Garden Rendezvous on the Höri Peninsula

We start at the Gaienhofen Tourist Information, equip ourselves with the "Garden Rendezvous at the Lower Lake" brochure, a Höri map, and the shipping schedule, and cycle to Horn. Past the Höri market and the Gaienhofen vineyards - where the unique Gaienhofen wine grows - we take the path to the right and pass the school on the left. We turn right again, also after 300 m. In Horn, we take Vogelsang street uphill into Kracheneck street, which ends at Weiler street. Green garden signs on the left show the way to the private Bruttel garden and the Auer garden.

We follow Weiler street westwards, can enjoy the view over the Lower Lake landscape from the water tower, and then take the first street to the right. It leads directly to the Kämmerer garden. Dozens of historic rose varieties thrive here among fruit trees and vegetables.

We cycle back along the main road to Horn, this time to the garden of the Hirschen guesthouse, which also serves food. A footpath to the Horn church is worth it for the view. The path continues below the church, but because of stairs we have to go back and take the path left of the village fountain towards the lake. By the lake, we turn right, cycle past the beach and go to Gaienhofen to the Hesse Museum Gaienhofen. The Hesse rose grows in the garden there. Hermann Hesse himself created a garden at his second residence in Erlenloh. The historic Hesse garden was lovingly restored by biologist Eva Eberwein. Dates for the monthly tours at https://www.mia-und-hermann-hesse-haus.de

On the way to the Hesse house, we visit the sculpture garden of artist Suanne Lubach in Schweizerhalde, then continue to Hemmenhofen. Here the State Office for Monument Preservation set up an archaeobotanical garden with old cultivated plants. Before the Höri Peninsula stood the first pile dwellings on Lake Constance. Information is available in the Wangen Fishermen's House museum.

"So disgustingly beautiful" is how painter Otto Dix described the Lower Lake landscape, and his garden is the next stop. The served terrace of Museum Haus Dix invites you to stay, but we want to visit three more gardens in the Öhningen district of Wangen. Right at the village entrance on the left in Pankratiusweg, there is a spring and dahlia garden, colorful in spring and autumn. At the end of the path, we push our bikes past the church to the main street, cross it and turn into Seeweg. While the benches on the left in the city garden (it is really called that here) invite you to linger, Vera Flötemeyer has created possibly the smallest farm garden in Germany directly opposite.

By now it has become afternoon, we have satisfied our hunger in Wangen guesthouses and can now visit the Wilhelm family slope garden, accessible from late May to early June, located above the bus stop at the former Auer guesthouse. Alternatively, we visit the pile dwelling museum in the old fishermen’s house (open April to October), right next to a replica of a historic pile dwelling directly on the lake shore and the Lake Constance cycle path.

In the next village Kattenhorn, Otto Dix designed the windows of the small St. Peter’s church (open daily). Our path leads down the steep hill past flowering front gardens. Although it is a pity to lose momentum gained downhill, from May to October a visit to the small Blasius chapel in the former watchtower is worthwhile.

Along the lakeshore it now goes to Öhningen-Oberstaad, from where we take the ship back to Gaienhofen (mid-April to September at 3:40 pm or 5:40 pm). www.urh.ch

From the Singen motorway junction towards Konstanz, exit Steisslingen / Moos / Höri.

From Stein am Rhein take Höri street via Öhningen to Gaienhofen.

Few parking spaces at the Gaienhofen Tourist Information.

Parking lot Höri Hall/Hermann Hesse School

Dix's apple cake is already a treat just for the view from the terrace (Museum Haus Dix)!