Lake Constance – located on the Austro-German-Swiss triangle of borders – is one of central Europe’s great tourist attractions, but it is not perfectly suited for everybody’s taste.
My personal problem with Lake Constance concerns its sheer size: should not a lake represent the idea of a confined space, with clearly discernible shorelines wherever you stand and, ideally, a hiking trail around it that can be completed in less than a day? Otherwise, you might as well travel to the sea.
If you are looking for something near-by which is easier to manage and to take in, a visit to the lakes of Bad Waldsee – just 20 km to the north of the lake – provides a good complement to the ocean-like vastness of Lake Constance.
Bad Waldsee (which translates as “the forest lake spa town”) certainly knows how to greet its visitors: as you step down from the train station on your way towards the town centre, you will be welcomed by a magnificent view of the town’s main attraction.
And this is only the first of Waldsee’s two lakes, neither of which, incidentally, is called the Forest Lake. Go figure.
If you have come to Waldsee because you like lakes with a short-ish and scenic hiking trail around them, the Town Lake will suit you perfectly.
On your way around, you will encounter many pretty sights …
… and find plenty of places to rest for a minute or two of calm contemplation.
It also pays to stray a bit into the lakeshore’s hinterland, for a bit of history or at least the feel of it.
Little remains from the medieval convent that was established here by the Emperor Barbarossa in 1184, the original core of the old town, but something of the monastery’s calmness and serenity has survived in the backyards of the contemporary clinics and care homes that dominate much of the modern town’s scenery.
In addition to the Town Lake, there is the Castle Lake, which is smaller and a good deal wilder.
It is a short walk away from the town centre, located behind the moat …
… in the gardens of a castle (hence its name) which is still owned by the local Duke.
Not much is left of the original 18th century garden architecture, but you can enjoy a densely atmospheric short walk to the lake which will lead you past the ancient estate’s stables and granaries.
No proper path, however, leads around the Castle Lake itself. It is not entirely clear who or what is preventing the creation of such a trail, but it appears that some of the institutions whose grounds are lining the lake are not overly keen on attracting visitors.
“Institutions” in Waldsee generally fall into one of two categories: there are residential homes for prosperous pensioners and there are rehabilitation clinics which mainly serve people who have recently undergone hip operations.
These clinics in particular are big business in Waldsee, and as a consequence, you will spot their patients all over the town …
… and some parts of the city have been customized for these patients’ needs.
A good example for this is the “cycle path” that forks so picturesquely in front of the magnificent 15th century city hall …
… which is, in fact, no cycle path at all but a special walkway that the municipal administration has laid out for the benefit of all those people who have come to Waldsee only to learn how to walk again: slowly and gradually.
Unfortunately, however, not all cyclists are aware of this and frequently ring their bicycle bells to shoo the “intruders” out of their way, to the amusement of some residents and to the anger of many others.
If, however, you are among the more fortunate visitors of Waldsee who are fully mobile and capable of experiencing everything that there is to see without trouble and pain, there is much to discover in town.
For starters, the town centre is full of many interesting buildings that complement each other to create an atmosphere of “Old Germany” that is rare to find in a country where almost every town and city was devastated in WWII.
And if you still have energy after this, we recommend an excursion to the Tannenbühl forest, which is located approx. 2 km away from the town centre.
You will find many intersecting hiking trails and, on top of that, climbing scaffolds that allow you to walk on the forest’s “upper floor” from tree to tree.
There are also wild animal enclosures – although the animals were all very shy on the day we arrived, and all we could spot was some movement in the distant dark shadows of the wild boar enclosure.
So this was the best we could do photo-wise.
