Day 25 - Samstag 4 Mai 2013

Rest Day in Ulm

I am writing the blog in the morning. Yesterday I didn't want to look around Ulm too much because I knew I would have all day today and I am meeting up with Matthew and Anne (the cousin of Sue and his wife who live at Heidelberg, keep up please!). We will meet at the bahnhof (railway station) around midday. I jokingly emailed that they would recognise me because I would wear a white carnation in my buttonhole and carry a copy of The Times newspaper. Matthew replied that he would wear lederhosen and carry a bratwurst. We are silly!

Last night I found a Steakhouse Bar that had free wi-fi and happened also to be a trendy place with good music and friendly staff. They may be seeing me again later when I need the Internet again.

I got a message that one of my favourite bands, Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes were in concert at Burnley tonight. I always go to see them somewhere when they come to the UK but I won't get the chance this time. By coincidence I had picked up a local magazine (in German) and saw that Ian Anderson, from Jethro Tull was playing here in Ulm tomorrow night. He is one of my childhood heroes and whilst he is getting on a bit I would love to see him again in concert. I became excited until I checked the Internet and found that no tickets were available.

As normal I was too tired to stay out beyond 9pm and I went back to my little room and watched some more snooker on TV. I am a Ronnie O'Sullivan fan so I was pleased that it was him v Judd Trump. I only managed a couple of frames before falling asleep. I did wake up occasionally and could hear that there must be a late nightlife close to my apartment because I could hear constant music (or rather the thumping of bass!) and loud voices of people coming or going? One day I may manage to stay up long enough to find out what is going on. It was hot in the room and I had a difficult decision to either stay hot or increase the outside volume by opening the window? I stayed hot!

This morning before Matthew and Anne arrive I will attempt to do two things. One, check to see if there is any possibility of getting a ticket for Ian Anderson and two, try and get a hair cut. Getting your hair cut sounds like a simple thing but when you are in a foreign country where you don't speak the language it is more difficult than you think. I don't have anyway of judging whether the places are hairdressers, barbers or unisex. I dont know if i need an appointment? Then it is difficult to find out the price for a 'short back and sides', that is probably because they don't know what a short back and sides is? So, it becomes a bit like ordering from a German menu, the barber cuts my hair and I have no idea what I am going to get because hairdressers are not known for their bilingual skills! If they could speak more than one language they probably wouldn't have become a hairdresser! Sorry if I've offended all hairdressers. If I ask for a trendy quiff I wonder if they will understand? Probably not but then again they will take one look at me and the word 'trendy' will not jump to mind.

I will tell you later how I went on.

Nearly lunchtime and I'm having a coffee waiting to go and meet Matthew and Anne. I have had a successful morning. I went to the tourist information and they told me that Ulm was the birthplace of Einstein and it apparently still attracts genius'. He left here when he was two years old. They told me where to go for Ian Anderson tickets. I went straight to the place and got a ticket, nearly 50 euros! Off I went in search of a haircut. I managed to find a hairdressers near the railway station. I must eat my words as the hairdresser spoke good English but she had never heard of 'short back and sides'. The price was 16 euros, I jokingly told her she had only cut off 12 euros worth of hair. I think she thought I was funny until I told her I wanted her to take a picture of my hair and she probably thought I was rather strange! However, she smiled politely and took the photo.

There was a nice large market in the square in front of the Munster and a oompah band played as well. The Munster spire is massive and very ornate. I was told that you can walk up, maybe something to do when Matthew arrives. I nipped back to the apartment to book an additional night on Sunday. I will need to fill my day tomorrow. Maybe I will have a bike ride to somewhere on the outskirts of Ulm.

Matthew and Anne arrived and we had a lovely afternoon. We walked up 768 steps up the tallest spire in the world. The views were excellent as you would expect. We also went into the church and Matthew commented on the size of the organ! He is an expert on organs and harpsichords and he told me that the size of the organ should not be judged on the size of the outer casing! I will let you draw your own conclusions!

We had a lunch in a smart restaurant and at the end two German men in a costume of some sort came in and gave a little speech to everyone. I didn't understand a word but Anne told me that they were 'journeymen carpenters' who wore the clothes for a 3 year period and the speech was to ask for money to fund their training throughout the 3 years. It is a traditional method of qualifying as a skilled person. Anne also told me that there was an Ulm tongue twister which is 'In Ulm und um Ulm und um Ulm herum', it means In Ulm, around Ulm and around Ulm area. I responded by teaching her an English tongue twister called the 'pheasant plucker' which she hadn't heard before, very amusing! We had discussed my route and possible detours and I think following their advice the Munich option looks good.

We had a walk and tried to dodge some showers. I spotted a place where I may go to see some Brazilian music tonight at Einsteinhaus. It will depend on two things a) tickets being available on the door and more crucially b) me staying awake beyond 9pm. Then we walked back to the train station and they set off back to Heidelberg. It was great to see friendly faces especially when they can help me with advice and translation. Big thanks to both.

Photo 1, Ulm Munster - I am told it is the highest spire in the world. The picture doesn't really show how tall it is.
Photo 2, Ulm Library - all glass pyramid, very modern.
Photo 3, Oompah Band at the Market.
Photo 4, Handsome chap you may recognise with a smart but expensive hair cut!
Photo 5, Matthew, Anne and me.
Photo 6, View from the top of the spire.
Photo 7, Jouneymen making a speech in the restaurant.