Part of the reason I really wanted to come to Germany so badly was to explore my German heritage. My interest in the German language, and Germany in general, stems from the fact that I am 50% German. So, I used the fifth and final day on my German Rail Pass to learn a little bit more about my German ancestors - the Donauschwaben, who were Germans that traveled the Danube (Donau) River to settle the newly gained regions of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in the late 18th century! Ulm is considered to be the starting point of this journey on the Danube, so there is a museum and monuments dedicated to the Donauschwaben. I visited the museum, which was huge - I spent over 2 hours there. It followed the story of settlement with exhibits on the acquisition of land from the Ottoman Empire, the colonization and building of towns, the farming lifestyle, daily life and the persecution by Nazis and Communists in WWII. It was very interesting to see. Perhaps the most shocking and exciting item on display was the church book from Mramorak - which is one of the villages my family is from! It was one of the only church books from the area to escape the destruction of the war! Afterward, I walked to the Danube to see the monument and plaques dedicated to the Donauschwaben and to see the river where it all began. It was a cool personal experience and I'm glad that I made that trip!
Anyhow, that's enough of a history lesson for now! Ulm also had a lot of cool sites to see, including the Ulmer Muenster - the TALLEST church in the world! I climbed up all 768 steps through narrow, never-ending spiral staircases to the top, which was well worth it! the views of the city, river and surrounding area were amazing! Coming down was rather dizzying, though! I also saw the old town hall and walked through the fisherman's quarter, a cute, little area filled with canals and half-timbered houses from the 1500s! Overall, it was an excellent day trip!
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| Ulmer Schachtel - traditional mode of transport down the Danube |
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| Mramorak Church Book from 1822-1877 |
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| Farming Lifestyle |
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| Ulmer Muenster - TALLEST church in the world! |
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| Looking up - GORGEOUS! |
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| View from the top...at sunset! |
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| Donauschwaben memorial on the banks of the Danube |
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| View of the city from the Danube |
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| House in the fisherman's quarter |
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