Gaissau – Delta of the old Rhine – Gaissau

Now this is a stroll rather than a hike, without any height to conquer and on rather comfortable paths. So it really can be done in any season and, if need be, in any weather. It will lead to the delta of the old Rhine into Lake Constance.

We do this walk on a Sunday afternoon after the weather was grey and rainy all weekend. Now there is finally a gap in the clouds visible over the lake. We drive to Gaißau and turn west directly at the border station. There is plenty of parking space near the Patagonia Restaurant. A comfortable path leads us along the old Rhine. It’s about 30 minutes of walking to the place where the old Rhine enters lake Constance.

Arriving at the lake we can see across towards Lindau. To the west we see Pfänder above Bregenz and also the delta of the new, straightened Rhein. Well, it’s not really that new anymore, it’s been there for a good 100 years.

Between the old Rhein and the Dornbirner Ach lies a 2000 ha nature reserve which is the home to over 300 different types of birds. All of which seem to be sitting on these wooden posts in the water when we walk by.

We turn east from the Rhein delta and keep walking along the beach. It can get muddy in places, so be sure to wear waterproof shoes. We cross large meadows and pass reed fields and fire places on the beach. After another 30 minutes we reach the Polderdamm dam which we follow past a couple tiny harbours.

Soon we turn back inland, crossing a few fields and after 15 minutes arrive at a farm that sells eggs. This place also sells strawberries in the summer, so that’s definitely worth coming here for. A bit further is a small apple farm that sells apples in autumn. This turns out to be quite the culinary walk.

Soon we arrive back at the Patagonia restaurant. Two hours worth of easy walking with beautiful views of the lake make up for all the rain in the last 2 days.