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Christine and I went to Ulm to visit
our good friends Olli and Katia. They
live in a cute apartment with a wonderful
view of the Ulmer Münster (cathedral
in German), the tallest church tower in
Europe!
This is the view from their apartment
window.
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For lunch one day we tried Spätzle,
a typical southern German dish. Spätzle
is a kind of egg dumpling / pasta type thing
filled with meat or veggies that is sometimes
boiled, sometimes fried, and sometimes eaten
in soups.
Incidentally, "Spätzle" can be literally
translated as little sparrow, and the sparrow
is the city mascot of Ulm.
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Ulm is on the Donau River. Especially nice
is the picturesque medieval Fischerviertel
(fisherman's quarter).
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Don't be distracted by the two beautiful babes and
take a look at the traditional Fachwerkhäuser,
half-timbered houses typical of southern Germany.
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This is the old Rathaus (town hall) in Ulm,
built in 1370 (!) and covered in murals.
In case you're wondering, 'rat' means advice,
or council in German.
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We also went on a nice hike in the countryside
surrounding Ulm. In the woods we came across
this deer stand, where hunters sit and wait for
deer to come by.
Random factoid: In Germany each year,
approximately 500,000 deer are killed by
hunters, 100,000 are killed by cars, and
and approximately the same number make up
the farmed deer population.
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This is a typical castle in the region,
it's constructed in a high place with a
commanding view of the Blau (Blue) River
near Klingenstein.
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Southern Germany is traditionally Catholic and
the north is traditionally Protestant. This
division is the result of the 30 Years War
(1618-1648). In the south, there are many small
chapels in the countryside that you can visit.
As you can see, Christine was especially moved
by this one.
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