Randoms #2

If you have been following this blog (and why wouldn't you?), you know by now that, every so often, I need to make a random post. These posts are full a pictures that tell a small story in themselves but do not warrant a blog post of their own. Therefore, I group them together in one big blog post. This was not the first blog post of this kind and it will not be the last. Enjoy!

Just some of the gang hanging out by a fountain. This was right before we toured the Fürstenberg Brauerei.

Anyone who knows me knows how amazing I think Kate Winslet is. I just couldn't escape her in Germany. There I was, minding my own business, and she found me!

This was a photo I took on the Helio Ship. It was just so quintessential Germany here. A beautiful lake with church steeple visible in the distance with a German flag blowing in the wind.

This was taken in front of a store in Ulm when we went to see the church. 

This was also taken in Ulm. When we had descended the church steps we wandered through the city and stumbled upon an international festival. I believe this was a Thai food booth. I saw this lady carving beautiful artwork out of fruit and just had to take a picture. 

I am almost as obsessed with argyle as I am with Kate Winslet. Just kidding. But seriously? I found an argyle house in Ulm! I wanted to wear it!

Ulm is a very interesting city which is why I have so many photos from there.  Someone in my group in Ulm spotted this on a house and I had to take a picture. It was situated on the house's roof. I can only speculate that it was there to ward off evil?

I know this photo has been done a million times but, when I saw the sunset, I just couldn't resist. This was taken after me and the other CBYXers had a fake Thanksgiving. You see, we will all be too far away from each other to see the entire group when the real Thanksgiving rolls around so we decided to have a make-shift Thanksgiving together at one of the participants' houses. When we were satt (full) we made our way to the nearby beach (which was, in fact, always near when you live on the Bodensee) and played on the playground. Natürlich!

This photo may seem familiar since it is the one you see when you first log onto this blog. This was also taken after our make-shift Thanksgiving. I decided to make it my blog photo because it represents what this journey is like. I am in Germany (as seen by the flag) and, although I am an important part of the big picture, I am, in the scheme of things, relatively small. 

What more is there to say. Swans at sunset. And yes, this is a real picture.

Yet more evidence that people are not that different from each other even if they come from other countries. Our defining characteristic? We all love a good deal! Or, in this case, cheap crap we don't actually need. This is a 1€ store in nearby Singen. Not everything was exactly 1€ but everything was pretty cheap. I bought some tupperware there. Three for 1€ baby! It made me feel like I was home.

I didn't really take too many pictures of Konstanz and I regret that. It is a very pretty city situated right on the Bodensee and it is very near to Radolfzell. I saw this and just had to have a picture of me on it. Who wouldn't want a picture of themselves on a metal 8-legged horse with corn-rows?

Axes for sale at Aldis. I mean, what more is there to say really? 

Me and a fellow CBYXer kissing a giant gnome at Konstanze Oktoberfest. That's an oxymoron isn't it? A giant gnome.

Ulm Münster

Yes. Another picture from my
 own camera. My camera is nice
but this really is how Germany looks.

The last weekend I was in Radolfzell me and 6 other people went to Ulm on Saturday to go see the Münster. Sounds pretty tame BUT this Münster is the tallest Münster in the world!!! It was my friend Adam's idea and I couldn't be more grateful. It was amazing. We first walked around the church for awhile. It was very beautiful and there was a farmer's market outside which made it even more idyllic. Inside the church we were greeted by vaulted ceilings and beautiful stained glass windows. We attended the organ concert. It was amazing. I don't know how people can learn to play one of those things but they are very talented.
The inside of the Münster also contained this really cool guardian angel statue. I would feel so safe if this thing were protecting me. Just look at it! It's huge and it is wielding a sword and crushing a snake under it's feet!

768 steps and 161.53 meters total and we walked every single one them. This was the same week that I did the Radolfzell 5K and the same week I climbed Hohenkrähen hill in Singen. My legs were unbearably sore by the end of Saturday but it was so worth it. There are three "sections" of steps each getting more central to the church. The last segment of steps was soooooo small and it was very difficult for people to go up and down at the same time. It was actually very aggravating at times and patience was needed in large amounts.

I'm on top of the world!

By the time we reached the top we realized there was only enough room for one person at a time width-wise and the group at the top had to move in a circular fashion until you were able to exit the same door you entered the top with...some people are not very good at physics, however, and didn't realize that in order for them to occupy the space I was currently occupying I HAD to exit! Ugh!

The iron sparrow from the church.

Also, this town had sparrow (Spatz) statues everywhere including the church. I inquired why the city worshipped sparrows so? The lady at the visitors center gave me a pamphlet and I soon discovered why. You see, when the Münster was being built, the people were bringing the wood width-wise into the city. When they realized they could not fit the wood through the city gate, they thought they might need to demolish a portion of the city wall in order to finish the Münster. At that moment the people saw a sparrow place a piece of straw lengthwise into a nook in the stone wall. The people realized, at that moment, that they could fit the wood through the gate length-wise and so they did. They were able to finish the Münster without demolishing the city wall. Because of this, Ulm has always held the sparrow in high regard...as they should.

An example of one the sparrows you can see in the city
of Ulm.

There was a nearby building that was nothing short of a work of art!