Bodensee - Austria & Switzerland

My last day at the Bodensee was another cold and gloomy one. I'd hoped to go up a mountain, but there was no point - too much low cloud around. So I decided to go and ride a couple of cogwheel trains in Switzerland. First, boat to Bregenz in Austria.

No mountains visible today as the boat pulls in to Lindau Harbour

Nor as we leave

Looking back at Lindau

Europe does flowers well. Some lovely colourful beds near Bregenz Harbour.

And a bunch of Black-headed Gulls lined up on the railing

From Bregenz I took a train to Rorschach in Switzerland. I couldn't work out how to buy a return train ticket using the Austrian ticket machine (it was an international journey, even though it only lasted 15 minutes). So I needed to buy the return ticket in Switzerland......where they use Swiss francs. Luckily in these border towns, they accept euros, but my 11 euro ticket had to be paid for in notes (so 15 euros) and he gave me four Swiss francs in coins as change.

Lovely flowers here, too, but visibility across the Bodensee is minimal

Can't even see the water, which is all of 10 metres away

The first cogwheel train went from Rorschach to Heiden. The cogwheel train trips were free with my Erlebniskarte.

In Heiden

Went up in the little one off to the right; back down in the longer one

Looks pretty steep, but wasn't the greatest trip

Back in Rorschach and waiting for the normal train, I decided to spend my Swiss francs in the vending machines at the station. They were going to be no use to me once I got back to Germany. So......a twin pack of Snickers cost 2.20, and I found another chocolate bar to eat up the other 1.80.

From Rorschach, I took the train back towards Bregenz and got off in Rheineck, which is still in Switzerland. The second cogwheel train trip was much shorter and steeper, and the train had so much more character.

The Rheineck - Walzenhausen cogwheel train

Hard, old-fashioned wooden seats

In Walzenhausen

Looking towards the (invisible) Bodensee

Forest and creek

This was a much more interesting trip. Normal train back to Bregenz, and I looked at the vending machines here, about 5km from Rorschach. Twin pack Snickers were 1.20 here, and given the Swiss franc is worth more than the euro at the moment, my Swiss Snickers cost twice as much as Austrian Snickers. (They're even cheaper in Germany!) Not a good time to visit Switzerland!