Germany (Lonely Planet, 6th Edition) - Andrea Schulte-Peevers [405]
The centrepiece is a full-scale mock-up of a 33m section of the Hindenburg (LZ 129), the largest airship ever built, measuring an incredible 245m long and outfitted as luxuriously as an ocean liner. The hydrogen-filled craft tragically burst into flames, killing 36, while landing in New Jersey in 1937.
Other exhibits provide technical and historical insights, including an original motor gondola from the famous Graf Zeppelin, which made 590 trips and travelled around the world in 21 days in 1929. An audioguide (€3) gives 1½ hours of English commentary (signage is in German). The top-floor art collection stars brutally realistic works by Otto Dix.
Kids can let off steam on the stainless-steel Zeppelin sculpture outside the museum. More sculptures are sprinkled around town, including in the lakefront Stadtgarten along Uferstrasse, a great spot for a picnic or stroll. Pedal and electric boats can be rented at the Gondelhafen (€8 to €30 per hour).
The western end of Friedrichshafen’s promenade is anchored by the twin onion-towered, baroque Schlosskirche. It’s the only accessible part of the Schloss, and is still inhabited by the ducal family of Württemberg.
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Sleeping & Eating
The tourist office has a free booking terminal. For quick snacks, hit Seestrasse’s beer gardens, pizzerias and ice-cream parlours.
Gasthof Rebstock ( 950 1640; www.gasthof-rebstock-fn.de, in German; Werastrasse 35; s/d €50/70; ) Geared up for cyclists, this family-run hotel has a beer garden and humble but tidy rooms with pine furnishings. It’s situated 750m northwest of the Stadtbahnhof.
Buchhorner Hof ( 2050; www.buchhorn.de; Friedrichstrasse 33; s €82-210, d €100-260; ) Many stifle a giggle (or a shriek) upon entering this hotel and coming face to face with an enormous moose head. The former owner, an avid hunter, lavishly decorated this traditional hotel with stuffed animals. Rooms are big if a tad bland. There’s a sauna and a restaurant (mains €18.50 to €26.50) serving regional fare.
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COME FLY WITH ME
Real airship fans will justify the splurge on a trip in a high-tech, 12-passenger Zeppelin NT ( 590 00; www.zeppelinflug.de). Flights lasting 30/45/60/90/120 minutes cost €200/295/355/545/715. Shorter trips cover destinations on the lake such as Schloss Salem and Lindau, while longer ones drift across to Austria or Switzerland. Take-off and landing are in Friedrichshafen. The flights are not cheap, but nothing beats floating noiselessly over Lake Constance with the Alps on the horizon, so slowly that you can make the most of legendary photo ops.
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Beach Club (Uferstrasse 1; snacks €6-8 10am-midnight Apr-Oct) This lakefront shack is the place to unwind on the deck, mai tai in hand, and admire the Klangschiff sculpture and the not-so-distant Alps. Revive over tapas, salads and antipasti.
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Getting There & Around
Ryanair flies from London Stansted to Friedrichshafen’s airport (www.fly-away.de), frequently linked to the centre by buses 7586 and 7394. InterSky (www.intersky.biz) flies mainly to cities in Germany and Italy.
For details on ferry options, including the catamaran to Konstanz, Click here. Sailing times are posted on the waterfront just outside the Zeppelin Museum.
From Monday to Friday, seven times a day, express bus 7394 makes the trip to Konstanz (1¼ hours) via Meersburg (30 minutes). Birnau and Meersburg are also served almost hourly by bus 7395.
Friedrichshafen is on the Bodensee–Gürtelbahn rail line, which runs along the lake’s northern shore from Radolfzell to Lindau. There are also regular services on the Bodensee–Oberschwaben–Bahn, which runs to Ravensburg (€3.65, 21 minutes) and Ulm (€17.80, 1¼ hours).
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RAVENSBURG
0751 / pop 48,500
Ravensburg has puzzled the world for the past 125 years with its jigsaws and board games.