Federal state: Bavaria

The Kühns have begun their trip to Germany in Bavaria, in the city of Lindau. The most important part of Lindau is not on the shores of Lake Constance, but on an island in it, connected to the mainland by a bridge. This means there was no danger that the heart of the old imperial city could be disfigured with new additions over time.

Bavaria's only lighthouse is in Lindau. The statue of a lion on one side and the lighthouse on the other flank the entrance to the city's harbour.

The Kühns are impressed by the large lake and picturesque town with its long history, and they also like the high snow-topped mountains surrounding it.

Willie Kühn is enthusiastic about the beautiful houses and the fact that each is painted in a different colour.

Lindau Town Hall is even more colourful. It was built between 1422 and 1436, and bears the styles of many centuries. In 1496, its large gothic hall was the scene of a Reichstag, or assembly of representatives of the imperial states of the Holy Roman Empire.

The ground floor houses the city archives and the former imperial city's library, with more than 23,000 works from all fields of knowledge from the fourteenth century to the present.

The visitors from South Africa are surprised by Bavaria's natural beauty. They're enchanted by the unspoilt nature of the countryside and the picturesque towns and villages on the shores of Lake Constance. In 1840 the poet Karl Simrock compared the lake to a divine garden - a description that present-day residents would agree with.

Willie and Anniki Kühn are looking for something special on their trip: signs that bear their surname, like Kühn's shoe shop in Oberstaufen. Did they enjoy their visit?

In their own words, " We just want to say: Lindau, Bavaria, Germany, Dankeschön and auf Wiedersehen. We've enjoyed everything here immensely: landscape, food, people -- everything."