I have looked forward to reaching Ulm, looking at its position on the map for months and wondering if it was really possible for me to get there on a bicycle. It has been a good rest day destination for Andy and I, a small city with an interesting history but a contemporary culture that includes plenty of drinking, chatting and watching the world go by. The citizens of Ulm decided to redesign the centre of the city a few years ago, and a 4 line road through the centre now has an art gallery and pedestrian priority sections in the way, so car drivers now have to go VERY slowly. And there are cyclists everywhere. Not many Brits, in fact just us and the guy we met 2 days ago on a coffee stop. And not many coach loads of tourists from other parts either, so the city has a pretty authentic feel, unlike Lausanne for example. The early food market outside on the plaza today was full of locals gathering their veg, cheeses and bread for lunches. I had a lovely time doing the same thing, sampling the cheeses and gesticulating a lot. We explored the minster and admired the choir stalls in particular, with really skilled wood carving. It reminded us of Ripon cathedral alot and found it interesting how close the design was to those at home. The exception was in the depiction of individual characters in wood, like Pythagoras and Virgil with very detailed work and expressions on their faces. Of course I enjoyed the carvings of fed up faces, and the man who was blowing a raspberry. Good to see German sense of humour there from the 15th century.

Andy went off for a sauna in the afternoon and I wandered down to the river for a walk and some book reading. Before crossing the river in the solar boat I had a chat with my new friend Gunter sitting next to me on the public bench. He was a Polish man of 72 who came to Ulm with his family after the war. It was interesting that he was still grateful to Britain for the ‘war effort’ even though he has lived in Germany all these years. If you are impressed by my conversational skills, it was helped greatly by a young woman from the local cafe who was having her break, and she translated for us! Perhaps a German born person of a Gunter’s age would not have been so complimentary, given what happened to Ulm in the war.


Our evening plan involves a local creperie, as appetites are not enormous today, well not including the large gateau and all the tea I had this afternoon. I have no idea if I have lost weight in these 4 weeks, though I think a bit, but I do seem to be wearing some one else’s legs, which must be how I managed to cycle so far. So far…
Helen’s track of the day: Martin Simpson, When a Knight Won His Spurs. This came to mind when wandering in the minster, as I have hit on a period of listening to folk music and heard MS playing this – a memory of singing this when 8 years old in choir practice. And all that wonderful choral music I COULD have chosen…