Freakishly Happy

I thought I would update you since my last blog.

On Friday, we set out on a mini-tour of this area of Germany. We had looked through several of our tour books and done some research and decided to visit the cities of Ulm and Heidelberg. Joni made hotel reservations and we purchased the train tickets and were all set.

The first part of our journey took us through the beautiful Black Forest. The snow-covered trees and mountains made for some magnificent views of nature. We also saw many old buildings and interesting farms along the way.

Upon our arrival in Ulm, we were able to find the hotel without too much trouble and settled in. The concierge recommended several restaurants and we wound our way through the old town until we found one we liked along the river. While waiting for the restaurant to open, Joni had a great time feeding the ducks which were begging near the bridge. We had a traditional German meal and enjoyed it very much.

The next morning was spent at the Ulm cathedral (Münster), which supposedly has the highest spire in the world (528 feet, 786 steps to the top). We first walked around the cathedral and enjoyed the many sights and sounds of the Ulm markt, as well as taking many pictures of the outside of the cathedral. Entering the church, we found that the inside temperature was pretty much the same as the outside - we could see our breaths. There were many interesting things to see inside, including a wonderful carving of the Last Supper.

John was urging me to try climbing the 786 steps, and I didn't think I was quite ready for it. When we asked about climbing the tower, we were told that we could only go up 384 steps, as there was ice on the higher steps. John, Joni and I started climbing, but after about a third of the way, I decided I was not going to make it all the way up (and if I did I might not get back down), so I returned to the ground floor to wait with Jim. John and Joni did make it to the top and took many pictures of the town of Ulm.

After the cathedral we decided to tour the Bread (Brot) Museum. It was started by a father and son in 1955 and is the only museum of its kind in the world. It basically explores the relationship of bread and humanity. Many of the exhibits were labeled in English, which was helpful. They had not only bread-making machines and videos, but also bread-oriented artifacts and artwork (there were drawings by Picasso and Rembrandt). The tour ended with exhibits concerning world hunger. It was a very worthwhile visit.

Now we hopped another train to Heidelberg, and arrived just before dark on Saturday. We took a cab to our hotel, which turned out to be in the heart of the old city (near the old bridge). The cab driver was quite talkative and was full of facts about the city. One of the large industries there is the manufacture of offset printing presses. There is also a large cement manufacturing plant. Of course, one of the largest employers in the city is the University.

Our hotel was wonderful and the staff was extremely helpful. They recommended a restaurant next door to the hotel and we had a wonderful meal there. Jim ate a duck salad, Joni had french onion soup, and John and I tried the cabbage rolls. (They were very good, but as far as I'm concerned Zindrick's are still the best!)

Heidelberg is a beautiful city. It is like Iowa City in that there is a large university and the university buildings are located throughout the city, and the campus is separated by the river (the Neckar River, in this case). It is a treat just to walk around here and look at everything.

We were within walking distance of the tram to the castle, so on Sunday morning we enjoyed a late breakfast at a nearby restaurant and then made our way up the mountain. The cable cars took us nearly to the castle gate, and we walked through the castle grounds for quite a while before taking a tour (by an English-speaking guide). While waiting for the tour, Joni made friends with one of the museum guards, who took us into a couple of rooms that were not on the tour, but had spectacular views. He was very glad to talk with us American tourists. The tour gave us lots of interesting facts but mostly we just enjoyed being there in such a beautiful location. We stayed until sunset and then had to leave to catch our train back to Freiburg.

After changing trains twice, we arrived in Freiburg about 9:00 in the evening, walked to the nearest bus stop, and came home. After our weekend activity, Monday was a day of rest. We did go into the city for lunch and some light shopping. (Poor Joni had to go back to class.)

We are planning to take the next couple of days leisurely and just do some more Freiburg things - still having a great time! Be sure to check out our pictures in the image galleries.

Jim spotted this cow outside a Milch Store in Freiburg and thought I should have my picture taken with it.

We stayed at the castle until the last minute. John took several pictures of the sunset. What a beautiful place!