Corkscrew-Balloon European Tour 2001
Part II: Spargelfest
Paul's Journal — May 28-31, 2001
Between Part One and Part Three
Between Part One and Part Three
One person has responded to our bathroom fixture mystery with the suggestion that it might be used for rinsing out socks. This is not a bad guess: The lever on the wall over the unit, when pulled, causes water to swirl around in the bowl of the fixture in a way that might be useful in that endeavor. Unfortunately, there is no screen of any sort in the drain, and the drain's diameter is rather large. Socks could easily be lost.
Today was another "road" day. After a fishless breakfast, we left at about 10:00 a.m. on board two southbound Previas. We experienced quite a bit of rainfall while en route.
A visit to Rothenburg
A visit to Hermann's auto museum
Early morning flight with Hermann's granddaughters
Evening flight with Eddie's family
We had planned to start today with a flight at dawn. As of last night, the weather looked like it would be totally perfect. Overnight, however, a warm front started heading toward us. The crew was out in the field at 04:30, but it quickly became apparent that the weather would not be appropriate for flight. Back in my room, I was already up and getting ready; when word of our cancellation arrived, I didn't even complete the shower I had begun. I wiped off most of the soapy water and climbed back into bed for three more hours of sleep.
With the whiting out of the flight, the primary agenda item for the day was a trip to to the Zeppelin airship museum and plant. Hermann had set this up, and so of course it was all done in the most amazing way imaginable: Hermann had called Wolfgang von Zeppelin and asked him to be our personal tour guide. With Hermann, "anything is possible"!
A large part of the Zeppelin museum is a partial recreation of a portion of the Hindenburg, including its passenger quarters. There are also various engines, propellers, and other exhibits. If you want to learn about the history of the famed airships, what could possibly compare to a discussion with Wolfgang von Zeppelin and Hermann Sieger? For instance: Do you have questions about the Hindenburg accident? Well, Messrs. von Zeppelin and Sieger were both personal acquaintances of the captain. (A different explanation of the Hindenburg's best-known incident was presented here previously.)
Wolfgang von Zeppelin with Mike and Alf, at the Zeppelin plant
Next: Bern
