Lake Constance is a lake that borders Switzerland, Germany, and Austria and occupies an old glacier basin at an elevation of 1,299 feet (396 m). It has an area of 209 square miles (541 square km) and is approximately 40 miles (65 km) long and up to 8 miles (13 km) wide, with an average depth of 295 feet (90 m) and a maximum depth of 827 feet (252 m). It has about 125 miles (200 km) of shoreline. In the west, near Konstanz (Constance), it is divided by the Bodan mountain ridge into two parts: the Untersee (south) and the Überlinger Lake (north). The lake’s main body, southeast of Konstanz, is called the Ober Lake. The lake forms part of the course of the Rhine River, which enters it in the southeast near Bregenz and leaves it at the west via the Unter Lake. The island of Mainau is north of Konstanz in the Überlinger Lake, and the island of Reichenau is west of the city in the Unter Lake. Konstanz itself is a “political island,” for it is the only part of Germany on the lake’s southwestern shore; it is entirely surrounded by Swiss territory, except on the northeast, where it fronts on the lake.

:https://www.britannica.com/place/Lake-Constance

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On September 1, 2001, Marilyn Manson was live in concert at the “Rock am See” Festival in Konstanz. Since the concert was on Labor Day weekend, I took a few days off work, got the tickets, and planned the trip down to Lake Constance.

The concert was on Saturday, and we made our way down to Lindau by train on Friday. It was a nice relaxing ride. Once we passed Munich, we rode through the Alps. After changing trains and a 9-hour train ride, Kevin and I ended at the Lindau train station. When we walked out of the building, we were standing in front of the Lindau Harbor. It has been 17 years since I visited Lindau for the first time. And I couldn’t recall how aqua-colored the water of Lake Constance was. That evening, we got a taxi and rode from Lindau, Germany, to Bregenz, Austria. In Bregenz, we stayed at the youth hostel for the night.

The following morning, Kevin and I got up early to have breakfast and make our way to the Bregenz Harbor. We had to make it back to Lindau and change boats to travel to Konstanz. We had a three-and-a-half-hour boat ride with several stops, including Friedrichshafen, Meersburg, and the island of Mainau in front of us. And Kevin wanted to explore Lindau for a little bit before it was time to go.

In Konstanz, we finally got off the boat. From the harbor, we had to walk less than a mile to get to our hotel. There we dropped off our luggage, put on a cap, and went to the festival. By that time, it had poured rain and we got wet. But it didn’t stop us from staying to see Alien Ant Farm, Papa Roach, and the German rock band “Die Ärzte”. Die Ärzte sing German songs, and so I had to translate the lyrics to Kevin. He thought these songs were awesome.

When Manson came on stage, we had clear skies. He was on stage only for an hour, which totally pissed me off because we spent all this time and money to go see him. However, I’m still a big fan of Marilyn Manson and have attended another two concerts in Germany. I know, he’s not everyone’s “cup of tea”. But that is what I like about him.

The following day, Kevin and I tried to cross the border to Switzerland. Since Konstanz lies on the German-Swiss border, it’s hard to tell when Germany ends and Switzerland begins as a tourist. (A year later, I finally crossed the border by the train station. I walked around a building and went back into Germany just so I could say, I’ve been on Swiss soil.) We went to the Konstanz train station and waited for the train to Stuttgart, where we switched trains and rode back to Würzburg.

On that weekend, we went through the whole state of Bavaria, traveled to Austria, made it back to Germany by boat, and traveled to Baden-Württemberg to go to a concert. And all these years, we are still not sure if Kevin made it to Switzerland on that day. What a trip!