Meersburg and Friedrichshafen

So the department I work in organises an annual excursion in order for its employees to hang out in an informal setting far away from the work place. I was really looking forward to it and being still new, this was a great opportunity to get to know some of my fellow employees better.

We met up at the company premises at 7.45 am and drove by mini-van to Konstanz which is right across the Swiss-German border and along Bodensee (also known as Lake Constance in English). Bodensee is surrounded by three countries namely Switzerland, Germany and Austria and is one of the largest lakes in europe. There we caught a ferry which crossed over to the other side of the lake to the village of Meersburg, Germany. The ferry itself is able to carry vehicles on it (similar to the Gozo ferry back home) which is great if you are travelling by car obviously. The weather was perfect and  after stopping at a cafe to have a quick drink we went for a short hike through some vineyards and back down to the old town. Meersburg is your typical small, picturesque village with many colourful houses and small shops. We then had lunch close to the lake (it was all paid for, what more could you wish for!) before moving on to the nearby town of Friedrichshafen where we visited the Dornier museum.

Lake Constance with a Zeppelin in the distance

Nice name for a boat

Some of the vineyards we passed through (with a very badass looking watch tower in the distance)

Seagulls!

Meersburg Old Town

Claude Dornier (Google Images)

The Dornier museum is an aerospace museum showcasing the development of aircraft and air travel throughout the years and is named after the entrepreneur Claude Dornier (1884-1969) who was a pioneer in aircraft design. He was also the founder of Dornier GmbH which was a leading aircraft manufacturer at the time, particularly during the first and second world wars and the years that followed soon after that. Many of the aircraft designed by Dornier were among the first to be made almost entirely out of metal and the company is now owned by another aerospace company, EADS. We had a guided tour which was in German unfortunately (practically all my colleagues are Swiss so I wasn't surprised), but luckily I could still follow by reading the plaques close to the exhibits which were displayed in English. We even went inside one of the big war planes on display outside! It was baking hot though and there was no ventilation so we were all really glad when the guide finally stopped talking and ushered us out of the plane.

I had never really sat down to consider just how much the development of aircraft has had an impact of our lives and how it has shaped modern society before today. The world wars also had a major influence on the rapid development of aircraft, and the transition from humble flying boats and aircraft which were only used for reconnaissance in WWI, to bomber planes with machine guns in WWII, to jet planes and commercial, affordable air travel was really striking during the visit. I definitely recommend that you visit this museum if you happen to be in the area. More information can be obtained from their website: http://goo.gl/BQO713

Some of the exhibits at the Dornier Museum

After that it was finally time to drive back home. All in all I really enjoyed myself and the excursion was a perfect balance of outdoor activity, sightseeing and educational value.

Until next time!