Trip Plan - Leg 1: Zurich and the Bodensee

The Trip to the Old Country begins with an airplane ride from Seattle to Zurich on Air Canada.  It's an early morning flight, so I'm going to have to get to the airport around 5 in the morning.  Considering that I'm shipping a bike along with me, I want to make sure I've got a ton of time in case there are any last-minutes hassles.  All 4 panniers will be going into my enormous REI duffel bag and checked.  I'll have my Arkel Big Handlebar bag as my only carry-on luggage.

Once I land, I plan on putting together the bike in a corner of the Zurich airport and pedalling my way out.  I may or may not spend a few days in Zurich - it's one of Europe's most expensive cities and my budget is about 40 euros a day.  I could probably blow that in Zurich with a few cocktails at a bar.  However, I've been in touch with someone off of the WarmShowers.org site and may stick around to see what Zurich has to offer.

Photo of  the Bodensee from International Haplifnet (via Google Images)

From Zurich, it's off to the Bodensee (also called Lake Konstanz/Constance), using some variation of this route to get to this campground.  The Bodensee is an extremely well-travelled and built-up tourist place, but that is nonetheless cheap for bike tourist.  I'll get my head on straight over the week, sleeping on farmhouses, hostels and campgrounds and taking it easy on the generally flat terrain.  If I'm feeling hardcore, there's tons of fun rides in the hills and valleys surrounding the lake.  I bought a nice guide from Bergstrasse Books called "Mainly in High Gear: A Cycling Guide Around Lake Constance", which has great information for bike tourists cycling the Bodensee.

This first leg of the Trip is mostly a shakedown - very easy terrain, highly populated, plenty of shops and services around in case I find my gear lacking.  Also, the Bodensee is supposed to be a beautiful area and I'm looking forward to experiencing it from the seat of a bicycle.

I'm giving myself a maximum of 10 days from the time I land in Zurich to the end of my time at the Bodensee. The probable dates are May 14th to May 23rd.  Next up, the Black Forest!!!