This report covers my family’s trip to Demiville and specifically my travels on the unique balloon transporters that ply the corridors between its buildings. The sausage-shaped airships are impressive, a half block long, floating at third floor level above dedicated lanes on every fourth street. They’re
even given sausage names; I rode the Braunschweiger and I saw the Kabaños and Mortadella.
No ordinary dirigibles, these are attached fore and aft to small electric cars on the street for propulsion, steering and passenger service. Like a simple ski lift, each airship seldom slows but proceeds at a leisurely pace with tow ropes dangling from its helium balloon at intervals.
Potential riders such as cyclists and people on rollerblades and skateboards merely sidle up and grab a line to be towed for free. Pedestrians hop into swing-like seats that hang from most tow ropes, but baby buggies, wheelchairs and dogs to be walked by themselves are not allowed. My ride was most enjoyable with my feet hovering just over the pavement.
The quiet craft travel in straight routes in the well-managed traffic, never meeting other floating franks that cross at 90 degrees. An earlier attempt with blimp cars was unpopular due to air gridlock and extensive shading, while all seem to agree that the wiener way beats blimps, buses and taxis by a mile.