It's said to be the oldest show cave of Germany: The Cave of Sontheim ("Sontheimer Höhle"), near Heroldstatt, within the Swabian Alps. "The oldest", because back in October 1516, Herzog Ulrich, the sovereign of Württemberg, visited the dank cave and was highly struck by its stalagmites and its huge chambers. Barely 500 years later, we did the same; stepped into the dark portal, climbed down and were mightily impressed as well.
After visiting the capitol of Styria, Austria, last autumn, this time we tried spring time for a call in Graz. Within two days, we did a lot of the interesting and fun-promising places - like Schlossberg and its funicular railway; the children's museum "FRida & freD" and the historic Old Town; the artificial Murinsel and the Capuchin's quarter with its characteristic restaurants. The conclusion remains unchanged: What a magnificent city to visit!
The famous landmark of Ulm is the minster (Ulmer Münster), a mighty protestant cathedral. Built between 1377 and 1890 in a Gothic style, the ecclesia includes the highest church steeple of the world - 161,53 meters high. It needs about 20 minutes to climb up its 768 steps until the final viewpoint on 143 meters altitude. Although I pass the minster every day on my way to work, the last time I mastered the stairs was back in 1984. So it was more than about time to do it again - the vista up there is tremendous! (The planes on the church square after all were part of an exhibition on April 17th, 2011.)
This year, about 200.000 Lent lilys were planted in the Friedrichsau to celebrate the 200th anniversary of this recreational area of Ulm. The park, located in the east of the city, near the Danube river, includes lots of playgrounds, several lakes, a couple of beer garden, some very old trees, a rare family of beavers, artworks, a small zoo and parts of the old bastion, which was supposed to defend Ulm against all enemies that might could have followed after Napoleon Bonaparte (what never happened, actually) - April 16th, 2011.
Sophia not only turned 3 this month, she also started kindergarden a few days ago: serious side of life begins! This includes the ability to ride a bicycle. As you might remember, to learn to cycle is a long, exhausting and sometimes painful process, which, above all, requires a considerable amount of patience of the tutor. "Your job", my wife said. So father and daughter used the first sun of spring for Sophias very first trip on her pre-bike. The excursion, including a rest at the Blau-river, lasted two and a half hours and took us 450 meters afar.
March 13th, 2011 - the day of this year's bonfires in this part of the country. In contradiction to last year, I learned that the big piles traditionally are inflamed on the first sunday after Ash Wednesday. But the purpose of the "Funkenfeuer" actually is to clear out the winter, Mr. Coldfellow, who is symbolized by a straw doll on top of the pile.
Decades ago, being a kid, I hated to go for walk. Today, being a father, I understand why my parents forced us outside. My kids need to be walked, too. Otherwise they get sulky. So we went out in the cold for a stroll near the small village of Seißen, close by Blaubeuren, but up on the hill. In this time between winter and spring the countryside looks devasteted, somehow. The ground has varicoses, evoked by mice and suffers from pimples, caused by moles. The grass is grey, mainly; only some moss comes in green.
The wheather forecast predicted cloudiness and rain, but Petrus amazed us with foehn wind today. We used the sun for a lazy day, had traditional lunch at the Schillerstein restaurant and walked to the Schillerstein monument nearby in the wood. It was built more than 100 years ago (to honour the famous German poet and philosopher Friedrich Schiller) and offers a spectacular view over Gerhausen and the Blau valley towards Ulm.
The thermometer on our patio showed -17° C (1° F) when I left for work today. Clear icicles hung down from the car's bumber. The bottle of water, I keep inside the car, had turned into a frozen cone overnight. Smoking chimneys foged the morning air. And stupid me, I went outside in this cold, wearing slippers, a jacket, but no gloves, trying to take pictures of the bleakness... I'm still chilled to the bones!
(Scenery: Altental between Blaubeuren and Blaustein, around 8 a.m., Feb 23rd, 2011)
We found the alien on our walk trough the blue valley, the Blautal. It was hiding near the path, camouflaged as a withered tree. But maybe because it is the time of Mardi Gras and disguise in southern Germany, we immediately recognized its real identity. Well, actually, its camouflage wasn't... very good at all. (February 2011).
