Friday, September 27

On Friday, Michael and I drove on the autobahn to Ulm (about 90 km from Munich) to turn in his thesis and to visit the city he has spent the last few years. Ulm is a gorgeous smaller city that has played a bigger role in history than most of us Americans realize. For example... did you know that Ulm, Germany was the birthplace of one of the greatest minds in history... Albert Einstein? Yeah... me neither. Ulm's history is reach with great minds, beautiful pieces of architecture, and bitter em battlements between countries. Ulm was almost entirely destroyed in 1944 during World War II and a vast majority of the city has since been rebuilt. Surprisingly, many of their most famous structures were not destroyed during the war, thanks to a large effort by the townspeople.


This is a picture of the steeple of the Ulmer Munster (sorry, I don't have those umlauts on this computer to put over the "u" in Munster!). Built in 1377, It is the largest church spire in the world at 161.53 meters (nearly 530 ft) high. Interestingly, the church and the spire were financed entirely by the city inhabitants without a penny coming from the church, which was unheard of in those days. During WW2, the Ulmer Munster was one of the landmarks the townspeople strove to save, and it was not damaged during the war, though nearly all buildings surrounding it were completely destroyed.


This is a picture of the Rathaus (Town Hall) taken from the Ulm Marktplatz (the city marketplace) with the Ulmer Munster in the background. The Rathaus was built in 1370, though no longer serves as the town hall for the city of Ulm.


A close-up of the murals painted on the Rathaus, done in the mid-16th century.


An astronomical clock on the entrance side of the Rathaus dates from 1520 and is still in working condition.


One of the things that I find so crazy about Europe is how they blend architecture. Nearly next door to the Rathaus you find the Stadtbibliothek (city library) in the shape of a glass pyramid... a very modern design blending in the skyline with architecture from the 1300's.


The Danube River (taken from the car). The river splits the city of Ulm nearly in half, as well as splits two southern counties/provinces... Bavaria (to the west) and Baden-Wurttenberg (to the east). The city of Ulm sits on the Baden-Wurttenberg side and holds the majority of old architecture. The city of Neu-Ulm sits on the Bavarian side of the river and is comprised of mainly newer buildings (which are not quite as appealing as the old side!).

So, I couldn't go through this whole post with it only being a history lesson. After a full day of sightseeing in Ulm, Michael and I drove back on the A8 to Munich. Being a boy, he's always hungry... and seems to always have a taste for American fast food. So... we (well, he) decided to get off on one of the exits to find either a Burger King or McDonalds. There was a back up at the exit and people were driving around something in the grass... what was it???


Ahh... yes... a jack-knifed trailer... they have those in Germany too!


As well as the police (poliezi) standing around looking at the trailer instead of doing something about it!

We made it to the Burger King and decided to go through the drive thru... or as they call it...

The Burger King Drive In!!! (Do we get to watch a movie too?)


Sitting in the parking lot while Micheal was eating his 2 burgers (and I drank a "Coca-Cola Light") I saw some men in uniform... that's right... the US Airforce!!! Just having returned from Oktoberfest themselves. So... I had to get a pic... they were nice about it... and I, of course, looked like a crazy American.

After our drama at the exit, we headed back home...

Only going 170 km/h (about 110 mph)... we'd go 200 km/h (125 mph) later that weekend!

It was a long day... we actually ended up spending the rest of the night in and going to bed early... because we were getting up early in the morning to go to.... the Alps!!!!