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At their most westerly point the Bavarian Alps descend to the waters of the
Bodensee
and the tiny island town of
LINDAU
, which is nowadays linked to the mainland by a road bridge and rail causeway. It's the starting point of the
German Alpine Road
, (Deutsche Alpenstrasse), a tourist route that runs the length of the German Alps, terminating 250km away in Berchtesgaden. In the Middle Ages, Lindau was a bustling trading post and city-state, and rich merchants built grand gabled houses on town squares that have a distinct Italian flavour. The half-timbered buildings lean over like stacks of dominoes, and narrow streets like Zitronengasse lead to quiet nooks and crannies.
At the southern end of the island is the
Hafen
(harbour), which, with its hazy views across the lake to the Alps, is the most popular spot in town. Its narrow entrance is guarded by two tall pillars, one a lighthouse, the other bearing the defiant Lion of Bavaria. The previous lighthouse, the
Mangturm
(variable opening hours; DM2/e¬1), stands in the middle of the sheltered port and was originally part of the medieval fortifications. Around it stand large hotels from an age when nineteenth-century travellers resided here in splendour. As soon as the summer sun comes out, the harbour promenade fills with coffee tables, giving a Mediterranean feel to the bustling waterfront. Several
ferries
operate on the lake. All sorts of boats, canoes and windsurfers can be rented from the yacht marina east of the harbour.
On Reichsplatz, in the centre of the island, stands the Gothic
Altes Rathaus
; unfortunately the elaborate murals make it seem overdressed in comparison with the buildings around it. From here, you can walk west along the Maximilianstrasse, before turning north to see the
Diebsturm
(Brigands' Tower), the other surviving part of the fortifications. Alongside, Romanesque
St Peter
, now a war memorial, is the sole church in Lindau still in its medieval state. Hans Holbein the Elder's faded Passion cycle in the apse is his only surviving fresco.
The most stylish building in Lindau is the
Haus zum Cavazzen
(April-Oct Tues-Sun 10am-noon & 2-5pm; DM5/e¬2.50) on Marktplatz towards the eastern end of the island, whose three-storey Baroque facade is painted in subtle sandy-red tones, and which contains one of the most attractive local history museums of any town in Bavaria. There's an intriguing collection of seventeenth-century family trees painted on wooden panels that open up like a photo-album, to reveal little portraits and dates for each member, plus paintings of the same period, known as
Spottbilder
, mocking Luther. On the second and third floors are fine displays of furniture, ranging from items from the workshops of Lindau's former artisan guilds to beautifully inlaid Biedermeier furniture.
Should you only have time for one trip outside the island, take bus #7 to the suburb of Hoyren and walk up the
Hoyrenberg
for a stunning view of the lake and the Austrian and Swiss Alps. The villages and apple orchards around here seem very quiet after Lindau: Oberreitnau, Unterreitnau and Bodolz are especially pretty.
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