Day 8: Germany- Konstanz, Ulm, Neustadt an der Donau, Bad Gögging (July 16)

18:25 16 Jul, 2012

Jared took us to the train station at 6:45. We just missed the first train, so we waited for things to open (I got my Konstanz postcard!) and I was chilled.

This is our train itinerary form Konstanz to Bad Gögging.
Tobias Megner showed us how to print these off so we'd know what connections we'd need to make.

The clock tower in Radolfzell that rang and rang and rang. Below you can play a video to hear the tower bells ringing.

The train took us to Radolfzell where the church tower bells rang and rang and we heard shots fired on the water (Lake Constance or Bodensee). It was a call to celebrate a Catholic celebration. 

 

We were there about 15 min before we took our connecting train to Ulm.

In the one hour we had before our connecting train left, we walked to the Münster (cathedral) and inside. It was another huge church. The outside was amazing with flying buttresses and lots of sculptures. We didn't have much time so we skipped the tower view and made our way back to the train station and the next 3-hour leg of our trip.

Postcard of the Ulm cathedral.
I don't remember it being this light, and I remember more buildings around it
It was also more cloudy the day we were there.

Walking with our luggage from the train station to the Ulm Münster.

See the church tower in the reflection?

There it is in the distance.
I never can get over the contrast and dichotomy of old/new buildings in Europe.
It still takes my breath away.

Sun Clock

Taken from the inside, I loved all the brilliant colors on the stained glass windows.
I didn't have time to study them and figure out what story(ies) they told, but it wouldn't been nice to have them to look at during church.

Majestic
Awe Inspiring
I truly believe the architecture can really make you feel humble and yet bring you to the presence of God.
The point of churches, right?

Four beast of the New Testament?

This was printed on the paper bag my postcards were placed in after I bought them. I loved the pencil drawing.

This shows the view from the tower and some of the other details I didn't have time to take pictures of.

From Ulm to Neustadt an Der Donau was a commuter ride, which meant we made lots of little stops along the way. I tried to write in my journal and read from the New Testament, Travis looked out the windows.

We arrived in Neustadt an der Donau just minutes after the last bus to Bad Gögging, so we shouldered our bags and, after a brief discussion with a bus driver, walked the 3 km to our hotel.

Walking along with our luggage, we passed this roundabout indicating we were still in the right place. It was a beautiful walk from Neustadt an der Donau to Bad Gögging, if a little long for dragging all our baggage.

These onion-dome chapels were in EVERY town in Bavaria, the area of Germany we were staying in (and further south from us). They were so odd, and beautiful.
I was surprised this church didn't have a clock in the tower!

We checked in, freshened up, ate some of Jen's bread (with Nutella on mine) and then went to pick up the packet. We ran into David and Laura as they were leaving and caught up a little on our trips. I also asked Laura if she'd be interested in renting a car to go to Schwangau and Ludwig II castles. We might just do it!

We then paid for my excursions to Münich and Nürnberg.

I received an ID badge, too.

This was the lanyard that held the badge.

I attended (and partly slept through) the Scientific lecture and then ate dinner. Back at our hotel we tried to swim-- outdoors in a COLD pool (it was probably only about 60F outside). A hot shower after was necessary!

Our hotel room at the Mark Aurel in Bad Gögging.
Our bathroom was great (heated floors and towel racks!), and the beds were uncomfortable (two twins smashed together does NOT make a king... that divide in the middle is most uncomfortable).
Oh, and just to remind myself that I was away from my children, there was a crib in the room. *sigh*
At least it didn't contain a crying infant.

We drove and rode and walked past these tall strands of greenery. They were 5 meters (or about 11 feet) high.
We had no idea what they were until our tour guide told us the next day. Any guesses? I'll let you know what they were at the end of the post.

This is one side of the informational brochure about the area and the day trip planned for all attendees and accompanying persons.

More information about our day trip planned for Wednesday, July 18th.

This was the post card that the hotel we stayed at, Mark Aurel, provided in our room. I laughed and laughed because this beautiful photograph didn't exist in the hotel at the time... it was all under construction. No indoor (read that warm) pool, just an outside (unheated!) pool that you had to walk through the construction to get to.
Good thing I didn't have time to swim much.

The long vines (see photo above) were hops. Bavaria is known for its beer, and they grow these "bushes" on these strings and then, in the fall, harvest the hops flower to put into beer.