Ulm, Konstanz, Mainau and Federsee (Germany Tour Part 5)

On the way to friends in Weingarten near Ravensburg, we spontaneously decided (the motto of this round trip) to make a stop in Ulm.

Our journey on the A6, A7 and A67 took longer than expected, so we only arrived at the start of the city tour at 2:30 p.m. We were still able to participate in the tour. There were even so many interested people that we had to be divided into three groups.

Our tour guide explained Ulm's history to us with a lot of passion and we saw the Schwörhaus, the crooked house, Albert Einstein's house, and much more.

We also learned that this weekend the "Schwörfest" (which we had never heard of before) was supposed to take place. For Ulm's history, it is quite significant, as this event already early in the history determined a mayor elected for the city for a limited time. A big celebration would commemorate this event on this weekend. Unfortunately, we were only passing through and therefore did not experience any further celebrations.

We spent the next two days with friends in Weingarten.

From there we took a trip to Konstanz, where we visited the old town and the cathedral and ate pretzels at the harbor overlooking Lake Constance.

Then we continued to the flower island Mainau, where we could admire exotic species in the butterfly house.

The island offered many beautiful flower gardens to walk through. There was a castle, but unfortunately we could not see its church due to a wedding.

There were many well-dressed festivalgoers and reception or dining tables set up in various places in the park.

The island also offered a lot for the younger visitors. In the petting zoo, we admired goats and alpacas. To try out the marble run, we borrowed an alibi child from our friends and were able to roll a ball down the wooden track.

In the evening, we had a double-dummy evening like in our student days. :)

At the end of our southernmost stay, we visited the UNESCO World Heritage Site at Federsee in Bad Buchau. First, we went to the "Wackelwald," a moor where we could make the ground and trees vibrate by hopping.

Then we looked at reconstructions of Stone Age and Bronze Age pile dwellings, which were exhibited in the nearby museum (UNESCO World Heritage Site). Once again, we realized that we clearly prefer the apartments of modern times with heating, several rooms, and comfortable beds to those of earlier times...