Lindau -- Wonderful Island Town in the Bodensee

The city of Lindau am Bodensee was one of the most beautiful sights in Bavaria. Sitting on the Bodensee (also known as Lake Constance) that straddled the German-Swiss border in the southwest corner of Bavaria, Lindau was an island port haven loaded with marinas, hotels, restaurants, and beautiful structures. With the massive Austrian Alps majestically looming to the southeast, Lindau was a photo-a-minute type of place. During the 2006 update to this website, we decided to expand the Lindau page to a full photo gallery, encompassing three different trips to this wonderful island. Even this small sampling of photos here does not do the city justice. It has to be seen and visited to be believed. Hopefully, those who do visit it would have a sunny day, under which Lindau would glisten with color.


Unquestionably, Lindau's most striking landmark was the marina entrance -- buttressed by a beautiful white lighthouse on the south and a lion statue on the north. The marina was immediately to the right as one exited the train station. Both were accessible by visitors, and for a small fee one can climb to the top of the lighthouse. The view was excellent.	The same sight at nighttime was absolutely wonderful. I took this shot during a brief layover on a train ride to Austria. Also fabulous was when the ferries, lit up for the night rides across Lake Constance, entered or exited the marina.

This shows the view of the marina from the base of the lighthouse. A tour boat was just entering the marina and the crowds were gathering in the portside restaurants and cafes. This picture was shot in the morning. By 1PM, the cafes were utterly mobbed with people. I tried a couple restaurants and the food was excellent. Most of them serve 'standard fare', only a couple specialized in Bavarian dishes.	The third and final picture in this gallery is the Market Square, where on Saturday mornings one could buy fresh produce, cheeses, meats, etc. The building in the background looks quite elaborately sculpted -- but no, the wall was flat and the decor was painted on. This was a common sight in Bavaria.

Between the marina and the market square was the main commercial district, scenes of which are shown in these next two photographs. This shows the front of the Lindau town hall, one of the most distinctive in Bavaria for its shape and decor. The rear was equally as impressive.	This shows one of the original-style structures elsewhere on the street. It was called the Brodlaube. The decor suggested that it once served as a bakery, but in modern times it had become a cafe.

Not all of the Lindau island was built up. This shot shows part of a large park near the one driving and walking bridge to the mainland. The park was full of flowers and several fountains. The walking bridge to the mainland was colorful with lots of flags.	Of course, we could not show pictures of the island without also showing some of the water. This was taken on the mainland side, showing the one stretch of Lindau island that was residential.

We circled around the east side of the island to the marinas. This shot shows a yachting school held on the island. As you can see, the complex was very large. There was also a small swimming hole nearby.	There was a very beautiful residential district that surrounded the market square. It was very colorful and had restaurants, cafes, and shops that were less expensive than the marina, just without the outdoor atmosphere. This was also where one would find ethnic food if one didn't want Bavarian fare.

This was one of several manor-style houses scattered around. This one served as a gallery or museum.	There were also several small churches that each appeared like this one -- partially restored with a new tower, suggesting past damage.

As said at the top, even these twelve pictures don't fully justify the beauty of the island. We didn't show the lake side of the island, either, leaving that for the Wasserburg chapter (coming soon).

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