Blue Light, Blue Water, White Clouds: A Long Day from Friedrichshafen

The Bodensee, Friedrichshafen

The journey home from Friedrichshafen was long and mostly uninspiring (half was spent in Heathrow Airport waiting for a delayed plane) but there were moments of beauty and splendour, all painted in blue and white.

The day began well with an early morning stroll along the lake front in Frierichshafen looking out over the brilliant blue water to distant snow-flecked mountains. The rich colours were calming and peaceful. A lovely start to the day.

A zeppelin hangs above the Bodensee

The ferry across the Bodensee (Lake Constance) to Romanshorn was relaxing too, with the mountains drawing slowly nearer though still hazy in the early light. A zeppelin drifted high above. I watched it fade into the distance over Friedrichshafen, the place where these airships were born.

Swiss Alps

A pleasant train journey to Zurich - I love the double-decker Swiss trains with their wonderful wide views - and then the first flight. The Swiss Alps lined the horizon, magnificent and tempting.

Zooming in on the Swiss Alps

Then came Heathrow and the long wait. Cafes, people watching, Kindle reading (Richard Fortey's excellent The Wood For The Trees which is set not far from the airport physically but takes place in a different world of nature and slow history), writing, wandering, shop browsing (do I need a new lens, tablet, smartphone? No).

Above rippling clouds

Finally take off and up through the clouds to the late evening blue sky. Whiteness rippling below, the sky matching that above the Bodensee.

Then the plunge into the clouds, a warning of turbulence that didn't happen, and out into heavy rain and wet Inverness Airport. A drive through the storm on a dark Midsummer's Eve and home. A long day. It's the blueness I'll remember.