​We are having a short stopover in Dubrovnik before we start our second European swimming tour tomorrow in Montenegro.

​Our little band of cyclists and swimmers has now returned to Konstanz and enjoyed our farewell dinner. Some of us will be spending our final day in this part of the world tomorrow by travelling by train for a day trip to the ancient town of St Gallen in Switzerland prior to the second of this year's swimming-based tours to Montenegro next week. Here are some photos of our last day's travels - top is the town of Arbon where we spent our last night and below is the delightful picnic spot where we had our last lunch and swim.

We are now at the end of day three of our Cycling and Swimming Tour around Lake Constance/Bodensee. We have cycled along the northern (German) shore, the eastern (Austrian) shore and now we are on the southern (Swiss) shore. We have seen fabulous sights, cycled through ancient towns and stayed in three of them so far: Friedrichhafen (Germany), , Bregenz (Austria) and now Arbon (Switzerland). Check out some of these photos.

We had a great day on the Untersee of Lake Constance by boat and train and visiting Schaffhausen and the Rhine Falls.

Top photo: near Busingen. Bottom photo: with Helen and John Dixon

It began on Tuesday 16th and 17th August with a two day stopover in Helsinki where I swam in the pool used for the 1952 Olympics. That was a real hoot! Although, after 24 hours in a plane, each 50m length seem more like a kilometre.

Then it was on to Konstanz with the rest of the expeditionary force coming from Norway and direct from Australia gathering at Zurich airport for the short train ride to this ancient city on the shores of Lake Constance. After a 2k acclimatisation swim in the lake and a good look around, today we are off to Schaffhausen and the Rhine Falls by boat. Tomorrow, we mount our cycling steeds to commence the 275km round-lake trip spread over four days. Stay tuned for more news and photos.

There will be a Bronze Medallion course conducted on 5th and 6th November 2016. Please click here for more information and email me on mark@otteraquatics.com.au if you would like to do the course.

The 2016 swimming holidays in Europe are about to get underway - indeed some of our participants have already left Australia. The holidays are as follows:
18th to 26th August - Cycling and Swimming around Lake Constance (Germany, Austria and Switzerland)
26th August to 4th September - Swimming the Fjords and Coves of Montenegro.
Check out the swimming holidays section of the website for more details on these trips as well as other trips planned for 2017

The Iconic and Historic Swimming Tour to Sydney which was to have been held from 14th to 18th November 2016 has been postponed to 13th to 17th March 2017. Please get in touch on 0438 652 696 or mark@otteraquatics.com.au if you are interested in coming.