Lake Constance Meeting from August 28 to August 30, 2020
If there is a Fiat 500 meeting in Corona times, I simply have to go there. After all, 164 kms are not such a long journey for me. The weather forecast was devastating, but we set out anyway. Hermann with his Bianchina (24 hp), Gabi and Loreto Cinelli in their Giardinera (26 hp) and me, driving my Fiat 500 D (26 hp).
A whopping 76 horsepower! – a Report by Fiat 500 Driver Angie Schlegel
Everything could have been so nice. Two Fiat 500s and one Bianchina, eagerly heading for Lake Constance. We met at my place in Starnberg and headed for Marktoberdorf. We had to take a detour due to surprising road works and road closures – and enjoyed the beautiful weather. Our destination was the “Königswirt” country inn in Marktoberdorf. We reached it at 1.25pm, only to be told by a sign that lunch was only served until 1.30pm (2pm according to the inn’s web site). However, the chef just said to me: “Don’t worry, it's not 1:30 yet.” That was really cool. We enjoyed a fantastic meal in the beer garden. Highly recommended! Considering the weather forecast, we drove on to Isny in the Allgäu region with the top closed. Soon, it started to rain and the rain was to become our constant companion. We skipped the sightseeing tour in Isny and drove directly to our hotel/inn called “Landhaus Köhle” in the village of Neukirch. Following the strict Corona rules, we checked into our rooms.
A whopping 76 horsepower: Hermann with his Bianchina (24 hp), Gabi and Loreto Cinelli in their Giardinera (26 hp) and me, with my Fiat 500 D (26 hp).
The Tettnang meeting took place at a small lake called “Degersee”. A lovely location, right on the lakeside with a campsite under huge trees, if it wasn't for the rain and huge puddles. Actually, we had planned to spend the evening sitting together around the campfire, but given the chilly weather, this was no option. Two groups of FIAT 500 drivers were sitting and standing together under a provisionally erected canopy tent or took shelter under a motorhome awning, trying to make the best of the situation. Since we had not planned to go camping, we retired to our hotel where we enjoyed a delicious dinner and then decided to drive to the Fiat 500 meeting in the city of Constance the next day. Gabi had learned about this meeting on Facebook, and there was also mention of it in the Fiat 500 Forum. And so we set off for Constance at 9am next morning. The crossing with the ferry, which was not even half occupied, was fun. On a nice day, we certainly wouldn't have made the 10:30am deadline.
Waterborne: The ferry wasn't even half full, due to the weather. So we could immediately get on the ferry in Meersburg.
At a gas station in Constance, we met a group from Fellbach we already knew. The GPS didn't take us to the agreed meeting point, but a passer-by told us the way. Wow, the Fellbach club had come with 17 cars! A camera crew was also present. And the organizers, Martin Buschmann and Gianni Panagia of “Amici della 500 KN”, explained that this was not a club, but a community of interest that had only recently been founded. Looking up at the sky, we hoped for a reasonably dry cruise. Precise instructions for the trip were given and at 11am we were off – and it started raining again.
Briefing: The organizers (center), Gianni Panagia and Martin Buschmann (wearing a cap), looking at the sky during the briefing for the ride.
Nearly 30 Fiat 500s drove along the beautiful landscape of Lake Constance, but suddenly, my windscreen wiper conked out. I couldn’t enjoy the lovely landscape any longer and at the first stop, several tech-savvy Fiat 500 drivers were trying to get the wiper going again. No chance, they couldn’t help me! I had to go through this now. At a campsite, we took a longer break and had time for a chat. This was accompanied by a glass of prosecco and some pieces of bruschetta “a l’italiana”. Around 3pm, we decided to return to our hotel, as I didn't want to drive in the dark without a working windscreen wiper. We arrived safely at 5pm. We were dead beat, but happy to have met new people and old acquaintances, and let the evening end with very good food.
Sunday boded ill – it was raining cats and dogs. A guest suggested that we should rub the windscreen of my Fiat with a potato. That's what we finally did, many thanks to the cook and owner of the hotel for the potato and a kitchen roll. What was the point? During stops at traffic lights, I had a clear view. When driving, the water beaded off the windscreen in small waves. However, with a hard rain like that, this measure was only partially successful, but in any case, it was better than nothing.
The potato: A guest of the hotel suggested to rub the windscreen with a potato. During stops, I had a clear view, but when driving, the water beaded off in small waves. It was definitely better than before.
5 kms before we reached Starnberg, it stopped raining. We had lunch in a small village called Wieling which is situated close to Lake Starnberg. After 160 kms without wipers, I was totally knackered. But nevertheless, we were happy that we had taken this trip to Lake Constance. After all, it was one of the few meetings that actually took place this year. A big thank-you to the organizers at lake Degersee and to the Fiat enthusiasts of Constance for getting this meeting going despite the weather and the Corona pandemic.
