Along the Seerücken

As the hiker of the nation, Nik Hartmann, said in the "SRF bi de Lüt" program, it is "insanely beautiful" on the Thurgau Seerücken. Follow in Nik's footsteps across the Seerücken to Lake Constance and discover wonderful viewpoints, the Arenenberg and the Napoleon Museum, picturesque fishing villages and natural oases.

Top of Seerücken: 721 m.a.s.l.
The three-day stage tour that Nik Hartmann completes for "SRF bi de Lüt" starts in Klingenzell. After a short walk from the "Sieben Schmerzen Mariä" pilgrimage church, you reach the Hochwacht vantage point, which offers an impressive view of the Untersee region. On the rest of the way, Nik is looking for the highest point of the Seerücken, which is just 721 m above sea level, and jokes that he has never been so flat before. After that, it's just "nidzi" through a green, gentle landscape.
Yet another summit experience
The route now leads past sleepy little villages to the Napoleon Tower. A magnificent panoramic view awaits you on its viewing platform, which can be reached via 200 steps. Today's tower is not the first to stand here. Louis Napoléon III, direct successor to the great Napoléon Bonaparte, built the "Belvedère zu Hohenrain" back in 1829. Not true Nik, who would have thought that the flat Thurgau still has a summit experience to offer? And then, at the top, the lake appears again. The view (quote from Nik): simply "insanely beautiful".

Nik Hartmann: "And now we're at the top of the Napoleon Tower. Wow! Yes, this is insanely beautiful."

In search of the apple and Napoleon
Day two in Thurgau takes Nik through an area full of apple trees. It's about time the fruit that represents cider India made an appearance. So if you want a sip of cider, you don't have to look far before you come to the first apple farm, where Nik also stops for a bite to eat: Meiers Mostbaizli. Later, you pass the Arenenberg, home to the Napoleon Museum Thurgau . The magnificent complex stands like a precious jewel on the ridge of the lake. The last emperor of France, Napoleon III, spent his youth here. After a short descent, you reach Gottlieben via the former fishing village of Ermatingen. Gottlieben, with its magnificent half-timbered buildings, is enchantingly situated on the unspoiled reed landscape of the Seerhein.
Of lakes and ponds
After Gottlieben, the third stage of the tour leads to Kreuzlingen with its many opportunities for leisure activities - and here the Untersee opens up and becomes Lake Constance. Continuing along the hiking trail, which now leads from the lake back up to the Seerücken, you reach the Bommer ponds. These are "among the most beautiful of what still exists in Thurgau in this form", the Thurgau government once remarked and placed the area under nature protection. The tranquil, characterful landscape of the ponds is home to a valuable habitat for amphibians, reptiles and dragonflies.

Nik Hartmann: "Schampar is idyllic in Thurgau. Almost a bit kitschy."

Nik's crowning finale
Finally, Nick hikes further over the Seerücken to Altnau, the apple village on Lake Constance. At Feierlenhof, Hartmann spends the night in a Thurgau bubble hotel, a transparent spherical tent that promises and delivers a very special experience under the stars. Now we say goodbye, Nik - see you again in the Lake Constance canton of Thurgau.

Stage 1: Klingenzell - Wäldi

approx. 22 km long route

Stage 2: Wäldi - Gottlieben

approx. 16 km long route

Stage 3: Gottlieben - Altnau

approx. 22 km long route

Further stage tours in Thurgau


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