Before I start, I want to say that the day of the trip,
It Was A Good Day.
Maybe you listen to that music while reading that blog.
I saw much more than only the lights of the GOODYEAR Blimp today. I even remembered, that 1994 I rented a lovely Impala in California. White color though, and my ride was not pimped of course. I insisted, to buy the best available insurance during that trip. It was short before the Northridge Quake in California.
This Zeppelin was built in Friedrichshafen at Lake Constance (Bodensee), Germany and was called „Bodensee“ at the beginning. But it was later sold to Japan. It returned in recent years because Japan sold it. In Japan it could not operate profitable. But it was updated in Germany and now flies again as „Bodensee“ at/above the Bodensee. There is a strong cooperation with GOODYEAR in the United states.
We were especially happy to learn, we were flying with the Zeppelin with the branding of cooperation partner GOODYEAR. As my family is linked to that great American company. Since Grandpa was on Orbit with GOODYEAR 1971.
The Swarm is always working on travelling with all imaginable means of transportation. The Ducks insisted to !!! Fly !!! on a new Zeppelin. As it during its starting phase is a bit heavier than air you fly in this new Zeppelins, you don’t drive them. Its buoyancy comes from the propellers during rise and flight. Different than a Hot Air Ballon.
The Zeppelins of that class are among the biggest, operating air vessels of these days. With a length of 75 m it is longer than the A380 (Airbus). But much smaller than the older Hindenburg or Graf Zeppelin.
Zeppelin Museum Friedrichshafen, real scale cut of the inside of an older Zeppelin.
And it is not really a Blimb (Goodyear Blimp, here: Super Ball 50 Denver Broncos) as it got a solid, inner hard structure.
But they all get down in the end. Buckling up during start and landing was obligatory.
The swarm had a splendid time during the flight. Flight Captain Kate Board showed the swarm all her skills navigating above the Swabian and Swiss landscapes. Throwing shadows on the well-known local Swabian and Swiss sites like:
Rheinfall von Schaffhausen (cataract)
Constance at lake Constance
Ruin Fortress Hohenwiel
Island Mainau with the famous Bernadotte Castle
On a tennis court and the penalty zone of the neighboring soccer field at same time (game, set, match and goal).
Highways, Freeways, Forests and colorful Fields blooming in Springtime.
The weather was sunny, only a bit blurry but lake Constance and the alpine mountains in the south were well visible.
Beautiful old town Meersburg (Merowingian King Dagobert I. might have built the first castle) which I last time visited about 35 years ago with the Music Club:
Off duty Captain Roger Clarence Over felt a bit depressed and had to be comforted.
Travelling always faster than the airship’s shadow. Before we started, I ordered some coffee and, after I saw a woman was in charge of the flight, a Schnapps (Nuts). And told the waitress, “Last Order” and no ice cube.
Kate Board from England, a celebrity, as the first female Zeppelin Pilot ever, performed great art and perfection of navigation.
So, she didn’t need any support of our unreliable Captain Roger Clarence Over who was allowed to join her on the navigation board for some time. She told us, that she before had some stuffed toys in the cockpit. But couldn’t think of any rubber ducks. I lamented, that no duck was on the ISS so far. And just minutes ago, while watching TV (ZDF Info), I came across another slap in the face by the German Army (Bund, Bundeswehr; with their Tower Control)
The procedure entering and exiting the Zeppelin was complex. The swarm had to listen well to the orders of the crew. Taking pictures during that procedure was not possible. But it was later during the flight. The vessel while on the ground, changes its position with the wind and turns. So, the swarm had to change the position several times while waiting and entering.
And the ballast, water fill, had to be adapted according to the weight of the passengers. We were on the second flight that day and alternating two passengers disembarked and two embarked. We had to line up in pairs and we all had to make it snappy. I now, in the aftermath, remember seeing a lot of water discharged while I climbed up the steps. Maybe the Ducks should consider a diet.
The vessel flies at a height of 300 m and with the warm weather it was no problem to open the two openable windows. But all windows were clean, taking good pictures was well possible all the time. All in all, a wonderful experience.
Back at the Zeppelin Hangar in Friedrichshafen after a much too short, wonderful trip.
Here are some pictures one day before on our way to Switzerland, Romanshorn following the traces of Lola Montez.
Above Friedrichshafen Harbor with the Zeppelin Museum.
Credit: Maps Icons ColIlection, https://mapicons.mapsmarker.com/
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