Into Germany – by Gary

  

From Switzerland we were headed in to southern Germany to visit my old friend Sabine.  Along the way we made two stops, one at Lake Constance to visit the Graf Zepplin Museum and the other to visit the famous castle of Neushwannstein.

The Graf Zepplin Museum
Right in the centre of Friedrichshafen on the shores of Lake Constance is this fabulous museum, housing partial replicas of the mighty Hindenberg along with a vast array of artifacts, models, photos, art, memorabilia and hands-on exhibits, that collectively present the history, science and design of this fascinating technology.  Sabine suggested it would take a couple of hours maximum, we spent 4.5 hours and could have easily spent much more.

What better way to advertise a zeppelin museum than with a real live zeppelin?

Inside was the recreation of part of the Hindenberg..

.... including some of the artfully designed passenger common areas.

And perhaps even more interesting was the recreation of the zeppelin’s lightweight rigid framework.  Exhibits covered the development of suitable aluminium alloys, the use of complex rolling techniques to develop the sections used and methods of assembly of the fuselage.

View of the ship’s bridge deck.

Their photography and film exhibits were wonderful – of course the kids most enjoyed those that captured the Hindenburg’s last moments.

Also on exhibit were several salvaged elements of the Hindenburg, including this engine and housing.

Neuschwanstein

Sabine has driven me here twice, once on my own, and once with Mum when we did our European tour together.  She has also taken niece Kellie, not to mention practically every other foreign visitor to her house.  So we thought we’d let her off the hook, and go there under our own steam because it really is an un-missable southern Germany tourism spot.

Neuschwanstein was built by the last King of Bavaria, the allegedly mad Ludwig II.  It is supposed to be a mediaeval castle, although it is a richly fantasized 1870s version.  It was never finished; poor Ludwig’s family had him declared insane and dragged off to an asylum where he died soon after under highly suspicious circumstances.  One theory is that that brothers, uncles, aunts were so afraid they he would completely squander the family fortune on his ‘crazy’ castle project that they had him ‘taken care of’.

Neuschwanstein has a fairy-tale location, high above a village surrounded by forest, cliffs, lakes and waterfalls.

And getting closer, no matter which angle you photograph it from, it’s a spectacular castle

Inside the finished bits are just as spectacular

Richly,intricately ornate.

And that view from the bridge?  Well as you can see, we brought all our friends from Versailles with us to enjoy it too!

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