I know a couple days ago I mentioned that Regensburg was one of the most beautiful, and my favorite cities that I have ever visited. But today the record is renewed by Ulm – a city we visited today in the morning and early afternoon. It is a city that lies on the border of the south German state of Baden- Württemburg.

The first thing anyone noticed coming into the city was the huge Gothic Ulm Minster, a century-old Church that’s 162 meters, 530ft, tall. It is so big and attention-seeking that if you visit Ulm or even areas around Ulm, you cannot miss it. Sonja took us to the open space in front of Ulm Minister and literally said “Okay if you don’t want to it is totally fine. Or else go climb this” I was shocked and excited at the same time. Keep in mind, I am afraid of heights. Regardless, I still rushed to the front and started climbing. A total of about an hour going up and down and a total of 768 steps each way. The stairs were those very tight and narrow spiral stairs. I almost slipped a couple times and couldn’t bare myself looking out or down. Because towards the top were in an open space, there was strong and cold wind blowing at us while we were climbing. At the top, we could see the whole city and even further. We were lucky because it was a sunny day, and the view was absolutely worth the effort to come all the way up. Not going to lie, we all kind of hesitated a little to go down – some say walking down is worse than walking up.

After climbing Ulm Minster, like anywhere else, we had a city tour. We learned that most of the city was destroyed because of allied bombing during WWII and Ulm Minster was one of the few buildings that remained in shape. The tour guide gave us a little smirk and asked “Miracle?” Don’t ask me what he was implying, I have no idea. Towards the end of the city tour was a walk along the river that separates Ulm and another city. It was beautiful. We saw people walking along the river and there were bike lanes for people to ride their bikes. The tour guide told us that this bike lane runs along the whole river, some people make day trips on their bikes up and down the river from one city to another. Lunch took place at a famous restaurant in Ulm that makes Pancakes. They are not famous for the breakfast pancakes that you are probably thinking right now, instead of so-called the “Spicy Pancakes”. However, unlike its name, it is not spicy. Under the “Spicy Pancake” section of the menu, there are many dishes that serves with a pancake. For example, I got a dish that is a mushroom sauce with garlic and steak on top of the pancake, the pancake simply serves as either a wrap or a taste of sweetness when the saltiness of what’s on top the pancake is getting you. Words can’t describe how good it was, it was definitely the best reward after a long climb and walk.

We left Ulm around 3 pm and went straight to the University of Augsburg for a BMW presentation. The presenter focused on the future of the automotive industry and BMW in general, he called it “The Next 100 Years” for BMW where more automated and electrified car models will start rolling out in the upcoming years.

After the presentation was a surprise. Since me, Arman, and Lexi are having our birthdays during this trip, the German students, Arielle, and Dr. Feick planes a little birthday surprise. Three cakes were brought into the room with candles. Although I was laughing the whole time, this little surprise and the cake did add a little sweetness to my experience of this trip to Germany.