzerland and Liechtenstein is the Swiss Franc – CHF.
You can also pay in Euros for items bought in both Switzerland & Liechtenstein, and pretty much all four countries accept EC cards, Mastercard & Visa credit cards too.
American Express, Diners Club & JCB cards. Not so much!
Oh, and cash is king!
Largest towns on the lake
Germany
Constance: 83,000 people, Friedrichshafen: 59,000 people, Radolfzell: 31,000
Austria
Bregenz: 29,000 people
Switzerland
Kreuzlingen: 21,000 people
Liechtenstein
I’ve not added Liechtenstein here as it isn’t actually on the lake itself, but about half an hour inland by road. But just so you know, 38,749 people live in the Principality of Liechtenstein!
Largest islands
Mainau Island – the Flower Island
We personally went to the Mainau Island, and I can highly recommend it. I was a little concerned because of my allergies and the extremely hot weather at the time, but everything worked out well in the end!
For details, click here!
Reichenau Island
Reichenau Island is a UNESCO World Heritage site with lots of churches and a former monastery
For details, click here!
Lindau Island
Lindau Island is a beautiful medieval town.
This is where we originally wanted to stay but due to the last-minute -ness of our booking, we couldn’t find any accommodation!
In the end, we opted for Überlingen instead.
We were not disappointed!
For details of Lindau Island, click here!
Telephone numbers
Germany
0049
Austria
0043
Switzerland
0041
Liechtenstein
00423
If you live in the EU, the cost of making an international call / data download on your mobile, will be the same as the cost in your home-country. As a result, there will be no extra roaming charges for using your phone in Germany, Austria or Liechtenstein.
PLEASE NOTE!
Switzerland is NOT a part of the EU, so charges might apply.
If you’re a UK mobile customer, as Brexit is almost upon us, please double-check with your provider BEFORE you play around on social media & end up with a hefty telephone bill!
Emergency Services
Germany
police, fire brigade and ambulance service, call 112
Austria
Police 133 | Fire brigade 122 | Ambulance service 144
Switzerland
Police 117 | Fire brigade 118 | Ambulance service 144
Liechtenstein
Police 117 | Fire brigade 118 | Ambulance service 144
European Emergency services
Call 112
Health Insurance
EU / Schengen
Within the EU and in Switzerland, health emergencies are treated free of charge upon presentation of the European health insurance card. Any higher costs that might be incurred due to different tariffs in Germany, Austria, Liechtenstein & Switzerland, must be paid for by the traveller.
UK / Brexit
If you’re from the UK, you will be expected to cough up for treatment after 2020.
USA
If you’re from the US, well, health treatment will probably be cheaper than at home!
Health Risks
Travel within the four countries is perfectly safe. However, since we’re in the period of a global pandemic, health and travel insurance is an absolute must.
You should also protect yourself against sun burn, heat exhaustion, etc as the weather in the lake region is Mediterranean.
In fact, I fell into a bit of heat exhaustion myself and ran out of water as local shops were closed, and my face was dark red and quite flushed!
Tick bites around the lake can also be a bit of bother as Lake Constance is a tick-borne encephalitis risk area and Lyme disease could be contracted as a result.
Within the EU and in Switzerland, health emergencies are treated free of charge upon presentation of the European health insurance card. Any higher costs that might be incurred due to different tariffs in Germany, Austria and Switzerland must be paid for by the traveller.
Travel Insurance
Travel within the four countries is perfectly safe. However, since we’re in a global pandemic, health and travel insurance is an absolute must.
Here’s the official website of the European Union as well as a list of Europe’s country-by-country travel restrictions explained!
Either way, make sure you have health and / or travel insurance. I use World Nomads!
Visa / Country Border Entry Requirements
If you’re from the EU or a country-member of the Schengen Treaty, ignore this part!
If not, please do your research as to which countries you’re allowed to visit and the various conditions required.
Germany
EU citizens and country-members of the Schengen Treaty, don’t require a visa to enter Germany. In principle, everybody else requires a visa or permission to enter. By law, all visitors must keep their passport or I.D card at hand.
Austria
EU citizens and country-members of the Schengen Treaty, as well as citizens of Australia, Israel, Japan, Canada, New Zealand, the US, etc. generally do not require a visa to enter Austria. Citizens of all other counties require a visa.
Switzerland
EU citizens and country-members of the Schengen Treaty, don’t require a visa to enter Switzerland. By law, all visitors must be in possession of a valid passport. For stays of more than 3 months, a visa is required. For stays of less than 3 months, a valid passport is sufficient.
Visitors from the EU can enter the country using their national ID cards.
Liechtenstein
There are no border controls between Switzerland and Liechtenstein.
EU citizens and country-members of the Schengen Treaty, don’t require a visa to enter Liechtenstein. By law, all visitors must be in possession of a valid passport. For stays of more than 3 months, a visa is required. For stays of less than 3 months, a valid passport is sufficient.
Visitors from the EU can enter the country using their national ID cards.
Here’s the official website of the European Union as well as a list of Europe’s country-by-country travel restrictions explained!
Prices
Prices in the Lake Constance region aren’t exactly cheap, but neither are they over the top!
If you’re eating or drinking lakeside, prepare to pay a premium for the very exquisite view!
Ditto re-accommodation. Use the link below to get a bit of a discount.
p.s If you’re booking hotels, houses and apartments, use this link to get 15% discount or more, between now and 4 January 2021!
Please note that the currency in Germany and Austria is Euros – € and the currency in Switzerland and Liechtenstein is in fact, the Swiss franc – CHF!
Having said that though, if you forget and haven’t got any of the local dosh, most tourist-friendly establishments will accept Euros!
Generally, prices in Switzerland and Liechtenstein are far higher than they are in Germany and Austria.
Gulp!
Anything else?
Obviously, you need to live in the EU at the moment or be one of the lucky nations allowed to send tourists to Germany.
If you’d like to go to the other parts of Germany, please do your research because like everywhere else in the world, things can change. Germany is brilliantly safe but nowhere on earth is by any means guaranteed as due to recent Covid-19 break-outs, some German destinations aren’t always allowing German native tourists either!
p.s If you’re booking hotels, houses and apartments, use this link to save 20% or more, between 5th January and 31st March 2021!
Booking.comAs much as I love train travel, I wouldn’t recommend using public transport at the moment and for goodness sake, try not to fly!
To be candid, the countries that we, as Germans and expat Brits, absolutely CANNOT travel to right now are the Balkan countries (minus Croatia), Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Turkey, Georgia, Moldova. And the rest of the entire world!
As far as the German Federal Office is concerned, the travel warning for the vast majority of the globe will continue until at least September 30th, although it might change and be lifted on a country-by-country basis.
Because as you might have already seen, NOT every country is allowing everyone in.
Some countries request that you self-isolate or entry is restricted or you might be asked to quarantine.
If you’re from the USA or a “third country” outside the EU, quite frankly, you’re buggered right now!
And besides, for most countries, and certainly in Germany, foreign travel isn’t recommended at all!
However if you insist, here’s the official website of the European Union as well as a list of Europe’s country-by-country travel restrictions explained!
Obviously, no-one is going to tie you in ropes IF you do go abroad, but if anything goes wrong, you’re on your own!
The fact is that primarily tourists destinations are over-whelmed, and there’s a legitimate and very huge risk that if you DO travel far and wide, your destination might have a sudden increase in outbreak, your friends or family might get infected, you are forced into quarantine for a certain unforeseeable amount of time, and if you’re very unlucky, the borders might close.
Again!
If you’re tired of reading bad news or anything at all about covid19, check out my upbeat and funny posts here instead!
Is this the future?
The stark reality is, there is NO “business as usual.”
How can there be?
Until we get a vaccine, and perhaps, even beyond.
There’s only a “new normal.”
The simple fact is, the COVID-19 isn’t a conspiracy theory, it isn’t the end of time, and the stock market isn’t more important than people’s lives, but given the closeness, speed, reliance and ease in which we connect via global trade or travel, is a real legitimate worry.
Start thinking about a staycation as most regions around the world, are beginning to re-open.
In fact, this might be the time to jump in your car / on your bike, and explore where you live.
Yep!
It’s time to go local and explore!
But remember, no jumping on the nearest plane and causing havoc abroad!
Just ‘cos there’s a relaxation of lockdown doesn’t mean that Covid-19 has disappeared.
It hasn’t.
It’s still very much with us and likely to be around for quite some time!
So if you’re looking for a change of scenery, stay local!
Even better, stay home!
I mean, come on!
Is it just me?
See you soon!
A quick guide to Lake Constance!
Stay on top of things by listening / reading the news, but don’t go mad. Watch or read once, then switch it off!
To be sure, life will NOT be what it was before and you can expect real change about the way we choose to live, and the political leaders you can trust.
©Victoria Ade-Genschow – The British Berliner – Berlin – May 2020
Speaking of trust. As far as travel blogs are concerned, you can trust ME!
I do NOT write about places that I haven’t personally been to.
I do NOT get paid to write on my blog.
All content will continue to remain free of charge but if you feel like buying me a cup of tea, I will graciously accept!
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OMG!
Eek!
Once again if you can, please do stay at home, keep your distance from others, and flatten the curve!
Better to be safe than sorry.
And for goodness sake, SHARE this post!
A quick guide to Lake Constance!
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Don’t judge me!
A QUICK GUIDE TO LAKE CONSTANCE!
This article is not sponsored, and all thoughts and opinions, are my very own!
A huge thanks goes to all the many doctors, nurses, healthcare staff, keyworkers and volunteers world-wide, who have and are still, putting their lives on the line in order to help others.
Thank you.
October is going to be something most of us have never ever seen in our lifetime before.
See you soon!
Watch this space!
DISCLOSURE!
Please note that The British Berliner is a participant in affiliate programmes designed to provide a means for sites to earn fees by advertising and linking to World Nomads Travel Insurance & Booking.com.
In short, there are two affiliate link companies connected to this post!
Every time one of these services is used, booked, and paid for via my link, I get a little percentage, but at no extra cost to yourself!
A win-win for all!
Note! I never travel without insurance as you never know what might happen.
I learnt my lesson in Spain. And obviously, in countries like Qatar, where technically the risk is higher, I can’t imagine going that far beyond WITHOUT INSURANCE. No siree! You can get yours here, at World Nomads!
So what are you waiting for?
Thanks a million!
Would you like to visit Lake Constance? Have you learnt something new? Let me know in the comments below!
See you in Berlin.
If you have any questions, send me a Tweet, talk to me on Facebook, find me on LinkedIn, make a comment below or send me an Email: victoria@thebritishberliner.com
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