Den Bodensee zu Fuß umrundet

Interview with Jessica und Dominic

Lake Constance is one of the largest lakes in Europe and is famous for its beauty and diversity. Its shores border three countries - Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Wonderful cities are waiting to be discovered and in summer the cool waters of the lake are a paradise for all kinds of sports, especially water sports of course.

Cycling around it over a distance of around 270 kilometers is a goal of many bike enthusiasts, but there are also people who cycle around it as part of the Iron Lake Challenge Lake Constance on foot. The first to successfully earn their medal are Jessica and Dominic.

We have checked and have documented 23.12.2023 as the date of registration. We received the proof of the circumnavigation on 03.01.2024. How was this winter circumnavigation and what tips can these likeable athletes give us?

We are therefore very grateful for the interview with Jessica and Dominic and you can look forward to lots of valuable information!

Dear Jessica,

dear Dominic,

First of all, on behalf of the entire Iron Lake Challenge community, I would like to send you our warmest congratulations on completing the Iron Lake Challenge Micro Bodensee! We have a lot of questions and are very happy to be able to ask you.

Who are you and what do you do in your free time?

WE are Dominic and Jessica. We love being active and out and about together. You can motivate Dominic with good ideas for almost anything and get him off the sofa. Good friends also call me (Jessica) the Duracell bunny. I always have something going on and I like to spend my free time doing sports.

You were the first in our Challenge to complete a full circumnavigation of Lake Constance, and you did it in winter. How did that come about? Was that your goal from the start?

No, it was a very spontaneous idea. We had an annual goal of 1000 hiking kilometers and Dominic was still exactly 270 km short. So it quickly became clear how we were going to spend the week at the end of the year. Once around Lake Constance...

Some participants hike, others run around the lakes. What do you prefer?

Definitely hiking/walking. Above all, we like to enjoy nature and peace and quiet in the mountains and look for places where there isn't too much hustle and bustle. That's why the round trip in winter was absolutely brilliant.

What did you find most difficult about walking around Lake Constance?

We would say it was always the very last few kilometers to the accommodation. They could feel like forever. Imagine you can't take any more and then.... just before the finish... a never-ending avenue.

What did you like best and which moments will you never forget?

There were smaller and larger highlights every day, but the biggest was probably when we realized that the crazy idea had now become reality and we had arrived at the starting point. The anticipation of the green ("golden" - my darling) marble was huge.

How did you plan your circumnavigation of Lake Constance and how many hours a day were you on your feet?

We planned the individual routes in advance and booked rooms in hotels. Due to the seasons and public holidays, this was urgently needed and not easy.

We almost always set off in the morning in semi-darkness and reached our destination at dusk. This meant we had beautiful sunsets on the last few kilometers of the day.

At the Iron Lake Challenge, we attach great importance to "enjoyment". Is it still possible to enjoy such a big challenge?

It would be a lie if we said we only enjoyed the 40km per day. There were highs (delicious pasta in the evening) and lows (total road closure early in the morning #dangerous)

As Lake Constance borders three countries and many towns and villages, villas and boathouses, but also beautiful nature reserves and campsites line the shore, there was so much to discover every day.

What did you do to keep motivation and spirits high?

We were looking for the golden marble 😉 As we were walking around Lake Constance at Christmas time, we saw the villages and towns with lots of Christmas decorations. You wouldn't believe how many golden Christmas baubles you can find around Lake Constance. We made it our hobby to find as many baubles as possible and comment on them with the words "My darling" #golumlordoftherings.

With so many kilometers on foot, everything has to be just right. Equipment, food, route planning, etc. I love learning from people who have already done what I want to do. Do you have any tips on equipment, organization, food and other important factors?

Less is more, but only when it comes to equipment. We only had the bare essentials with us and didn't always look our best in the restaurant in the evening.

We didn't take enough breaks during the first few days. We then adjusted this and made a short stop after every hour to relieve our tired feet and reward ourselves with chocolate sweets.

Have you wanted to take on this challenge for some time? Was it always the plan to do it together?

No, but that's probably because planning is not our strong point. We tend to be the spontaneous type and find new things exciting at first.

What sporting goals have you set yourselves for 2024?

Above all, we didn't want to set a fixed number of kilometers as an annual goal. This was mainly because the 1000 km prevented us from doing other leisure activities. A via ferrata gave us too few kilometers and cycling none at all. 😉 This year we want to pay more attention to other sporting activities again and are looking forward to climbing, SUP, cycling and much more.

Can you recommend the Iron Lake Challenge to others?

Definitely. Without the Iron Lake Challenge, we would probably never have come up with the idea and would not have experienced the many wonderful moments at Lake Constance. We still talk a lot about this unique experience.