Travelling to Konstanz

I spent the morning yesterday repacking my rucksack a few times in an attempt to make it look less big and bulky. Try as I might to pack light, weighing everything and only taking what I believe is necessary, my rucksack still looks huge and, well, unprofessional. Although hiking is not a profession, not a job where a boss or customers will evaluate me, I still feel there are standards to aspire to. Another reason for repacking is because I wonder if I have packed something, even though I have checked it off on my list. Am I getting a bit obsessive? Maybe, the act of leaving is always a bit stressful. Once I was on the bus to Gatwick airport there was little I could do about any worries, just look out at the motorway or read my kindle.

On arrival at the Gatwick North Terminal bus stop I had to find my way to the hotel I had booked. Went the wrong way. Ended up crossing busy roads, although there were a few “public footpath” signs that looked distinctly out of place. The hotel entrance was packed with people waiting for lifts. Check in was at a computer. Computer gave me a room on the ninth floor. The packed lifts did not look attractive especially with the recent Covid pandemic, and the nine flights of stairs were good practice for climbing the Alps. The hotel's restaurant was similarly packed with aspiring travellers. No tables until 9:45 pm and I had foolishly pre-bought my dinner so I had to wait!

Gatwick at 4:15 am in the morning was similarly full of people trying to drop off their bags. However the long queues were at least moving towards the computerised bag drop. I hoped the baggage system would cope with my rucksack but as computer whisked it away it was too late to have second thoughts. There had been much in the news about Gatwick struggling to cope with people returning to flying after two years of Covid restrictions. With the large number of people I was not surprised. Fortunately the vastly outnumbered staff briskly keep the crowds moving, although as a breeding ground for Covid it was excellent, few masks were worn. In the departure lounge long queues of people desperate for a coffee at this unnaturally early time of day formed at every potential outlet, generally blocking up the corridors. When my queue eventually carried me to the person taking my order for a Starbucks coffee and some breakfast I was surprised by how cheerful he was, personally making sure I got my coffee from Maria, the barista beside him. By his smiling service he gave me a burst of happiness and a smile in addition to a croissant.

Immigration in Zurich was a little different from my last trip. I could not go through the EU lane following Britain's exit from the organisation. The border guard wanted to know where I was going and stamped my passport. The stamp is essential so that you can prove that you have not overstayed the post-Brexit limitations on how long British people can stay in the EU for, a restriction which adds to passport queues and can only tend to reduce the amount of money spent by people of my country on long trips to Europe.

Heavy rain streaked down the windows of my train as it pulled into Kreuzlingen. In the time it took to walk to my lakeside campsite it has petered out, however the cool weather was in contrast to my visit to the Bodensee a few years ago. Then the warm weather encouraged many to bath in the large lake, and I had been envious that I had not brought my swimming trunks, but today the cool weather made the water uninviting. 

Konstanz was a few kilometres away. I walked there after a good lunch at a restaurant by my campsite (which included pike, a freshwater fish, from the lake I assumed). I walked from Kreuzlingen in Switzerland to Konstanz in Germany without realising, the towns continue into each other, it was only when I tried to pay for a coke with Swiss francs that I realised what the discrete "Zoll" (customs) sign referred to. I walked around the old town, decorated with balls of flowers or coloured umbrellas hung above the streets. Plenty of people were around. I sat in a pew, contemplating life, for a while in one of the old churches.

Street in Konstanz.

The sun is now setting over Konstanz. I can see it from the waterside path beside the campsite. Now the skies have cleared and the wind dropped it has become a pleasant evening. People are enjoying a beer by the water, and chatting in the overcrowded patch of campsite that overlooks the water. I hope I do not disturb them too much when I visit the toilet tonight.

Sunset over Bodensee (Lake Constance).