Google Maps lists a “Keira Knightley Spot” in Konstanz.
I’ve liked the actress since I saw her facial expressions in “Pride and Prejudice.” If Jane Austen had been an advisor on the film, she would have been happy.
Above, Keira (Sabina in the film) is sitting on a bench on Seestrasse (Lake Street) in Konstanz kissing Michael Fassbinder. That’s supposed to be pre-WWI Lake Zurich behind them, but it’s Lake Constance.
At the far left, you can see the Steigenberger island hotel. Not sure what it’s called in the movie “A Dangerous Method” (also called “A Dark Desire”), but it shows up a couple of times as a key piece of the background. On the right, that’s the Old Rhine Bridge and the Rheintorturm (Rhine Gate Tower).
Sabina’s apartment with bay window was supposed to be in this building across the street from the bench.
The movie was being shot in Zürich in 2010, but the Burghölzli-Klinik, where Jung’s practice was, was being renovated. So the shooting was moved to Konstanz.
I’m not recommending the movie, unless you’re curious about what happened to the relationship between Jung (Fassbinder) and Freud (Viggo Mortensen). Keira plays Jung patient Sabina Spielrein. I guess the suggestion is that an illicit (or envied) romance between doctor and patient shattered the relationship.
Why a Keira spot in Google Maps? Seems when Keira was 14, she spent a week in Konstanz in 1996 as part of an exchange with her high school in London. Her brother had done it before her.
In a 14-year-old’s terms, she told a newspaper she liked Konstanz. Did she suggest the move to Konstanz? Seems possible, but I haven’t seen it mentioned anywhere.
Unfortunately, Seestrasse doesn’t feature any memorials to the occasion, and I don’t feel I ever found the bench.
There are benches all along the street in this area, giving a serene view of the lake. Unfortunately, no bench has its back to the Steigenberger as shown in the film. My wife said, “It’s a movie. The director told somebody to move it.”
I pick this one.
Konzil
The Konzil is known to history as the only place outside Italy where a pope was elected. That was after a three-year conclave that ended in 1418. The three popes of the Western schism resigned, and the conclave elected Martin V as sole pope.
The building was constructed right at Konstanz harbor as a grain store and warehouse. Today, it’s a conference center. The attached restaurant gives it a commercial vibe that seems somehow at odds with the Konzil’s history.
Schnetztor
I wandered through Konstanz’s old town, looking for one of the three remaining Medieval defensive fortifications, the Schnetztor.
I thought the street was more interesting than the old city gate.
Waschsalon
My trip was 25 days. If you’re on the road that long, you know you need to deal with washing clothes.
Some can be washed in the hotel-room sink or tub. But at some point, you’re going to wonder whether you can do a real wash. One of my seven hotels had a clothes-washing service, but the price per item was simply offensive.
So this is what one German laundromat looked like. This one actually was in Heidelberg, but I wanted to mention it somewhere.
A retired couple took me under their wing and showed me the ropes. Turned out to be some of the best German practice of the trip. I won’t be able to plan on an extended conversation in a laundromat next trip, but I’ll be open to it.
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