Biker boy--books 'bout Bodensee?
 

6 weeks from now my intrepid biker boy and I will take our first extended trip, 80 km in 5 days along the North shore of Lake Constance. I'd like for him/us to do some reading to get ready and am looking for suggestions of books around his level related to any of our activities--Romans in the area, architectural history (and techniques), art history, meteorology or geology of the region, Zeppelins, preChristian belief systems in the area, ecosystems or cultural history of the area...he'd love any of those topics. Also, are there any sagas or legends (like Till Eulenspiegel up near Braunschweig or Robin Hood in certain parts of England) in that area who I should look for?

Here's our itinerary:

Bike Day 1 Bregenz see friezes at Martinsturm http://www.mamilade.at/bregenz/marti...rtinsturm.html —Pfänderbahn http://www.pfaenderbahn.at/ —Lindau http://lindau.icserver3.de/index.php, --Kressbronn
17.7 km

Bike Day 2 Schloss Monfort, just past Kressbronn http://www.langenargen-tourismus.de/...-montfort.html bike to Friedrichshafen, Zeppelin museum http://www.zeppelin-museum.de/ Pension Albrecht?
13.9 km

Bike Day 3 bike to Meersburg Thermal Bath http://www.meersburg-therme.eu/, old and new castles http://www.meersburg.de/ceasy/module...hp5?cPageId=69
17.9 km
(5.3 km beyond Meersburg is Unteruhldingen with museum of Stone Age life http://www.pfahlbauten.com/lake-dwel...seum-tour.html Website for Meersburg suggests 1 hr for museum. Die Busse fahren von der Kirche oder der Autofähre alle 30 Minuten nach Unteruhldingen)

Bike Day 4 ferry http://www.bsb-online.com/233.html?&no_cache=1 to Mainau http://www.mainau.de/ last ferry runs Oct. 18 Reichenau http://www.reichenau.de/
20.1 km (of which 4.3 km is on ferry)

On his reading level: Besides being biker boy, he's also quite bookish--just finished reading a collection of legends re: King Arthur published in the 1920s for adults as well as original, unabridged Peter Pan and Alice in Wonderland. I think he's around a 5th or 6th grade reading level in English. I'm not sure what his German reading level is, other than that his teachers gave him a test (he just started 1st grade) and he had 100% comprehension. I'm guessing he's around a 3rd grade level --has read some Annie und Phillipp Magisches Baumhaeuschen and Pippi Langstrumpf stories as well as library books about spiders and other nature things. He's just barely beginning to learn French, so can't really read it yet, but if anyone happens to know of a French book related to Lake Constance or bike trips that is charming even without the words, that would be lovely (and lucky!)

Thanks in advance for your help!

Hi S,

I wish I could help, but I think that your little prodigy is way ahead of me.

Not visiting Lindau?
http://www.webtourist.net/germany/li...ormation.phtml

Stop for an ice cream treat at http://www.hotel-schreier.de/wpde/en/hotel/

Enjoy your visit.

((I))

Ira, thanks for your comment! Lindau's on the itinerary for bike day 1, just before we stop for the night.
The hotel looks nice, but too rich for our blood--but we just might try the ice cream.
I didn't mean to show off about his reading level--but if without knowing it, people could easily assume that reading to prep for a trip wouldn't make much sense

Sacacnmamma, I agree with Ira that Lindau is not to be missed. Very pleasant to have lunch outdoors by the shore watching the ferries crisscross from the Swiss side. Does your route include Birnau further west along the shoreline? There is a lovely baroque church in Birnau with great views of the lake. If I recall, the area is lined with fruit orchards, particularly peaches. This is a beautiful part of Germany.

latedaytraveler, Good thing I already had Lindau on the schedule! It sounds as if you know the Bodensee coastline better than I do. Please check out the route outlined in the original post above and let me know if we will be passing through Birnau. We would love to take a break from pedaling to pick some fruit--that's a favorite thing for Isaac to do, wherever possible and legal!

topping

Legends? Poppele vom Hohenkrähen, the ghost of Hohenkrähen castle near Singen in the Hegau whose pranks are renowned in the region.

The local carnival guild have named themselves after the Poppele and their website has some of the stories about him (in German): http://www.poppele-zunft.de/brauch/sagen.htm

Aaaaand... as we are already talking about the so special local carnival, I'd like to mention the oldest and most traditional centre of Alemannic Fastnacht on the Bodensee: Überlingen. Although you won't see much of the carnival at this time of the year, biker boy might enjoy a look into the website of Überlingen jester guild: http://www.narrenzunft-ueberlingen.de/
Easier to read and in English: yours truly's own travel page about Überlingen and its carnival on VirtualTourist: http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/f86bd/3349/

Überlingen is, by the way, a cute little town worth a stop, halfway between Meersburg and Unteruhldingen/Birnau.

Saacnmama, I haven't been on a bike for enons. But bike trails are clearly marked. We were driving and I do not recall the exact routes. The shoreline is beautiful.... We were on our way to Heidleberg before returning to Frankfurt.

Hi SM,

>Please check out the route .....<

Have you gone to www.viamichelin.com and www.maps.google.com?

((I))

Surf the Zepplin museum

Quokka, Thank you! That's exactly the kind of specific, local information I was hoping to find out! I appreciate the links too. We haven't had a chance to read your website yet, but I bet we'll enjoy it.

@Ira, I have researched the route thoroughly and mapped it on google. That's how I came up with stopping places nearly exactly 17 km apart with 2 things to do each day, with links. From my experience in Bregenz 18 years ago, I have no qualms re our ability to find the route. The comment you quote above was to another poster who asked if we would go through a particular town. She can easily find the answer to her question if she would simply read the original post to the end, including the [fairly detailed] route that I laid out in it. You did the same thing a few days ago. Can you please tell me if there's a problem with the way the post is showing up? Is the itinerary not visible on some setups?

If people foresee problems with the route, I'd be really surprized but glad to know about them--avalanches do happen, afterall--but that's not really what I'm asking for in this thread.

What this post is asking for--as I tried to state clearly in the title--is specific things like the ghost Poppele vom Hohenkrähen that I can look up and books--specific books, with title and/or author, perhaps also isbn--that a youngster could read to learn about what we will be seeing, so that it's not simply pretty scenery with captions (though it will be that too).
There are tons and tons of paper used every year for a very long time to print books about this region. It has been a popular destination for a very long time. I'm hoping to hear from people who have already discovered the jewels among that huge list and who will point me towards them.
Thanks.
Tschuessli!

@bilboburgler, the 'box' described on the Zepplin museum website is the main reason I want to go to the museum. Have you used it with your kids?
Which of the books in the shop catalog do you recomend?
Thanks!

Sorry Saac you asked about books and I have nothing for you. The museum has a lift which opens onto a very clean glass floor. It took me and a German woman some minutes to gather our courage and step out of the lift.

The bike route is very flat with Imbiss every so often

A Zeppelin recommendation (X posted on your thread at TripAdvisor) - that book is not in the museum's catalogue any more but Amazon still has it.
Eugen Bentele: Ein Zeppelin-Maschinist erzählt. Meine Fahrten 1931-1938
A mechanic who worked on the Zeppelin tells about his travels and his work in the 1930s.

quokka--That book sounds like an interesting perspective. I see it's in English and German.
Thanks for posting more good info for us!