Riesi and Insel Werd

Scenic road chapters

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Riesi

   Riesi is a stretch of shoreline at the northern end of the Hallwilersee, a long, narrow lake in the Aargau Seetal, between the villages of Seengen and Boniswil. It is a peaceful place of reeds, meadows and walking paths, and below the water and in the marshy ground lie the remains of prehistoric pile-dwelling settlements, part of the World Heritage list of such sites around the Alps.

   Read the complete Riesi write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Riesi is where the day begins. Next is Feldbach.

2. 2. Feldbach

   Feldbach is a small village on the northern shore of Lake Zurich, and a very Swiss kind of calm hangs over it. It belongs to the municipality of Hombrechtikon and lies on the sunny stretch locals call the Gold Coast, where steep vineyards and orchards slope down to the water and the houses cost more than most people care to say aloud. The village has a lakeside park with big old trees, a small harbour and a place to swim in summer, and across the water the opposite shore climbs toward the Albis hills.

   Read the complete Feldbach write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Feldbach comes up 62 km in. Next is Insel Werd.

3. 3. Insel Werd

   Where the Rhine leaves Lake Constance at Stein am Rhein, a group of small islands sits in the river, connected to the shore by a wooden footbridge, and on the largest, Werd, stands a small chapel surrounded by trees and water. It was here, in 759, that Saint Otmar, the first abbot of St Gallen, died in exile after falling foul of powerful local nobles, and the island has been a place of pilgrimage ever since. Long before Otmar, people lived here too: the islands and the surrounding shores are among the Prehistoric Pile Dwellings around the Alps, a World Heritage site, and excavations have found traces of settlements from the Neolithic onwards.

   Read the complete Insel Werd write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   125 km in you reach Insel Werd. Next is back through Feldbach.

4. 4. back through Feldbach

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Feldbach write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   back through Feldbach, late in the day. Next is Riesi.

5. 5. Riesi

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Riesi write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Back at Riesi. That is the ride.