The Ulm-timate!

         After a day that included fairy tale castles, breathtaking landscapes, and a Puccini opera on a lake, today had some big shoes to fill. We began with a rambling, circuitous drive through the Austrian and Swiss countryside. This is because all highways in those countries are toll roads and we are not about toll roads.

            St. Gallen is home to the Abbey of St. Gall, a UNESCO World Heritage Site that dates back to the 8^th century. The old town around the Abbey has the usual winding medieval streets lined with shops. We really wanted to visit the chocolatier, but they were closed for vacation until August! The sun was out and it was a pleasant morning for walking. The bells of the scaffold-shrouded Schutzengelkapelle were ringing over its green and orange tiled roof. We noticed that many of the churches in Switzerland (this region anyway) had their roof tiles arranged into sometimes quite elaborate patterns. The Abbey’s library holds an extensive collection of medieval manuscripts which we sadly did not have enough time for the complete tour. Today is already going to be very long!

        We did go in to the cathedral to marvel at its decorative wonders. Squared white columns and lavishly painted arches support domes richly painted with scenes from the Bible. The enormous windows composed of panes of clear glass gave an open, airy feel to the interior.

            We began the journey back to Germany through the lovely Swiss countryside – fresh green fields dotted with wildflowers, charming villages, and quick glimpses of lovely Lake Constance. We were supposed to stop in Konstanze, but had loitered too long in St. Gall and had to take in what we could from the car.

            Our next stop was Triberg, birthplace of Black Forest Cake and sun of the German cuckoo clock and wood carving solar system. It is also home to Germany’s largest waterfall. We started with the waterfall; it isn’t very big at 163 meters, but it is delightfully situated in a lush fairy tale forest replete with mossy boulders, ferns, wildflowers, and an alleged population of voracious red squirrels. We bought the squirrel feed, but they weren’t feeling it. Possibly they couldn’t handle the hordes of feral children having a blast running and shrieking through the woods.

            After a very enjoyable hike to the top of the trail we headed back into town in quest of the perfect clock and ready to enjoy the requisite Black Forest treat. The Café Schaefer has the original 1915 recipe from Josef Keller for Schwartzwalder Kirschtorte. It was excellent; the sponge was nice and light, the cherries just the right amount of tart, and a good ratio of cream to chocolate flakes! We raced back to the car (late again!) weighed down by cake and a clock and headed for our next stop, Ulm.

            Ulm! Definitely saving the best for last – not that Triberg wasn’t delicious and charming, and St. Gall wasn’t beautiful and quaint, they were. Ulm Minster, though! Ulm Minster is the tallest church in the world with a spire that reaches a height of 530 feet, the 4^th tallest building of any kind constructed before the 20^th century. Construction began in 1377 and finished 500 years later. Like Salisbury Cathedral in the UK, getting the entire minster in the frame of a picture takes some doing. Thank heaven for wide angle lenses or someone would have had to lie down on the pavement. The steeple is not just tall but beautifully filigreed as well. This will sound stupid, given what we have said about the size of the minster, but upon entering, one is struck by just how big it is! The long, narrow nature of the structure in addition to long, slender columns supporting the steeply arched ceiling actually achieve the Gothic ideal of seeming to reach right up to heaven. It is a truly monumental thing to see and we were so glad to see it - despite the hours it added to the day’s drive! Two more hours to Nuremburg tonight!