on the way home, we stopped in Ulm

John and I had made the decision to stop for lunch somewhere along the way back. The problem is that we did not have much of a choice of places on the way back, because we mainly just drove alongside small towns. Most of Germany is like this. However, on the way down to Garmisch, we drove through a town called Ulm that had looked pretty cool. On our way back, we decided to stop in Ulm for lunch. (We later found out we were really close to the Danube, which runs through Ulm and that Ulm was the birthplace of Albert Einstein. Pretty cool.)

When we exited the autobahn, we noticed a really tall steeple not too far from where we were. We decided to head in that direction. (We were also unsure of where we could eat. Most places are closed on Sundays in Germany.) We parked near the church’s steeple and started walking in that direction. This is what we found:

The carousel is part of the Christmas market they were setting up. Most towns have Christmas markets. I’ll write another post about those soon, because Schwetzingen’s is about to open – I’ll have a lot more information and photos then!

I don’t think cameras were supposed to be taken inside, so I turned off the flash and snapped this one really quick down at my waist. I wish I could have photographed throughout – it was gorgeous.


It turns out this church has the tallest steeple in the world!! I think it’s so cool that we just happened upon it.

This is what Wikipedia has to say about the church, Ulm Münster (also called Ulm Cathedral):

“Ulm Münster is a Lutheran church, the tallest church in the world with a steeple measuring 161.53 m (530 ft) and containing 768 steps. Located in Ulm, Germany, it is a famous example of Gothic ecclesiastical architecture. After climbing to the top level at 143m there is a panoramic view of Ulm in Baden-Württemberg and Neu-Ulm in Bavaria and, in clear weather, a vista of the Alps from Säntis to the Zupspitze. The final stairwell to the top (known as the 3rd Gallery) is a tall, spiraling staircase that has barely enough room for one person. The church is not a cathedral in the proper sense as it has never been the seat of a bishop. This is indicated by the single steeple (where cathedrals generally possess two towers). The responsible bishop of the Evangelical Church in Germany resides in Stuttgart. Like the famous Cologne Cathedral (Kölner Dom) – another building of the Gothic era – Ulm Cathedral was not completed until the 19th century.”

We didn’t know the background or anything about the church until we got home and looked it up, because everything inside was in German. It was neat to look around, though. Oh, and it was very cold. There wasn’t any heating – we could see our breath even indoors. The sanctuary was beautiful. There were statues of Biblical figures all around, beautiful stained glass and large crucifixes (one of which was pretty intense).

The neatest thing we saw, though, was a prayer wall. It was a large bulletin board where people had written prayers on pieces of paper and attached them up all over the place. We saw prayers in at least 5 or 6 languages including Turkish and Arabic.

After our wonderful detour, we located a McDonald’s (one of the few places open on a Sunday) to eat lunch. John is really good at being able to order in German, but the lady that was taking our order was incredibly rude. He started off saying (in German) “I’m sorry. My German isn’t very good,” and he proceeded to order. The lady then tried to ask him something, but I swear she didn’t say it above a whisper. We couldn’t hear her, and John leaned over and cupped his hand to his ear. She then turned around and yelled for help with the English-speaking customers. Rude. We were trying to order in German, and I know she could have understood him. Ugh. That still annoys me a little, and it’s been over a week since it happened.

Speaking of ordering in German, I finally ordered something in German the other night. Before I said it, though, I had John tell it to me several times. I said “Zweimal Glüwein bitte,” which means two glasses of mulled wine, please. By the way, I did NOT like the Glüwein, but John did. Lucky him…it really seems like it would keep me warm, but it tasted so gross.

Coming soon: a very late Thanksgiving post