On my first day back in Ulm, I spent most of my time just walking around the city. One of my most memorable walks of my entire trip was in the late afternoon through the Fischerviertel (Fishermen’s Quarter) and along the banks of the blue, blue Danube. The skies were still pretty overcast and hazy and there was a slight chill in the air. Since it was a work day, I had many of the streets all to myself. I popped in my ear buds, stuck on my warm wool cap and walked for a few hours, listening to music, only stopping to take photos or say hi to some of the local retired folk out for their mid-day walk.
The Fischerviertel has several little canals and waterways with little bridges over some of them. It is fun to “get lost” in this area and find the unexpected. This area was the first “touristy” place I visited as a new resident to Ulm several years ago. This little walk on a Tuesday in October 2012 took me right back to my first days in Germany in April 1998. I was 2o then and knew no one. I spoke some German, but not a lot, just enough to get around really. I missed home. I wondered what the future would bring. I wondered if I could really stick it out and live there all by myself. I did stick it out for almost two years and I did learn German. I still speak German very well and I’m proud that I stayed long enough to gain fluency, something that will never leave me no matter where I am.
One of my first distinct memories of Ulm was attending an opera and eating dinner with some of my new co-workers at the restaurant Wilder Mann (the “wild man”). I remember thinking this was a really funny name for a restaurant and that the prices for food were really high (I was a student back then and anything over $5 was expensive, right?). Next stop on my photo walk was the Schiefes Haus (steep house), a historic residence converted into a hotel. It was built in 1406 and over time, part of it sank into the water.
Ulm is situated right on the Danube River and is part of the state Baden Württemberg. If you cross over the river, you will find yourself in Neu-Ulm, which is where I lived as a student, and that section of the city is part of the state of Bayern (Bavaria). I’m so glad I had my ear buds in and was “tuned out” to the surrounding noises of the city. It was just me and God and some really great worship music. I’ll never forget the peace I felt as I walked over the river and along its tree-lined banks.
On my only night in Ulm, I ate alone in a little pub and waited for it to get dark. I really wanted to take some night photos of the magnificent Ulmer Münster (described in detail in my last blog post, Ulm: Day 1 (Part 6)), and the surrounding buildings in the same square occupied by the church. The weather was still very foggy and cool at night. If you look closely, you can see the spot lights shining on the top of the church’s steeple. The color of the sky was really this ugly brown color from the reflection of the lights in the fog (no filter or edits here). My hotel was so close to the church that I could hear the bells ringing every hour. I did this on purpose. I love church bells! These photos were taken around 7:30 pm at night and I was back at it taking photos again in this same spot the very next day at 7:30 am, which will be the highlight of my next blog.
