We started our day with a nine jammer breakfast. Keith made the call, and I couldn't figure out why it didn't have the full ten jammer designation as it had it all, fresh fruit, juices, eggs, meats, cheeses, cereals, yogurts and more. Yummy! The croissants were fresher than fresh, but we recently had a breakfast where they were still warm from the oven, and that is his new standard.
It was great to have a really relaxed morning. We left the hotel, rounded the corner and simultaneously I said "Hooray, it is market day!" and Keith said "Darn" (well it was something like that) "It is market day." Seems I enjoy the markets a great deal more than he does. He patiently walked around as I admired all the fresh produce, cheeses, olives etc., although when I was gushing over the olives he dryly reminded me he doesn't even like olives. I like to think he warmed to the whole idea because it was so neat, and another thing I love about pedestrian only zones.
Then we headed into the spectacular Munster and what an incredible stroke of luck. Not only was it beautiful, but we arrived just as the Ulm Philharmonic Orchestra launched into a full rehearsal for tonight's concert in the Church. We enjoyed a full forty minutes of amazing music before we decided we needed to see a bit more of Ulm.
From there we went to the Rathaus, and then the old fisherman's quarter, which, among other things has the crookedest house in the world. So says the Guinness Book of World Records. We walked down to the Danube but didn't stay there long...we will see lots of that tomorrow. We had lunch from a food cart in the marketplatz. It was basically a really long wiener in a really small bun. There was a lineup for these and they were delicious.
Then we just walked and enjoyed, and went back to the hotel to get ready for dinner. We ate at an outdoor patio, a spot we found last night. It is still warm enough even at seven in the evening to eat outside. So different from home. We found an eis shop for dessert. We explored some more and found Keith new headphones for his iPod, as his old ones had a close encounter with a spoke when they fell out of his pocket. There is an incredible amount of shopping in Ulm, all in the huge car free zone. We went into what we thought was a department store to find six floors of clothing. The number of people on the street was remarkable. Ulm is a city we had never really heard of, and we really enjoyed it.
The Munster with the market in the foreground, which made it impossible for Keith to lay on the cobblestones to take a picture of the spire, as suggested in the guidebook. I don't think he was disappointed!
And why is there an entire orchestra in here warming up? It was magical to sit and listen to the concert. We sat right up front and just took it all in. A spectacular setting.
Another look at the symphony. We arrived at 10:55 as they were warming up, and they then launched into the full concert, uninterrupted at 11:00. The actual performance was at 7 PM. I think they probably changed out of their jeans.
We were in the bookstore buying another map...can you believe it? We wanted this one. We can see exactly where we have been since Mulhouse on here. We would have liked to bring it home, but those panniers just aren't big enough.
Hund of the Day. This is Charlie, age four, who is very much like the dog my family had when I was growing up. Like Cyprion, Charlie is a poodle with a questionable pedigree and a great personality.
