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

Ulm: Ascent of the Munster Spire

As interesting as it is on the inside, the Munster's surpassing feature is its 528 foot high spire, tallest in the world. You can climb its 768 steps for a mere 2 euros, and, of course, I had to do it.

Postcard view of the Munster and its spire

Ground view

Most of the 768 steps look pretty much like this

Looking out at the twin towers

More than life-sized gargoyles en route

Interior view heading into the final tower; talk about flying
buttresses!

At the top, looking down to the roof and twin towers

Ulm below; note the Ikea in the mid-distance

The Danube

Old city

Descent view

Upper reaches of the spire; I am not sure where you finally get to, but it was high
enough for me

Ulm: The Munster

Ulm is the birthplace of Einstein and the home of the Museum of Bread Culture, but the main thing to see there is the Munster (mit der umlaut; sorry), Ulm's cathedral.

Even though it fronts a large square, Ulm's Munster is so
large, especially tall, that it is difficult to get a decent photo;
here's a photo of the usual bronze model of the old city

Nave

Ceiling

Chancel arch, beautifully frescoed with a
Last Judgment

Detail; Hell, of course

While everyone else is getting damned, Mary seems to
have found a good book

Just outside the arch is the tabernacle, the
highest religious carving in Germany; 85 feet;
1470

In the choir, more beautiful carving

Thus

And the usual misericordia

A few nice old windows

The organ; we stayed for the noon organ concert

More painting

Ditto

St. Edward Scissorhands

Side aisles nearly as interesting as the nave

Late medieval door hardware

Changing a lightbulb

Ulm: The City

Next day we took the bus for the 5 minute ride into the city and spent the day there. It's a beautiful city, much new and cosmopolitan, and also much of the old.

The old Rathaus, beautifully painted and restored; the new
Rathaus is a totally modern structure that contrasts starkly
with the great munster (cathedral; next post)

Plague monument (?) with the pyramidal city
library in the background

Me at the city tourist office; we visited Ulm not least on
behalf of our old college and graduate school friend,
Mel Ulm

Relief on a department store entrance on the central
pedestrian mall

An old house sloping into the canal in the Fishermen's
Quarter

Thus

Something new, to us at least: a geocaching shop; geofashion?!

We spent some time at the Danube Festival that Ulm
hosts annually; here's a guy from Hungary doing some form
of goulash

It stretched along both sides of the river, Ulm and New Ulm,
with food, beer and wine, and hand-crafts from all the
countries the Danube passes

More of the Fishermen's Quarter: half-timbered heaven