Albert Einstein was born in Ulm; more on that later.  We got up super early, so that Ian could do Parkrun, at the pretty Friedrichsau Park.  Parkrun is not all that big in Germany, and he lined up with 26 others.  He got a round of applause for being from Australia, and completed his 5 km in just over 24 minutes. 

After a long negotiation with the ticket machine, which only spoke German once you moved past the first screen, we secured day tickets and boarded a tram to the centre of Ulm.  After that we walked; it is not large, but has plenty to see.  Like everyone else, we headed for the Munsterplatz, the main square which is overlooked by Ulm Munster.  The square was full of market stalls and food trucks, and being a nice sunny day, was absolutely full of people out shopping.

The Munster began as a Catholic cathedral, but at some stage became Lutheran, so is classified as a Minster.  It has the tallest church tower in the world; I did not climb the 700+ steps to the top, although I’m sure the view is spectacular.  The interior is rather forbidding, with a slightly nightmarish angel at one end.  The pipe organ is very striking, but what caught my attention were the stained glass windows along each side.  The designs were rather different from the traditional; they looked colourfully chaotic.

The exterior is hard to photograph, or even see.  Unlike Cologne’s Dom, which dominates the view from almost everywhere, Ulm’s pride and joy is usually hidden behind other buildings; sometimes a spire peeps out between rooftops.

After sampling some baked goodies from one of the food trucks, and strolling along a couple of the streets adjacent to the square, we set off in search of the Danube.  First we came across the Rathaus, elaborately decorated and busy with civil wedding ceremonies.  Brides were lined up to take their turn posing for photos, while their groups of guests mingled on the street. Next to the Rathaus is the shiny new Library, inside a Louvre-like pyramid. Like Paris, the juxtaposition of old with new somehow works.

Between here and the river lay the Fishermans Quarter, where not much is straight.  Repair works were underway, and we navigated across little bridges, down narrow lanes and under archways.  A nice area for a sprint or city race, I thought.

We emerged under a high wall, and onto the promenade beside the Danube.  We sat here for a while eating our lunch and watching ducks, rowers and paddle boarders float past us downstream.  Ships do not frequent this part of the Danube.  On the opposite side is Neu Ulm, which is in Bavaria.  Old Ulm (aka Ulm) is in Baden-Wurttemburg.  The border is marked on the bridges.

You can walk or cycle on the riverside paths, or you can climb a set of stairs and walk along the top of the city walls – this option is quieter (no bikes) and has better views.  Briefly diverting to cross into Bavaria and back again, we followed the walls east, until we reached a lovely rose garden and a dead end. 

From here we could see the Tower of Terror (properly known as the Berblinger Tower). It was built in recent years to commemorate the 250^th anniversary of a failed attempt at flight by Albrecht Berblinger, the “tailor of Ulm”.  Berblinger has long been a figure of derision, but apparently if you pick the thermals correctly at this spot, it is possible to fly across the Danube. 

The tower itself creates all sorts of odd perspectives.  Ian said that going up was fine, but coming down was vertigo inducing.  I could tell by his uncharacteristic death grip on the handrails that he was not enjoying the experience, and it took him a little while to recover.   As for me, I wasn’t touching it with a 10 foot pole!

Leaving the river, we headed through some pleasant, quiet streets, in search of the “fountain” erected in honour of Ulm’s favourite son, Albert Einstein.  It’s actually a reverse fountain, and is meant to look like a rocket launching.  Einstein had no connection to rocketry. Google tells me that the rocket represents technology in general, and the snail shell from which the head emerges, represents nature and wisdom. OK then.

We headed back to the Munster, where a 4 day street food festival was in full swing.  Ulm was in party mode in the afternoon sunshine, and it made for a nice atmosphere. We took another ride on the tram, before the short drive home to Blaustein.  It gets dark now soon after 8pm, and we enjoy watching the lights twinkle on the hillsides either side of the river valley from our picture windows.

You know the trip is almost over when the “check in for your flights” message pops up on your phone.  Sigh.