So a fond farewell to the Hotel Ochson and off to Friedrichshafen – home of the mighty Zeppelin.
Suzy’s maps are working excellently, occasionally we have resort to GPS as a back, especially in the cities, but by and large we aren’t putting a wheel wrong (although we really need to remember the compass next time) but this morning is the exception that proves the rule. Milllie’s headset is barely moving because, I suspect ,someone didn’t put any grease in it for a while so we return to the bike shop we passed a couple of days ago hoping it will be open this time. AS Millie and I zoom ahead Suzy, who has the map and gave us directions, gets stuck at some lights and we get separated. The bike shop is only a few hundred yards past the junction and when she doesn’t turn up after 10 minutes we phone her.
“You’ve gone the wrong way.” Says my angry wife.
“I followed your directions!”
“You didn’t!”
“I’m at the bike shop!”
“No you aren’t.”
It’s difficult to argue with logic like that but I persevere, proving nothing more than how little I have learnt in my 44 years on this planet about people. So we don’t talk for the next hour or so until Suzy pedals it off (from about 200 yards ahead of us), I can’t really complain as I’m generally the sulky one but I do anyway which surprisingly doesn’t really seem to improve the situation.
Anyway all this means we make AMAZING time and cover the 34 km to Friedrichshafen in record time for another 2 night stay in an AirBnB place. But first we have the reason for our visit, yes folks it’s Suzy’s turn to pick stuff and we are visiting not one but TWO aircraft museums! Friedrichshafen have a huge museum in the middle of the town, next to the lake, dedicated to the history of the Zeppelin and more specifically the Hindenburg. We leave yearning for a more glamorous age although as we are descended, respectively, from miners and mill workers it is unlikely earlier versions of ourselves would have been able to afford the air fare.
Useless Fact (2)
Zeppelins are very sensitive to changes in temperature so, in order to keep the balloon cool, they used to fly with the balloon part entirely in cloud. But this was before the era of electronic navigation so they did a lot of their navigation visually with only the captain’s head, complete with hat and extraordinary moustache poking out of the cloud (from the observation hatch on top) travelling through the air at 125km/hr. What a sight to see.
Anyway they largely stopped making Zeppelins after the Hindenburg and then after the war the Germans weren’t allowed to make aircraft for a while due to their occasional habit of getting all shooty when we let them have munitions. It’s a new company that does it now related to the original company and using the same name.
We’re staying in yet another Airbnb place, this time it’s a student flat overlooking the lake. There’s a road immediately in front of the flat, then a small park leading down to the lake shore and there’s an arts festival on every evening with acrobats, jugglers, bands and stalls. The flat’s massive, clean but once again you’re staying in someone’s home so it’s not clean like a hotel room. We have the place to ourselves and have everything we need – a kitchen, wifi and a WASHING MACHINE!
View from the Apartment.
Don’t Sing. Please.
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