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Our flight from JKIA to Doha
Qatar was faultless. Alighting at Doha past midnight, we were smacked by scotching temperatures of 400C. Our mouths swallowed the hot air in
silent pain. Being on transit to Frankfurt Germany meant that our stay at Doha
was short-lived. We got to Frankfurt in the early hours of the morning. The
electric train to Munich was swift and fast and by midday we breathed the cool
breeze of Ulm. Ulm is situated between Stuttgart and Munich. Ulm occupies a
central position in southern Germany. Documentaries about Ulm date back to the
year 845. Ulm is also the birth place of Albert Einstein. I wish to share with
you the three things I experienced during my trip to Europe
1.
The Ulm Minster or the Ulm Cathedral
The Ulm Minster is one of the
most attractive and biggest churches of Gothic ecclesiastical architecture in
Germany. The Ulm minster was built as parish church financed by both municipal
funds and donations of less than 10,000 Ulmites. On June 30th 1377,
three hours after sunrise, the then mayor of Ulm Lutz Krafft laid the
foundation stone of Ulm Cathedral. Today with its 124 m length, 161.5 m height
it makes the highest church steeple in the world. The people of Ulm pride in
the Ulm minster, which is the center of attraction to hundred of thousands of
tourists every year. The Ulm Cathedral has stood for over 600 years and from
the look of things its has not covered half of its shelf life
2.
The Ulmites festivals: The Oath Monday and the
serenade of lights
The oath Monday is celebrated annually on
the last but one Monday of the Month of July. Celebrations begin with the
Serenade of Lights on the river Danube. The Danube is the second
longest river in Europe originating from the Black Forest and emptying into the Black Sea covering 2, 872 km. Once a
long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire, the river passes through ten
countries: Romania, Hungary, Serbia, Austria, Germany, Bulgaria, Slovakia, Croatia, Ukraine, and Moldova. On
the Saturday before Oath Monday, young men in boats race many kilometers
upstream river Danube, let down candles and lanterns to flow downstream the
river, making it the river of lights. Fire masters and pyrotechnic experts
perform firework display from river Danube, resulting to a river covered by a
romantic scene of flowing lighting candles and a heaven covered by fireworks of
assorted colors. So romantic is the scene that I guess proposals are made and broken
marriages re-united. After the celebration people join in feasting along river Danube
under the shadow of temporarily riverside lighting. They enjoy all manner of
foods and drinks, boys dance to music tunes from the stalls alongside their
temporary girlfriends, men cuddle their wives with warmth, young mothers nurse
their babies in the open and life in a sudden seems a glorious spectacle. On
the Oath Monday the Ulmites gather for an important celebration marked by an
address by the incumbent mayor of Ulm vowing to protect the city of Ulm and its
inhabitants. He then awards the annual outstanding Citizens Award and the
Science Award of Ulm.
3.
The Castles of Europe
Germany, like other European
nations has a rich history of Castles built by ancient Kings in show of their
might, wealth, and strategy for battle. Some castles date back to the 7th
Century and portray great architectural work of the ancient Europe. We visited the
Castle of Hohenzollern built in the 11th Century. Despite having
been destroyed almost thrice it still stands firm and is a major tourist
attraction in the southern part of Germany and is visited by over 300,000
people every year making it one of the most popular castles in Germany.
Dear Toastmasters and guests;
I wish to urge you that every time you visit a new place, write down your story
and tell it to the toastmasters. In my case what are the things I can write
home about my visit to Europe?
1. The Ulm Minster or
the Ulm Cathedral – the church with the tallest steeple in the world
2. The festivities of the Ulmites – which
include the serenade of lights on river Danube and the Oath Monday
3. The Castles of Europe and in particular
the Hohenzollern castle standing at the top of mount Hohenzollern 855 m above
sea level
I wish you a nice picnic to Europe during your
next pilgrimage and remember to visit the city of Ulm and see the wonders of
Europe.
Thank you Titus for this info. Perhaps you could share with us how exactly you managed your daughter's condition. It is interesting to note in most often of circumstances, theoretical management is entirely different from practicalities. Again our varying conditionality would expose us to varying solutions. My two senses.
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