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Called Constantia by the Romans, Constance (Konstanz) was founded before the 3rd century AD. Located on the Rhine at its exit from Lake Constance in south Germany, the town is an attractive tourist resort. I lived in Konstanz for 3 years - and what a great place to live - on the shores of Lake Constance, international waters connecting Austria, Switzerland and Germany. The close proximity to the Alps also made it the ideal starting point for spontaneous hiking trips at the weekends (see my.rpbrady.com). Here are some of my pictures and impressions of Konstanz and surroundings.

My local harbour in Wallhausen, an 800 year old small fishing village. Here I am telling the story of the biggest fish I caught in the lake - and has nothing to do with the next picture!

One of the most famous women in Constance is “Imperia”, a large rotating statue in the harbour - Konstanz’s answer to the statue of liberty. The “Imperia” represents a prostitute holding the Pope (Martin V) and the King (Kaiser Sigismund) in her hands, demonstrating the corruption in the middle ages - when Pope Martin V was elected in 1417 AD .

A horse grazing the first of the sprintime grass, close to where I live in Litzelstetten.

Friedrichshafen on the other side of the lake is the home of the Zeppelin Airships, which went through a difficult 50 years after the “Hindenburg” exploded over Lakehurst, NJ in 1937. This Airship (the NT or New Technology version) flies over the lake on a daily basis with 12 passengers - pictured over Konstanz.

The warmness of the lake enables the countryside close to the lake to start to blossum in early April - this picture was taken close to where I live in Litzelstetten - my favourite cycle route as there are no cars allowed on the paths between the local farmland.

The old Swiss cottages are to be seen all around the lake - as the Allied Forces spared these towns and villages during the bombing sprees in WWII. Their proximity to the Swiss border wasn’t clear for the bomber pilots at night. Border houses left their lights on during the bomb raids - as if belonging to Switzerland - as the Swiss left their lights on to signal their neutrality.

The largest island on Lake Constance is Reichenau, famous for its high quality and perfectly orgainzed vegetables - almost all year round with the help of glass houses

Things can get quite stormy around Lake Constance - then its time for everybody and everything to get off the normally busy lake as hastily as possible. The backdrop here are the Swiss and Austrian Alps looking forward to a fresh fall of snow.

The Marienschlucht (Mary’s Gorge) is a natural narrow gorge cut into sandstone, now moss covered. It gets quite narrow in places for sturdy built people like me!

The Sea of Tranquility (Mare Tranquillitatis) is here - and we thought it is 240,000 miles (384,000km) away! The best way to while away the long hot summers, if you have the fitting bank account.

Walking around the Lake Constance would take a few days - with its 170miles (273km) of shoreline. But not all of this shoreline is accessible as the dense forest on the Bodanrück is a wildlife preservation area. This is also the deepest part of the lake with a depth 254m - where many divers have lost their lives because of the total darkness even by day!

The quickest way of getting from Konstanz to places like Munich is with the car ferry, which I normally took twice a week. Its a very efficient service, working round the clock. The ferry is always a great chance to view the Vineyards and other sights on both sides of the lake.

The lake can be a busy place at the weekends as it acts like a huge magnet for the whole region and tourists. The main portion of the lake as shown here is 30 miles (46km) long and 9 miles (14km) wide. This makes it central Europes largest potable water reservoir, suppling water to much of the south of Germany. The Rhine starts its long journey to the North Sea from here

Sunset at Lake Constance can be quite spectacular - if equipped with a good mosquito spray on evenings in late summer . This picture is taken from the car ferry looking towards Litzelstetten where I live.