The island of Lindau

Before I tell you about this beautiful place called Lindau, you have to experience the journey from Munich to Lindau on the S-Bahn. It was the cutest train that I ever seen in my life. It had compartments, the ones we used to have in old Indian trains. It also had windows that could be opened! Don’t think that is great option? Well, try to live in a country for two years where you can never open a single window in any form of public transport and you will know how good it feels to have the force of the wind flowing in your face while you saw one of the most beautiful countrysides in the world.

I’ve dreamt of this place not knowing that it existed. A lake with the Alps in the background, a train station which parks steam trains like the ones in Darjeeling, a city centre with cobbled stone roads, colourful buildings rarely higher than three floors, lots of private boats parked in a small bay, artisans littered around, many beautiful towers sprinkled all over and a thin bridge connecting the island with mainland. Surely it is an ideal conference destination but I will go on to add this place to the list of places I would like to live my life after retirement.

One can walk across the island from the left end to the right end in 15 minutes and from the top end to the the bottom end in 10 minutes. And even then, it has a very pretty city centre with almost every shop you might need. So things in those shops are not cheap but not that expensive either. Although my hotel was located just off the island, I think it was an ideal location for the hotel. Just cross the bridge from the island, wait at the rail-crossing and I was at the hotel. It was located in a quiet neighbourhood and although it was close to the railway tracks, it never got ‘noisy’.

The morning sun flooded the nippy morning lake winds with its warmth and what came your way as you crossed the bridge was a pleasant sweet smelling air that you could not breathe enough off. What awaited you after you crossed the bridge was a day full of intellectually stimulating lectures and discussions held by none other than the pioneers of science, good food and the comfortable company of young researchers.

More about the conference here & here, and pictures from my stay at Lindau here.