Konstanz visit just before a weeklong celebration of Fasnacht

In Konstanz last weekend we met Martina Valentin, a German exchange student who stayed with us for a month in March 1994. We’ve kept in touch – off and on – since then. She visited us in 1998 and 2000. We didn’t realize how close Konstanz is to Zurich – just an hour away by train. Martina met us at the train station and we had lunch by the lake - the largest in Europe and then walked around the city, did a little shopping, visited the Archeological museum, visited Martina’s very nicely furnished apartment, and met her boyfriend. As Germany is less expensive than Switzerland, Martina lives in Konstanz but works in Switzerland.

Konstanz, on the Rhine River, was settled by the Romans. With the only bridge across the Rhine it was an important medieval center. Jan Hus, the Czech predecessor to Martin Luther, was summoned to defend his views at the Council of Constance in a building that is now a restaurant. Hus was burned at the stake in 1415. Later Konstanz became a center of strength for the Hapsburgs and during WWII was never bombed as it kept the lights on to fool the allies into thinking it was part of Switzerland.

Having just been to Prague and learning more about Hus, it was great to visit Konstanz – and even better to see Martina again.