Today (May 16th) we took the train to Ulm. It was a city with a large gothic church in the center. It reminded me of Cathy from school even though it was technically not a cathedral. It is also the tallest church building in the world!

We did a city tour, but spent most time in the church. I really liked the stained glass because every single window had a different design and a story behind it. Then we hiked up 399 stairs in a tiny, spiral staircase. There was supposed to be another 339 stairs to hike up, but the second stairwell was closed off due to construction on the church. Although, I think 399 was enough because the steps were really steep. By the time I had gotten to the top it felt like I had finished a cross country workout. However, the view was worth the hike up.

Then we toured the city. There were many interesting buildings. For example, there was a hotel slanted over a stream and there was another tilted building, but it needed support or else it would’ve collapsed. Also, fun fact we were on the opposite side of the Danube meaning we had left Bavaria and entered another state, Baden-Württemberg.

We finished the day in the city with lunch at an Italian restaurant where the “personal” pizzas were huge! Since we had to get the train at a scheduled time, we needed to finish our pizzas on the go. This is how you spot Americans, look for a large group of people wearing bright colored outfits running with pizza boxes through the street trying to catch the train. It was very funny, you could easily spot us.

Then I had a relaxing evening and spent the rest of the day working on my presentation with the group. I also got to experience my first German thunder storm. The weather here is not much different from Pittsburgh.