Nordlingen

We stayed in Ulm another day, an "administrative" day, as we have come to call them, and then drove on to Nordlingen (mit der umlaut, to be added later), a town we had never heard of, but which sounded interesting. Interesting for two reasons: it is one of only three remaining completely walled cities in Germany and is itself nearly circular in shape; and it lies nearly at the center of the Ries meteorite crater, 25 km in diameter, 15 million years old, but whose sides still are clearly visible. A city with two walls.

Map of Nordlingen at the very nice and free municipal stellplatz

Many streets of beautiful old buildings

Another half-timbered heaven

Main square; note the Romantic Road sign--in Japanese

Antique irons in the window of a dry cleaners/laundry

Walking the old city walls

Sometimes looking into the town

Sometimes into peoples' back yards

Sometimes looking into the parks, playgrounds, or miniature golf courses that
now occupy the moat

Here you can see the curvature of the wall and one of several gate towers

Nordlingen also has a church and a tower; and, fresh from my
victory at the Ulm Munster, I had to try another, much shorter
tower

Inside the tower, its most interesting feature, an intact human wheel

Also the bells, which went off just as I approached them at noon

Looking out over Nordlingen, in the distance you can see the Ries crater walls

And Vicki in the square below, checking email at the Mack
cafe