Visiting the "Saint"'s birthplace: Ulm

Short visit in Albert's birthplace, not because of Albert, but because of...beer with friend. Readers of mikidtaiwan blog will remember april 2005 when Leca and me met in Taipei and Hsinchu for few boxes (!) of beer.

Well, finally came the time to do the same in Germany. Quite irrational are these our meetings 'for a beer', soon we'll have to issue a map that these with poor geography could folow our beer-path. It started looong time ago in the most proper place in the world: Czech Prague, 1991.

This year's "edition" of our meetings brought me to Ulm, where Leca is working last few years. The milestone of Ulm, highest church in the world: 161m, they were building it for few centuries (half a milenium or so), only Germans could finally finish it also...others would go to do smthing else in meantime!

Other side of platz is a bit newer...

Influence of Asia on us?

"Cute" houses (ah...wie herzlich)

This one I really liked! And the wall behind is interesting, as houses are built ON it! Nowhere I saw such thing.

Ulm is a nice city...for few hours, if U have good company for beer (which is also good, one A...? fom the monastery is really good, herbal taste, similar to my favorite Flensburger.
Nice meeting with the city. I am curious how long I'll need until my road would lead me here again? In some other life?

Miki d'Heidelberg

After Luxembourg, I went to do some Science to this nice city.
Hauptstrasse...as if we'd not know :-D

Schloss above the city.

A bit oriental stich

In the first days of spring every city is beautiful. Magnolias were flowering, and during my week there trees became green.

Schloss ueber alles!

Old furnicular (bergbahn) to Koenigsstuhl, where the observatory and Max Planck Inst, of Astronomy is, it is really old one!

View from the furnicular to the city, it is really nice.

Meeting...

It is really impressive how steep it drives!

View from the top: as in airplane, some 500m lower is the city!

Crossroad in the top of the hill, to the institute.

My host institute, lots of friends works there

The new building is not so nice as old one of the Landessternwarte, I am sure some freaky architect got some award for the functionality. But ... is it really the most important thing in this world?

Thanks to Science, I had chance to see this Oxford of Germany...nice experience.
It is really funny how many old good friends lives there now, meeting there was as setting the clock back to Potsdam days. Also, some new nice people...GOOD spent time.

Now I know why...
"Ich hab mein Herz in Heidelberg verloren"!

Luxembourg

Have U been in Luxembourg?

I was not in my 30 some years, and as it turned the best place to meet good friend who just was spending her time in Paris, and to visit it together.
I arrived to Frankfurt and proceeded from there towards Luxembourg by train. Moselle walley was the best choice, line Frankfurt-Koblenz-Trier-Luxembourg.
Nice views along the railway, every now and then some old castle on the hill.

Wineyards are really steep here, to work in these must be pain!

Entering kingdom of Luxembourg was not very impressive

and remained rather unimpressive until the city walls.

The first sight WAS impressive, as walls are massive, and the walley below quite deep. All had really great air of medieval times.

We started our tour around the city walls, Miki tourist is here, yep. There were in fact lots of tourists, some school tours, some asian individuals...it seems Luxembourg has some attraction. Friends-of-friends who work there as EU translators say it is rather BORING city. I could imagine.

Inside the walls is typical medieval city of middle Europe.

These guys seem to remain from that time, really interesting work!

If U are tired, then some of the benches below the tall walls will provide nice view to the part of the city outside the walls.