It rained all night and it was still raining at breakfast. It continued all day and the temperature hovered around 15 C, so it was about the same as being on Wacky Island, cool and wet. We can't complain though, because this is the first really wet day we have had on this holiday.

We went to the Ham Radio hamfest. Lynette stayed in the car and read etc. I did a quick tour and then came back. The numbers were significantly down on the previous two days. You could easily walk around all three halls and the fleamarket stalls had shrunk by 40%. Even some of the retailers had disappeared and left their business cards holding their stands.

After the hamfest, we programmed in Bregenz, which is in western Austria, Vorarlberg. We had a pleasant surprise in that the trip took us through the 6.8km long Pfander tunnel. This was opened last year and bypasses the climb over the Pfander mountain. It was interesting to see that the Austrian and German border checkpoints are on either end of the tunnel. They don't stop the car traffic but probably keep an eye on the trucks.

There didn't appear to be any trucks on the road today, being a Sunday. We found that to be the case in France 30+ years ago and it looks like it has been applied to the EU. Also, on many dual carriageways and all motorways that we have been on, the trucks are not allowed in fast lane. That makes a tremendous difference to the traffic flow and hopefully they will bring it in in NZ.

At Bregenz, we aimed for the centre. We were looking for a tourist shop so that Lynette could get a fridge magnet and after a few unplanned loops, we managed to find something open. It was quite an achievement as almost all the shops were shut.

Next we headed to the water (Lake Constance) and took a few back lanes. A lot of the suburbs that we travelled through were limited to 40kph. We did see a number of boats in large marinas. They looked to be open boats of about 15 – 20 feet and were covered over to keep the rain out of them. In fact, where we ended up was the town of Hard.

By sheer chance, we stumbled on a restaurant on the water's edge. It would be a great place to eat on a fine, dry summer's day, but in the pouring rain it offered a bright spot. It was an Italian restaurant and the guy running it was an entertainer who kept everyone amused and under control. We had a couple of Pizzas, as that was the limit of our Italian and German.

After that we came back to the B&B and drove through the village of Hohenweiler. It's a bit bigger than we thought, but probably less than 2,000 people. A sporting goods store (shut) and a supermarket, plus a couple of pubs.

For dinner, we attempted to go to the supermarket, but it was after 6PM, and was shut. We stumbled on the Krown pub, (yes JP, another pub.) It was built in 1769. We had a pleasant small meal there. Smoking is permitted in some areas, but we were able to eat in a smoke free area.

Then it was back to the B&B to prepare for the trek to Frankfurt.

Not a very nice day to be going boating, Hard, Austria.

The boats in the marina at Hard.

This looked to be an expensive property, especially with the land around it.

The church in Bregenz.

A fancy house in Bregenz.

Rail is well supported in Austria and Germany.

There's a bit of wood stacked up for the winter here.

In NZ, someone would have helped the owner "tidy up" this pile by now.

Just one of many similar houses in Hohenweiler.

Crosses were at both ends of the Hohenweiler village.

We guess the covering over the chimneys is to stop the snow going down.

It must make things difficult for Santa Claus.

The Krown pub sign.